Alaska State Legislature · Photo source · US government work
Justin Ruffridge
Representative · Alaska State House · District 1
31 articles · 20 transcripts · 17 clips
Affiliations
Alaska school leaders tell education task force to raise funding and fix buildings
School leaders praised the education funding task force's draft, then asked for $254.6 million, pensions and roofs. Comments run until Dec. 8.
Homeschool parents object to a task force line on correspondence programs
A legislative task force floated folding homeschool correspondence programs into "a broader brick-and-mortar framework." Homeschool parents lined up to say no.
Late food aid applications drive Alaska's costly SNAP error rate, official says
Alaska's SNAP error rate could cost up to $49 million a year, and the state's director blames late applications for most of it. Below 6% costs nothing.
About 775 noncitizens lose full Alaska Medicaid, and just over half are children
About 775 refugees, asylees and other noncitizens lost full Alaska Medicaid coverage as of Oct. 1 under a new federal law. Just over 400 are children.
Alaska optometrists can hand routine tasks to unlicensed staff starting Nov. 26
Alaska optometrists can hand routine tasks to unlicensed staff starting Nov. 26. The state asked the public what it thought of the rules. Nobody answered.
Soldotna planning director drafts code change to replace court citations with civil fines
Soldotna's planning director is drafting a code change to replace court citations for unpermitted rentals with staff-issued civil fines, which could speed enforcement.
The state ordered Cook Inlet setnetters onto gear their permits don't allow
Alaska ordered Cook Inlet setnetters onto gear their permits don't allow, deepening a years-long squeeze on a fishery it controls in state waters.
Alaska LNG tax bill advances to floor on split conference committee votes
“Not hearing from the Department of Revenue about a large-scale change to our income tax structure seems a little irresponsible and maybe premature.”
Conference draft keeps oil-and-gas pass-through tax, delays it to 2029
A House-Senate conference committee draft of HB 381 keeps a proposed income tax on oil-and-gas pass-through entities but delays collections to 2029.
Alaska LNG tax bill advances as working draft, disputes unresolved
“In effect, by taking out Section 3, you are saying that the Senate version did not allow AVT to be required to apply to required local contribution, and the House version did not require AVT to apply to local contribution, but now you're saying by the removal of Section 3 that AVT can apply to require local contribution, thereby making a substantive change in this conference committee to the effect of the bill on required local contribution.”
Gas-line developer warns Alaska's Senate terms could drive it off
Glenfarne told lawmakers the Senate's gas-line amendments — a 9.4% investor tax, an automatic state takeover clause, tough labor rules — could make it walk. Lawmakers say they're protecting the state.
Alaska's gas-pipeline bill now carries a tax on Hilcorp and others
A permanent tax on pass-through oil companies like Hilcorp is riding inside Alaska's gas-pipeline bill — and it kicks in by 2028 whether the pipeline gets built or not.
State economist: even with tax breaks, the gas line barely works
“none of the items I'm looking at on that screen seem to be even in the definition of marginal. It seems like they don't work.”
Alaska's gas-line tax bill stalls in committee
Lawmakers writing Alaska's gas-line tax deal voted down both versions of the bill — now they need special authority to build a compromise from the pieces.
A leaked plan to fire Alaska's gas-line developer surfaces in Juneau
A "stolen" state document laying out how Alaska could fire Glenfarne from its $44B gas line leaked — and the developer says it's now wondering whether Alaska can keep a secret.
Alaska Senate digs in on gas tax bill, sends it to conference
Alaska Senate refused to back down on HB 381, sending the natural gas pipeline tax bill to a conference committee to resolve how to tax the Alaska LNG Project and fund municipalities and schools.
Alaska House recesses 10 days as gas line conference committee begins
We all know they're trying, but they very well may be intending for different outcomes when it comes to Alaska's LNG.
Alaska House raises unemployment benefits, expands telehealth coverage
Alaska House raised maximum weekly unemployment benefits from $370 to $470, first increase since 2009. • Expanded telehealth coverage and raised disability pay for firefighters and police from 40 percent to 75 percent. • Updated insurance laws to clarify rebates and ban misleading advertising.
Alaska Passes Age of Consent Bill After Weeks-Long Senate Delay
Alaska raised age of consent from 16 to 18 after Senate delay sparked public outcry. • Omnibus crime bill also criminalizes AI-generated child abuse images and requires sex offender registration. • New rules make sexual assault by healthcare workers a standalone crime and expand parole board. • Lawmakers worried about compressed timeline but voted yes anyway.
Alaska House passes tobacco age increase, vape tax, cigar lounge exemption
Alaska House passed bill raising tobacco and vape purchase age from 19 to 21, matching federal law. • New statewide tax on vaping products will fund smoking education programs. • Bill includes exemption for premium cigar lounges meeting strict requirements. • Penalties for underage possession lowered to $100 with no court appearance required.
Alaska House passes education funding reform despite split votes on transparency
House passed education funding reform using three-year enrollment averaging to stabilize school budgets and reduce teacher layoffs, 31-9. • House split 20-20 on requiring public review of mental health curriculum, defeating both transparency amendments.
House advances expanded disability benefits for all public workers
“One of the issues that we see, especially with volunteer firefighting departments, as mentioned by the amendment sponsor, is that they have a significant cost that they have to go through in order to have their individuals that are covered under this disability component to be able to qualify for that disability”
House panel hears confirmation for physician assistant to State Medical Board
House committee heard confirmation testimony from physician assistant Norman Walker for the State Medical Board. • UAA proposed a $30 million academic medical center to expand residency training for Alaska's growing medical school.
House panel advances tribal victim advocate confidentiality bill
“I appreciate what seems to be a very elegant solution, and I cannot believe that Representative Gray did this on his own. You had to have it. It's very eloquent. Two words and it does a whole lot.”
Residential Schools Seek Doubled Funding Tied to Base Allocation
Alaska's seven residential boarding schools want legislation to double their per-student funding to $25,700 and tie future increases to the base student allocation.
Alaska House panel advances dental insurance transparency bill
“I think it, it actually is a consumer protection metric. So a consumer who was looking to purchase a dental insurance plan could then say, which is what one of the invited testifiers said, this would be a thing that they say, listen, this plan offers, you know, a 90% or an 80%, or, you know, you potentially wouldn't want to be investing in a plan that's a 20% because you would have less, you know, bang for the buck”
House Passes Polystyrene Ban for Restaurants Despite Business Concerns
“this bill does actually not— contrary to what we're hearing on the floor today— it does not ban polystyrene. It doesn't. It is not a polystyrene ban. This is a ban on certain— one industry, food service, not using polystyrene. This is narrowly— and I think the key word here is targeted— is targeted for Alaskan businesses specifically.”
House panel hears bill to extend confidentiality to tribal victim advocates
House Bill 384 would grant tribal victim advocates the same legal confidentiality protections currently held by nonprofit and military counselors.
House Judiciary adopts committee substitute for infant safety device bill
House Judiciary advanced a bill to let hospitals and fire stations install anonymous infant safety boxes, after two infants died abandoned in Anchorage since 2013.
House advances bill requiring 30-day state payments after heated debate
Alaska House advanced a bill requiring the state to pay contractors and nonprofits within 30 days, adopting a one-year phase-in after removing language that risked federal Rural Health funds.
Task Force Hears Federal Assessment Rules, NAEP Context, and AKSTAR Demo
Task force learned federal law sets testing minimums but states choose how to assess and support schools. • NAEP proficiency scores are aspirational targets, not typical performance, and poverty matters more than school reforms alone. • Alaska's AKSTAR combines interim and spring tests to predict student achievement within 24 to 72 hours.
