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The Alaska Senate Transportation Committee heard House Bill 217, which would mandate human safety operators in commercial autonomous vehicles while exempting personal vehicles under 10,000 pounds.
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Three Board of Fisheries nominees pledged commitment to transparent public process during legislative questioning focused on recent out-of-cycle decisions that changed Cook Inlet gear types despite overwhelming public opposition.
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Attorney General nominee Stephen Cox told lawmakers he has no plans to challenge same-sex marriage but would not directly commit to defending it if challenged by others, raising concerns among LGBTQ legislators.

Multiple citizens testified against Attorney General nominee Stephen Cox at a House Judiciary Committee hearing Monday, alleging he commissioned academic research supporting direct citizen access to investigative grand juries but then implemented policies blocking that access.

The Senate Education Committee heard testimony on SB 257, which would double residential school stipends and tie them to the base student allocation to address a funding gap that forces programs to operate at half their actual costs.

The Senate State Affairs Committee heard testimony on Senate Bill 169, which would create a Welcoming Alaska Office to help immigrants and newcomers integrate into Alaska communities and address workforce shortages.

The Juneau School District is reviving a $10 million bond proposal for critical maintenance including roofs at three schools, HVAC upgrades, and security systems after years of minimal state capital funding left the district unable to address mounting infrastructure needs.

Heavy smoke from the Boundary Fire settled over Tanana on May 4, prompting health complaints from residents and disrupting subsistence activities in the village of 300.
A flash flood in Anderson, Alaska, caused water to rise more than 6 feet overnight on May 3-4, flooding at least one home in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area village of 250 residents.
An ice jam near Kalskag on the Kuskokwim River has prompted a flood warning through May 7, affecting communities including Bethel after spring breakup caused water to overflow roads and force early school release.
The Alaska House Finance Committee narrowly advanced HB 261, an education funding reform bill using three-year student count averaging, after rejecting amendments to mandate averaging for special needs students and cap administrative spending at 15 percent.

The Alaska House advanced legislation that broadens occupational disability benefits to all public employees and teachers, increases benefit rates from 40% to 75% of salary, and adds healthcare coverage.

The Alaska Legislature failed to override Governor Dunleavy's veto of Senate Bill 64, a comprehensive elections reform bill, falling two votes short of the required 40-vote supermajority in a 38-22 vote during a joint session Monday.

The House Finance Committee adopted a $2.5 billion capital budget that removes $94 million in federal receipt authority for the West Susitna Access Road project, sparking partisan debate over resource development priorities.

The Kodiak Island Borough Lands Committee voted 5-0 to recommend transferring 1,584 acres valued at $1.2 million to Kodiak Electric Association at no cost for the Terra Lake Hydroelectric project, despite one member's objection that KEA has the financial capacity to pay.

The Anchorage School District's $90 million deficit and proposed cuts reflect broader national trends of flat state funding, rising costs, and structural budget pressures facing urban districts.

The Alaska House of Representatives unanimously passed legislation requiring certified nursing aide training programs to include competencies in dementia care, communication skills, and behavioral health as the state's senior population rapidly grows.

The Alaska Senate added $156 million to the governor's lean capital budget, directing most new spending toward deferred maintenance at K-12 schools, universities, and state facilities following an uptick in oil revenue.

The Anchorage Park Foundation announced its annual challenge grant program offering up to $300,000 in matching funds for community-driven park and trail projects, with applications now open and a grantee kickoff scheduled for May 15.

The Alaska Board of Fisheries voted 4-2 to significantly restrict the Cook Inlet drift gillnet fishery through new fishing windows, area closures, and a 2-mile shoreline buffer to protect struggling northern Cook Inlet coho salmon populations.

The AMHS ferry Columbia experienced engine trouble that kept it docked at Whittier for over four hours on May 5, stranding passengers and vehicles bound for Prince William Sound communities.
The Fairbanks North Star Borough Assessing Department sent annual property assessment notices to all property owners at the end of January, showing current and previous year values that may increase based on neighborhood sales prices.

Governor Mike Dunleavy urged the legislature to pass a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes bill within three weeks, calling it essential to financing what he described as the largest project in Alaska history, an LNG pipeline from the North Slope.

Alaska Attorney General Stephen Cox defended his proposed 'counter-China initiative' during a House Judiciary confirmation hearing, describing it as focused on reviewing Chinese-made technology in state infrastructure while lawmakers questioned whether the effort crosses into federal jurisdiction.

The Alaska Senate Labor and Commerce Committee unanimously advanced a resolution Monday urging Congress to reclassify emergency dispatchers from clerical workers to protective service workers, giving them access to federal benefits currently available only to other first responders.
The House Transportation Committee held HB 317, which would require DOT to prioritize maintenance of roads and airports in wildfire-prone areas for evacuation purposes, after concerns emerged about potentially $100+ million implementation costs and unclear scope affecting thousands of miles of roads and 237 airports.

Senate Resources Committee introduced a new version of the gas pipeline bill with a 30-cent Dalton Highway maintenance surcharge, double the governor's proposal, while senators question whether $1 billion in property tax breaks would save average Anchorage households only $55.

Legislative staff discussed concerns about unauthorized AI use for meeting minutes and public data scraping, while working to incorporate AI tools into official planning without compromising accuracy standards.

The House Finance Committee heard testimony Tuesday on legislation to raise the maximum bulk fuel loan from $750,000 to $1.5 million as rural communities face doubled fuel prices and supply shortages.

Alaska Senate Resources Committee heard testimony Tuesday on a proposed 55-cent per MCF volumetric tax for the Alaska LNG project, with Glenfarne calling it potentially prohibitive while lawmakers demanded cost transparency before committing to tax breaks that could cost communities $1 billion annually.

The House Resources Committee received a Department of Revenue presentation on House Bill 381, which would replace property taxes on the Alaska LNG project with a 15-cent per thousand cubic feet volumetric tax on the pipeline, reducing the project's annual tax burden from nearly $750 million to roughly $200 million by 2033.

The Senate Finance Committee advanced a bill establishing a surcharge to fund behavioral health crisis services after adding exemptions for low-income phone users.

The House Labor and Commerce Committee approved Senate Bill 21 creating Alaska Work and Save, a state-sponsored retirement program for workers without employer plans, after adding an amendment allowing Alaskans to deposit Permanent Fund dividends into any investment account.

The House Finance Committee passed a constitutional amendment creating a public education fund 8-3 but rejected linking it to future gas pipeline revenues.

The Senate Resources Committee adopted a new version of the Alaska gas pipeline bill that doubles a proposed oil surcharge to 30 cents per barrel to fund Dalton Highway maintenance, though the revenue falls short of estimated needs.
The Alaska Senate advanced legislation Monday requiring municipalities to provide property tax deferrals for agricultural operations, with an exemption for Anchorage.
The House Education Committee heard testimony on House Bill 387, which would create a legislative task force to review Alaska Native language instruction and preservation efforts through 2027.

Chignik River king salmon reached the biological escapement goal in 2025 for the first time since 2019, raising questions about whether aggressive conservation measures should continue.

Municipality officials presented proposals for resident-owned communities and modular cottage developments to address the closure of South Park Estates mobile home park and the broader crisis of aging parks across Anchorage.

The Anchorage Assembly reviewed proposed changes to vehicle-for-hire rules that would require all taxi dispatchers to use GPS-based smart meters and raise the maximum fare cap from $3 to $6 per mile.

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