[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6324958,"mediaKeyId","2335201-f12de3f3664d83b2e41a59bceb783423","parentId",2335201,"title","Senate president says seafood task force bills are moving; value‑added tax and insurance pooling highlighted","audioSeconds",63,"startMs",1302000,"endMs",1365000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2335201-f12de3f3664d83b2e41a59bceb783423&start=1302&end=1365","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2335201-f12de3f3664d83b2e41a59bceb783423/thumbnail_1302000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6324958/Alaska/Senate-president-says-seafood-task-force-bills-are-moving-valueadded-tax-and-insurance-pooling-highlighted","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6324958-972112dfb4fe20503f7d4ca47c6dc9c2/orig.mp4?Expires=1771101718&Signature=VYD5YtMPFixW9w32c7UtO-a8nPjZ5KJFMr2PDCP3Mv3Zg~4TOiy5oF1PYajDBM6mJVw-7VLwiZBloQIc4wP0OzdxOP35Y8-njihtSW7aH8yM28tYQeORyr1YXOH~nMYNUcYKVn~1AfexMtGBnLR-LnaByGeHyYonLyJoW9snTbyIMbvTVd-sdtACwVp-V9QogehJMfu7VWP6-tJjffjD1N~CRrfJh~bGxdr9EZyz9XNW0TCY4isNPR1whsi1kIJNhO4tUMOdFPwz2IPzUZ6j19BmYpQ6XdwhsUYUYWmkkuiWwvEQ6vWaqMEggCi0xPnXJq3WLGgiN8-G5815dCrh1g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Alaska Legislature","date","2025-02-18T00:00:00Z","article","Juneau — Senate President Stevens said the Joint Legislative Task Force on the Alaska Seafood Industry has completed its final report and that several bills drawn from the task force will move through the Legislature.

“We've done our job. We finished the task force. We made the presentation and now all of those bills are in the possession of the legislature,” Stevens said. He estimated “12, 13 bills” will proceed, with many likely starting in the House Fisheries Committee before moving to the Senate Resources Committee.

Stevens highlighted two areas where the task force’s work could produce near‑term legislation: expanding the existing value‑added tax credit for processors that purchase qualifying equipment and ensuring that the value‑added activity and equipment remain in Alaska, and exploring insurance‑pooling for fishermen who said they cannot afford crew and vessel insurance.

He said the value‑added credit had been used effectively for processors that add equipment and value onshore and that expanding the program to more seafood products could help Alaska processors remain competitive.

On insurance, Stevens said pooling could reduce costs for fishermen who currently face high premiums and that legislation to enable some form of pooled insurance assistance or tax relief could follow from the task force recommendations.

Stevens said he expects bills to be considered over the next one to two years and that the task force results could have a measurable impact on the industry’s competitiveness and worker affordability.

No formal action was taken at the press briefing; Stevens described the task force’s completion and the legislative pathway for the task force recommendations.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","SENATE MAJORITY CAUCUS\t02/18/2025 01:00 PM","oneSentenceSummary","Senate President Stevens said the Joint Legislative Task Force on Alaska Seafood Industry completed its work and that roughly a dozen bills from the effort will move through the legislature; he identified expanding value‑added tax credits and insurance‑pooling proposals as likely priorities.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature Alaska, Alaska","taxId",78559,"location","Alaska","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6324963,"Senators warn of multi-year budget shortfall; pension bill and S-corp changes proposed",107,452000,559000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2335201-f12de3f3664d83b2e41a59bceb783423&start=452&end=559","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2335201-f12de3f3664d83b2e41a59bceb783423/thumbnail_452000.jpg","/articles/6324963/Alaska/Senators-warn-of-multi-year-budget-shortfall-pension-bill-and-S-corp-changes-proposed","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6324963-a149c58af5e426f0152a39d20cb0140b/orig.mp4?Expires=1771101718&Signature=bGuhYPnOqTkCSaahXNAGnI4H6S8GI4r3r2Yq-Tu0XQo5ItDHpXppG0GgcGF0Ep~vTtj1kOmr9e0VtZ4WYNLezXU~IHVyBPb34~giCTqXjttH1WqMdaA9pwqLDDGPws6nR2swNMOiszDR0-6IFYzp873ZbDKu7L2nnAw3-y-Uz84WAuziBWdKCwD-9Mz5waHxTpFLtPjyC0y-WDh3t6lQGkxSKCOeC6VwBd7BJi6Vadh5T7CDpmdR9QRs8zzLzESSaJtTeoSuYRI8UBoHFyOxWAUouRCTL3TY9UYHxHfhy~xoXRb6L~pyi8S24nUKDdsq-1L81iD2LlpULuEyguBhlg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Juneau — Senate leaders at a March press briefing described a looming multi-year budget shortfall that they said will force lawmakers to consider new revenue measures and changes to spending priorities.

Senator Hoffman, operating chair of the Senate Finance Committee, said the state faces a deficit for the current fiscal year that ends June 30 of about $139,000,000 and projected a fiscal‑year 2026 shortfall of roughly $347,300,000 under the session’s stated assumptions. “So the combination of FY25 and FY26 that we have to address totals $536,300,000,” Hoffman said.

Hoffman listed key assumptions behind the projections: a base student allocation (BSA) estimate of $680, a Permanent Fund Dividend figure set at $75.25, a governor’s capital budget at $300,000,000, $29,000,000 for new contracts and roughly $27,700,000 for fire suppression. He warned that under similar assumptions deficits grow in later years, with FY27 and FY28 projections rising further.

On pensions, Senator Giesel said House Bill 78, the pension proposal for public employees, is under consideration in the House Finance Committee and was being heard again. He said the bill is intended to provide “a modest pension, a new pension for our public employees” to improve retirement security.

Lawmakers flagged a range of potential revenue options they said were under caucus discussion but said an income tax or statewide sales tax was not being considered. Senator Hoffman said proposals under early discussion include changes targeting S corporations and other measures rather than a general income or sales tax.

Senator Hazel and other senators flagged one concrete bill on the calendar: Senator Yount’s S‑corporation bill, described as addressing a loophole that allows some oil companies organized as S corporations to avoid the state’s C‑corporation tax. The Senate Resources Committee was scheduled to hear that measure.

Senator Stevens and others noted prior vetoes and political sensitivity around tax measures: HB49, a tobacco tax proposal, was vetoed previously and may be resubmitted, but the governor has signaled opposition to tax increases. On the Permanent Fund Dividend, Hoffman said he supports keeping a formula level near $75.25 and acknowledged debate over whether drawing more from savings is appropriate.

Other ideas mentioned included potential adjustments to unemployment insurance benefits, raised by Senator Locoski as a possible tool to reduce out‑migration and to help seasonal workers; the senator said staff were asked to research the issue.

Senators said they were aiming to craft revenue and spending solutions that could garner the votes required for an operating budget and warned they did not want to spend the constitutional budget reserve on recurring expenses. “Those are for rainy day funds,” Hoffman said, adding he did not favor using the reserve for ongoing costs.

No formal votes were taken at the press briefing; senators described committee schedules and the status of bills to be heard in coming days.","Senators at a press briefing outlined midterm and multi-year deficits, discussed a public-employee pension bill (HB78) and indicated potential new revenue measures including changes to S-corporation treatment for oil companies and considerations on the Permanent Fund Dividend formula.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6324968,"Senators say Alaska must boost school funding as Municipal League highlights deferred maintenance",103,142000,245000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2335201-f12de3f3664d83b2e41a59bceb783423&start=142&end=245","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2335201-f12de3f3664d83b2e41a59bceb783423/thumbnail_142000.jpg","/articles/6324968/Alaska/Senators-say-Alaska-must-boost-school-funding-as-Municipal-League-highlights-deferred-maintenance","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6324968-0493ac787d35bac0a0ffc65804480c80/orig.mp4?Expires=1771101718&Signature=V7EzFBxdvd4MD7FVA6EzWuV-iH~wjPO6ChmbGWuShEl5VmQSuBMz1Fl9uq3GDSlNiOkoomv9HdKuydPZ-HbZpIcq2Zql5u8xM3eGHMhYq1sEyTi05TBL2vN6-Fx2wsVzYlTQ0fqmD1sxWYA4SyJ70mobS-EKOqNpmkgQ-bxu7ucCvi72z2e-4THurTmspwDUx5IafShSZdElWDinjt2AA9hm8Vjx1KfSSiX3gdq~UnYp4oSlDx-3myH5nwOME387AhQYgKKJZEtwMLtj3FwO7rFkr9RDUFjkyUDIljFE7uWBPuBtPZ9x-QRb~XSQV2PKEDKzI3UmJXfL~8x-LHQudQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Juneau — Senator Trolbin, speaking at a Senate majority press briefing on day 29 of the 2025 legislative session, said research presented this week shows Alaska’s public schools are substantially underfunded and that municipal officials will press the Legislature for help.

“Alaska continues to underfund and under invest in its public schools,” said Senator Trolbin, referring to a presentation by Dr. DeFeo and Dr. Berman from the Institute for Social and Economic Research. Trolbin said the research shows Alaska’s public school spending is “about 15% the national average” and that teacher salaries are roughly “$16,000 below the national average.”

The senator said those shortfalls have shifted much of the cost of public education onto local communities and federal funding streams, increasing instability for school districts. “Across the state, our municipalities and boroughs support about 76% of our public school facilities and they are just crumbling under the weight of deferred maintenance,” she said.

Trolbin invited the public to watch testimony: the Alaska Municipal League is scheduled to present concerns about local contributions to education at 8 a.m. tomorrow, she said. The senator said one clear theme she expects from municipal leaders is a request for resources to address deferred maintenance and school construction, items she said were absent from the governor’s budget.

The senator also said the Senate education committee will continue scrutinizing the governor’s approach to education funding, pointing to SB 82 as a vehicle the committee has noticed for further hearings. “We are looking for the correct vehicle and the opportunity to really find a compromise and ensure that the approach that we take is going to be able to not only move through both bodies, but also be signed by the governor,” she said.

Senators at the briefing tied the school funding problem to broader fiscal stress facing the state, including lower oil revenue and projected budget deficits discussed later in the conference. Trolbin and others urged follow-up work in the weeks ahead to craft a funding approach that addresses both operational costs such as teacher pay and capital needs including building repairs and safety upgrades.

Additional details raised at the briefing included the Institute for Social and Economic Research’s methodology and key findings; Trolbin encouraged listeners to review that presentation for full context.

The Municipal League’s testimony and the Senate education committee’s follow-up on SB 82 will be public and recorded in committee minutes and hearing schedules, the senators said.","Senators at a March press briefing said Alaska underfunds K–12 education, citing a presentation from the Institute for Social and Economic Research and upcoming testimony from the Alaska Municipal League on deferred maintenance and school construction needs.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Senate president says seafood task force bills are moving; value‑added tax and insurance pooling highlighted

Senators warn of multi-year budget shortfall; pension bill and S-corp changes proposed

Senators say Alaska must boost school funding as Municipal League highlights deferred maintenance