Government & Politics

Sen. Lora Reinbold, R-Eagle River, speaks Tuesday, May 10, 2022, on the floor of the Alaska Senate at the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

Alaska Airlines asks federal judge to dismiss mask lawsuit brought by former senator

BY: - May 31, 2023

Alaska’s leading airline has responded to a lawsuit from a former state senator, saying the legal claim “contains multiple deficiencies,” and asked a federal judge in Anchorage to dismiss it. Former state Sen. Lora Reinbold, R-Eagle River, sued Alaska Airlines in April, saying the airline violated her constitutional rights when it banned her from its […]

A formline drawing of a thunderbird is seen above a basketball hoop and backboard

Alaska state school board considers rule that would limit transgender athletes

BY: - May 31, 2023

The state of Alaska is proceeding with plans to limit transgender students’ ability to participate in sports and activities. On June 8, the state board of education will consider a regulation that would bar transgender student-athletes from participating in school sports and activities under their gender identity. It would limit students to either multi-gender sports […]

New work requirements for some SNAP recipients included in debt limit deal

BY: - May 30, 2023

WASHINGTON — The holiday weekend debt ceiling deal struck by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy preserves in part new work requirements for some food stamp recipients but now with exceptions for certain populations, including veterans. The agreement released late Saturday night showed concessions from both sides — from GOP members, who wanted […]

State Supreme Court offers new insight into 2021 dispute that brought Alaska to shutdown’s brink

BY: - May 29, 2023

No, the Alaska Attorney General may not sue the Legislature’s administrative wing to bypass a clause of the Alaska Constitution. That was the Alaska Supreme Court’s conclusion in a Friday ruling that offered a longer explanation for a brief decision issued in 2021 during a budgetary dispute that threatened to send the state into a […]

A child plays in an undated photo. (Getty Images)

Alaska child care providers say funds approved by Legislature are crucial to staying open

BY: - May 27, 2023

The Legislature put an additional $7.5 million towards grants for child care providers in this year’s budget. The funding is half the amount advocates say it would take to boost wages and stabilize the industry. Some lawmakers say they have more work to do.

Alaska justices rule against Dunleavy administration in long-running union-dues lawsuit

BY: - May 27, 2023

The Alaska Supreme Court has affirmed that the state of Alaska will not be allowed to go ahead with a plan intended to make it more difficult for state employees to participate in a union. In a ruling released Friday, the court upheld and confirmed a lower-court decision that found the state acted illegally when […]

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy signs House Bill 62, permanently extending the state's renewable energy grant fund, on Thursday, May 25, 2023, at the conclusion of the second annual Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference in Anchorage. (Screenshot)

Gov. Dunleavy signs bill permanently extending Alaska’s renewable energy grant fund

BY: - May 26, 2023

Gov. Mike Dunleavy closed Alaska’s second annual sustainable energy conference on Thursday by signing legislation that permanently establishes the state’s renewable energy grant fund. The Alaska Legislature passed House Bill 62, from Rep. Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, by a combined 53-1 margin this spring, with six lawmakers not voting. The grant fund was established in 2008 […]

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A bill to get nurses licensed more quickly in Alaska faces pushback from unions

BY: - May 26, 2023

Alaska’s nurse shortage is widely acknowledged, but there’s less consensus on how to manage solutions. A bill that aims to get nurses licensed and working faster by joining Alaska in a 40-state nurse licensure coalition is mired in pushback. Hospitals and the state’s nursing board support the legislation, but nursing labor unions oppose it.

The front of the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau is seen on Wednesday, April 12, 2023.

Alaska Gov. Dunleavy signs bill granting free fur-trapping licenses to disabled veterans

BY: - May 26, 2023

Ahead of the Memorial Day holiday weekend, Gov. Mike Dunleavy has signed legislation that allows disabled military veterans to receive a free fur-trapping license. Senate Bill 10, by Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau, is intended to fix a gap in state law, Kiehl said. Disabled veterans were eligible for free hunting and sportfishing licenses, but they […]

Research biologists pause among the wetlands of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coastal plain, with the Brooks Range in the background. During the short field research season, the biologists live and work in this remote camp at the edge of the continent. (Photo by Lisa Hupp/USFWS)

Alaska has more than half of America’s wetlands. A new ruling could change how they’re managed

BY: - May 25, 2023

A new ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court likely exempts large areas of wetlands in Alaska from federal regulation under the Clean Water Act, a decision that has alarmed environmentalists and could speed road construction, mining and other development projects here. The decision, in a case known as Sackett v. EPA, means that the Environmental […]

COMMENTARY

Alaska Permanent Fund account that pays for state budget, dividends is under pressure

BY: - May 25, 2023

For 41 years, Alaskans’ bank accounts have been refilled with dividends – usually more than $1,000 – from the  $76.6 billion Alaska Permanent Fund. More recently, the fund also has been the biggest source of money paying for state government. But what if there was no money available for either dividends or the state budget?  […]

The U.S. Capitol Building is seen on Oct. 22, 2021, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

What happens in Alaska if the United States defaults on its debt next month?

BY: - May 25, 2023

As soon as June 1, Alaskans may go without Social Security checks, food-stamp payments and even their basic paychecks unless members of Congress agree to raise the nation’s debt ceiling. The consequences of America’s first modern debt default aren’t fully known, but the details are slowly becoming apparent, and Alaska is likely to be particularly […]