Juneau, AK
99802-0891
www.akwomenslobby.org
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PO Box
20891 |
Weekly Legislative Update 2009 AWL Mission: To defend and advance the rights and needs of Women, Children and Families in Alaska Visit us on the web: www.akwomenslobby.org
Keeping you informed of the issues important to women and children
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website.
The Governor accepted the
resignation of Attorney General Talis Colberg this week. Deputy Attorney General for the Criminal
Division Rick Svobodny has been named acting attorney general. Budget subcommittees
continued to meet this week and the House EDC and Senate HSS committees heard a
presentation from HSS and the Mental Health Trust on the “Bring the Kids Home”
initiative. BTKH EDUC Leg Presentation FINAL 0209.ppt. The Bush Caucus will host "Improving
the Lives of Alaskans," a joint hearing on healthcare
Go
to BASIS committee assignments list: http://w3.legis.state.ak.us/docs/pdf/commlist.pdf NEW BILLS: Look here for legislation introduced during the previous week. Click on the bill number to
access the bill. Education/Health policy ISSUES: Bill: HB 126 Sponsor: Rep. Gara Sen. Davis Title: Foster Care/CINA/Education of
Homeless Referrals: H EDC, HSS, FIN S EDC, HSS, FIN Content: Requires school districts to provide
education for homeless students in their school of origin; amends AS 47 to
include an “adequate education” in the state’s policy on children; to allow for
medical care for youth in out-of-state care; to extend independent living
skills training to foster care recipients until they are 21; to define “child”
as a person under 21 living in out-of-state care; requires state-supported
educational institutions to waive fees, tuition and housing expenses for
certain youth that were in state custody for at least six consecutive months
after turning 16 years old and allows
the Postsecondary Commission to provides loans to them. GOVERNMENT ISSUES: Bill: HB 124 Sponsor: Crawford Title: Political Activity by Classified
Employee Referrals: STA, JUD Content: Repeals prohibition against classified
employees participating in the management of political parties above the
precinct level. UPDATES: Look here to track bills of interest HB 63,
Council on Domestic Violence: Members, Staff, passed H STA with an amendment
that places “Alaska” in front of Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual
Assault. Its next referral is Finance. SB 13 and SB 87,
Medical Assistance Eligibility, both passed S HSS without amendment. Their next referral is Senate Finance. COMMITTEE SCHEDULE: Look here for committee meetings for the coming week. Bill hearings OFTEN change. If you are planning to testify it is a good
idea to check the committee calendar the day of the hearing. Go to BASIS Committee
schedules: http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/hearing_form.asp?session=26 Monday, February 16 8:00am H EDC Overview: No Child Left Behind; Dept. Minimum Expenditure by District H HSS Fin Sub Division of Behavioral Health 8:00am H STA Confirmation
Hearings: CommissioPublic Safety;
State Commission for
Human Rights; Board of Parole; APOC Board S HSS Fin Sub OCS: Bring the Kids Home 1:30pm S L&C SB 1, Alaska Minimum
Wage 3:00pm H/S HSS Presentation: The Prevention Plan, featuring US Preventive Medicine
Chief Operating Officer Fred Goldstein Wednesday, February 18 8:00am H HSS Fin Sub Division of Public Health Joint EDC University
of Alaska Report, efforts to attract, train, and
retain public school
teachers 1:30pm S HSS SB 10, Medicaid/Ins for
Medical Trials SJUD Overview:
Containment Model of Offender Management Anthony M. Mander, PH.D., Statewide
Clinical Consultant 4:00pm H EDC Fin Sub Education
and Early Development Budget Overview Thursday, February 19 11:00 AM Address by the Honorable
Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Senator Friday, February 20 8:00am H HSS Fin Sub Review Governor’s amendments; Mental
Health Trust S EDC Overview:
Moore v. State Download legislators contact
information: http://w3.legis.state.ak.us/docs/pdf/whoswho.pdf Governor’s Corner: View the FY10 Budget: http://omb.alaska.gov/10_omb/budget/index_FY10_Operating.htm Read the Governor’s state of
the state address: http://www.gov.state.ak.us/news.php?id=1610 The Governor announced appointments to the Coordinated Transportation Task Force. Administrative Order 243 established the 12-member task force and charged it with helping to coordinate and integrate community-based public transportation services to benefit persons with special needs. The task force will also advise the governor on developing policy for the state's existing special-needs transportation programs. The task force will focus on services for those with physical or developmental disabilities, mental illness, brain injuries, dementia or substance abuse problems; senior citizens, Medicaid recipients and low-income individuals; public school students, including preschoolers in Head Start; and others with special needs. Members include the commissioner of transportation and public facilities, the director of the division of senior and disabilities services, the commissioner of the department of labor and workforce development, the commissioner of the department of military and veterans affairs, the executive director of Senior Citizens of Kodiak, the executive director of the Alaska Statewide Independent Living Council, the director of the Central Area Rural Transit System, the director of the Fairbanks North Star Borough’s transportation department, the Sitka Tribe of Alaska’s economic development director , the executive officer for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Region X, the office administrator of the Region X office of the Federal Transit Administration, and a person to hold a non-voting seat representing the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. |