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
takes money and volunteer hours. Please consider sending a donation
to PO Box 20891, Juneau, AK 99802 or sign up to volunteer on our
website.
The House Finance Committee took public testimony on the operating and mental health budgets this week. Next week the committee will take amendments and ready the budget for a Floor vote possibly by week’s end. Legislative Committee Assignments: 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. HEALTH CARE ISSUES Bill: SB
133 Sponsor: Paskvan Title: Electronic Health Info Exchange
System Referrals: HSS, FIN Content: Requires
the department of health and social
services to establish and implement a statewide electronic health information
exchange system and to ensure the interoperability and compliance of the system
with state and federal specifications and protocols for exchanging health
records and data. UPDATES: Look here to track bills of interest HB
63, Council on Domestic Violence:
Members & Staff, sponsored by Fairclough unanimously passed the
House. SB
47, Statute of Limitations for Sexual Offenses sponsored by French passed
from HSS without amendment. Its next
referral is JUD. 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, March 9 8:00am H EDC HB
126, Foster Care/CINA/Education of Homeless Meeting Documents 1:00pm H JUD HB
35, Notice & Consent, Minors’ Abortion 1:30pm H FIN HB
81 and HB
83 Budget Amendments S HSS SB
12, Limit Overtime for Registered Nurses 3:15pm H L&C HB
29, Alaskan Minimum Wage Tuesday, March 10 1:30pm H FIN HB
81 and HB
83 Budget Amendments S L&C SB
86, Paid Sick Leave 3:00pm S HSS Fin Sub Governor’s amendments, Q&A 5:00pm S HSS Subcommittee
meeting on SB
61 , Mandatory Universal Health Insurance Wednesday, March 11 8:30am H FIN HB
81 and HB
83 Budget Amendments 9:00am S FIN SB
13, Medical Assistance Eligibility 1:00pm H JUD HB
35, Notice & Consent, Minors’ Abortion Thursday, March 12 1:30pm S L&C SB
10, Medicaid/Ins for Cancer Medical Trials 3:00pm H HSS HB
50, Limit Overtime for Registered Nurses 4:00pm S EED Fin Sub Budget Friday, March 13 8:00am S EDC SB
18, Postsecondary Medical Educ. Prog. 1:00pm H JUD HB
35, Notice & Consent, Minors’ Abortion 1:30pm S HSS SB
70, Naturopaths SB
61 , Mandatory Universal Health Insurance 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 appointed Anchorage Superior Court Judge Morgan Christen to the Alaska Supreme Court. Christen is the 20th justice appointed to the Court. Christen worked as a law clerk to Anchorage Superior Court Justice Brian Shortell from 1986-87, then joined Preston, Gates & Ellis in 1987, becoming a partner in 1992. She was appointed as an Anchorage Superior Court judge in 2002, and has been presiding judge since 2005. Christen will replace Justice Warren Matthews, who has served on the Supreme Court for 32 years, including six years as chief justice, from 1987-1990 and again from 1997-2000. State law bars judges from serving past 70, and Matthews will turn 70 on April 5. The Governor appointed Steve W. Cole to the Kodiak Superior Court. Cole, 56, has been a magistrate and standing master in Kodiak since 2005. He was an attorney and partner in private law firms in Kodiak from 1990-2005. He was a supervising attorney for the Kodiak Public Defender Agency from 1983-90, and a staff attorney for Alaska Legal Services office in Kodiak from 1981-83. Upcoming Events: The 2009 Women’s Summit sponsored by the
Alliance for Reproductive Justice (ARJ) is scheduled for March 19-20 in Juneau. The
theme for this year is Health Care Access: Do Women in Alaska Have Choices?
ARJ's keynote speaker will be Cecelia Fire Thunder, a tribal leader
and powerful advocate for women and reproductive health services. Cecelia
is from South Dakota and was the first female leader of the Oglala Sioux,
serving from November 2004 to June 2006. During her tenure, the State
Legislature passed a law banning virtually all abortions within South
Dakota. Following this, Cecelia drew attention by announcing she would
create a reproductive health clinic on her own land. This was a bold
move. The sovereign independence of Indian reservations in the United
States, as promised by the federal government, meant the territory would not be
subject to state laws. The rest is Cecelia's story to tell. For those who cannot make it to
Juneau, ARJ is having a luncheon in Anchorage on Wednesday, March
18th with Cecelia as the speaker. For more information on both events,
please call (907) 334-3055 or email geran@arjalaska.org. * A limited number of
scholarships are available (both for travel and registration). |