House lawmakers passed legislation this week that would protect state-funded college scholarships and needs-based grants in endowments.
Fitch Rating improved Alaska’s credit rating outlook this week but also raised some long-term concerns.
And Gov. Mike Dunleavy invites the Navy SEALs to train in Alaska.
There’s more in “Five Things to Know.”
Bill would shield scholarship funds
A bill co-sponsored by Fairbanks Rep. Adam Wool to protect state-funded college scholarships and grants has passed the House on a vote of 23-9.
If signed into law, the bill would place state-funded scholarships and needs-based grants in an endowment fund, moving the funds to the Alaska Student Loan Corp.
“Alaska’s youth shouldn’t have to worry that the scholarships and programs they need to become our next generation of doctors, nurses, scientists and business leaders are arbitrarily on the chopping block each year,” said Rep. Andy Josephson of Anchorage, the bill’s sponsor.
The Higher Education Investment Fund finances Alaska’s performance scholarships, the Alaska Education Grant, a needs-based program, and a multi-state medical scholarship program known as WWAMI that trains future Alaska physicians.
“Supporting House Bill 229 is essential for making sure Alaska is ready to keep our best and brightest here. Whether it’s expanding WWAMI and bringing doctors back to Alaska or stopping the brain drain of high school seniors leaving the state, we have to have stable and predictable funding from House Bill 229 for these scholarships and programs,” said Rep. Grier Hopkins, a Fairbanks Democrat.
The fund has become a political target in the Legislature, with several lawmakers refusing to forward the dollars to a budget reserve, where they are used to renew higher education spending for Alaska students.
If signed into law, the bill would protect the funds in an endowment.
Interior House lawmakers supporting the endowment were Reps. Hopkins, Wool and Bart LeBon, all from Fairbanks. Rep. Mike Prax of North Pole voted against the measure.
Reps. Mike Cronk of Tok and Steve Thompson of Fairbanks were excused from the vote.
Prax said in an e-mail to the News-Miner that he voted against the bill, because he sees it as “an attempt to ‘skirt’ the clear intent of the prohibition against ‘dedicating’ funds in Article 9, Section 7 of Alaska’s State Constitution, and I took an oath to uphold that Constitution.
“I would support placing a question of whether to amend Art. 9, Sec. 7 to allow dedicating funds specifically to subsidizing the cost of higher education on the ballot for voter approval. Until voters give us that approval, we must weigh the merits of appropriating funds to subsidize higher education against other competing demands for state funding,” Prax said.
Alaska’s mega-wind potential
Alaska has the wind energy potential to provide all of the electricity needs in Alaska, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
The Pillar Mountain wind farm, for example, has saved nearly 3 million gallons of diesel fuel in Kodiak. But wind power in Alaska is not fully utilized, according to studies.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy is holding an Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference from May 24-26 that will bring together energy experts to highlight emerging technologies and opportunities for diversifying Alaska energy.
The conference is part of a larger initiative to address energy independence in Alaska.
“From the fast tides of Cook Inlet, to the vast, untapped deposits of critical minerals needed to power the coming energy revolution, to the renewable micro grids that dot the far north, the Last Frontier is the ideal location to unveil the future of sustainable energy,” Dunleavy said.
A study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory showed that Alaska has a greater…
Read More: 5 Things to Know in Alaska Politics: Scholarships, credit rating and Navy SEALs