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Commissioner Deena Bishop and Lori Weed, School Finance Manager, with the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development spoke to Commonwealth North on Wednesday, July 17. Bishop and Weed walked through how state aid for education is determined. Using the foundation formula, adjustments, the base student allocation, and any special appropriations, Alaska school districts receive […]
Experts from finance, construction, and housing and homelessness NGOs joined Commonwealth North to explore the issues and policies that are impacting the availability and affordability of housing across Alaska. Preston Simmons, representing Housing Alaskans Public Private Partnership, Daniel Delfino with the Alaska Housing Finance Corp., Colleen Dushkin with Cook Inlet Housing Authority, Eric Visser of […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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.