What to expect from the 34th Alaska Legislature

Votes are still being counted, but lawmakers in the Alaska Legislature have already formed majorities and are outlining their priorities.

Here’s what to expect from the 34th Alaska Legislature.

In the House, the times are a-changin’

The House looks poised to flip from Republican-led control to a coalition made up mostly of Democrats and independents. That means, assuming the majority holds, Alaskans can expect a very different set of priorities from the last two years.

The leadership put out a list of their top four in an announcement naming the chamber’s leaders. No. 1 is a balanced budget that doesn’t exceed the statutory 5% annual draw on the Alaska Permanent Fund. 

No. 2 is “stable public education funding to reduce class sizes and improve outcomes,” according to the news release announcing the new caucus. 

“We have a situation where schools aren’t being able to meet their core functions, their core requirements in terms of providing a quality public education,” said the bipartisan majority’s speaker-to-be, Rep. Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham. “We want to take a good, hard look at that.”

Close behind is what the incoming House majority is calling “retirement reform.”  Hundreds of positions across the state are vacant, from teachers and police officers to snowplow drivers and ferry workers. Chuck Kopp, R-Anchorage, the incoming House majority leader, said one reason for that is the state’s 401(k)-style retirement system.

“We went from being the most attractive state in the union for teachers to, we’re at the very bottom of the list with no social security, no pension, and a 401(k)-only [retirement plan] where, after a 25 year career, you’re lucky if you have $80,000 in your account,” Kopp said.

Last session, the Senate passed a bill that would have moved public-sector workers back to a defined benefit pension plan from their current so-called Tier IV plan, which functions similarly to a 401(k). But, citing dueling financial analyses of the plan that came up with wildly different cost estimates, the Republican-led House majority caucus prevented the pension bill from reaching the House floor.

Edgmon stopped short of endorsing last session’s Senate pension plan — but he said it’ll get a “hard look.”

Republicans hold out hope for House control

Republicans have consistently said the Edgmon-led coalition is getting ahead of itself — there are some races that aren’t quite settled as of the latest update Saturday afternoon, including an House race where incumbent Rep. Cliff Groh, D-Anchorage, leads Republican challenger David Nelson by a handful of votes. They’re hopeful that they might be able to come up with a majority led by Republicans.

At the same time, at least some House Republicans share some of the same goals of the Democrat-heavy bipartisan coalition — even if they don’t necessarily agree on the best way forward.  Rep. Will Stapp, R-Fairbanks, who was in the Republican-led majority last time around, said the 401(k)-style plan is clearly in need of improvement.

“I think the Tier IV system is probably inadequate for many Alaska employees, you know, state and local, teachers, et cetera,” Stapp said. “You should certainly look to enhance the retirement system to ensure that you can better retain employees in Alaska, although I will say that really needs to be couched in actuarial risk.”

Stapp said his biggest priority is addressing energy costs, another of the Edgmon-led coalition’s four goals.

In the Senate, meet the new boss, same as the old boss

The leadership of the Senate looks almost identical to the past two years. It has the same president, same Rules Committee chair, and the same majority leader: Sen. Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage.

“I see the priorities being pretty much what they were last year with slight modifications,” Giessel said.

For now, Giessel said it’s a bit too soon to say exactly what the Senate will prioritize — majority lawmakers are planning a retreat before the session to talk things through. But like House leadership, Giessel said a balanced budget is at the top of the list, along with reining in energy costs. And Giessel said she’d, of course, be “thrilled” to carry a pension bill through the Senate again, as she did during the last session.

Boosting education funding for public schools, just like the House, is another big focus for the Senate majority. Sen. Löki Tobin, D-Anchorage, who chaired the Senate Education Committee last year, said a boost in per-student funding would go a long way toward helping Alaska’s students do better.

“We know that the base student allocation is how our schools are able to deploy the right tactic and technique when needed and necessary,” Tobin said. “That is going to be a strong focus over the next two years, helping ensure that our schools have the resources to do the things we’re asking them to do.”

Another priority for Senate leadership is election reform. The Senate Rules Committee chair, Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, said he’d like to revive elements of bills that have stalled in the closing days of recent legislative sessions.

“I think that the big issues continue to remain the witness signature requirement, ballot curing, and then just ensuring the security and integrity of the election process,” Wielechowski said.

The Senate majority looks a lot more secure than the House’s bipartisan caucus, but it might be a bit smaller this time than last. Sen. Shelley Hughes, R-Palmer, said she’s optimistic the all-GOP minority will reach the five-member minimum to get seats on Senate committees, which could give them more influence.

“Having a seat at the committee tables is one more opportunity to be able to get things done,” Hughes said.

Alignment in the House and Senate sets up conflicts with the executive branch

The bipartisan Senate majority last session frequently found itself at odds with Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy. Now that the majorities in the House and Senate will likely be in relative alignment, that could set up some conflicts with the executive branch. 

But Edgmon, the incoming House speaker, said he’s optimistic.

“There’s common ground out there that we can all sort of get to,” he said. “The challenge will be to try to find it and to work towards getting something through the legislature that the governor can ultimately support, that we think meets the objectives of everyone.”

At the same time, it’s also not clear exactly who will be in the governor’s mansion come January — there’s no shortage of speculation that Dunleavy will leave to join the Trump administration, which could scramble the dynamics. 

The 34th Alaska Legislature convenes Jan. 21.