Alaska Conservation Voters

Conservation Watch

Alaska Conservation Voters
works to protect Alaska's environment through public education and advocacy, and supports pro-conservation candidates for public office.

Conservation Watch
(CW) is a weekly publication of ACV highlighting conservation issues in the AK Legislature.

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click here.

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Contributing Editors

Andre Camara
Legislative & Communications Manager
andre@akvoice.org
(907) 258-6185

David Rogers
ACV Lobbyist

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Web Resources

ACV Legislation Page
Bill position papers, back issues of Conservation Watch, and legislative updates

Legislative BASIS
Current bill text, history & committee schedules

Alaska Legislature
Find Your Legislators, party links, committee lists

State of Alaska
Links to state agencies and the Governor

 ACV Homepage

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In This Issue -

• $upport ACV's work!
• Farewell Suzanne - Welcome Andre
• Special Session (in Anchorage)
• 1st Session Recap
  • Passed
  • The Budget
  • In Play for 08

Your support keeps the Conservation Watch rolling!

You have relied on the Conservation Watch to help you stay up to date on important conservation related legislation during the Alaska legislative session. 

Your financial support keeps the Conservation Watch going.  Your donations allow us to keep your lobbyist in Juneau and help us employee our Legislative Manager who pulls together the Conservation Watch for you every week. 

Contributing to ACV today is a way to ensure future generations of Alaskans have the opportunity to enjoy the real Alaska as we do today.

Click here to donate online, your donation is deeply appreciated.

Staff & Board Changes

Suzanne Bostrom, our current Communications and Legislative Manager, is leaving ACV to attend Law School.  The quality, readability and thoroughness of the “Conservation Watch” is one reflection of Suzanne’s dedication and hard work—but there’s so much more: “In a very short time for this complicated and confusing world, Suzanne has developed a good understanding of the Alaska Legislature, conservation politics and many of the issues that are on our table. I truly value her insights and unflagging support. Frankly, I don’t know what I would have done without her,” notes lobbyist and Conservation Watch co-editor David Rogers. “On behalf of the conservation community in Alaska, I want to extend a heartfelt THANK YOU to Suzanne for helping to raise the stature and effectiveness of ACA and ACV,” said Kate Troll, ACV Executive Director.  “We hope to see Suzanne back in Alaska practicing law.”

Andre Camara has stepped off the ACV board to become the new Communications and Legislative Manager. With Andre’s transition from ACV Board chair to ACV staff, former State Senator Pat Pourchot will be stepping up to chair the ACV Board of Directors.   

Special Session

The Alaska Legislature held a one-day Special Session in Anchorage, approving new benefits providing monthly payments to thousands of our elders. The bill now goes to Governor Palin for her signature.

In the News: Anchorage Daily News

• Legislature doubles elderly aid in special session
• Historic special session opens in Anchorage
• Special legislative session may not be short, sweet

Passed

Below is a recap on the bills and resolutions ACV tracked that passed in the 1st Session.

HB177 / SB104 Natural Gas Pipeline Project - Signed by the Governor
After a long, hard and effective effort by her gasline team, Governor Palin got her wishes with AGIA. This landmark legislation—opposed in its current from by the North Slope Producers—still includes the prohibition for the “over the top” route and the requirements for applicants to address carbon emissions as advocated by the conservation community. Concerns remain about whether this bill will actually get the job done and only time will tell. ACV applauds Governor Palin for her efforts to keep the gasline process open and competitive.

Pictured above - ACV’s Executive Director, Kate Troll, was invited by the Governor’s office to attend the signing of the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act.

The Budget

The governor recently told the Fairbanks News-Miner the budget had grown too much, and she would likely be forced to use her line-item veto to eliminate projects from a budget she said was larded with unnecessary spending.

Here are a few of the highlights from this year’s capital and operating budgets:

Fire Island Wind Farm: Appropriations were made from the Railbelt Energy Fund in the amounts of $15 million to Chugach Electric Association and $5 million to Anchorage Municipal Light and Power for transmission lines to connect the Fire Island wind farm to the grid in Anchorage or for new substations and transmission lines, generation site acquisition, infrastructure development, or any combination of the above. The Senate version appropriated the money for Fire Island only, but the House decided to give the utilities the final say.

Road funding & Mega Projects: No new funding was included for the Gravina Bridge in Ketchikan, the Knik Arm Bridge, or the Juneau Road/Ferry project. The capital budget does, however, include $5.7 million to replace the ferry that currently connects Ketchikan with Gravina Island and reduces the 2006 allocation for the Juneau Road from $45,000,000 down to $35,842,600.

• Shakwak / Ferry Funding: Language was included in the capital budget to clarify that it is the intent of the Legislature that ‘Shakwak’ funds, a special category of federal funds set aside for travel modes connecting Southeast Alaska to the rest of the state, can only be used for the Alaska Marine Highway System’s existing and planned transportation equipment and for reconstruction of the Alaska Highway as permitted by federal law (before, the federal law was changed to allow these funds to be used for bridges and connector roads; the Legislature's intent reflects the original language/purpose of Shakwak). These funds were previously looked at as potential funding sources for portions of the Juneau Road/Ferry project, but have historically been used for items such as new ferry purchases.
• 4 New Engineer Positions for the Juneau Road: While the House approved ADOT’s request in the operating budget for 4 new engineer positions for the Juneau Road/Ferry project, the Senate did not. These 4 positions were kept out of the operating budget by the bill’s conference committee.
• Stampede Road: $4.8 of the original $5 million allocated by the Murkowski administration in 2005 to build this road was removed. This controversial, alleged “northern Denali access road” was part of Murkowski’s “Roads to Resources” program.

Pac/West funding for ANWR: Changes were made to last year’s appropriation of $3 million to Pac/West Communications, which was intended to pay for education efforts to open the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil and gas exploration. The remaining funds are now to be used for “continued education efforts on Alaska energy issues.” In addition, the balance of funds previously appropriated to Arctic Power ($750,000) have been re-appropriated to the Governor’s Office for “state gas pipeline development and marketing of North Slope gas, Alaska energy issues, and Endangered Species Act issues.”

Swan Lake-Lake Tyee intertie. An appropriation of $46.2 million was made from the Alaska Energy Authority to The Four Dam Pool Power Authority for construction of a hydroelectric transmission line connecting the Four Dam Pool Power Agency-owned hydroelectric projects at Swan Lake on the Upper Carroll Inlet (Ketchikan's main power source) and Lake Tyee on the Bradfield Canal (Wrangell and Petersburg's power Source).  The Swan Lake-Lake Tyee Inter-tie is the first leg of a proposed Southeast power grid.

In the News:

Anchorage Daily News - Despite lofty talk, capital budget was business as usual

Juneau Empire - City projects await Palin's final approval

In Play for 08

Alas, there is only so much time during the course of the Session to work through bills. Here is a breakdown of some of the bills that were introduced this Session and have been held over until next year. (Remember: This is only the 1st Session of the 2-year 25th Legislative Session. All bills from this year carry over to the 2nd Session next year.)