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AFPC Legislative Updates

MAY 17, 2024

And that’s a wrap! This was the last week of the regular session of the 33rd Alaska Legislature.

PASSED DURING SESSION

5/15 Food Freedom (HB 251)
5/15 CROP ACT - ARLF Provisions Only (SB 211) PASSED WITHIN HB 251
5/15 Medicaid 1115 Waiver (HB 344/SB 241)
5/15 SNAP Improvement/BBCE Bills (HB 196/SB 149) PASSED WITHIN HB 344
5/15 Mariculture Leases (HB 329)
5/15 Farm Tax Exemption (SB 161) PASSED WITHIN SB 179
5/15 FY25 Budgets and FY24 Supplemental Budget (HB 268)
5/11 Military & Veteran Family Help Desk (HB 249/SB 207) PASSED WITHIN SB 154
5/6 Weather Station Outages (SJR 20)

DIDN’T PASS

CROP Act sections on crop insurance & procurement (SB 211)
Subsistence Priority Constitutional Amendment (HJR 22)
SNAP Renewal Timelines (HB 198)
Farm Tax Exemption (HB 317)
State Land Leases & Sales (HB 282/SB 199)
Ag Tax Exemption Local/State (“TRAIL Act”) (HB 399/SB 265)

LEGISLATION THAT PASSED IN THE 33RD LEGISLATURE

Food Freedom (HB 251) + CROP ACT - ARLF Provisions Only (SB 211) - PASSED

On Friday, May 10, HB 251 was heard again in Senate Labor & Commerce. They reviewed that there was interest raised to include portions of the CROP Act into HB251, and Chair Bjorkman said they would hold the bill while they waited for a Committee Substitute. Watch that very short update here. On Saturday, May 11, the L&S committee took up the bill for a final time and adopted the CS that was alluded to on Friday. Crystal Koeneman, ADEC Legislative Liaison, and Rena Miller, ADNR Special Assistant, were both present to review the CS. ADNR gave an overview of the changes, which added the Board of Ag/Agricultural Revolving Loan Fund (ARLF) portion of the CROP Act to HB 251. AFPC supports most of the provisions in this section, however, we are disappointed that the quorum for decision-making at the Board of Agriculture was reduced from 5 to 4 members. We will be working to follow the Board more closely and provide updates to our food network along the way.

Sen. Gray Jackson asked if the CS here was the same as the CROP Act sections that the committee had reviewed for that separate bill earlier in the session. ADNR replied that the only difference was the ordering of a list of eligible activities for ARLF loans to ensure shipping related to manufacturing is eligible.

ADEC then gave a review of how the CS additions from the CROP Act are related to the underlying Food Freedom bill. She noted that the addition to ARLF of manufacturing and processing activities is helpful to the production of homemade foods and animal/herd share producers. Both ADNR and ADEC provided zero fiscal notes, and both spoke to no additional costs being envisioned. ADNR noted that if the expanded ARLF provisions drive up demand, they will come back to the Legislature for more resources. Sen. Bjorkman spoke to his enthusiasm for this bill, and encouragement and hope for additional legislation passing that supports small farms. You can read the CS here, and watch the hearing here.

On Monday, May 14, the new version of the bill - SCS CSHB 251(L&C) - hit the Senate Floor just after 7 PM. Senator Kiehl offered Amendment 1 to the bill, adding language around the meat/herd share language. He reviewed that the bill allows ADEC to, after a complaint, if ADEC finds unsafe or unsanitary conditions they can order the “cessation of a practice or producer that is unsafe, unsanitary, or otherwise a risk to public health”. He said that the bill sponsor (Rep. Rauscher) was supportive of the amendment, and it passed unanimously. Sen. Bjorkman gave an overview and spoke in support of the bill, and Sen. Hughes spoke to her support as well. The Senate voted 20-0 in support of passing the final bill - SCS CSHB 251(L&C) am S (including a title change vote, which also passed unanimously). You can watch the Floor session discussion here.

At 2 PM on Wednesday, Sponsor Rep. Rauscher reviewed the changes that had been made in Senate L&C and asked the members to concur. Rep. Vance stated she may have a conflict because her husband is the Chair of the Board of Agriculture. There was opposition, and so she was required to vote. The House voted to concur 38 to 1, with Rep. Eastman voting no. You can watch the passage of HB 251, including the ARLF provisions, here. HB 251 as amended now heads to the Governor’s desk.

SNAP Improvement/BBCE Bills (HB 196/SB 149) PASSED WITHIN HB 344

HB 196 started off the week still in House Finance. On Monday, May 13 in House Finance, Rep. Hannan offered Amendment 2 to the Senior Benefits Bill, SB 170, which would wrap the language of HB 196 into SB 170. Rep. Stapp then offered an amendment to that amendment, proposing to change the upper poverty level limit to 150% of FPL (federal poverty limit) instead of 200%. He expressed his support for the removal of the asset test but expressed concerns about the increased eligibility income limit and the impacts of additional participants and the impacts on the Division and their ability to process additional applications. Director Etheridge also noted that there is some federal rulemaking underway around the TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) that would require states to move to 200%. Rep. Stapp additionally asked for assurance from Director Ethridge that there wouldn’t be a new SNAP backlog a year from now if this bill were to go into effect. Director Ethridge noted that she is doing everything she can to not fall back into that space. There was additional discussion around the FPL amendment and continued concern around the addition of eligible participants and the potential to fall back into a SNAP backlog. The amendment to the amendment failed on a 4-6 vote, leaving the FPL at up to 200%. The underlying amendment, to wrap BBCE into SB 170 passed on a 7-3 vote. We’re grateful for the Representatives who voted in favor of this addition: Reps. Hannan, Foster, Edgmon, Ortiz, Josephson, Galvin, and Cronk. SB 170, as amended, was moved from House Finance. You can watch the Finance meeting here. You can read the bill here CSSB 170(FIN).

On Tuesday, the BBCE language moved yet again. The underlying senior benefits provisions of SB 170 were added into a different bill on the House Floor - SB 147. Meanwhile, on the Senate Floor — See HB 344 for the rest of the story of passing BBCE.

Medicaid 1115 Waiver (HB 344/SB 241) + SNAP Improvement/BBCE Bills (HB 196/SB 149) PASSED

(AFPC supports these bills) Senate HSS Committee passed HB 344 out of committee on April 2. HB 344 was taken up on the Senate Floor on Tuesday, May 14. There were two amendments offered, both of which were adopted. The first amendment, offered by Sen. Tobin, opened up Medicaid reimbursement for all Medicaid-eligible children receiving services in schools (vs. the existing restriction to only kids with an individualized education program, IEP). Amendment 1 passed without objection.

Sen. Giessel moved amendment #2, inserting the BBCE policy language into HB 344. She spoke to the policy, highlighting the opportunities for Alaskans to rise out of poverty through the implementation of this policy. There was a lengthy at ease, after which Sen. Wilson spoke to his concerns around the expanded eligibility and the costs of the amendment to the Department of Health after the backlog and suggested that it needs to be vetted through a committee (note it has been, through many committees, vetted thoroughly in both the House and the Senate). Sen. Dunbar spoke to the committee vetting that had occurred. Senator Wielachowski expressed his support. Sen. Kawasaki spoke to the vetting in committees and his support for the amendment. The Senate voted to adopt amendment 2 on a 14-6 vote, with no votes coming from Senators Bjorkman, Hughes, Kaufman, Shower, Stedman, and Wilson. Both Sen. Bjorkman and Hughes are on the executive committee for the Alaska Food Strategies Task Force. Sen. Giessel then offered a third amendment that would have included child care policy from HB 89 into HB 344. There were extensive concerns expressed by various Senators, a number of at-eases, and Sen. Giessel withdrew amendment #3 for HB 344. (Note: this policy language was moved into another bill, SB 189, which later passed late on Wednesday night!). Sen. Wilson then spoke to the underlying importance of the Medicaid 1115 waiver within HB 344. The Senate voted to pass HB 344 as amended unanimously. You can watch the entire conversation here.

At 9:30 PM on Wednesday, the House took up concurrence of the Senate’s version of HB 344. Rep. Ruffridge then talked through the two bills added to HB 344 in the Senate, including HB 196. Representative Mina gave a heartfelt overview of the importance of the BBCE provisions and the critical importance to Alaska’s anti-hunger network. Rep. Fields spoke to the expense of “churn” and the benefits of BBCE. The question was called and the bill passed on a 26 to 14 vote. No votes came from Reps. Allard, Carpenter, Coulombe, Eastman, McCabe, Rauscher, Ruffridge, Saddler, Shaw, Stapp, Sumner, Tilton, Tomaszewski, and Vance. You can watch their Floor discussion here.

This is a Big Win for anti-hunger policy in Alaska! HB 344 as amended now heads to the Governor’s desk.

Mariculture Leases (HB 329) PASSED

HB 329 was moved out of the House Fisheries Committee on March 28 as a Committee Substitute (CS) and had an additional referral added to House Finance, following Resources. The bill was heard and held in House Resources on April 8, April 15, and April 17 when it was moved from committee and was awaiting scheduling in House Finance. On April 26, the Finance Committee referral was removed. On May 3, HB 329 was heard on the House Floor and after amendment, CS HB (FSH) 329 unanimously passed the House.

HB 329 was referred to the Senate Resources Committee and had hearings on May 10 and May 13. On May 10, sponsor Rep. Vance provided a detailed summary of the bill for the Committee. Kate Dufault, Program Manager for ADNR Aquatic Farm Leasing Program, was also online for questions. Sen. Wielechowski reflected on the “geoduck fights” of the past (~2008-2010), noting that he didn’t think the geographic limitation to the Gulf of Alaska wasn’t an oversight but intentional. He asked how many square miles of potential leases would be opened up in the Aleutians. ADNR replied that would probably be an ADFG question, but she did note that they have one pending aquatic farm lease near Adak. Sen. Wielechowski asked about any ecological studies, invasive species concerns, and other developed understanding of the proposed geoduck expansion. ADNR again referenced ADFG as the department that would have that information. Sen. Dunbar asked about the 25-mile definition, and ADNR noted that it is consistent with the existing public notice statute, and ADNR measures that as the crow flies. Chair Bishop asked about how the lease expirations and renewals currently work and ADNR provided a summary of the current process, including the potential for a best interest finding that includes a lessee application, an agency review, public comment, and then a final finding decision from the agency. If there are no appeals, the leasee provides all documents and then they have to go through the renewal process. If a renewal option is in place, there is a single step with “courtesy” public notice but they don’t respond to public comment. Sen. Kawasaki asked about subjective latitude for the Commissioner to request an appraisal. Rep. Vance replied that ADNR doesn’t feel like that’s always necessary since the tidelands aren’t sold but are leased. Chair Bishop asked about if there are any top filings for aquatic farms, which is apparently something from the mining lease program. ADNR spoke to the competitive process, and that is only available if the lease is expired and not up for renewal. Sen. Wielechowski asked about the carbon management amendment from the House Floor. Rep. Vance had held a space in the bill for a carbon sequestration measure, and concerns about locking up tideland leases for carbon sequestration. She said the language came from the Department to address this concern.

There was public testimony. Jason Lessard, ED of the Alaska Mariculture Alliance, provided testimony supporting the bill and sharing that it is very timely for the industry. He reviewed some details and opportunities around the kelp industry. Paul Foos, President of the Alaska Shellfish Growers Cooperative, also testified in support of the bill. They have focused historically on geoducks, and the long production timeline for geoducks really will benefit from expanded lease periods with renewal options is very beneficial. He spoke about the invasive species concerns and the spatial coverage of the leases being constrained by the sea bottom profile. That was it for public testimony and they held the bill. You can watch the hearing here.

On May 13, Senate Resources heard the bill again in a quick 2-minute meeting. No amendments were submitted, no further discussion or questions came up, and they moved the bill from committee. This was the final meeting of Senate Resources for the legislative session, and it lasted a full 2 minutes and 8 seconds.

HB 329 was referred to Senate Rules for scheduling on the Senate Floor and was heard and passed unanimously on Wednesday, May 15. I’m not sure where in Wednesday's long floor sessions the bill was heard for concurrence; if you really want to see it, let me know and I’ll dig further to find the clip! HB 329 now heads to the Governor’s desk for signing.

Weather Station Outages (SJR 20) PASSED

Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 20 was introduced by the Senate Community & Regional Affairs (CRA) Committee on April 3. It was heard in the committee on April 9 and April 16 (when it was slightly amended to add additional people to send the resolution to and passed out of the committee). On Monday, April 22 CR SJR 20 (CRA) was passed unanimously on the Senate Floor. SJR 20 was then transmitted to the House where it was referred to the House Community & Regional Affairs Committee; on April 25 House CRA heard the resolution. Following testimony, the Committee moved SJR20 out of the committee with unanimous support. SJR 20 was heard on the House Floor on Monday, May 6, and passed unanimously. Rep. Gray provided an overview of the importance of the resolution, reviewing how critical AWOS and ASOS are for flying in inclement weather and the challenges currently experienced in Alaska’s systems. SJR 20 passed unanimously; you can watch the short House Floor session here. SJR 20 has passed both bodies and next heads to the Governor’s desk.

Farm Tax Exemption (SB 161) PASSED WITHIN SB 179

SB 161 passed the Senate on March 18 and was sent to the House and referred to one committee, the House Community & Regional Affairs Committee (CRA). It was heard in House CRA on April 2, April 4, and April 18 when the Committee adopted a Committee Substitute (CS) for SB 161 and moved it out of committee as CS SB 161 (CRA) on a vote of 5 to 2, with Rep. McCabe and Himschoot voting no. Also on the 18th, the bill was further referred to the House Resources Committee where it was heard on Wednesday, April 24.

On May 14, the House Rules Committee adopted a Committee Substitute (CS) that wrapped three additional bills into SB 179, including SB 161. Sen. Bjorkman gave an overview of the underlying bill, noting that SB 179 was a policy proposal that the State of Alaska would not allow taxation on transfers of real property. He supported the addition of the three additional bills, including SB 161.

Passed by both bodies, SB 179 includes the following provisions of farm tax exemption:

Optional Municipal Property Tax exemption by ordinance of farmland and farm structures where the owner or lessee is actively engaged in farming and sells at least $2,500 of ag products and files a Schedule F with their taxes. The human consumption restriction was removed, and clarified that it would be crops specified by ordinance.
Mandatory Municipal Property Tax deferral was expanded to include farm structures that are used for farm operations when there is at least $2,500 of ag products for human or animal consumption only sold and a Schedule F is filed with the IRS. The limitation to human or animal consumption is a change that reduces the number of farms who currently qualify for this tax deferral, which is currently open to any ag use of farmland.

SB 179, with the inclusion of farm tax exemptions from SB 161, now heads to the Governor’s desk.

Military & Veteran Family Help Desk (HB 249/SB 207) PASSED WITHIN SB 154

(AFPC supports these bills) HB 249 was moved out of the House Military & Veterans’ Affairs committee as a Committee Substitute (CS) on February 29 and is still waiting for scheduling in House Finance. SB 207 moved out of Senate Community & Regional Affairs on February 15 and was last heard in Senate Finance on March 19.

On May 2, SB 154 was heard on the House Floor and Rep. Groh offered Amendment 1 which inserted the language from HB 249 into the bill. While food security was never specifically amended into the language as we had suggested, the newly created “Military & Veteran Family Help Desk” is charged with helping military members, veterans, and their families with a long list of services including physical health which certainly includes nutrition. On May 10, SB 154 as amended passed the House on a vote of 37-3, with Reps. Carpenter, Eastman, and Prax voting no. The Senate voted 18-0 (with Sens. Hughes and Hoffman not present) to concur with the House version on May 11. SB 154 as amended with the language from HB 249 has been transmitted to the Governor.

Operating Budget (HB 268) PASSED

On Wednesday, April 24, the Senate Finance Committee released its second operating budget CS (CS2) and on April 25 they passed HB 268 out of committee. The operating budget passed the Senate, unchanged from the Senate Finance CS. This version differed from what the House passed over to the Senate, and when the Senate version went back to the House, they did not agree with the changes (as expected!). The Conference Committee, three members from each body, worked together within the boundaries of the two versions of the budget to come up with an agreed-upon final budget for the House and Senate to then concur with. The two important line items that we were watching through conference committee negotiations were an additional $3M in funding for direct food purchases for food banks and pantries and nearly $500,000 for supporting free school lunches that had been added in the House.

The CC agreed with the Senate’s version around school lunches, agreeing to ax the nearly $500,000 in support that had been included in the House budget. Rep.Olson and Rep. Ortiz voted to retain this funding but lost the vote 3-2. Read an ADN story about that cut.

In better news, the CC moved through half of the funding for direct food purchases, approving a $1.5M supplemental appropriation for FY24 (which ends June 30, 2024) for the Dept. of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development (DCCED) to provide support to Alaskan food banks and food pantries to promote food security. The final CC motion sheet is here.

Both the Senate and House adopted the CC Substitute for HB 268 late in the evening on May 15. The budgets (Operating, Supplemental, Mental Health, and Capital) are all headed to the Governor.

LEGISLATION THAT DID NOT PASS

Sections 2 and 3 of the CROP Act (HB 296/SB 211)

The Governor’s CROP Act covered three broad areas: the Agricultural Revolving Loan Fund (ARLF), crop insurance, and procurement policies by state agencies, schools, and municipalities. See HB 251 above, where the ARLF sections of the bill were included for final passage through the Senate. The crop insurance and procurement provisions did not move.

Subsistence Priority Constitutional Amendment (HJR 22)

SNAP Renewal Timelines (HB 198)

Farm Tax Exemption (HB 317)

HB 317 was only taken up once, when it was heard and held in House Community & Regional Affairs on March 7th.

State Land Leases & Sales (HB 282/SB 199)

The Committee Substitute (CS) for Senate Bill 199 (CSSB 199(TRA)) was last heard in Senate Resources on March 11 and is being held there. It still has a Finance Committee referral in the Senate. The companion bill HB282 (now CSHB 282(RES)), passed out of House Resources on March 1 and is still waiting for a hearing in House Finance.

Ag Tax Exemption Local/State (“TRAIL Act”) (HB 399/SB 265)

On April 26, the Governor introduced a pair of bills with a press release, marking the proposed legislation as support for Alaska’s agriculture and timber industries. They are titled “An Act relating to tax exemptions for Agriculture and timber business” or, more informally, the “Tax Relief for Agriculture Industry and Lumber (TRAIL) Act”. Both bills were referred to the Community and Regional Affairs and then Finance Committees in the respective bodies. The TRAIL Act looks to make changes to Alaska Statute Title 29, which covers municipalities. It would exempt from taxation:

Any real or personal property used for agriculture or timber businesses (which would have to be declared to the local assessor with reasonable documentation on forms provided by the state assessor)
Sales or use tax levy on agriculture or timber businesses
Corporate income taxes from agriculture or timber businesses

may 10, 2024

Subsistence Priority Constitutional Amendment (HJR 22)

House Joint Resolution was proposed by Representative Baker on February 20, had a hearing on March 20, and again on March 27 in House Resources. HJR 22 was scheduled for a hearing in House Resources on Wednesday, April 17 but it was canceled. A short hearing was held on April 26, and additional hearings were scheduled and canceled on April 29 and May 1. There was another Resources hearing on Friday, May 3 at 1 PM. The committee had talked about a Committee Substitute on April 26, and then on May 3, they adopted the CS. You can read the Committee Substitute (CS) in BASIS (the AKLeg database) with an explanation of changes from Rep. Baker, the bill’s sponsor. Rep. Baker noted that they canceled the public testimony since the CS language hadn’t been released in time. He is hoping that they might have public testimony before the end of the session. You can watch the short May 3 hearing here.

Going back to review the April 26 hearing, this is where they discussed the proposed CS. Rep. Baker talked about the outreach they are doing with stakeholders around the state, and how important all of the language is (including punctuation!) within a constitutional amendment. Steve St. Claire, staff to Rep. Baker, provided a summary of the four proposed changes to the original version.

First, in the first sentence the word may was replaced with the word shall to strengthen the language and not make it optional (Pg. 1, Line 8)
The second change added rural to clarify the primary intention of focus for rural residents (Page 1, Line 9)
The third change on page 1, line 11, changed or to “and proximity to resource”. (Page 1, Line 11)
Finally, the fourth change was adding a section that references Sec. 801 ANILCA (pg. 62-63) to ensure compliance with this federal law. (Page 1, Line 13) The new CS language reads, “Providing the rural residents of the State, Alaska Native and NonAlaska Native alike, the opportunity to harvest replenishable resources in the State’s public domain, where Alaska Natives have traditionally harvested renewable resources for subsistence use, is essential to the physical, economic, and traditional existence of the State’s rural residents, the social existence of the State’s non-Alaska Native rural residents, and the cultural existence of the State’s Alaska Native rural residence.”

There were no questions or comments about the summary of changes. Rep. Rauscher asked Joe Felkl, AK Dept. of Fish & Game (ADFG) Legislative Liaison, about what happens if this passes - where would the language go in the regulations if the constitution were amended. Mr. Felkl said additional statutory changes would need to happen, and Rep. Baker confirmed this. If the amendment passed into the Constitution, then rural preference statutes could be brought forward followed by regulatory changes. Rep. Saddler asked about the State’s current provisions for managing subsistence use during times of shortage or otherwise. ADFG said there is a statutory priority for subsistence priority, and he would get back to the Committee to provide statute references. Chair McKay said that his office is still waiting for additional feedback from legislators. He shared there has been substantial public outreach to his office, and he said there is no way they are planning to jam this through at the end of session. Rep. Saddler also asked about the definition of “replenishable natural resources”, and ADFG will also provide that in written responses with statutory authority references. Rep. Baker noted that his office has been working on that with Legislative Legal, and the term can be a “little tricky” so he also appreciates ADFG follow-up.

While AFPC does not have a position on HJR 22 at this time, we appreciate Rep. McCay’s comments about the gravity of this proposal and fully support the Legislature taking a measured and thoughtful approach to any constitutional amendment proposals. We are hearing the need for more input, and the development of a process for how the State will address the policies that would be impacted by the proposed amendment.

Food Freedom (HB 251)

HB 251 was introduced by Rep. Rauscher on January 16. On March 27 the House Labor & Commerce Committee adopted the committee substitute (CS) of HB 251 and passed it out of committee. The bill was heard and held in House Resources on April 8, April 15 (with an opportunity for public testimony), and April 17 when it was passed out of committee to head to the Floor. On Monday, May 6 HB 251 was passed unanimously on the House Floor after the consideration of 8 amendments and the passing of one. The one amendment passed was offered by Rep. Mears, who had offered a version of this amendment in House Resources which didn’t have support from ADEC but they have since worked on a compromise on the policy. There would be some additional regulations put in place for cottage foods, with the opportunity for more food businesses. Rep. Rauscher appreciated the work that Rep. Mears put into this, and gave his support for the amendment. You can read the amendment here, and it was passed unanimously. The remaining amendments didn’t pass, with only Rep. Eastman voting in favor (except Amendment 8 where Rep. DeLena Johnson also voted yes). The final vote was unanimous with 40 yeas and 0 nays to pass CSHB 251(L&C) from the House. Bill co-sponsors coming out of the House were Representatives Wright, Armstrong, Mears, Vance, Tomaszewski, and Josephson. You can watch the discussion of HB 251 on the House Floor here.

The bill was then referred to the Senate with a referral to the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee. It was heard on Thursday evening in committee, with public testimony. Rep. Rauscher’s staff Ryan MacKee provided an overview of the bill. There was testimony from Sarah Oates, President and CEO of the Alaska Cabaret, Hotel, Restaurant and Retailers Association (CHARR). She noted they don’t oppose the legislation, but she did review some statistics regarding food-borne illnesses. She reviewed food code regulations to protect against food-borne illness. She urged the Committee to require any business selling potentially hazardous food for personal consumption to obtain food protection manager certification. Following testimony, Senator Dunbar asked staff for more clarification of the impacts of the bill, specifically the kind of foods this bill would address. Crystal Koeneman, Legislative Liaison for ADEC, specified that cottage food laws pertain to baked items (i.e. cakes, jams, etc). In addition to that, there are “potentially hazardous foods” like focaccia bread with cheese on it. This would allow for those foods, and she gave additional examples of charcuterie boards and cream cheeses. Sen. Dunbar followed up about subsection (h), (added as an amendment during the House Floor session) which would allow meats. He asked if meats and cheeses would be the main changes, and ADEC replied that anything that would be a potentially hazardous food would be included. She used cream cheese frosting as an example. Sen. Dunbar then asked for any ADEC feedback about the potential for increased food-borne illness if this passes, and they replied that they don’t think so. They feel confident in the direct, 1:1 sales addressed within this bill and the sidebars included. They then set the bill aside for another hearing “soon”. Watch the Thursday night hearing here.

Here’s a rundown of AFPC’s analysis of this bill. (We will update with the House Floor amendment and any additional changes in the Senate next week!)

SNAP Improvement/BBCE Bills (HB 196/SB 149)

(AFPC supports these bills, read our policy brief here)
SB 149 was referred to Senate Finance on February 21 and was heard with invited and public testimony on Monday, April 22. HB 196 was heard for the first time in House Finance on May 1, which was recapped in last week’s OTM. The bill was heard again on Thursday, May 2 at 10 AM. They started right in on the two fiscal notes, with Courtney Enright, Legislative Liaison from the Department of Health. For the quality control fiscal note, they recognized the additional requirements associated with implementing BBCE and as such would need additional staff. Rep. Stapp asked why additional staff would be needed, noting that testimony had said it would save the state money. Division of Public Assistance Director Deb Etheridge gave an overview of the associated additional requirements, and the existing quality control struggles within the Division. Knowing those existing challenges, they believe they would need more staff. Rep. Stapp asked further about any potential changes in eligibility technicians. Director Ethridge talked about delays and additional work that come with asset verification that requires pending cases. She said that removing the asset requirement would reduce the workload per case. DPA also anticipates more people will be eligible.

Rep. Stapp asked if the 200% income eligibility limit is a requirement of implementing BBCE; Director Ethridge believed that was the case, but will confirm. Rep. Hannan asked about the stepped benefit amount, and Director Ethridge confirmed that as the income increases, the benefit levels decrease. Katy Giorgio, staff to sponsor Rep. Mina, reviewed that the 200% income eligibility limit is actually not a requirement and that federal law allows states to craft their SNAP program.

Rep. Galvin asked about other states. Giorgio answered that 42 states have implemented some form of BBCE, and each is a little different. They then reviewed the second fiscal note, with another additional staffing position for technicians. Rep. Galvin asked if there had been any calculations about the additional funding that could come in, and the benefit to grocery stores. Giorgio said that for every SNAP dollar that comes into Alaska, $1.70 of economic activity is generated. Rep. Galvin asked how many dollars are currently spent through SNAP; no one had that dollar amount available, but Director Ethridge said they could do an estimate.

Rep. Stapp asked further about the additional staffing in perpetuity. Enright replied that there is continual training needed, and Rep. Stapp asked again about why it was an additional need above what they already do. Director Ethridge talked more about the additional work for the non-cash TANF benefit requirement that is part of the ongoing cost of this program. Rep. Tomaszewski asked to make sure they had received the federal income guidelines. There were no additional questions and Tuesday, May 7 at 5 PM was set as the amendment deadline for the bill. You can watch the hearing here.

HB 196 is still in House Finance. It was scheduled for a hearing on Thursday morning at 10 AM, but that was delayed due to another extended House Floor session. We’re hopeful this important bill gets heard and moved ASAP! On the Senate side, SB 149 is still hanging out in Senate Finance.

Weather Station Outages (SJR 20)

Mariculture Leases (HB 329)

HB 329 was moved out of the House Fisheries Committee on March 28 as a Committee Substitute (CS) and had an additional referral added to House Finance, following Resources. The bill was heard and held in House Resources on April 8, April 15, and April 17 when it was moved from committee and was awaiting scheduling in House Finance. On April 26, the Finance Committee referral was removed. On May 3, HB 329 was heard on the House Floor. Rep. Vance proposed Amendment 1, after going back and forth with ADNR about carbon sequestration in Alaska’s tidelands. The amendment states that the Department may exclude lands for carbon management leases if that is in the public interest, and also that notification of a carbon management lease application must be provided to other leasees or applicants for a lease within 25 miles of the proposed lease. Rep. Eastman offered Amendments 2 and 3, both of which failed, and he did not offer Amendments 4 and 5. Following the wrap-up by Rep. Vance, CS HB (FSH) 329 unanimously passed the House. You can watch the discussion here.

HB 329 was referred to the Senate Resources Committee on Monday. A hearing with public testimony for HB 329 is scheduled in Senate Resources for this afternoon, Friday, May 10, at 3:30 PM.

Operating Budget (HB 268)

On Wednesday, April 24, the Senate Finance Committee released its second operating budget CS (CS2) and on April 25 they passed HB 268 out of committee. The operating budget passed the Senate, unchanged from the Senate Finance CS. This version is different from what the House passed over to the Senate, and when the Senate version went back to the House, they did not agree with the changes (as expected!). On Monday, the Conference Committee was selected. The Conference Committee is three members from each body, who will work together within the boundaries of the two versions of the budget to come up with an agreed-upon final budget. Members of the Senate are Sen. Stedman, Sen. Hoffman, and Sen. Olson. From the House include Rep. DeLena Johnson, Rep. Egmon, and Rep. Ortiz.

Two important line items were removed from the Senate’s version of the Operating Budget, and we hope they may come out of the conference committee negotiations: an additional $3M in funding for direct food purchases for food banks and pantries, and nearly $500,000 for supporting free school lunches that had been added in the House.

The Committee met on Monday, May 6 to organize and review the process for their meetings. Sen. Stedman was selected as Chair and Rep. Johnson as Vice Chair. Chair Stedman noted that the public testimony component of the budget discussions has concluded, and the Committee will not be taking any additional public testimony. They adopted all of the components of the budget that were the same between the two bodies. They reviewed the limited powers of the Committee, with the ability to work on negotiations between the highest and lowest amounts in the two budgets. You can watch the first Conference Committee meeting here.

On Wednesday, May 8, the CC met again and began the real work of resolving the differences between the two budgets. Notably, the CC agreed with the Senate’s version around school lunches, agreeing to ax the nearly $500,000 in support that had been included in the House budget. This was items 5 & 6 on the “Conference Committee Motion Sheet'' for the Department of Education and Early Development (DEED). Rep.Olson and Rep. Ortiz voted to retain this funding but lost the vote 3-2. The ADN ran a story about that cut in today’s paper. It’s a bit opaque to watch, but you can check out the conversation around the school lunch funding items 5 and 6 here.

We will be waiting for the CC to address the Supplemental budget Motion Sheet, Item 1 to see what happens with the additional $3M in food bank direct food purchases.

NO HEARINGS this week

SNAP Renewal Timelines (HB 198)

CROP Act (HB 296/SB 211)

On March 11, CSHB 296(RES) had an added referral to House Finance, and it is still awaiting scheduling there. In the Senate, SB 211 was heard in the Senate Labor & Commerce (L&C) Committee on March 1 and again on April 12 with an opportunity for public comment. There was no additional conversation, and the bill was held in committee. CS SB 211 (L&S) was heard on Monday, April 29 at 1:30 PM in Senate Labor & Commerce where the committee passed the bill out of committee without further discussion. There’s not much to see, but if you want to check out the brief hearing you can watch it here. SB 211 is still waiting for a hearing in Senate Finance. We have heard there is interest in pushing the Agriculture Revolving Loan Fund (ARLF) sections into another bill to get them through this session. TBD on if that’s successful, but we’ll keep our ears out!

Farm Tax Exemption (SB 161)

SB 161 passed the Senate on March 18 and was sent to the House and referred to one committee, the House Community & Regional Affairs Committee (CRA). It was heard in House CRA on April 2, April 4, and April 18 when the Committee adopted a Committee Substitute (CS) for SB 161 and moved it out of committee as CS SB 161 (CRA) on a vote of 5 to 2, with Rep. McCabe and Himschoot voting no. Also on the 18th, the bill was further referred to the House Resources Committee where it was heard on Wednesday, April 24. AFPC has updated our Farm Tax Bill Comparison document, to help us better understand what’s in state law now, what’s being proposed in this bill, and what is in HB317 (which has yet to receive any hearings). The comparison document is updated to include the most recent version of SB 161, as of April 24.

Medicaid 1115 Waiver (HB 344/SB 241)

(AFPC supports these bills)
Senate HSS Committee passed HB 344 out of committee on April 2. HB 344 is now awaiting scheduling for the Senate Floor in the Senate Rules Committee.

Farm Tax Exemption (HB 317)

HB 317 was heard and held in House Community & Regional Affairs on March 7th.

State Land Leases & Sales (HB 282/SB 199)

Military & Veteran Family Help Desk (HB 249/SB 207)

(AFPC supports these bills)
HB 249 was moved out of the House Military & Veterans’ Affairs committee as a Committee Substitute (CS) on February 29 and is still waiting for scheduling in House Finance. SB 207 moved out of Senate Community & Regional Affairs on February 15 and was heard in Senate Finance on March 19. It is currently held in Senate Finance.

Ag Tax Exemption Local/State (“TRAIL Act”) (HB 399/SB 265)

Any real or personal property used for agriculture or timber businesses (which would have to be declared to the local assessor with reasonable documentation on forms provided by the state assessor)
Sales or use tax levy on agriculture or timber businesses
Corporate income taxes from agriculture or timber businesses

Public Testimony Hearings next week:

As of Friday morning:

HB 329 Mariculture Leases
Senate Resources for this afternoon, Friday, May 10, at 3:30 PM.

Remember these can change quickly!
Keep an eye on all public testimony opportunities here.

There are 3 ways you can testify:

Email committee: Spreadsheet of Committee email addresses
Testify from your local LIO: https://akleg.gov/lios.php
Call in from your phone: 1-844-586-9085

may 3, 2024

Ag Tax Exemption Local/State (“TRAIL Act”) (HB 399/SB 265)

Last Friday afternoon, April 26, the Governor introduced a pair of bills with a press release, marking the proposed legislation as support for Alaska’s agriculture and timber industries. They are titled “An Act relating to tax exemptions for agriculture and timber business” or, more informally, the “Tax Relief for Agriculture Industry and Lumber (TRAIL) Act”. Both bills were referred to the Community and Regional Affairs and then Finance Committees in the respective bodies. The TRAIL Act looks to make changes to Alaska Statute Title 29, which cover municipalities. It would exempt from taxation:

Any real or personal property used for agriculture or timber businesses (which would have to be declared to the local assessor with reasonable documentation on forms provided by the state assessor)
Sales or use tax levy on agriculture or timber businesses
Corporate income taxes from agriculture or timber businesses

“Agriculture business” defined for these exemptions is fairly inclusive of ag products (not limited to food/human consumption only) but does exclude marijuana. To be eligible, a business must also produce at least $25,000 of ag products that are offered for sale or would “normally” generate that much monetary value, and file a Schedule F with the IRS. AFPC doesn’t have a position on the TRAILS Act, and with less than two weeks left in the session, we will likely wait on a policy brief for this one (though we will be discussing it with our Advocacy Committee next week!).

CROP Act (HB 296/SB 211)

On March 11, CSHB 296(RES) had an added referral to House Finance, and it is still awaiting scheduling there. In the Senate, SB 211 was heard in the Senate Labor & Commerce (L&C) Committee on March 1 and again on April 12 with an opportunity for public comment. There was no additional conversation, and the bill was held in committee. CS SB 211 (L&S) was heard on Monday, April 29 at 1:30 PM in Senate Labor & Commerce where the committee passed the bill out of committee without further discussion. There’s not much to see, but if you want to check out the brief hearing you can watch it here. SB 211 now awaits a hearing in Senate Finance.

SNAP Improvement/BBCE Bills (HB 196/SB 149)

(AFPC supports these bills, read our policy brief here) SB 149 was referred to Senate Finance on February 21 and was heard with invited and public testimony on Monday, April 22.

HB 196 was heard for the first time in House Finance on May 1. The hearing was scheduled to start at 1:30 PM, but the House Floor session lasted well into the evening, pushing Finance back for several hours. When the bill hearing finally got underway, sponsor Rep. Mina provided an overview of the bill. Rep. Stapp expressed concerns with the bill and asked how many SNAP applications were processed last year and how many more would be eligible if the eligibility guidelines changed.

DPA Director Deb Ethridge said there are approximately 60,000 individuals on the SNAP program, and that it would be complicated to come up with an estimate of how many more would be added to the program with these proposed changes. Rep. Stapp followed up with a question about the processing time for individuals, and how that would change under this bill. Director Ethridge noted the bill's effective date is lined up with their milestone of updating their software which will increase efficiency in processing applications. Rep. Stapp returned with a question of whether this bill would make the processing of applications more or less efficient, and Director Ethridge responded that they expect it would be more efficient. Rep. Stapp asked for further clarifications of asset limits and the definition of “assets” and there was some discussion answering those questions.

Jamie Morgan, American Heart Association, provided testimony in support of the bill, emphasizing the importance for seniors and working families. Dean Humphries, Lutheran Social Services, testified in support of BBCE, reviewing the benefits of helping people out of poverty and how the majority of other states have implemented BBCE. Hannah Hill, The Breadline, testified in strong support of BBCE. She shared that every month has been a record-breaking month of service needs at the Breadline and the benefits of adopting BBCE. Ron Meehan, Food Bank of Alaska and the Alaska Food Coalition, also testified in support of the bill. He reviewed the effectiveness of SNAP around the nation, the importance of assets for self-sufficiency, and the national landscape of BBCE in addition to other considerations in support of BBCE. Co-Chair Foster then closed public testimony and went to the committee members for questions.

Rep. Galvin said most of her questions were answered in testimony. She appreciated the Department of Health/Division of Public Assistance and their work to try and improve the system. Rep. Hannan said Ron addressed her question, and she reiterated that the cost of SNAP services is 100% covered by the federal government and 50% of the administrative costs are covered by the federal government (with the state picking up the other half). Rep. Coloumbe asked about the poverty standard income limits, and Rep. Mina reported on the 2023 gross income limit and they discussed the different income limits for an individual under current and proposed percentages of federal poverty. There was some further discussion with Director Ethridge, and they asked for some follow-up with more details.

Rep. Coloumbe asked for more information about how assets are calculated, and Director Ethridge answered that if a person has more assets than the limit, they would be ineligible for SNAP. Rep. Cronk said that some of his questions were answered already, but asked for more details about what SNAP benefits actually look like. Director Ethridge reviewed the program. He also asked if SNAP and food pantries are the same or different, and she said yes. He also noted that if he didn’t have a job in the Legislature, he would likely qualify except for his ATV and snowmachine which he uses for food gathering.

Rep. Stapp had additional questions about specific income eligibility guidelines for different family sizes. Rep. Mina wrapped up referencing a Congressional Budget Office Report that showed only a 5% increase in costs due to BBCE, and that implementing BBCE would help Alaska reduce our high error rates. The Committee ran out of time and held the bill until Thursday. Watch the Wednesday hearing here.

**As of writing, Rachel is traveling back from DC and the Thursday afternoon House Finance hearing has again been delayed to a “Call of the Chair” as the full House continues to meet in a Floor session. OTM will provide an overview of the Thursday hearing in next week’s email! If you have questions before then, please let us know!

Weather Station Outages (SJR 20)

Subsistence Priority Constitutional Amendment (HJR 22)

House Joint Resolution was proposed by Representative Baker on February 20, had a hearing on March 20, and again on March 27 in House Resources. HJR 22 was scheduled for a hearing in House Resources on Wednesday, April 17 but it was canceled. A short hearing was held on April 26, and additional hearings were scheduled and canceled on April 29 and May 1. HJR 22 is scheduled for a hearing with public testimony this afternoon - Friday, May 3 at 1 PM in House Resources. There is a Committee Substitute (CS) in BASIS (the AKLeg database) with an explanation of changes from Rep. Baker, the bill’s sponsor. We will provide a summary next week, but you can watch it on Gavel here. While AFPC does not have a position on HJR 22 at this time, we certainly hope the Legislature will take a measured and thoughtful approach to any constitutional amendment proposals. We are hearing the need for more input, and the development of a process for how the State will address the policies that would be impacted by the proposed amendment.

Mariculture Leases (HB 329)

HB 329 was moved out of the House Fisheries Committee on March 28 as a Committee Substitute (CS) and had an additional referral added to House Finance, following Resources. The bill was heard and held in House Resources on April 8, April 15, and April 17 when it was moved from committee with four ‘Do Pass’ votes (McCabe, Baker, Rauscher, McKay) and four ‘No Recommendation’ votes (Mears, Dibert, Saddler, Wright) and was awaiting scheduling in House Finance. Last week during the April 26 floor session, the Finance referral was removed. HB 329 is scheduled for its second reading on the House Floor today (they meet starting at 10:30 AM).

Operating Budget (HB 268)

On Wednesday, April 24, the Senate Finance Committee released its second operating budget CS (CS2) and on April 25 they passed HB 268 out of committee. This week, the operating budget hit the Senate Floor where it passed unchanged from the Senate Finance CS. Two important line items were removed from the Senate’s version of the Operating Budget, and we hope they may come out of the conference committee negotiations: an additional $3M in funding for direct food purchases for food banks and pantries, and nearly $500,000 for supporting free school lunches that had been added in the House.

NO HEARINGS this week

SNAP Renewal Timelines (HB 198)

Food Freedom (HB 251)

On March 27 the House Labor & Commerce Committee adopted the committee substitute (CS) of HB 251 and passed it out of committee. The bill was heard and held in House Resources on April 8, April 15 (with an opportunity for public testimony), and April 17 when it was passed out of committee. HB 251 next moves to the Rules Committee for scheduling on the House Floor. Here’s a rundown of AFPC’s analysis of this bill.

Farm Tax Exemption (SB 161)

SB 161 passed the Senate on March 18 and was sent to the House and referred to one committee, the House Community & Regional Affairs Committee (CRA). It was heard in House CRA on April 2, April 4, and April 18 when the Committee adopted a Committee Substitute (CS) for SB 161 and moved it out of committee as CS SB 161 (CRA) on a vote of 5 to 2, with Rep. McCabe and Himschoot voting no. Also on the 18th, the bill was further referred to the House Resources Committee where it was heard on Wednesday, April 24.

AFPC has updated our Farm Tax Bill Comparison document, to help us better understand what’s in state law now, what’s being proposed in this bill, and what is in HB317 (which has yet to receive any hearings). The comparison document is updated to include the most recent version of SB 161, as of April 24.

Medicaid 1115 Waiver (HB 344/SB 241)

(AFPC supports these bills) Senate HSS Committee passed HB 344 out of committee on April 2. HB 344 is now awaiting scheduling for the Senate Floor in the Senate Rules Committee.

Farm Tax Exemption (HB 317)

HB 317 was heard and held in House Community & Regional Affairs on March 7th.

State Land Leases & Sales (HB 282/SB 199)

Military & Veteran Family Help Desk (HB 249/SB 207)

(AFPC supports these bills) HB 249 was moved out of the House Military & Veterans’ Affairs committee as a Committee Substitute (CS) on February 29 and is still waiting for scheduling in House Finance. SB 207 moved out of Senate Community & Regional Affairs on February 15 and was heard in Senate Finance on March 19. It is currently held in Senate Finance.'

Public Testimony Hearings next week:

As of Friday morning:

HJR 22 Subsistence Priority Constitutional Amendment, House Resources on May 3 at 1:00 PM

Remember these can change quickly!
Keep an eye on all public testimony opportunities here.

There are 3 ways you can testify:

Email committee: Spreadsheet of Committee email addresses
Testify from your local LIO: https://akleg.gov/lios.php
Call in from your phone: 1-844-586-9085

april 26, 2024 updates

SNAP Improvement/BBCE Bills (HB 196/SB 149)

(AFPC supports these bills, read our policy brief here) SB 149 was referred to Senate Finance on February 21 and was heard with invited and public testimony on Monday, April 22. The hearing kicked off with Sponsor Senator Giessel and staff giving a brief overview of the bill.

Invited testimony was heard from Ron Meehan, Food Bank of Alaska and the Alaska Food Coalition who testified in support of SB 149. He highlighted that SNAP is the most effective food assistance program in the US, helping over 92,000 Alaskans. For every $1 spent on SNAP benefits, $1.50 is generated in economic activity. He stressed that implementing BBCE would allow Alaska to eliminate the asset test and raise income limits for some households, reducing churn and incentivizing work. He also noted it would lower administrative burdens by eliminating the time-consuming asset verification process.

Erin Walker-Tolles, Executive Director of Catholic Community Service, discussed a 72% increase in meals served during the pandemic to over 241,000 meals annually. Despite expectations of a reduction in demand, they've only seen a 7% decrease. Many seniors have become more isolated and fragile, and removing the asset test would help those who rely on homes for shelter but have little cash. She also spoke to how simplifying eligibility determination would reduce administrative workload and how providing early food assistance also saves medical costs by encouraging better nutrition.

Sen. Stedman asked about the two fiscal notes attached to the bill. Division of Public Assistance Director Deb Etheridge provided background on the fiscal notes, both of which are from the DPA, with one related to the policy and the other related to quality. Neither of them are related to field processing of cases. She explained that BBCE requires providing a non-cash TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) benefit to eligible individuals, which could take different forms like educational brochures or bus passes. This would require additional resources from the Division. The second fiscal note addresses the additional workload and staff needed to ensure they can continue providing quality service and case reviews to Alaskans while meeting federal requirements.

Public testimony was then taken, with several people testifying all in strong support of the bill. Jamie Morgan, American Heart Association, spoke in favor of the bill and noted that it will positively impact working families. Rachel Lord, AFPC, spoke about the alignment of SB 149 with our organization’s vision for healthy, secure, abundant food systems that feed all Alaskans. Hannah Hill, Executive Director of The Bread Line, spoke in strong support of the bill. Hannah noted their unprecedented increase in needs, including a 9% increase year-to-date, at their soup kitchen and the need to get rid of the benefits “cliff” that occurs with the asset test. Dwayne Patterson, Director of St. Francis House Food Pantry/Catholic Social Services, discussed the strain on their ability to serve people when there is any delay with SNAP. He supported eliminating the asset test which penalizes families trying to increase their income and savings to increase self-sufficiency. Ray Ward called in from Anchorage, as a disabled senior citizen who wholeheartedly supports the bill. He discussed living alone without family living on disability income, and being denied SNAP assistance because his income is $67 too high for qualifying under the current limits. He frequently has one to two days without food because of his limited income after paying for all of his monthly bills on his fixed income. Scott Lingle, CEO of Beans Cafe, stated his belief SB 149 would bring forth significant positive changes. He gave a brief overview of the impact benefits cliff, penalizing any increase in wages, as well as a story of a child needing to “take a day off” from eating because of lack of food.

Following invited and public testimony, Sen. Olson noted there was a lot of public support for this bill, “especially toward the asset portion of it….” There was no further discussion, and the bill was set aside and now awaits additional scheduling in Senate Finance. Watch the hearing here.

Next week, HB 196 is scheduled for a hearing with public testimony in House Finance on Wednesday, May 1 at 1:30 PM.

Weather Station Outages (SJR 20)

Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 20 was introduced by the Senate Community & Regional Affairs (CRA) Committee on April 3 and was heard in the committee on April 9 and April 16 (when it was slightly amended to add additional people to send the resolution to and passed out of committee). On Monday, April 22 CR SJR 20 (CRA) was passed on the Senate Floor. As the Chair of Senate CRA, Sen. Dunbar provided an overview followed by Sen. Hughes and Sen. Shower both speaking to the importance of the weather stations across the state and supporting the resolution. The Senate voted unanimously, 20-0, in support of passing the resolution. Watch SJR 20 discussed during the Senate Floor session here. SJR 20 was then transmitted to the House where it was referred to the House Community & Regional Affairs Committee; on Wednesday, April 24 the public hearing notice was waived, and on Thursday morning House CRA heard the resolution. Senator Dunbar provided an overview of the bill. Senator Hughes also provided an overview of the resolution and its importance and spoke to the timeliness of the upcoming May 10 FAA Reauthorization deadline.

There was invited testimony from Dr. Mike Jones, an economist with the UAA Institute of Social and Economic Research, who testified about his research on aviation infrastructure reliability in Alaska. He has been analyzing outage logs from the FAA to quantify the extensive and widespread outages of automated weather observation stations across Alaska over time. He also talked about field visits to Kotzebue and Bethel and thanked legislators for participating in those. These weather station outages impact air traffic as weather reports are often required for authorization to fly into airports. His data shows some stations have been out for hundreds of days with full or reduced service outages. His initial results indicate these infrastructure issues have led to pretty substantial reductions in actual air traffic. This in turn likely causes delays in food and medical deliveries as well as food spoilage. He applauded the dedication of the FAA here in Alaska and has presented this data to the FAA, Alaska Dept. of Transportation, and air carriers, who all appreciated having the quantified information. Rep. McCabe shared his experience as a pilot using AWOS and ASOS and asked about if the FAA is moving away from fixing ASOS/AWOS toward a weather cam system.

Will Day, Executive Director of the Alaska Air Carrier Association, provided his invited testimony, reviewing how aircraft safety rules work in Alaska and the reliance on the AWOS/ASOS data for commercial flights required to use Instrument Flight Rules (IFR). Senator Hughes also spoke to the appreciation of Alaska FAA staff. She responded to Rep. McCabe’s question and shared that a 2018 law requires the FAA to maintain these weather stations. Rep. McCabe asked if VFR (Visual Flight Rules) is really less safe than IFR; he asked how many villages have instrument approaches.

Dan Owen, owner of Alaska Air Transit, spoke about the difference between IFR and VFR and said IFR is absolutely safer. When an airport doesn’t have an instrument approach, the pilot has to find someplace to get through the weather to have a visual approach. A lot of villages have instrument approaches, and as a commercial carrier, they are nearly always impacted by AWOS outages. AWOS functionality itself and connectivity are both issues. Dr. Jones said he would get Rep. McCabe the number of airports with instrument approaches. Rep. McCabe asked Mr. Owen if they can fly IFR using flight cam data vs. the AWOS/ASOS and Mr. Owen said they are required to have certified weather data which is AWOS/ASOS or a certified weather observer reporting to fly under IFR. Rep. Himschoot asked if the weather station data are used for the National Weather Service climate/weather tracking in addition to aviation. Dr. Jones responded that NOAA and ADOT have been involved in these discussions and the importance of the reports from these weather stations to be able to build forecast models. Mr. Owen also noted that the aviation weather forecasting system also relies on functional weather stations. Rep. Baker asked if there’s any consistency in where AWOS/ASOS outages occur. Dr. Jones shared data that show some stations with long-term outages but also a large array of shorter outages across the state. He also noted the difference between Alaska outages and the Lower 48 weather stations. Rep. Baker asked to have the data provided to the Committee. Public Testimony was opened with Rep. Gray testified in full support of this resolution. He joined a group traveling to rural Alaska and learned about how the outages of AWOS negatively impact the ability to get food to rural Alaska. There was no further testimony. The Committee moved SJR20 out of the committee with unanimous support. SJR 20 now waits for scheduling on the House Floor.

You can listen to the 35-minute hearing here.

Farm Tax Exemption (SB 161)

SB 161 passed the Senate on March 18 and was sent to the House and referred to one committee, the House Community & Regional Affairs Committee (CRA). It was heard in House CRA on April 2, April 4, and April 18 when the Committee adopted a Committee Substitute (CS) for SB 161 and moved it out of committee as CS SB 161 (CRA) on a vote of 5 to 2, with Rep. McCabe and Himschoot voting no. Also on the 18th, the bill was further referred to the House Resources Committee where it was heard on Wednesday, April 24. Sponsor Sen. Bjorkman and staff Laura Achee provided a brief overview of the bill.

The committee took invited testimony from Adam Jenski, a farmer from the Valley. He spoke at length in favor of the bill, especially adding farm buildings and helping to reduce taxes for farmers and reducing taxes to try and prevent people from selling farmland.

Charles Jeannet, Porcupine Ridge Farm, also spoke in favor of the bill and referenced a letter of support he and his wife had submitted and provided some further elaboration on his letter. Rep. Saddler asked how a structure would be identified as one for “farm purposes”. Sen. Bjorkman answered that the local assessor’s office would be responsible for that determination, and how it would be taxed based on that determination. Rep. Saddler followed up with more questions about how often assessors check on property use, and Sen. Bjorkman said the assessments are typically done on a cyclical basis in his experience. The State Assessor was online for questions, but the committee ran out of time and SB 161 was set aside in the committee. Watch the hearing here.

Subsistence Priority Constitutional Amendment (HJR 22)

House Joint Resolution was proposed by Representative Baker on February 20, had a hearing on March 20, and again on March 27 in House Resources. HJR 22 was scheduled for a hearing in House Resources on Wednesday, April 17 but it was canceled. HJR 22 is scheduled for a hearing this afternoon - Friday, April 26 at 1 PM in House Resources. We will provide a summary next week, but you can watch it on Gavel here.

Operating Budget (HB 268)

On Wednesday, April 24, the Senate Finance Committee released its second operating budget CS (CS2). There were a number of amendments discussed, however none of them included the additional $3M funding for direct food purchases. Additionally, the Senate CS removed the nearly $500,000 for supporting free school lunches that had been added in the House. With these disappointing changes, on Thursday, April 25, Senate Finance moved the CS2 operating budget from the committee and it now goes to the Senate Floor. We can hope that these two important items are included as amendments on the Senate Floor, or that there are negotiations to add these back in during their conference committee with the House. Stay tuned, and don’t hesitate to share this priority with your Senators! The capital budget (SB 187) is also in play in the House, and we’ll do our best to keep an eye on that as well.

If you have any specific interests within the capital budget or the operating budget please let us know.

NO HEARINGS this week

SNAP Renewal Timelines (HB 198)

Food Freedom (HB 251)

Mariculture Leases (HB 329)

HB 329 was moved out of the House Fisheries Committee on March 28 as a Committee Substitute (CS) and had an additional referral added to House Finance, following Resources. The bill was heard and held in House Resources on April 8, April 15, and April 17 when it was moved from committee with four ‘Do Pass’ votes (McCabe, Baker, Rauscher, McKay) and four ‘No Recommendation’ votes (Mears, Dibert, Saddler, Wright) and now awaits scheduling in House Finance.

CROP Act (HB 296/SB 211)

On March 11, CSHB 296(RES) had an added referral to House Finance, and it is still awaiting scheduling there. In the Senate, SB 211 was heard in the Senate Labor & Commerce (L&C) Committee on March 1 and again on April 12 with an opportunity for public comment. There was no additional conversation, and the bill was held in committee. CS SB 211 (L&S) is scheduled for another hearing on Monday, April 29 at 1:30 PM in Senate Labor & Commerce.

Medicaid 1115 Waiver (HB 344/SB 241)

(AFPC supports these bills) Senate HSS Committee passed HB 344 out of committee on April 2. HB 344 is now awaiting scheduling for the Senate Floor in the Senate Rules Committee.

Farm Tax Exemption (HB 317)

HB 317 was heard and held in House Community & Regional Affairs on March 7th.

State Land Leases & Sales (HB 282/SB 199)

Military & Veteran Family Help Desk (HB 249/SB 207)

(AFPC supports these bills) HB 249 was moved out of the House Military & Veterans’ Affairs committee as a Committee Substitute (CS) on February 29 and is still waiting for scheduling in House Finance. SB 207 moved out of Senate Community & Regional Affairs on February 15 and was heard in Senate Finance on March 19. It is currently held in Senate Finance.

Public Testimony Hearings next week:

As of Friday morning:

HB 196 SNAP BBCE, House Finance on May 1 at 1:30 PM

Remember these can change quickly!
Keep an eye on all public testimony opportunities here.

There are 3 ways you can testify:

Email committee: Spreadsheet of Committee email addresses
Testify from your local LIO: https://akleg.gov/lios.php
Call in from your phone: 1-844-586-9085

April 19, 2024 updates

Food Freedom (HB 251)

On March 27 the House Labor & Commerce Committee adopted the committee substitute (CS) of HB 251 and passed it out of committee. The bill was heard and held in House Resources on Monday, April 8. This week, public testimony was available on Monday with no one calling in to testify. Chair McKay set an amendment deadline of 4 PM on Tuesday, and HB 251 was heard again on Wednesday afternoon for its third hearing. There was one amendment proposed by Representative Mears. Rep. Mears explained her amendment would provide for small home cooking entrepreneurial operations, and was inspired by someone who is making foods that require temperature control and currently require a commercial kitchen space. She further described how her amendment includes some food safety requirements - you can read the 10-page proposed amendment here. ADEC noted that they do not have the authority to regulate meat and meat products, and they believe including these products significantly increases public health risks. The Department advised not including this language in the bill with a long list of concerns in addition to the meat/meat products concerns. Rep. Rauscher talked about the importance of the food independence movement but felt it was too much to try and take on in this bill. Rep. Saddler agreed and felt the amendment tilted too far and had public health concerns. Rep. Mears noted the meats used would be already inspected meats, but would allow for the home production of products using inspected meats. She also stressed the importance of small entrepreneurial businesses. Amendment 1 failed on a vote of 6 to 3, with ‘yes’ votes from Rep. Mears, Dibert, and Armstrong. HB 251 was then discharged from the House Resources Committee. Watch the hearing here. HB 251 next moves to the Rules Committee for scheduling on the House Floor. Here’s a rundown of AFPC’s analysis of this bill.

Mariculture Leases (HB 329)

HB 329 was moved out of the House Fisheries Committee on March 28 as a Committee Substitute (CS) and had an additional referral added to House Finance, following Resources. The bill was heard and held in House Resources on Monday, April 8, and then this week on Monday, April 15, and Wednesday, April 17. Monday’s hearing had a public testimony opportunity with one person calling in to testify. Nancy Hillstrand of Pioneer Alaska Fisheries testified in opposition to HB 329, expressing concerns that the bill would lock the state into 30-year closed access leases for large tracts of tidelands without adequate monitoring. She argued that leases should remain at 10 years or less and be more closely aligned with the Department of Fish and Game (watch the hearing here). Chair McKay gave an amendment deadline of 4 PM on Tuesday, and HB 329 was heard again on Wednesday afternoon. On Wednesday, HB 329 was heard for the third time in House Resources, with no amendments offered. With no further discussion and no objection, the bill was reported from House Resources. Watch the (very brief!) hearing here. HB 329 next moves to House Finance.

Related to the subject of mariculture leases, Nick Mangini gave a presentation on his experience kelp farming in House Fisheries on Tuesday, April 16. You can watch his presentation here and see his slides here.

Weather Station Outages (SJR 20)

Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 20 was introduced by the Senate Community & Regional Affairs (CRA) Committee on April 3 and was heard in the committee on Tuesday, April 9. This week, SJR 20 was heard again on Tuesday in Senate CRA with a Committee Substitute (CS). The CS expanded the list of recipients of SJR 20 to a list of a multitude of additional federal and state officials. Senator Hughes spoke to some of the additional names of members of Congress currently working on the FAA reauthorization legislation in DC. Dr. Mike Jones, UAA Institute of Social and Economic Research, was online and expressed his appreciation for the enthusiasm and interest in this topic. He spoke to the importance of this infrastructure as a top priority for air carriers moving people and goods across the state. There were no objections and CS SJR 20 was moved out of committee with unanimous support. Watch the hearing here. CS SJR 20 now goes to the Senate Rules Committee and is tentatively scheduled for a reading on the Senate Floor this morning, Friday, beginning at 10:30 am.

CROP Act (HB 296/SB 211)

On March 11, CSHB 296(RES) had an added referral to House Finance, and it is still awaiting scheduling there. In the Senate, SB 211 was heard in the Senate Labor & Commerce (L&C) Committee on March 1. On Friday, April 12 SB 211 was heard again in Senate L&C with an opportunity for public comment. Department of Natural Resources Deputy Commissioner Brent Goodrum and ADNR staff Rena Miller provided a brief overview of the bill, noting the overarching goal is to increase food security and the agricultural sector in Alaska. One person called in to testify. Scott Dahlman with CropLife America - a national association representing manufacturers and distributors of pesticides and other ag chemicals, called in to testify in support of the bill. He expressed enthusiasm about the Governor’s intention to grow Alaska’s agricultural industry and the intent of the bill. He did note that it’s important to provide a stable regulatory environment, and he suggested that the Senate adopt similar language that has been adopted in the House companion bill. There were no additional questions. The Committee adopted a Committee Substitute (CS) which is identical to the House CS. The most significant change in the CS is the removal of the procurement preference expansion language, but retaining the reporting requirement reviewing the current procurement laws and providing the Legislature with feedback on how procurement law might be changed to improve the agricultural sector. The CS also includes adding ag manufacturing as an eligible activity for Agriculture Revolving Loan Fund loans (a provision AFPC supports), increases the borrower limit to $3M for ARLF which increases over time with inflation, and removes a provision requiring a ‘first priority security’ for ARLF loans. Learn more about ARLF here. There was no additional conversation, and CS SB 211 (L&S) was held in committee. Watch the hearing here.

Farm Tax Exemption (SB 161)

SB 161 passed the Senate on March 18 and was sent to the House and referred to one committee, the House Community & Regional Affairs Committee (CRA). It was heard in House CRA on April 2 and April 4, and again this week on Thursday, April 18. Senator Bjorkman and staff Laura Achee provided a brief overview of the bill. There were no questions, and the Committee adopted a Committee Substitute (CS) for SB 161. Three amendments were submitted: one by Rep. Mears and two by Rep. Ruffridge. Rep. Mears moved Amendment 1, which would amend the document deadline to the local assessor's office from being due on May 15 to be on or before May 15. There was no discussion, and the amendment passed unanimously. Rep. Ruffridge moved amendment 2. This amendment added back in language clarifying the exemption/deferment would only be for land or structures used exclusively for agricultural purposes in the optional section, increased the threshold of $1,000 to $2,500 of ag products sold, removes the language providing for land that would “normally sell” the threshold of ag products, and added language providing for the exemption if an event caused a person to not be able to farm if there was an event out of their control. Senator Bjorkman provided support for the amendment, noting that it takes into account public testimony. Amendment 2 was passed unanimously. Rep. Ruffridge did not move Amendment 3, which would have increased the threshold from $2,500 to $5,000. Rep. Mears expressed appreciation for Senator Bjorkman’s office for this work from the Food Security Task Force recommendations, and despite her concerns about limiting local control, still supported the bill. Without further discussion, SB 161 was moved out of committee as CS SB 161 (CRA) on a vote of 5 to 2, with Rep. McCabe and Himschoot voting no. Watch the hearing here.

AFPC has developed a Farm Tax Bill Comparison document, to help us better understand what’s in state law now, what’s being proposed in this bill, and what is in HB317 (which has yet to receive any hearings). We will be updating this document with the adopted amendments and will have it available next week! SB 161 is scheduled for another hearing in House Resources on April 24 at 1 PM.

SNAP Renewal Timelines (HB 198)

HB 198 was introduced on May 10, 2023, by Representative Gray and has been co-sponsored by Reps. Armstrong, McCormick, and Himschoot. This bill would extend the SNAP certification period to align with the longest certification period permitted under federal law, reducing the burden on both eligible families and the State. AFPC supports this bill. There was a hearing with invited and public testimony on HB 198 on Thursday afternoon in the House Health & Social Services Committee (HSS). Following a presentation of the bill by sponsor Rep. Gray and staff (including this slide deck), the committee heard invited testimony in support of the bill from Ron Meehan with the Food Bank of Alaska and the Alaska Food Coalition. He gave an overview of SNAP in Alaska, including the required process for recertification, and noted that many SNAP recipients are on fixed incomes that don’t change. He underscored the importance of avoiding another SNAP backlog and appreciated the work the Division of Public Assistance has done to improve the SNAP process. Rep. Fields asked what additional solutions the Legislature can be looking at to help ensure kids don’t go hungry. Ron suggested further discussion, highlighting a program for further helping improve SNAP for elderly and disabled Alaskans and also the importance of universal school meals.

Public testimony was opened with several people calling in from around the state in support of the bill. Erin Walker-Tolles, Executive Director of Catholic Social Services spoke in support of the bill. She spoke to the dramatic increase in need among seniors accessing their nutrition program. They currently have reduced grant funds in the state operating budget, and they are looking at possibly reducing their services. She expressed gratitude for Director Deb Ethridge and the work of the DPA to get ahead of the SNAP backlog. Chair Prax asked about the grant funding they receive from the state.

Greg Meyer, Executive Director of the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank, talked about how they are seeing increasing needs which are beginning to reach pandemic levels. He shared a story from one of their clients and expressed his support of this bill.

Dwayne Patterson, Director of St. Francis House Food Pantry/Catholic Social Services, spoke to the increase in demand, with first-time clients overwhelmingly saying delays in receiving SNAP benefits were causing them to come to the food pantry. Permanently extending the certification period through this bill will help ensure stability in SNAP and help address the needs of the community.

Rachel Lord (yours truly!) from the Alaska Food Policy Council called in expressing support for the brief bill (you can read our policy brief here).

Following public testimony, they moved into questions from the committee. Rep. Mina asked about certification timelines in regulation. Dept. of Health, Division of Public Assistance Director Deb Ethridge shared that the 6 month period was always the timeline in regulation, but was recently changed in practice at the Division in partnership with the USDA Federal Nutrition Service (FNS) to 12 months (it was not changed in regulation). If the certification period were changed via statute, it would come in line with what the DPA is currently doing. They are currently looking at a waiver to further extend the certification period in line with a longer period for elderly and disabled Alaskans. Rep. Ruffridge asked how much latitude the Department has in selecting different certification periods. DPA Director Ethridge noted the Department took some pretty bold steps to get out of the backlog, including extending the certification period prior to getting federal approval (but now they do have that federal approval). She also talked about the SNAP mandatory interim reports and those are still happening. Director Ethridge noted that any future changes would continue to require communication with and approval from FNS to ensure that everything is in compliance. Rep. Ruffridge asked why, if it’s already approved, what the Department is doing, and if we need to put this in statute. Rep. Gray said that when the bill was filed the state was still operating with a 6-month certification period.

While it’s been suggested that this bill is no longer necessary, he can’t understand why the Department held on to such a burdensome certification period for so long and that enshrining the longest period allowable in statute is valuable. Rep. Fields noted that no one paid attention to this until there was a crisis, and it would be good to put in statute a more stable system. Rep. Mina reflected on the online SNAP application, and how it can be productive for the Legislature to work alongside the Departments. Rep. Ruffridge asked what the longest certification period is under federal law, and Director Ethridge answered it is 24 months for disabled and elderly clients and 12 months for non-disabled/elderly.

Rep. Prax asked for clarification about Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and Director Ethridge clarified that is different from SNAP. He asked about balancing “helping people, reducing administrative burden” and “preventing fraud”. Director Ethridge talked about the broader system which includes work requirements, a process to recoup benefits if a client receives them in their own error, a compromise process depending on the financial risk, and the interim reports which reduce risk for ineligible individuals receiving benefits. Rep. Mina then asked about the state’s SNAP error rates and how many were “fraud” versus agency errors. Director Ethridge confirmed they were almost all agency errors.

Rep. Fields asked Director Ethridge about other opportunities for the State to reduce hunger, and she said FNS provided states with a matrix of options to reduce administrative burden. She highlighted Summer EBT and transitional programs and said the Division is working on every avenue possible. They discussed the use of AI or automated/robotic processing, and Ethridge shared how the Department is automating where they can - especially as the DPA moves off of their DOS-based system. Rep. Gray wrapped up with an emphasis on reducing errors at the DPA through reduced numbers of recertifications each year.

Watch the full hearing here. APFC has a policy brief that you can see here. You can still submit testimony to the committee by emailing hhss@akleg.gov. HB 198 was held for further consideration.

Operating Budget (HB 268)

The operating budget was passed by the House and was passed to the Senate while the capital budget was passed from the Senate to the House. On Wednesday, the Senate Finance Committee revealed their first Committee Substitute (CS) for HB 268, the operating budget. Missing from the CS is the $3 million in supplemental Fiscal Year (FY) 24 funding for direct food purchases at food banks and pantries. This morning, we sent a letter to Senate Finance members asking them to restore this funding in the operating budget as they continue their considerations. The CS budget still includes $1.5 million for similar purchases; AFPC strongly supports the full $4.5 million for direct food purchases that were included in the Governor’s proposed budget. Stay tuned, and don’t hesitate to share this priority with your Senator! The capital budget (SB 187) is also in play in the House Finance Committee, and we’ll do our best to keep an eye on that as well.

If you have any specific interests within the capital budget or the operating budget please let us know.

NO HEARINGS THIS WEEK

SNAP Improvement/BBCE Bills (HB 196/SB 149)

(AFPC supports these bills)
Both bills have moved without amendments and are still awaiting scheduling in House and Senate Finance respectively. HB 196 was referred to House Finance on March 6. SB 149 was referred to Senate Finance on February 21. SB 149 is scheduled for a hearing with public testimony in Senate Finance on April 22 at 1:30 PM.

Subsistence Priority Constitutional Amendment (HJR 22)

Medicaid 1115 Waiver (HB 344/SB 241)

(AFPC supports these bills)
Senate HSS Committee passed HB 344 out of committee on April 2. HB 344 is now awaiting scheduling for the Senate Floor in the Senate Rules Committee.

Farm Tax Exemption (HB 317)

HB 317 was heard and held in House Community & Regional Affairs on March 7th.

State Land Leases & Sales (HB 282/SB 199)

Military & Veteran Family Help Desk (HB 249/SB 207)

Public Testimony Hearings next week:

As of Friday morning:

SB 149, SNAP BBCE, in Senate Finance Committee on Monday, April 22 at 1:30 PM.

Remember these can change quickly!
Keep an eye on all public testimony opportunities here.

There are 3 ways you can testify:

Email committee: Spreadsheet of Committee email addresses
Testify from your local LIO: https://akleg.gov/lios.php
Call in from your phone: 1-844-586-9085

April 12, 2024 updates

Food Freedom (HB 251)

On March 27 the House Labor & Commerce committee adopted the committee substitute (CS) of HB 251 and passed it out of committee. The bill was heard and held in House Resources on Monday, April 8. Sponsor Rep. Rauscher wasn’t present at the meeting, but it was presented by Ryan McKee (staff to Rep. Rauscher) and Crystal Koeneman (ADEC Legislative Liaison) with a bill overview and then a few questions from the committee. Koeneman confirmed that ADEC supports the committee substitute of the bill. Watch the hearing here. HB 251 will have public testimony on Monday, April 15 at 1PM in House Resources, and then is scheduled again on Wednesday, April 17 at 1PM. Here’s a rundown of AFPC’s analysis of this bill.

Mariculture Leases (HB 329)

HB 329 was moved out of the House Fisheries committee on March 28 as a Committee Substitute (CS) and had an additional referral added to House Finance, following Resources. The bill was heard and held in House Resources on Monday, April 8. Sponsor Rep. Vance provided an overview of the bill, including the changes made in the House Fisheries Committee Substitute. She requested that the Resources committee focus on section 4 - the prohibition of leasing solely for carbon sequestration prohibition. Paul Foos, President of the Alaska Shellfish Growers Association, provided invited testimony. He spoke to the need for longer-term leases and more renewal options for long-term product development (i.e. geoducks take seven years to become saleable). In response to questions from the committee, Kate Dufault from the AK Dept. of Natural Resources Shore Fishing/Aquatic Leasing Program noted they currently manage approximately 78 aquatic farm leases. Geographically, these leases are roughly distributed as 50% in Southeast, 30% in Southcentral, 15-20% in the Western region (Kodiak and the Alaska Peninsula) and the size range is <1 acre to 180 acres with an approximate average size of 15-20 acres per lease. More questions arose around the benefits to shellfish vs kelp vs other carbon management activities in their relative values to the state. Dufault noted she has some numbers in 2022 sales reported to ADNR and per her memory, shellfish sales were around $1.6M, kelp was ~$270k. Watch the hearing here. HB 329 will have public testimony on Monday, April 15 at 1PM in House Resources, and then is scheduled again on Wednesday, April 17 at 1PM.

Weather Station Outages (SJR 20)

Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 20 was introduced by the Senate Community & Regional Affairs Committee on April 3, and was brought to my attention last Friday by Senator Hughes. This resolution was brought through the Legislative Food Strategies Task Force conversations about supply chain challenges. It outlines the context of Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS) stations and the Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) program, both of which are critical for aviation transportation. It asks the FAA to improve the operations of these systems to reduce outages, ensure reliability, and expand communications about the status of weather reporting systems across Alaska. SJR 20 was heard in the committee on Tuesday April 9, where Sen. Hughes provided additional background. Sen. Hughes noted that her work on Food Security and the Task Force Transportation Committee looked into food spoilage issues in rural communities, and that air delays from these system outages have been significant contributors to food spoilage.

Will Day, Executive Director of the Alaska Air Carriers Association, testified on the critical importance of reliability of AWOS. He noted that we’re talking about critical, emergency transportation for off-road communities. When cloud ceilings are low or other weather conditions require IFR (Instrument Flight Rule), if a community doesn’t have a functioning weather station, commercial flights cannot come in.
Daniel Knesek, VP of Commercial Operations for Grant Aviation and Board member of the AK Air Carriers Association, spoke to his experience in the Lower 48, and how the assumption of service is taken for granted down there whereas in Alaska it’s not the case. He provided statistics about the high rate of weather reporting system outages across rural Alaska. Most destinations require flying Visual Flight Rules, VFR, which is not as safe as IFR and limited to clear enough weather. The Alaskan system is antiquated and extremely unreliable. Weather forecasting is also aided by functioning weather stations across the state.
Greg Dyer from Woolpert, a consulting firm, worked with ADOT last year and conducted a statewide aviation infrastructure gap analysis for Alaska. He provided his expertise as a resource, and not with advocating for a position on the proposed resolution. He noted that the previously discussed challenges are real and very complex. The FAA Reauthorization Bill is moving in Congress, and there are exciting opportunities.
Dan Owen, owner of Alaska Air Transit, provided testimony with a story of a canceled charter flight from a school group in rural Alaska that morning due to AWOS outages. He also highlighted the need for reliability, connectivity, and maintenance of these weather stations.

Watch the Committee hearing here. The Committee held the bill and encouraged any additional testimony be sent by email to: scra@akleg.gov

CROP Act (HB 296/SB 211)

On March 11, CSHB 296(RES) had an added referral to House Finance, and it is still awaiting scheduling there. In the Senate, SB 211 was heard in Senate Labor & Commerce Committee on March 1. SB 211 is scheduled for a hearing with public testimony in Senate Labor & Commerce TODAY, April 12 at 1:30PM.

Operating Budget (HB 268)

The operating budget was the primary focus this week in the House, and on Thursday we saw it pass on the House Floor. AFPC is excited about the addition of $479,500 to cover the cost of Free & Reduced meals at local school districts to eligible students and big thanks to Rep. Armstrong for bringing that amendment forward! Funding also remained in the operating budget for direct food purchases by food banks and food pantries. The Senate is planning to move the capital budget (SB 187) soon, and it is expected that the two will swap budgets next week.

NO HEARINGS this week

SNAP Renewal Timelines (HB 198)

HB 198 was introduced on May 10, 2023 by Representative Gray and has been co-sponsored by Reps. Armstrong, McCormick, and Himschoot. This bill would extend the SNAP recertification period, reducing burden on both eligible families and the State. AFPC supports this bill. There will be a hearing with public testimony on HB 198 Thursday, April 18 at 3:30PM.

Farm Tax Exemption (SB 161)

SB 161 passed the Senate on March 18, and was sent to the House and referred to one committee, the House Community & Regional Affairs Committee (CRA). It was heard twice last week in House CRA (watch here & watch here). While there was a hearing scheduled for this week, all hearings in House C&RA were canceled this week, including this one. SB 161 is scheduled for a hearing in House CRA on Thursday, April 18 at 8AM.

AFPC has developed a Farm Tax Bill Comparison document, to help us better understand what’s in state law now, what’s being proposed in this bill, and what is in HB 317 (which has yet to receive any hearings). We will update this document with any amendments that are considered during the committee process.

Subsistence Priority Constitutional Amendment (HJR 22)

House Joint Resolution was proposed by Representative Baker on February 20, had a hearing on March 20, and again on March 27 in House Resources. HJR 22 is scheduled for a hearing in House Resources on Wednesday, April 17 at 1PM.

Medicaid 1115 Waiver (HB 344/SB 241)

(AFPC supports these bills) Senate HSS Committee passed HB 344 out of committee on April 2. HB 344 is now awaiting scheduling for the Senate Floor in the Senate Rules committee.

Farm Tax Exemption (HB 317)

HB 317 was heard and held in House Community & Regional Affairs on March 7th.

SNAP Improvement/BBCE Bills (HB 196/SB 149)

(AFPC supports these bills)Both bills have moved without amendments and are still awaiting scheduling in House and Senate Finance respectively. HB 196 was referred to House Finance on March 6. SB 149 was referred to Senate Finance on February 21.

State Land Leases & Sales (HB 282/SB 199)

The Committee Substitute (CS) for Senate Bill 199 (CSSB 199(TRA)) was last heard in Senate Resources on March 11 and is being held there. It still has a Finance Committee referral in the Senate. The companion bill HB 282 (now CSHB 282(RES)), passed out of House Resources on March 1 and is still waiting for a hearing in House Finance.

Military & Veteran Family Help Desk (HB 249/ SB 207)

(AFPC supports these bills) HB 249 was moved out of the House Military & Veterans’ Affairs committee as a Committee Substitute (CS) on February 29, and is still waiting for scheduling in House Finance. SB 207 moved out of Senate Community & Regional Affairs on February 15 and was heard in Senate Finance on March 19. It is currently held in Senate Finance.

Public Testimony Hearings next week:

As of Friday morning:

SB 211, CROP Act, in Senate Labor & Commerce TODAY, April 12 at 1:30PM.

HB 251, Food Freedom, Monday, April 15 at 1PM in House Resources

HB 329, Mariculture Leases, Monday, April 15 at 1PM in House Resources

HB 198, SNAP Renewal Timelines, in House Health & Social Services Committee on Thursday, April 18 at 3:30PM.

Remember these can change quickly!
Keep an eye on all public testimony opportunities here.

There are 3 ways you can testify:

Email committee: Spreadsheet of Committee email addresses
Testify from your local LIO: https://akleg.gov/lios.php
Call in from own phone: 1-844-586-9085

April 5, 2024 updates

Farm Tax Exemption (SB 161)

SB161 passed the Senate on March 18, and was sent to the House and referred to one committee, the House Community & Regional Affairs Committee (CR&A). It was heard in House CR&A on Tuesday this week (watch here) with invited testimony, and then again on Thursday morning with public testimony (watch here). Sen. Bjorkman and staff Laura Achee gave a bill overview to the committee. Questions and discussion included what would happen to the optional exemptions that the Fairbanks North Star Borough enacted last year, the removal of the voter approval requirement for the optional exemptions, the change in mandatory exemptions to exclusively food crops, the “proportionality” of assessments such that only the qualifying farm use portions of land or structures should qualify for exemption or deferrals, and a clarification of the definition of “aquaculture” in the bill.

Amy Seitz, Executive Director of the Farm Bureau (and former AFPC Board Member!) provided invited testimony with opposition to the exclusion of non-food crops from the proposed mandatory exemptions. There was further discussion around mariculture and different ag products that may or may not be eligible.

Adam Jenski called in as a farmer from the Mat-Su who supports this bill. He noted that the costs of property taxes is a disincentive for investing in farm structures, and the provisions in this bill would be helpful. Rep. Himschoot then asked about the subsequent reduction of school funding as a result of those optional exemptions and the Director of the Division of Community & Regional Affairs said she will get back to the committee.

During public testimony on Thursday, Carol Triem with the Alaska Municipal League shared opposition to efforts expanding mandatory exemptions and the erosion of local control. She also spoke to the decrease in the full value determination for school funding. AML supports the optional exemption expansion, and the removal of the requirement for a vote.

Brad St. Pierre, a farmer from Fairbanks testified, with concerns about the bill as written.

Savanna Fletcher from the Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB) Assembly testified with concern about the legal interpretation of the proposed statute overriding the FNSB voter-approved standards, concerns with the revised farm definition in this bill, and the complexity for assessors to determine appropriate proportionality between eligible farm and non-farm uses.

There was additional discussion around the farm definition for eligibility in existing law and what is being proposed in SB161. Rep. Himschoot suggested that the Alaska Farmers Market Association may have some helpful input. There was also back and forth about the definition and support of “hobby farms.”

Bonnie Wolstead, North Pole, testified in support of the bill. Rep. Himschoot asked Sen. Bjorkman to respond to the 10% vs $1,000 definition of a farm. Sen. Bjorkman supported the federally-aligned $1,000 definition of a farm, and supported small and hobby farms. Himshoot also asked if Schedule F’s are only filed by farmers and the sponsors noted that yes.

Chair McCormick set an amendment deadline for Wednesday April 10 at 3pm, and there will be another hearing for SB161 in House Community & Regional Affairs on April 11 at 8am.

AFPC has developed a Farm Tax Bill Comparison document, to help us better understand what’s in state law now, what’s being proposed in this bill, and what is in HB317 (which has yet to receive any hearings). We will update this document with any amendments that are considered during the committee process.

Operating Budget (HB268)

Operating Budget (HB268): House Finance continued considering a marathon’s worth of amendments for the Operating Budget this week. AFPC sent members a note of support (in line with our 2024 priorities) for Rep. Josephson’s proposed Amendment #94, which would have added $625,000 to the University’s Institute of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Extension (IANRE). On Wednesday, Rep. Josephson noted that food security is “not his forte” but this was a request from UAF and he held up a handout from the Farm Bureau and also referenced language from the Regent's request regarding the Return on Investment to this amendment. Rep. Stapp said he opposed the amendment because the UAF agriculture program is “very robust”, they don’t need three additional staff, and if they want to prioritize staffing they can move around their positions. Representatives Hannan and Josephson were the only yes votes, the amendment failed on a 2 yay and 7 nays vote. Watch the conversation on this amendment here. See the Alaska Farm Bureau's 2024 policy priorities on their website .

Medicaid 1115 Waiver (HB 344/SB 241)

(AFPC supports these bills) HB344 was heard on Tuesday in Senate Health and Social Services (HSS) Committee. Chair Wilson noted that the companion bill was already heard in committee earlier in March, and they had taken public testimony at that time. No amendments had been submitted, and following a brief overview of the bill by Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anne Zink and Dept. of Health Deputy Commissioner Emily Ricci, the Senate HSS Committee passed HB344 out of committee with no further discussion. You can watch the short hearing here. HB344 is now awaiting scheduling for the Senate Floor in the Senate Rules committee.

SNAP Improvement/BBCE Bills (HB 196/SB 149)

(AFPC supports these bills) The only action on these bills this past week (and for over a month) was on April 3, Rep. Carrick was added as a co-sponsor for HB 196. Both bills have moved without amendments and are still awaiting scheduling in House and Senate Finance respectively. HB196 was referred to House Finance on March 6. SB149 was referred to Senate Finance on February 21.

No action this week

Food Freedom (HB 251)

On March 27 the House Labor & Commerce committee adopted the committee substitute (CS) of HB251 and passed it out of committee. HB251 will be heard in House Resources on April 8 at 1PM. Here’s a rundown of AFPC’s analysis of this bill with the committee substitute.

CROP Act (HB 296/SB 211)

On March 11, CSHB296(RES) had an added referral to House Finance, and it is still awaiting scheduling there. In the Senate, SB 211 was heard in Senate Labor & Commerce Committee on March 1. SB211 is scheduled for a hearing with public testimony in Senate Labor & Commerce on April 12 at 1:30PM.

Mariculture Leases (HB 329)

HB329am was moved out of the House Fisheries committee on March 28 and, and had an additional referral added to House Finance, following Resources. HB329 is scheduled for a hearing in House Resources on April 8 at 1PM.

Farm Tax Exemption (HB 317)

HB317 was heard and held in House Community & Regional Affairs on March 7th.

State Land Leases & Sales (HB 282/SB 199)

The Committee Substitute (CS) for Senate Bill 199 (CSSB199(TRA)) was last heard in Senate Resources on March 11 and is being held there. It still has a Finance Committee referral in the Senate. The companion bill HB282 (now CSHB282(RES)), passed out of House Resources on March 1 and is still waiting for a hearing in House Finance.

Military & Veteran Family Help Desk (HB 249/ SB 207)

(AFPC supports these bills) HB249 was moved out of the House Military & Veterans’ Affairs committee as a Committee Substitute (CS) on February 29, and is still waiting for scheduling in House Finance. SB207 moved out of Senate Community & Regional Affairs on February 15 and was heard in Senate Finance on March 19. It is currently held in Senate Finance.

Subsistence Priority Constitutional Amendment (HJR 22)

House Joint Resolution was proposed by Representative Baker on February 20, had a hearing on March 20, and again on March 27 in House Resources. The hearing for HJR22 scheduled this week was canceled, and no hearings are on the calendar at this time.

Public Testimony Hearings next week:

As of Friday morning:

SB211, the CROP Act: Friday, April 12 at 1:30PM public testimony is scheduled in Senate Labor & Commerce

Remember these can change quickly!
Keep an eye on all public testimony opportunities here.

There are 3 ways you can testify:

Email committee: Spreadsheet of Committee email addresses
Testify from your local LIO: https://akleg.gov/lios.php
Call in from own phone: 1-844-586-9085

March 29, 2024 updates

Mariculture Leases (HB 329)

HB329 was heard in the House Fisheries Committee on Tuesday, March 26, with five proposed amendments. Amendment 1 (Vance) would retain a 10 year tidelands lease, with a simple renewal for up to 20 years at the approval of the Department of Natural Resources. There was discussion of the DNR lease renewal process. There was conversation around enforcement mechanisms with DNR, to ensure that if lessees go out of business, or don’t utilize their leases productively, how is DNR addressing that? Rep. Stutes encouraged that if producers find that these leases are being ‘squatted on’ or not used productively, to come to the Committee to address this issue. Amendment 2 was withdrawn. Amendment 3 (Stutes) added geoducks as allowable in the Aleutians and was adopted unanimously. Amendment 4 and 5 were both withdrawn, as they were addressed through Amendment 1. Rep. Stutes applauded the work on this bill, and expressed enthusiasm about the growing mariculture industry. Rep. Vance noted that the carbon sequestration leasing components will be discussed further in the House Resources committee. You can watch the hearing here. HB329am was moved out of the House Fisheries committee and next goes to House Resources.

Food Freedom (HB 251)

On March 27, we saw the Committee Substitute (CS) for HB251 presented in the House Labor & Commerce committee. Staff from Rep. Rauscher’s office provided an overview of the CS version that was developed in partnership with the AK Dept. of Environmental Conservation. There were no questions and no discussion about the bill, and the CS was moved out of the committee and next goes to House Resources. Watch the short hearing here.
Here’s a rundown of AFPC’s analysis of this bill with the committee substitute.

Subsistence Priority Constitutional Amendment (HJR 22)

This House Joint Resolution was proposed by Representative Baker on February 20, had a hearing on March 20, and again this past Wednesday March 27 in House Resources. During the short Wednesday meeting (watch here), Rep. Baker noted that the committee was going to have public testimony but then they rescinded the public testimony to hold in a few weeks and give time for some legal opinions requested by Rep. Baker to come forward. The Committee had received a legal memo from Legislative Legal that you can read here. Rep. Baker has another “one or two opines coming”. On Friday via social media, the Alaska Landmine shared a letter from NANA and Maniilaq Association to the House Resources Committee, opposing HJR22. The letter is not available on the AKLeg website, but you can r ead it here .
HJR22 will be heard again in House Resources on April 3 at 1PM, with a plan for public testimony the following week.

Operating Budget (HB268)

House Finance has been getting into the Operating Budget in earnest this week, with nearly 100 amendments proposed. As of Friday, they had made it through Amendment #65. They will come back to the amendments starting on Monday at 10am. We are watching and support Rep. Josephson’s proposed Amendment #94. This amendment would add $625,000 to the University’s Institute of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Extension (IANRE). Note: as AFPC is developing advocacy capacity, our budget tracking is more limited. We hope to increase this in the future, and if you have any budget resources to share please let us know!

NO ACTION this week

Medicaid 1115 Waiver (HB 344/SB 241)

On March 7, AFPC submitted a letter of support to the Legislature for both of these bills, read it here . HB344 will be heard on April 2 at 3:30pm in the Senate Health & Human Services Committee. Pronunciation note: you can easily refer to this by saying “Eleven Fifteen Waiver”!

Farm Tax Exemption (SB 161)

AFPC has developed a Farm Tax Bill Comparison document, to help us better understand what’s in state law now, what’s being proposed in this bill, and what is in HB317. SB161 is on the calendar in House Community & Regional Affairs for April 2 at 8am with invited testimony, and then again on Thursday April 4 at 8am with invited and public testimony.

SNAP Improvement/BBCE Bills (HB 196/SB149)

Both bills have moved without amendments and are still awaiting scheduling in House and Senate Finance respectively.

Farm Tax Exemption (HB 317)

HB317 was heard and held in House Community & Regional Affairs on March 7th.

CROP Act (HB 296/SB 211)

On March 11, CSHB296(RES) had an added referral to House Finance. It is now awaiting scheduling. In the Senate, SB 211 continues to be held in the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee.

State Land Leases & Sales (HB282/SB199)

Senate Bill 199 (and its companion bill HB282, now CSHB282(RES) waiting for a hearing in House Finance) was introduced by the Governor on January 22. SB199 was replaced with a Committee Substitute (CS) in the Senate Transportation Committee on February 20, and was referred to Senate Resources. CSSB199(TRA) was heard in Senate Resources on Monday, March 11.

Military & Veteran Family Help Desk (HB249/ SB207)

Public Testimony Hearings next week:

As of Friday morning:

SB161, Farm Tax Exemptions Thursday April 4 @ 8AM, House Community & Regional Affairs

Remember these can change quickly!
Keep an eye on all public testimony opportunities here.

There are 3 ways you can testify:

Email committee: Spreadsheet of Committee email addresses
Testify from your local LIO: https://akleg.gov/lios.php
Call in from own phone: 1-844-586-9085

March 22nd, 2024 updates

Subsistence Priority Constitutional Amendment (HJR 22)

This House Joint Resolution was proposed by Representative Baker on February 20, and had another hearing on March 20 in House Resources. During the hearing this week, Alaska Federation of Native President Julie Kitka gave extensive testimony alongside Dr. Rosita Worl (subsistence researcher for forty+ years, Professor of Anthropology, and member of the AFN Subsistence Committee), and Gayla Hoseth (First Chief of Curyung Tribal Council, Director of the Natural Resources Program at Bristol Bay Native Association, and the Chairman of the AFN Subsistence Committee). You can watch their testimony here - please take some time to listen. In the first 15 minutes, President Kitka was gracious and eloquent as she called out the lack of acknowledgement of Alaska Native subsistence priority in Rep. Baker’s proposed language, and provided a detailed and honest list of recommendations for the Committee to consider. Sometimes watching a video is hard for me to fit in; we’ve created a transcript where you can read the first 15 minutes of her testimony here. After ~40 minutes of testimony from AFN, ADF&G Commissioner Doug Vincent Lang gave another round of testimony, at the request of Rep. Baker to give some more examples of how duel management isn’t working for the state. Chair McKay then asked Rep. Edgmon, as one of the State’s most experienced legislators, to provide some off-the-cuff “wisdom” to the committee. Rep. Edgmon’s feedback was primarily emphasizing the immensity of the topic, and that it’s something that needs to be first approached through education and with a lot of time devoted to it both within and beyond the Capitol Building. After a few comments and further questions, the hearing ended. HJR22 will be heard again in House Resources on March 27 at 1PM with an opportunity for public testimony.

Farm Tax Exemption (SB 161)

CSSB 161 (CRA) was passed on the Senate Floor on March 18. There were two amendments offered on the floor. Amendment #1 was offered by Senator Hughes, and would have excluded marijuana but specifically allowed industrial hemp within the optional exemption section of the bill. Here is Sen. Hughes providing her amendment on the floor. Following a lengthy at ease, there was additional conversation around the proposed amendment. Senator Kawasaki said, we have optional municipal property tax exemption. This would exclude marijuana and in Fairbanks there are some substantial marijuana and hemp farms that currently get an optional exemption. Sen. Kiehl says this amendment would take away the ability of municipalities to make decisions on their exemptions. Sen. Dunbar also agreed that this should be up to local municipalities. Sen. Bjorkman spoke to his support of the amendment. His original intent was to not move forward tax exemptions for marijuana at all in this bill. Amendment 1 failed with 9 yeas and 10 nays. Amendment #2 was offered by Senator Kiehl. This amendment allows optional municipal exemption for aquaculture, and increases local control by allowing a municipality to choose which agricultural products they want to exempt. There was no discussion, and no objection, and as such the amendment passed. Watch the conversation around Amendment #2 here. Finally, Sen. Bjorkman spoke to the bill and the Senate voted to pass the bill unanimously with 19 yeas and 0 nays. Watch the final conversation around the bill in the Senate here. AFPC has developed a Farm Tax Bill Comparison document, to help us better understand what’s in state law now, what’s being proposed in this bill, and what is in HB317.

Medicaid 1115 Waiver (HB 344/SB 241)

HB344 was heard in third reading on the House Floor on March 18 and was passed 38 to 1 (Rep. Eastman). You can hear the excellent House Floor discussions in support of this bill, and watch the final vote, here. HB344 was then transmitted to the Senate and was scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Health & Social Services (HSS) Committee on March 19. HB344 wasn’t transmitted yet to the Committee, so they heard the companion bill SB241. Dept. of Health Commissioner Heidi Hedberg, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anne Zink, and Dept. of Health Deputy Commissioner Emily Ricci provided an introduction of the bill. You can watch the nearly hour-long hearing here. On March 7, AFPC submitted a letter of support to the Legislature for both of these bills, read it here. Pronunciation note: you can easily refer to this by saying “Eleven Fifteen Waiver”!

Military & Veteran Family Help Desk (HB249/ SB207)

During the Senate Floor session on Monday, March 18 Senator Merrick, Senator Dunbar, Senator Myers, and Senator Kawasaki were added as co-sponsors on SB207. The bill was heard for the first time and held in Senate Finance (watch here) on March 19.

Food Freedom (HB 251)

While there was no movement in this bill over the week, and no Committee Substitute provided, a document was added to BASIS explaining changes between the original version (“A”) and a CS version. You can see that document here. TBD on movement for this bill, and in the meantime you can read the bill here and read AFPC’s breakdown of its provisions here. We will update our bill summary once a CS is actually on the table!

Mariculture Leases (HB 329)

HB329 was scheduled for a House Fisheries hearing on March 19 at 10am. Extended House Floor sessions continued pushing this hearing forward on the calendar, and late Thursday it was finally canceled and moved to a hearing in House Fisheries on Tuesday, March 26 at 10AM.

Operating Budget (HB268)

The House Finance Committee received an update on the spring revenue forecast for the state on March 20, which increased estimated revenues into the state for both FY24 and FY25. Continued conversations are happening late this week on Thursday and Friday in House Finance, and we will continue to try and track the budget. House Finance will continue discussing the operating budget in earnest next week on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at both 8:30AM and 1:30PM each day. Note: as AFPC is developing advocacy capacity, our budget tracking is more limited. We hope to increase this in the future, and if you have any budget resources to share please let us know!

NO ACTION THIS WEEK

SNAP Improvement/BBCE Bills (HB 196/SB149)

Both bills have moved without amendments and are still awaiting scheduling in House and Senate Finance respectively.

Farm Tax Exemption (HB 317)

HB317 was heard and held in House Community & Regional Affairs on March 7th.

CROP Act (HB 296/SB 211)

On March 11, CSHB296(RES) had an added referral to House Finance. It is now awaiting scheduling. In the Senate, SB 211 continues to be held in the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee.

State Land Leases & Sales (HB282/SB199)

Public Testimony Hearings next week:

As of Friday morning:

HJR22, House Resources on March 27 at 1PM

Remember these can change quickly!
Keep an eye on all public testimony opportunities here.

There are 3 ways you can testify:

Email committee: Spreadsheet of Committee email addresses
Testify from your local LIO: https://akleg.gov/lios.php
Call in from own phone: 1-844-586-9085

March 15,2024 Updates

State Land Leases & Sales (SB199/HB282)

Senate Bill 199 (and its companion bill HB282, now CSHB282(RES) waiting for a hearing in House Finance) was introduced by the Governor on January 22. It is a large bill addressing state lands, and the Division of Agriculture is watching it as it includes a provision that would “relax restrictions on land conveyed for agricultural purposes”. SB199 was replaced with a Committee Substitute (CS) in the Senate Transportation Committee on February 20, and was referred to Senate Resources. CSSB199(TRA) was heard in Senate Resources on Monday,March 11th, where Section 17 of the bill was discussed at length, largely in response to public testimony. ADNR Mining, Land, and Water Director Christy Colles provided an overview of the commercial sales process laid out in the bill, and what statutes are already in place for land disposal notifications. There was committee discussion around the notification requirements for commercial sale, appeals, the definition of “commercial”, and how ADNR manages public land to maximum benefit. With a lot for the Committee to consider and think about, there will be an amendment deadline set next week by Chair Bishop.

Subsistence Priority Constitutional Amendment (HJR 22)

This House Joint Resolution was proposed by Representative Baker on February 20, and had a hearing on March 13 in House Resources. This clip from ADF&G Commissioner talking about their fighting and distaste for federal/duel management, and I think gives a good overview of the administration's position and rationale behind this proposal: ADF&G Commissioner Doug Vincent Lang testimony clip here (7 minutes). Rep. Mears asked about the definition of "subsistence" and "subsistence user" (2 minute clip of the hearing here), then Chair McKay closed the questioning after this, noting the topic is deep and they had other items on the agenda to cover. He asked for individual offices to engage outside of the meeting. Watch the Full House Resources HFR 22 March 13 Hearing. We are watching this legislation closely, and listening to our Tribal partners to better understand the potential implications on subsistence food access and management. HJR22 will be heard again in House Resources at 1pm on March 20.

Food Freedom (HB 251)

HB251 is on the calendar for its first hearing in House Labor & Commerce on Friday, March 15 at 3:15pm. (The Friday hearing was canceled at the last minute!) Stay tuned, and in the meantime you can read the bill here and read AFPC’s breakdown of its provisions here.

Farm Tax Exemption (SB 161)

CSSB 161 (CRA) was heard on the House Floor on March 13. The CS was explained on the floor at introduction, and it was adopted on the floor. CSSB161(CRA) next heads to third reading on the Senate Floor on Friday March 15 at 10:30am.

Medicaid 1115 Waiver (HB 344/SB 241)

HB344 was heard on the House Floor on March 14 and without amendment it will be heard in its final reading at the next floor session on Monday, March 18th at 11am. It has also been scheduled in Senate Health & Social Services for March 19th at 3:30PM. On March 7, AFPC submitted a letter of support to the Legislature for both of these bills, read it here. Pronunciation note: you can easily refer to this by saying “Eleven Fifteen Waiver”!

Mariculture Leases (HB 329)

There was a hearing scheduled for March 14 in House Fisheries that was canceled. HB329 is now scheduled for a House Fisheries hearing on March 19 at 10am.

Military & Veteran Family Help Desk (HB249/ SB207)

CSHB 249(MLV) is awaiting scheduling in House Finance. SB207 is scheduled in Senate Finance on March 19 at 9am.

NO ACTION this week

SNAP Improvement/BBCE Bills (HB 196/SB149)

Both bills have moved without amendments and are still awaiting scheduling in House and Senate Finance respectively.

Farm Tax Exemption (HB 317)

HB317 was heard and held in House Community & Regional Affairs on March 7th.

CROP Act (HB 296/SB 211)

On March 11, CSHB296(RES) had an added referral to House Finance. It is now awaiting scheduling. In the Senate, SB 211 continues to be held in the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee.

Operating Budget (HB268)

The House Finance Committee heard public testimony on the state Operating Budget on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday this week. Stay tuned for updates on the Operating Budget as we track AFPC budget priorities.

March 8,2024 Updates

SNAP IMPROVEMENT/BBCE BILLS (HB 196/SB 149)

House Bill 196 (implementing Broad Based Categorical Eligibility) passed out of the House Health & Social Services Committee with unanimous vote on March 6. It is now referred to House Finance. Similarly, companion bill SB149 passed out of the Senate Health & Social Services Committee on February 20 and is referred to Senate Finance. Both bills have moved without amendments and are awaiting scheduling.

FARM TAX EXEMPTION (SB 161)

SB 161 was passed out of the Senate Community & Regional Affairs Committee as a committee substitute (CSSB 161(CRA)) on February 29. The CS adds a section to include optional property tax exemptions (AS 29.45.050) for farm use land and structures that a municipality could enact through ordinance (similar to provisions in HB 317), and includes the requirement of at least $1,000 offered for sale with a filed Schedule F. This optional exemption would be available for all agricultural products. The required exemptions in the bill (AS 29.45.060) remain the same as originally proposed, adding farm structures and limiting the exemptions to agricultural products for human consumption. The required exemptions also again continue to be open to commercial and non-commercial agriculture so long as at least $1,000 worth of food are grown or raised (similar to the USDA definition).

CSSB 161 (CRA) was referred to the Rules Committee and is awaiting scheduling.

FARM TAX EXEMPTION (HB 317)

HB 317 was introduced by Representative Carpenter on February 9th. It is similar in intent, but significantly different in method, from SB161. Through this bill, the optional farm structure exemption (AS 29.45.050) would still only cover farm structures, but the income requirements would be removed. The required exemptions (AS 29.45.060) would be expanded similar to SB 161 to include farm use land and structures. It would remove the provision where property owners must apply to the municipal assessor for the exemption, so then the exemption would be automatically integrated into the assessment process. This statute is further amended to remove any commercial/for-profit requirements associated with farm use for this property tax exemption. Finally, the bill requires municipalities to either adopt an ordinance for the optional farm use structure partial or full property tax exemption OR put a ballot question before the voters at the next regular election asking if the municipality shall totally exempt farm use structures from property tax assessment.

HB317 was heard and held in House Community & Regional Affairs on March 7th. You can watch the conversation here.

CROP ACT (HB 296/SB 211)

In the House, HB 296 passed out of the House Resources committee as a committee substitute (CSHB 296(RES)) unanimously on February 28. It is now referred to the House Rules committee. The CS made several substantial changes to the bill:

For the Agricultural Revolving Loan Fund (ARLF), clarifying that shipping costs are eligible for agricultural purposes, and adding in-state manufacturing of food or production of animal feed as an activity eligible for an ARLF loan. This was one of AFPC’s recommendations for improving the bill, and we are delighted to see it come through in the CS!
ARLF maximum loan amounts were changed from being up to the Board of Ag through regulation to a statutory $3M, adjusted annually for inflation.
All of the procurement language was removed in the CS, and replaced with a section requiring a report to the legislature from the Department of Administration with the assistance of the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development no later than the 30th day of the next session outlining a number of details about Alaska product purchasing and making a recommendation for potential statutory changes in the future to effectively stimulate state agriculture.

In the Senate, SB 211 was heard and held in the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee on March 1st and there has been no further movement on the bill in the Senate.

MILITARY & VETERAN FAMILY HELP DESK (HB249/ SB207)

House Bill 249 was heard in the House Military & Veterans’ Affairs Committee on Feb 1 and again on Feb 29. It was moved out of committee unanimously as a Committee Substitute (CSHB 249(MLV)) and is now awaiting scheduling in House Finance. The CS made a number of clarifying changes to the language, however still does not include food security on the list of priorities. SB 207 was heard in Senate Community & Regional Affairs on February 8, and again on February 15 where it was moved out of committee without amendment and is now awaiting scheduling in Senate Finance. AFPC has provided feedback to the bills’ sponsors and provided them with our policy brief.

FOOD FREEDOM (HB 251)

We are continuing to wait on action with this bill. In talking with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, it sounds as though there is a Committee Substitute (CS) bill in the works that will clarify language to ensure it is meeting the legislative intent of the sponsor (Rep. Rauscher). Stay tuned, and in the meantime you can read the bill here and read AFPC’s breakdown of its provisions here.

MARICULTURE LEASES (HB 329)

House Bill 329 was introduced on February 15 by Rep. Vance, and referred to Fisheries then Resources Committees. It was heard in House Fisheries on March 7th with public testimony. This bill would make significant changes to the state tideland lease process, as well as extend leases to up to 25 years. The Resources Committee heard the introduction of the bill, invited testimony from Jason Lessard (Executive Director of the Alaska Mariculture Alliance), Paul Fuhs (Alaska Shellfish Growers Association & City of Adak), and Nick Mangini (kelp farmer and Director of Mariculture with the Southwest Alaska Municipal Conference), and public testimony from a number of different producers and concerned public. It was a super interesting hearing, and well worth a watch if you’re interested in mariculture and/or state tidelands leasing!

Bill amendments are due to Rep. Vance by 5PM March 12th. There will be a hearing on the bill March 14 at 10AM in House Fisheries.

MEDICAID 1115 WAIVER (HB 344/SB 241)

House Bill 344 moved out of the House Health & Social Services Committee with unanimous support on March 6 (watch the hearing here). HB344 is now referred for scheduling to the House Rules Committee. The companion bill in the Senate, SB241, is in the Senate Health & Social Services Committee. On March 7, AFPC submitted a letter of support to the Legislature for both of these bills, read it here.

BUDGET: DIRECT FOOD PURCHASES FOR FOOD BANKS & FOOD PANTRIES

The House Health & Human Services Finance Subcommittee went through their final budget close-out process on Wednesday, March 6. On Tuesday, AFPC and other Alaska Food Coalition partners made calls to committee members reminding them of the importance of keeping the Governor’s $4.5M in the budget for direct food purchases to help our food banks and food pantries in the face of all-time-high food needs and low donations. We applaud Representative Ruffridge, Representative McCormick, Representative Field, and Representative Mina for their support of this funding; their votes kept the reduction from going forward in the subcommittee closeout. Watch their conversation here.

BUDGET: AK DIVISION OF AGRICULTURE

The Department of Natural Resources subcommittee closeouts were held, and the Division of Ag is looking at status quo funding with no additional staffing in the current FY25 operating budget. The House Finance committee had some questions around the feed grain reserve, but no one from the Division was online to answer during the Wednesday March 6 hearing. Watch the Division of Ag conversation here.

HOUSE FINANCE WILL BE HOLDING OPERATING AND MENTAL HEALTH BUDGET HEARINGS NEXT WEEK:

Tuesday, March 12

2:30-4p: all Off Net (statewide call in). Sign up by 3:30pm.
NOTE: there will be a joint session that day on Executive Orders – so be prepared that this meeting might get delayed or canceled – there is Off Net times set for each of the below dates as well.