This year, the most controversial provision has been one that limits the number of tasting rooms for breweries, distilleries and wineries.
Andrew Kitchenman
State Government Reporter, Alaska Public Media & KTOO
State government plays an outsized role in the life of Alaskans. As the state continues to go through the painful process of deciding what its priorities are, I bring Alaskans to the scene of a government in transition.
Budget work at Alaska House delayed as COVID cases surge, caucuses differ on masks
House Speaker Stutes said she plans to resume work on the state budget on Monday, in the hope that the peak in cases would have crested by then.
Legislators are divided over what to call state payments to Alaskans and the message it would send
House majority members say describing the entire $2,550 payment as a dividend would set expectations that PFDs would be that size every year.
State Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson has suspended her US Senate campaign
On Friday she announced plans to run for reelection to her current seat in the state Legislature.
An Alaska politics recap: From redistricting lawsuits to a Capitol COVID outbreak
The state Supreme court ruled on redistricting last week, the House plans to take up the budget in a few days — and there’s yet another conflict about mask-wearing on the House floor.
Special election dates announced to fill Alaska’s sole seat in US House
There will be two special elections this summer to fill that vacancy: a special primary election by mail on June 11 and a special election to pick the winner on Aug. 16.
Governor announces official split of Alaska health and social services department
Beginning in July, there will be a Department of Health that would continue to do most of the work of the current department, like overseeing the Medicaid program, and a Department of Family and Community Services, to oversee foster care, juvenile justice, Alaska Pioneer Homes and the Alaska Psychiatric Institute.
Alaska Supreme Court hears arguments over public testimony and ANCSA boundaries in redistricting appeals
The appeals centered on whether Anchorage’s South Muldoon neighborhood should be paired with Eagle River in a Senate district, Skagway should be in a House district with downtown Juneau or the Mendenhall Valley, and Valdez and part of Mat-Su should share a House district.
State leaders mourn the loss US Rep. Don Young: ‘Alaska’s Alaskan’
State leaders from across the political spectrum reacted with shock and sadness to the news of the death of Rep. Don Young on Friday.
Alaska House committee proposes using part of rising oil money to fund schools a year ahead of time
The amount is roughly one-third of the additional $3.6 billion the Department of Revenue forecast the state will receive in its spring revenue update on Tuesday.