Alaska Legislature

Typically, some of the most intense fights at the Alaska state Capitol are between Democrats and Republicans. But one of the biggest ideological fractures complicating this year's legislative session is within the GOP, and that's creating some strange bedfellows.

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, at a news conference Monday, again suggested he could order Alaska lawmakers into a special session unless they start advancing his batch of criminal justice bills.

With a unanimous vote in the House on Wednesday, the Alaska legislature has approved Gov. Bill Walker’s request to end the state’s partnership with TransCanada -- and take a larger role in the project to build a natural gas line from the North Slope.Download Audio

A presentation from the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission reminded lawmakers that taking natural gas from Prudhoe Bay will mean producing less oil.

When it comes to climate change, Alaska is seen as a bellwether. Temperatures have risen nearly 4 degrees over the past 50 years, double the national average. But even though Alaska figures in discussion of climate change nationally, it’s rarely a major topic of conversation in Juneau.Download Audio

The Legislature had already received more than $1 billion in capital requests from communities and organizations. Of those, only health and public safety projects will get priority consideration.

An Anchorage lawmaker has introduced legislation that would allow terminally ill patients the right to decide to end their lives with the help of a physician.Download Audio

Y-K Delta House Representative Bob Herron will be the Whip for the Majority Caucus this January. Herron and the Republican-led caucus just finished two days of organization meetings. As Majority Whip, the District 38 Democrat is charged with making sure there is effective communication in the caucus.

The Anchorage Assembly approved awarding the engineering firm CH2M Hill a 30-million dollar contract to get the Port of Anchorage Project back on track at Tuesday's meeting. But assembly members had some questions.

After weeks of number crunching, the Anchorage School Board unanimously passed a budget on Thursday night. It cuts $23 million and 200 positions. More than a dozen people testified about the cuts. Then the board made small changes that will make a big difference to the community.Download Audio