Major issues unresolved in Alaska session’s final weeks

By BECKY BOHRER
Associated Press
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Major issues heading into this year’s legislative session remain unresolved in the session’s final weeks, including key pieces of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s agenda.

Lawmakers have yet to finalize a budget. The size of the check residents will get this year from the state’s oil-wealth fund, the Alaska Permanent Fund, is unsettled, as is the debate over what the future of the program should look like.

Dunleavy has urged lawmakers to pass his suite of bills to address crime and act on proposed constitutional amendments he sees as cornerstones of a fiscal plan. But he faces resistance.

Rep. Matt Claman, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, says each of Dunleavy’s crime bills is “massive.” Claman favors prioritizing and finding broad support for changes that can be agreed on.