Bid to Raise Felony Threshold Returns

Date: February 05, 2016 Last Edit: February 15, 2016

NFIB/Alaska State Director Denny DeWitt reports from the State Capitol on the legislative week ending February 5, 2016

The state’s fiscal situation continues to be the most active topic in Juneau. Hearings have been held or scheduled on many of the Gov. Bill Walker’s proposals for changing the structure of the Permanent Fund and the dividend calculation and the various taxes he proposed. It will be a while before any consensus begins to emerge from the many hearings. 
State Budget
The House Majority Caucus announced an “Idea Line” to get Alaskans to call in and suggest ways for the state to save money. The phone number is 1-844-414-5949. 
Medicaid
The Senate Finance Committee has established a special subcommittee to look at Medicaid reform. The committee began hearings this week. The Legislature has moved forward with its court challenge of the governor’s unilateral action to expand Medicaid last fall.
Wage Discrimination
Bills were introduced to ban wage discrimination based on gender – House Bill 296 by Rep. Harriet Drummond and SB 153 by Sen. Berta Gardner. NFIB will oppose both as they expose small businesses to costly litigation and administrative actions by individuals with little real evidence. The cost of successful defense can be beyond the ability of many small employers.
Felony Threshold 
Sen. John Coghill has amended the Criminal Justice Taskforce recommendations into Senate Bill 91. It includes the proposal to increase the felony level from $750 to $2,000. NFIB continues its opposition based on the member ballot that objected to raising the threshold to $750.
Fuel Tax
House Bill 249, the governor’s proposed increase in the motor vehicle fuel tax, will be heard for public testimony Saturday, February 6, beginning at 1 p.m. NFIB members interested in sharing their opinions can head to the nearest Legislative Information Office where you will be able to testify before the committee.
Daylight Savings Time
Senate Bill 6 relating to daylight savings time is scheduled for hearing on Thursday, February 11. NFIB expects it to be amended to request the U.S. Department of Transportation to change Alaska to Pacific Time, then eliminate daylight saving time in Alaska. The effect is to put Alaska on what would now be daylight saving time all year. This proposal came out of interim hearings by a subcommittee of the House State Affairs Committee.
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