Alaska House averts shutdown ketchikandailynews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ketchikandailynews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
JUNEAU On Wednesday, Eve Van Dommelen will be watching the Alaska Senate intently. Van Dommelen is the policy and advocacy manager for the Food Bank of Alaska, and if the Alaska Legislature and Gov. Mike Dunleavy don’t finalize a COVID-19 emergency bill by Friday, the state will lose access to $8 million in federal food assistance for low-income Alaskans. The Senate is expected to vote Wednesday on its version of a bill the House passed in March to retroactively extend Alaska’s disaster declaration through the end of the year. The coalition House majority agrees with the Senate version, but if the measure is significantly amended by the Senate during floor debates Wednesday, it will not pass the House, said House Speaker Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak,
Print article JUNEAU The Alaska Legislature is on track for a 121-day legislative session, and some lawmakers are interested in a further extension as they consider how to spend more than $1 billion in economic aid approved by Congress. The Legislature almost certainly will remain in session past April 18, the deadline for legislative sessions in state law, a fact that caused some verbal sniping on the floor of the House of Representatives this week. “I’m curious to know whether the House will … simply pass day 90 without any mention or fanfare and simply continue as though Alaska Statute 24.05.150 does not exist,” said Rep. David Eastman, R-Wasilla.
Print article JUNEAU Gov. Mike Dunleavy said Wednesday the future of Alaska’s COVID-19 response is in the hands of the Alaska Legislature, but if lawmakers do not extend a state of emergency that has assisted vaccine distribution and treatment, he will use all remaining tools to continue to fight the pandemic. Alaska has been in a COVID-19 emergency since March 2020, but the emergency is set to expire at midnight Sunday morning, and the Legislature appears unlikely to pass a bill extending it. While the state Senate is expected to vote Friday to extend the emergency for 30 days, the state House is tied 20-20, disorganized and unable to act.