Alaska Legislature: Senate Floor Session, 4/27/26, 11am

[MUSIC] [MUSIC].

Will the Senate please come to order? And will members please signify your presence by voting?

The roll shows 20 members present. Thank you. With 20 members shown as present, we have a quorum to conduct business. The invocation this morning will be given by Pastor Nathaniel Habegger of the Juneau Christian Center. Members, please rise.

[FOREIGN LANGUAGE] Dear God, I come before you today in reverence, acknowledging you as the sovereign king over all nations and all authority. As Jesus taught his followers to pray, I ask, "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." Lord, I ask that your purposes be established in this Alaskan Senate. Shape every decision, every discussion, and every outcome according to your perfect will. Where human wisdom falls short, let your truth prevail. Where personal interest competes, let your righteousness lead.

Grant these senators discernment to align their work with what is good, just, and faithful. Give them courage to pursue what is honorable, even when difficult, and humility to seek your guidance above all else. May your kingdom be reflected here, not in power or position, but in justice, justice, mercy, and truth. Let this body serve in a way that brings peace, promotes flourishing, and upholds the dignity of every Alaskan. And I bless these senators.

In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you, Pastor Habegger. Senator Merrick, would you please lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance?

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you, Senator Merrick. Will the Secretary please certify the journals? I certify as to the correctness of the journals for the 95th through 97th legislative days. Thank you. Madam Majority Leader.

Mr. President, I move and ask unanimous consent that the journals be approved as certified by the Senate Secretary. Hearing no objections, the journals have been approved. Senator Hoffman. Good morning, Mr. President. I move and ask unanimous consent that the prayer be spread on the journal.

Thank you. Seeing no objection, the prayer has been spread upon the journal. At this time, our guests for introduction. Senator Hoffman.

Thank you, Mr. President. It's a special day for me to have a contingent of people from Anchorage and Bethel. First, we have two guest pages. That have been introduced in 2017, 2019, and '23.

Their family members, Kennedy and Katrina Bush, come forward.

Their parents are in the audience. I'd like to have the Senate give them a warm welcome. [FOREIGN LANGUAGE] Also, I'd like to introduce introduce their parents, Steve Bush and Dolly. Steve is a captain. Dolly's a retiree.

But you probably flew with him several times. He's a captain on Alaska Airlines. Has many, many years with Alaska. Give them a warm welcome. [APPLAUSE] I also have my my sister and my brother-in-law, Bob and Margaret Heron.

They've been down here before. Bob is a former legislator in the other body, so I'd like to give them a warm welcome as well.

Last but not least, I have my my oldest son Douglas and his aunt, my wife's sister, Marian Hoffman, who coincidentally is married to my brother. We married sisters, my brother and I. My wife, we got married in 1972, so we've been married a while. Please give them all a warm welcome.

Thank you, Senator Hoffman. Further guests for introduction, Senator Bjorkman. Thank you very much, Mr. President. We have a highly esteemed group from the Washington State Legislature here visiting us, representing the Pacific Northwest Economic Region. A number of these folks.

Representative Jake Fay, he is the chair of the House Transportation Committee in Washington and does an excellent job. Representative Andrew Barkus is a ranking minority member on that Transportation Committee representing Washington's 2nd District. Representative Greg Nance, Greg Nance represents Washington's 23rd District, is another member of that House Transportation Committee. Representative Janice Zahn is the chief engineer at the Port of Seattle and serves on the House Transportation Committee as well. Commissioner Dina Keller is the Tacoma Port Commissioner and serves as vice president of the Port of Tacoma Commission.

Her port committee assignments include the Local Economic Development Investment Fund Committee and Workforce Development Committee. Stephanie Bowman is the Vice President of the Transportation Institute's U.S. West Coast operation. Having held public office as the Seattle Port Commissioner and as the Washington State Maritime Industrial Director for the Washington Department of Commerce, she has extensive experience managing marine time logistics, also maritime logistics, especially at the intersection of environmental concerns. Elaine Nessel. Elaine is the Executive Director of the Coalition for America's Gateway and Trade Corridors.

She has extensive experience in managing the intersection of public-private partnerships to support development of modern transportation capacity by building legislative support for initiatives that are broadly supported across the region, Mr. President. Also, we have Xóchitl Castañeda. She is the director of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska Gateway Office for the U.S. DOT Maritime Administration, also known as MARAD. Her arena of responsibility includes the states of Alaska, Oregon, and Washington, featuring over 100 ports, the most extensive ferry system in the United States, which is the Washington State Ferry System, and the longest ferry system in the country, the Alaska Marine Highway System, as well as a home port for the largest fishing fleet in the nation.

Bruce Agnew is here as well. Bruce is the director of the Pacific Northwest Economic Region and its infrastructure accelerator. He has more than 30 years of experience in Pacific Northwest transportation. Please join me in welcoming this fine delegation of folks.

Thank you, Senator Bjorkman. Senator Lekowski.

Thank you and good morning, Mr. President. Today we have some very special guests in town behind me in the Ziegler Gallery. It is the moms of my staffers Maxine LaBerge and Tatum Buss. First, I'd like to introduce Gigi LaBerge. Gigi has been visiting Alaska for over 25 years.

She first came to Alaska in 1993 with her husband Jeff to help friends who moved to Alaska for teaching jobs build their home in Chugiak. Today, Gigi is in Juneau visiting from New Hampshire. She is a glass artist who draws inspiration from natural landscapes. She uses a kiln torch, dichroic non-coated glass, and enamels to create glass panels, beads, jewelry, and wall hangings. While in Juneau, Gigi enjoys exploring tide pools, painting, and looking for the best fish tacos in town.

And also we have Michelle Ody, who is— this is her third trip to Alaska and her first trip to Juneau. Her daughter Tatum is my natural resources aide and joined my team in January. Michelle is visiting from Cody, Wyoming, where she informed me that it snowed the night before she left. We're happy she left the snow at home. Michelle is an x-ray tech at a local hospital in Wyoming and has spent her life selflessly serving and caring for others.

In her free time, she loves to float the North Fork River with her husband Hans and looking for wildlife around the Bighorn Basin. During her trip to Juneau, she's been enjoying the hiking trails and Alaska's world-class seafood. She informs me she's had salmon for every meal. Please join me in welcoming Michelle and Gigi to the Senate.

Thank you, Senator Wolkowski. Further guests for introduction. Seenlun, thank you. Thanks to all of our guests for being here. Madam Secretary, Are there messages from the governor?

Messages dated April 24th and 25th stating on January 22nd and February 18th, in accordance with AS3905080, a list of appointees was submitted to the legislature for confirmation. Due to appointees' resignations, the following appointees have withdrawn from consideration effective immediately: Board of Massage Therapists, Victoria Akree, Alaska Police Standards Council, Veronica Lambertson. Board of Nursing, Ashley Scholl. Alaska Judicial Council, John Wood. I have no further messages from the governor this morning, Mr. President.

Thank you, Madam Secretary. Are there messages from the House? Concur message dated April 24th stating the House passed Senate Concurrent Resolution Number 19 with the following amendment. Senate Concurrent Resolution Number 19, amended House. West Coast Storm Disaster, and it is returned for consideration.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 19, as amended in the House, will lay on the Secretary's desk. I have no further messages from the House this morning, Mr. President. Thank you. Are there communications? I have no communications today.

Are there reports of standing committees?

The Education Committee considered Senate Bill 228, Public School Schools Opioid Awareness Program and recommended it be replaced with an Education Committee substitute. New fiscal and zero fiscal notes. Signing do pass: Senator Tobin, Chair, Senators Yunt, Stevens, Keel. The bill has a further referral to the Finance Committee. The Judiciary Committee considered Senate Bill 249, Virtual Currency Kiosks, and recommended it be replaced with a Judiciary Committee substitute.

Previous zero fiscal notes. Signing do pass: Senator Clayman, Chair, Senators Tilton, Keel, Stevens. Signing a recommendation, Senator Tobin. The bill has no further referral. It is in the Rules Committee.

The Finance Committee considered CS for House Bill 78, Finance Amended Effective Date Failed Retirement Systems Defined Benefit Option and recommended to be replaced with a Finance Senate Committee Substitute Technical Title Change. Previous fiscal note. Signing do pass, Senator Olson. Co-chair Senator Keele. Signing do not pass, Senator Steadman, co-chair, Senators Kaufman, Cronk.

Signing no recommendation, Senator Hoffman, co-chair. Signing amend, Senator Merrick. The bill has no further referral. The bill is in the Rules Committee. The Rules Committee has placed the bill on today's calendar.

Those are all the standing committee reports this morning, Mr. President. Thank you, Madam Secretary. Are there reports of special committees? I have no special committee reports today. Are there Senate resolutions for introduction?

I have no Senate resolutions for introduction today. And are there Senate bills for introduction? I have no Senate bills for introduction today. Madam Secretary, please read the first item on today's calendar.

CS for House Bill 78, Finance, amended, effective date failed by the House Finance Committee, an act relating to the Public Employees Retirement System and the Teachers Retirement System and providing certain employees an opportunity to choose between the defined benefit and defined contribution plans of the Public Employees Retirement System and the Teachers Retirement System. The Labor and Commerce Committee considered the bill and recommended it be replaced with the Labor and Commerce Committee substitute new fiscal note. Signing do pass: Senator Bjorkman, chair, Senators Dunbar, Gray Jackson. Signing amend: Senator Yunt. The Finance Committee considered the bill and recommended it be replaced with a finance Senate committee substitute.

Previous fiscal note. Signing do pass, Senator Olson. Co-chair, Senator Keele. Signing do not pass, Senator Steadman. Co-chair, Senators Kaufman, Cronk.

Signing no recommendation, Senator Hoffman. Co-chair signing amend, Senator Merrick. There are 2 committee substitutes. A brief at ease.

Will the Senate come back to order, please? Senator Hoffman to move to adopt the finance CS. Thank you, Mr. President.

I move and ask unanimous consent that the Senate Finance Committee substitute for House Bill 78 be adopted in lieu of the original bill. Thank you, Senator Hoffman. Would you please explain the changes? Yes, Mr. President. Language— the bill language changes include amends the average monthly compensation to include language for peace officers and firefighters.

It also updates the procedure for how an employee can make an election from the defined benefits to defined contributions plan. It also removes the 12% compensation cap for employees for Public Employee Retirement System and for Teachers Retirement System. It adds a requirement for the employees, for the PERS and TERS who reach normal retirement age and at least 10 years of service, but not less than 20 or 25 years, to be active in the system for at least 12 months immediately before applying for retirement to receive medical benefits. It increases the PERS employment contribution rate from 22 to 24%. It also adds a choice for employees to opt in to the Defined Benefits Plan.

If they decide not to opt in, they will continue their employment contribution rate at the set rate of 22% and their employees will only have the defined contribution plan available to them. If they choose to opt in the new plan, then the employer will pay the increase of 22%. Employers have 3 months from the effective date of the bill to decide and if they opt in, then the employees have the following 3 months to elect defined benefits or to stay in defined contributions. The fiscal notes, Mr. President, the Finance Committee does not submit any updated fiscal notes, and I believe that the Rules Chairman will speak to that later on. Those are the changes, Mr. President.

Thank you, Senator Hoffman. A brief at ease.

Welcome back to order, please. We have had a motion by Senator Hoffman on Senate Bill 78, a motion to adopt it, and Senator Cronk. Object. As an objection, would you speak to your objection, please? Thank you, Mr. President.

Section 24-08036, fiscal notes on bills affecting state retirement systems. Before a bill which would have an effect on the retirement systems of the state is reported to the Rules Committee, there shall be attached to the bill an analysis of the long-term and short-term costs of the state if the bill is adopted, as well as the impact of the bill on the actuarial soundness of the fund. The analysis is in addition to the fiscal note requirement of AS 24-036.

.08.35. So I wanted to put that on the record, and with that I remove my objection. Thank you, Senator Cronk. Uh, just a note, we have a letter from our attorneys that should be made available to you, really in consulting— in consultation with our legal department— that says that we can continue even though we don't have all of the information we want. So is there further objection?

Objection has been removed. Senator Wielekowski. Mr. President, thank you. Just for the record, because I know this may be something that is discussed at a later time in other venues, we do have a legal opinion dated April 23rd, 2026, on, on the issue of actuarial reports, and it was issued by Megan Wallace, who's the Chief Counsel of the Legislative Legal. And we asked this very question about whether or not there needed to be an updated actuarial report And what her opinion was on April 23rd, 2026 was that, if I may read—.

Yes, without objection. The analyses currently attached to the bill are sufficient to meet the requirements of AS 24-08-036. It's a page and a half analysis, but her clear unequivocal conclusion is that the analysis, the actuarial analysis that was done last year was sufficient for the statutory provision that was referenced, AS 24-08-036. Thank you. Thank you, Senator Holkowski, and I'd ask you to share a copy of that with the minority leader, Senator Cronk.

Is there further objection? Please go ahead, Senator Myers. Mr. President, I just ask that that the legal opinion in question be distributed to the members and give us an at ease so it can be distributed and digested before we move on.

I'll brief at ease.

Will the Senate come back to order, please? We have a motion by Senator Hoffman to adopt the finance CS for House Bill 78 Finance amended in Let's move on to further discussion. Senator, Senator Steadman. Thank you, Mr. President. In my office, we had the same question concerning the requirement for—.

I think you need to make an objection. Honestly, that'd be the best. You could object and then we'll discuss it. Okay. I'll object to the adoption of the motion.

Thank you. Please explain your objection, Senator Steadman. Thank you, Mr. President. So we had the same question and concern on dealing with the subject matter of having actuarial analysis. And by the literal reading of the statute, I'd have to agree with Legislative Counsel, even though I'm nowhere near an attorney.

So that is the rules we follow under. So I think it is appropriate to conclude, and by the literal interpretation, that the actuarial analysis has been met. So we proceed. But with that being said, Mr. President, the concern is always in the past we've wanted the actuarial analysis done by the administration on the final version of the bill. Because as we all know, the initial version of the bill or any version in between the final version could be substantially different, including even title changes.

So they could be analyzing something completely different. So that is an issue I think for future legislators to deal with, that we need to clarify that statute. Because the intent is we've always used for the last 20-some years as we've dealt with this issue, it's the last version of the bill. But with this interpretation, we do meet the actuarial analysis requirement for the discussion to go on. Therefore, go ahead and remove my objection to the adoption.

Thank you, Senator Stebbins. Is there further objection?

Hearing no objection, the Senate Finance Committee substitute has been adopted, and this bill would advance to third reading on our next legislative calendar. Madam Secretary, please read the next item on our calendar.

There is a special order of business citation calendar on members' desks. Thank you, Madam Majority Leader. Mr. President, I move and ask unanimous consent that the Senate take up The special order of business citation calendar. I hear no objection. The special order of business citation calendar is before the Senate.

Madam Majority Leader. Mr. President, I move and ask unanimous consent that the special order of business citation calendar be approved. I hear no objection. The objection has been made. Senator, please.

Mr. President, it's a full citations calendar today, but I did want to I just want to make a couple of comments about two of the in memoriam citations. The first is Mike Gordon that many of us know. Mike Gordon is the person who started Shoku Charlie's Bar in Spenard in Anchorage. Now many years ago he had a— in addition to running the bar, he also had an impressive extra life in terms of I think he climbed 6 of the 7 highest peaks in the continents of the world. A lot of hiking and running and a variety of different things, very involved in one of the Rotary Clubs in Anchorage, which I was a member of.

But I always, I always found Mr. Gordon to be somebody who both had a kind of a unique perspective on businesses in the community, and Choku Charlie's was one of the larger and more successful bars in town and was somewhat of a destination for particularly a younger generation on a Friday and a Saturday night, and live music and stuff. And so he contributed a lot to the community in a lot of unexpected ways and was always a real reliable person to contribute to nonprofit efforts. And so I did not realize that Mike had passed, but seeing the in memoriam, I wanted to say a couple of words about him. And then the second person I wanted to say a couple of words about was Stephen Haycox, a longtime professor at the University of Alaska. After Dr. Haycox retired from the university, he stayed incredibly active in the community He was always somebody that was ready and willing to appear at chamber meetings, at Rotary meetings to give talks on different matters of history, particularly Alaska history.

And some of the folks that had been teachers sometimes talk about American history and traditions amongst the presidents. And very much engaged in retirement. He died, I think, unexpectedly while berry picking last August. And in July, I had been at a dinner at his house with about 10 or 12 people, and it was sort of a— as he liked to do, he'd have a group of people over, and there were discussion rules, and there were civility requirements, and what you could do and what you could bring up, and he wanted to have debate on different topics, and he would introduce the topics, and it very much felt like, for folks that were no longer in the university setting, it was— I think it gave Dr. Haycox and his wife the opportunity to feel like they were still very much in the teaching environment, and so I would just want to say that Steve Haycock is really a long-time contributor to our community, and for you, Mr. President, who has a great interest in history, I think he had much in common in those interests. So with those comments, I will remove my objection.

Thank you. Thank you, Senator Clayman. Further objection? Seeing none, hearing no further objections, the special order of business citation is approved. Madam Secretary, there are no further items of business to consider on today's daily calendar.

Thank you. Is there unfinished business at this time? Uh, Senator Merrick. Thank you, Mr. President. I move and ask unanimous consent to be excused from the call of the Senate from May 21st until June 5th.

Without objections, so ordered. Senator Merrick, we'll see how that works.

Any further unfinished business at this time? Moving on to committee announcements.

How about other announcements? Seeing none, are there special orders? I'm sorry, Senator Bjorklund, under other announcements? Just a reminder that the Penn War delegation we introduced earlier is in the Speaker's Chamber. They have some pizza and conversation for all legislators.

Thank you. Thank you, Senator Bjorkman. Any other announcements? Moving on then to special orders. Senator Giesel.

Thank you, Mr. President. I request special privilege of the floor to speak on Alaska Youth Orchestras. Without objection, so ordered. Thank you, Mr. President. It is a citation today in our packet.

They are celebrating 60 years, 60 years of Alaska Youth Orchestras. Mr. President, my 3 children were in the Anchorage Youth Symphony. I know that there is at least one other member on this floor who has also a child that was involved in this. The youth orchestras work with over 200 young musicians every year, as the citation says, high school and college-age musicians. They have the opportunity to learn how to play in a large orchestra and even the experience of working, at least in Anchorage, with the Anchorage Symphony.

It's a huge opportunity. Many of these students go on to become professional musicians performing around the world as well as locally with our, with our local symphonies. But, you know, Mr. President, last week there was an article in the Alaska Public Media. It was a story about one of our Anchorage high schools losing the band program.

It was an interview with the East Band— East High Band Director. And he's been at Betty Davis East High for the last 2 years. He's been a band director for decades. And he said several of his students at East High are looking forward to becoming band directors. You know, that's how it is with teachers, Mr. President.

My husband was a teacher for 12 years. He's an engineer by foundational education, and many of his students became engineers after he taught them math and sciences in high school. But this particular gentleman, a band director, and other students, his students wanting to become band directors. But unfortunately, he's not going to be at East High next year, Mr. President, because of budget cuts. He's being moved to another high school, and East High will lose the band program.

He recognizes that The administration at East High is making those tough choices, but they're tough choices for the kids as well. He said as his students found out about this, they would come up to him in the hall, grasp him, and weep into his shoulder because they will miss this program so much. In the article, several students spoke. They spoke about how the band instructor was one of the greatest father figures in one person's life, how that band director taught him to be a better person. He said, I feel like more kids A lot of kids are suffering from depression and anxiety, and that's how I felt when I first started high school, but I don't feel like that anymore because of band.

Same with another student. He was inspired playing the drums to become a drum major. He was able to do it because the band instructor taught him that he could be a leader, and so he's really stepped up to it. The students there are making a lot— are writing a lot of letters to legislators pointing out the loss of this critical program. So while I congratulate sincerely the Alaska Youth Orchestra, I lament the loss of that band program at East High.

Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Senator Giesel. Additional special orders? Seeing none, Madam Majority Leader. Mr. President, I move and ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand in adjournment.

Until 10:30 AM tomorrow, Tuesday, April 28th, 2026. Hearing no objection, the Senate is adjourned.