Recent House Majority News

House OKs Bill Setting Performance Reviews of State Depts
HB 30 Lays Out Schedule, Details to Make Sure State Funds are Spent Responsibly

2013-02-18: House Majority Press

The Alaska House today unanimously passed a bill to ensure that public funds are being best spent by the State's various departments and agencies. House Bill 30 calls for each department to be reviewed once every ten years to make sure they are complying with their missions, core values, upholding their constitutional duty, and aren't being duplicative. Alaska Speaker of the ...  Read More »


Guiding Principles for the 28th Legislature to be Released
Caucus to Debut Core Values at Friday's Weekly Press Availability

2013-02-14: House Majority Press

Leadership and members of the Alaska House Majority Caucus will lay out their Guiding Principles for the 28th Alaska Legislature at tomorrow's weekly press availability. House Majority Leader Lance Pruitt, R-Anchorage, will be joined by Caucus leaders and other members at 9:00 a.m. Friday, Feb. 15, 2013 in the Speaker's Chamber. Caucus members have met extensively ...  Read More »


House Approves "Vietnam Veterans Day"
HB 67 Sets Aside March 29 Annually to Honor Servicemen and Women

2013-02-13: House Majority Press

A bill marking March 29 of every year as "Vietnam Veterans Day" is heading to the Alaska Senate after winning unanimous passage today in the House. House Bill 67, sponsored by Joint Veterans Caucus Co-Chair Steve Thompson, R-Fairbanks, is meant to honor Vietnam veterans on the anniversary of the U.S. Armed Forces' withdrawal from South Vietnam. "The bravery and ...  Read More »


House OKs Bill Changing Definition of Commercial Vehicles

2013-02-11: Rep. Wes Keller

The Alaska House of Representatives today unanimously passed a bill to help small businesses. House Bill 15, sponsored by Representative Wes Keller, R-Wasilla, changes the definition of commercial motor vehicles so one-ton pickups and vans can be used by Alaska businesses without unnecessary and burdensome regulations. "This is a bill that we started working on last session ...  Read More »


Farm Exemption Bill Passes House
HB 40 Reduces or Eliminates Taxes for Qualifying Food Storage & Processing Facilities

2013-02-08: Rep. Shelley Hughes

The Alaska House of Representatives today passed House Bill 40 by Representative Shelley Hughes, R-Palmer. The bill creates opportunities for municipalities to reduce or eliminate taxes for qualifying food storage or processing structures, in turn facilitating the reduction of operational costs for farmers. It aims to encourage storage and production of food products without significantly ...  Read More »


House Passes Bill Adopting People First Language
HB 88 Removes Terms "Mental Retardation" & "Mentally Retarded" from Policies

2013-02-08: Rep. Charisse Millett

The House of Representatives today unanimously passed legislation by Representative Charisse Millett, R-Anchorage, that would update state health, education and labor policy by removing the terms "mental retardation" and "mentally retarded" and replacing them with "intellectual and developmental disabilities." "Mental retardation has been transformed ...  Read More »


Pick-up Trucks & Step Vans May Soon be Exempt from Commercial Regulation

2013-02-07: Rep. Wes Keller

Today the House Transportation Committee unanimously passed House Bill 15 by Representative Wes Keller, R-Wasilla. HB 15 would change the commercial vehicle gross vehicle weight minimum from the current 10-thousand pounds to 14-thousand pounds. "This bill is important for a lot of small businesses as well as some of our larger trucking companies," Keller said. "In ...  Read More »


House OKs Bill Supporting our Military Training Facilities
Rep. Tammie Wilson's HB 36 Clarifies Statute for Ammunition Discharges

2013-02-04: House Majority Press

The Alaska House of Representatives today unanimously passed a bill making a critical change to state law to clarify concerning military munitions discharges. House Bill 36, sponsored by Representative Tammie Wilson, R-Fairbanks, clarifies the Alaska Clean Water Act such that the law cannot be misinterpreted to restrict exercises on ranges other than instances where the federal ...  Read More »


Higgins to Chair Interior Delegation

2013-01-31: House Majority Press

Representative Pete Higgins, R-Fairbanks, was recently selected by his fellow Fairbanks/North Pole legislators to chair the 28th Alaska Legislature's Interior Delegation. "What an honor," Higgins said. "I'm grateful for the trust my colleagues have placed in me. It's an important position, and one I hope to use to increase the dialogue between groups and members of ...  Read More »


Gattis Introduces Bill to Enhance Public Charter Schools
HB 93 Allows Multiple Authorizers of Public Charter Schools in Alaska

2013-01-30: House Majority Press

In celebration of National School Choice Week, Wasilla Representative Lynn Gattis has filed a bill to allow multiple authorizers of public charter schools. Authorizers can be government agencies, universities and/or nonprofit organizations. Authorizers will be approved by the Department of Education and Early Development and will have the same role and responsibilities as the ...  Read More »

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