Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, on Wednesday reported back on the recently ended legislative session to the joint Kenai and Soldotna chambers of commerce.
This session, Bjorkman said, he was involved in efforts to increase funding for schools and improve regulations for insurance companies. He also described several bills that he’s continuing to develop on fishing, farming and hunting.
School funding
The legislature passed a bill this session that increases per student funding by $700 — slightly greater than a $680 increase provided last year in one-time funding. That bill also implements policy modifications including a change to make it easier to open more charter schools. Despite the increase to the state’s per-student funding, Bjorkman said that the state this year will ultimately spend less on education than it did last year because of declining enrollment.
“We’re not nearly keeping up with inflation in what we are able to provide for K-12 education,” he said. “That ultimately means that you have less education opportunities that are available for students.”
State budget
This year’s budget includes a $1,000 dividend, makes significant cuts to state operational spending and includes almost no capital projects, Bjorkman said.
Alaska’s budget is constrained, he said, by the price of oil. Development projects too, like ConocoPhillips’ work on the Willow project, mean tax write-offs and less revenue to the state — though Bjorkman says that means more production and more revenue later.
Bjorkman pointed to another bill that passed this session that would tax online transactions made by residents of Alaska with companies based outside of Alaska. That revenue is already being collected, he said, by other states. The change would mean more revenue for Alaska without levying new taxes.
“Other states are taking tax money that belongs in Alaska and are keeping it for themselves,” he said. “That’s not fair, and that’s not great for Alaska.”
That bill was passed, but hasn’t been signed by the governor yet.
Insurance regulations
Bjorkman also listed among successes this session a pair of insurance bills that he worked on as chair of the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee. The first would allow contractors to purchase “umbrella policies” to insure subcontractors while also making other changes like allowing the Division of Insurance to regulate more forms of insurance, like private pilot’s airplane insurance. The second bill requires insurance companies to respond to requests for critical medical treatment authorizations within a maximum of 72 hours. Bjorkman said some Alaskans had reported waiting days and weeks to get treatment they requested and that their doctors prescribed.
Bjorkman said he has come to enjoy working on insurance issues. “It affects us in so many ways.”
There are several other issues and topics, Bjorkman said, that he’s still working on and will continue to develop during the next legislative session. He pointed to an effort to split the east side setnet fishery into its own administrative area, allowing the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission to manage them separately from other fisheries in Cook Inlet. Other efforts include bills to make it easier to lease farmland from the state, to compensate hunters for seized game, to strengthen school absence policies and to allow a certification exam for high school graduates.
For more information, find “Senator Jesse Bjorkman” on Facebook.
This story was edited on Thursday, June 5, to clarify the level of funding directed to schools this year compared to last year.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
