Disabilities council panel to weigh Dunbar bill ahead of Dec. 10 priorities vote

The Legislative Committee of the Governor's Council on Disabilities and Special Education will discuss Sen. Forrest Dunbar's "So Every Body Can Move" bill Thursday, Nov. 12, as the council narrows the list of issues it will push in the next legislative session.

Dunbar's measure is the first pre-filed bill on the committee's draft agenda, followed by "others to be determined." The committee, chaired by Lisa McDonald, will also discuss the upcoming political landscape. The meeting runs from 12:30 to 2 pm on Zoom and is open to the public.

The council is using a new process to pick its priorities. According to the committee's September minutes, council committees propose priorities, the full council decides at its fall meeting which ones to send to the Legislative Committee, and staff draft position papers in November. The process "is designed to concentrate efforts by setting fewer priorities, thus allowing for greater impact," the minutes say. The Legislative Committee is scheduled to vote on its top priorities Dec. 10.

The council's 2026 annual report says members made more than 50 legislative visits for five statewide priorities, including Infant Learning Program expansion and funding, Special Education Services Agency funding, transportation and universal changing spaces. Council staff told its Employment Committee in June that the Infant Learning Program expansion bill passed and the transportation bill was vetoed.

The council plans a meeting and legislative visits in Juneau from Feb. 9 to 11, 2027.