What's New

Commissioner John Boyle recently addressed Commonwealth North to discuss implementation of Senate Bill 48, which authorizes the state to develop carbon management projects on state lands and sell carbon offset credits and to lease state lands for carbon management purposes. He also addresses the prospect for pending legislation that would authorize the state to develop carbon capture, utilization, and storage projects (CCUS).

Slide Deck

April 10, 2023

ICYMI: House Ways & Means

Rep. Ben Carpenter, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee addresses Commonwealth North’s Fiscal Policy Study Group. Carpenter outlines that the committee chose the work of the 2021 Fiscal Policy Working Group as a starting point for its efforts. The committee is considering legislation that would codify a spending cap and dividend solution in the state constitution. A statewide sales tax of one percent and other revenue measures are also on the committee’s agenda.

April 10, 2023

ICYMI: Reporting Alaska

A panel of Alaska journalists, editors, and news directors speak about the challenges of Reporting Alaska. The panel is moderated by Rosey Robards, executive director of the Alaska Press Club and the Alaska Teen Media Institute. Panelists include Rachel Kallander, editor of The Cordova Times; Andrew Kitchenman, editor in chief of the Alaska Beacon; Julia O’Malley, journalist, editor and writer; Larry Persily, publisher of the Wrangell Sentinel; and Lori Townsend, news director for Alaska Public Media and host of Talk of Alaska.

Bernie Karl updates Commonwealth North’s Energy Policy Study Group on the Makushin Geothermal Project on March 10, 2023. Karl outlines project milestones to date and planned actions for future progress.

Senator Bill Wielechowski addressed Commonwealth North’s Fiscal Policy Study Group regarding his proposal to enshrine the Permanent Fund Dividend in the Alaska State Constitution on March 3, 2023.

Senator James Kaufman, Senate District F, discusses a proposed amendment to the Alaska Constitution that would establish an appropriations limit based on a five-year trailing average of state gross domestic product. Senate Bill 20 is a companion bill, which would amend the Executive Budget Act to align with the proposed amendment. February 27, 2023

Commonwealth North’s Energy Policy Study Group hears from Rob Bernard and Michael Valore of Westinghouse Electric. Bernard addresses a new approach to long-duration energy storage. He describes Westinghouse’s design for pumped thermal energy storage. Valore provides an update on the status of moving toward the commercialization of nuclear microreactors.

Alexei Painter, director of the Division of Legislative Finance, provides an analysis of the Governor’s FY2024 operating and capital budgets. Painter responds to questions from the study group and references possible amendments to the governor’s proposed budget.

OMB director Neil Steininger presented Governor Dunleavy’s FY2024 budget proposal. Steininger provides comparisons to recent budgets, briefly touches on the carbon credits revenue proposal, and provides a ten-year budget projection.

Slide Deck

Senator Natasha von Imhof addressed Commonwealth North on January 11, 2023 to discuss the FY2024 budget for the State of Alaska. She discussed the state’s revenue outlook, historical spending, the impact of the dividend, and lost economic opportunities due to not addressing the state’s fiscal policy in a long-term manner.

Session Recording:

Slide Deck:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/19BD2kDZuB_wnfMd6grW_rjQC5aO1oAzk/view?usp=share_link