Wed, 04/07/2021 - 9:14am
Lawmakers held relatively few hearings around the Easter weekend and instead appear to have manufactured another impasse over time-sensitive legislation that a majority of them feel in some form is critical to running the state.
House Bill 76, which would renew the state COVID-19 public health emergency declaration, was pulled from the Senate Finance Committee schedule April 6 and a second Finance hearing for ongoing legislation was canceled as well.
As of April 7, lawmakers have gone more than a week without hearing the legislation backed by nearly all of the state’s major business, health care, charitable and seafood industry organizations among others and have roughly a week to hash out disagreements at several layers before the state misses out on $8 million in additional federal food assistance aid. HB 76 had not been scheduled for future hearings as of this writing April 7.
Update:
Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association CEO Jared Kosin wrote to the Journal via email that the organization recieved a letter from federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services officials that addresses many of the concerns ASHNHA member organizations had about pandemic response operations without a formal state emergency declaration. However, the health care group still wholeheartedly supports the Legislature s passage of House Bill 76, the public health emergency legislation lawmakers are debating to mitigate the regualtory amibuity and unintended consequences caused by the current situation, according to Kosin.
Original story:
Alaska business, health care and local government leaders are urging lawmakers to renew the state’s COVID-19 disaster declaration to support social and economic recovery from the pandemic as much as public health needs.
Print article JUNEAU A dispute over anti-COVID policy in the Alaska Senate appeared to reach resolution Monday, but another arose in the state House on the same day that two more people tested positive for COVID-19 in the Alaska State Capitol. Sen. Lora Reinbold, R-Eagle River, wore a CDC-compliant facemask Monday in the Capitol, ending a weeklong dispute that saw her removed from committee hearings and told to leave the floor of the Alaska Senate. Reinbold had previously declined to provide proof of a negative COVID test and wear a mask that follows the Capitol’s rules. “What you’re seeing this morning is the Senate organization is 100% compliant on following the rules of the COVID-19 mitigation policy,” said Senate President Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, as he left the Senate chambers next to Reinbold.
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The Sunday Minefield – March 14, 2021
It’s stupid daylight savings again. I really wish Congress would just end it once and for all for the entire country. God forbid they do something the majority of Americans agree on. Things in the Capitol were loose as ever this week. We are nearly two thirds into the “90-day” legislative session. The end appears to be nowhere in sight.
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Print article JUNEAU The case of a severely ill Alaska Senate aide is influencing how the Alaska Legislature deals with a senator who has declined to follow the Legislature’s pandemic precautions. As of Thursday, seven people who work in the Alaska Capitol have tested positive for COVID-19 since an outbreak began in late February. An additional 22 people have quarantined in connection with those cases. Konrad Jackson, a top aide to Senate President Peter Micciche, is one of the seven cases and has been hospitalized with significant breathing problems. A spokesperson for Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau confirmed that Jackson is a patient there. Through the spokesperson, Jackson referred questions about his condition to Capitol officials.