The Alaska Legislature approved a broad omnibus crime bill that will increase criminal penalties for a variety of offenses and streamline victims services. The bill includes over a dozen pieces of legislation and garnered bipartisan support. The Alaska Senate unanimously passed House Bill 239 on Tuesday, after assembling the combination bill package over the last […]

The state of Alaska may soon offer managed retirement accounts to businesses in the state that don’t already offer a retirement plan.  By a 31-9 vote on Monday, the Alaska House of Representatives approved Senate Bill 21, the “Alaska Work and Save” program sponsored by Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage.  The Senate, which approved a prior […]

Hospitals, fire stations and clinics in Alaska may soon have ‘baby boxes’ able to safely and anonymously accept infants surrendered by parents who may be unable to care for them.  In a 35-5 vote Monday, the Alaska House of Representatives approved Senate Bill 9, amending the state’s safe-surrender law for infants to permit the construction […]

Gov. Mike Dunleavy has ordered the Alaska Legislature to convene a special session on Thursday to consider a natural gas line bill. This comes one day after the regular session's deadline. House …

A vote pending on the last day of the Alaska Legislature’s regular session could end up canceling a long-planned ballot measure that would restrict financial donations to political candidates in the state. Late Tuesday night, the Alaska Senate voted 12-8 to approve House Bill 16, which would impose limits on the amount of money that […]

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said Tuesday he is ordering state lawmakers into a special session to force a new decision on his top priority: property tax breaks for the company proposing to build a massive pipeline system to ship natural gas from the North Slope to tidewater. Dunleavy outlined his plan during a news conference […]

Alaska’s public employees and public school teachers will not have access to pensions this year. In a 33-27 vote Tuesday, the Alaska Legislature failed to override Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of a bill that would have created a new pension system for teachers, municipal employees and state employees in Alaska. Forty votes were needed for […]

Stacker compiled a list of cities with the most expensive homes in Alaska using data from Zillow.

Matt Heilala, a Republican and a podiatrist, says he’s running to be the next governor of Alaska, and he’s put up real cash to back it up: He’s invested more than $1 million of his own money in his campaign. But officially, Heilala isn’t a candidate. And he won’t be until he’s found someone to […]

The Alaska Legislature has approved the ban of seven synthetic food dyes from school meals to help protect student health. The synthetic dyes include several versions of red, yellow, green and blue and are used as color additives that provide no nutritional value, but give food and drinks a bright color. They are commonly used […]

A high-stakes quid pro quo deal fell apart in the Alaska Capitol on Monday as legislators failed to approve a tax break for the proposed trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline and Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed a bill that would have restored public pensions in the state. The failure leaves public employees with a 401(k)-like retirement system […]

New parents in Alaska would be eligible for up to 12 weeks of state-paid leave starting in 2030 under a bill approved Saturday by the Alaska House of Representatives. If signed into law, House Bill 193 would require the state to pay certain working parents up to $524 per week for up to 12 weeks […]

The University of Alaska will be required to provide advance notice before increasing student fees and an itemized list of fees charged to students and families under new legislation passed by the Alaska Legislature.  The legislation, House Bill 176, passed the Alaska House in February and the Senate over the weekend, across bipartisan lines. The […]

The Alaska Legislature approved new legislation to ensure greater oversight for Alaska youth in psychiatric facilities, including increased protections for foster youth. One bill would shorten the deadline for foster youth to receive court hearings after being institutionalized and another would increase reporting requirements for youth in psychiatric institutions, among other provisions. Lawmakers approved a […]

State lawmakers are acting to fix technical errors affecting the boundaries of several Alaska wildlife refuges and other public areas. The errors were caused by the fact that the areas’ actual edges don’t match descriptions in state law and will be fixed if Senate Bill 230 is enacted by Gov. Mike Dunleavy. The state Senate […]

The Interior Department is taking public comment on a proposal that would allow up to 160 vehicles per day on a restricted section of the Denali Park Road during the peak summer tourist season. Public comments on the idea are being accepted through July 17, according to a public notice filed Thursday that announced the […]

Alaska lawmakers are planning to vote on a $13.9 billion compromise state operating budget that includes a $1,000 Permanent Fund dividend and a $200 energy rebate. In a 4-2 vote Sunday morning, a panel of House and Senate negotiators finalized a deal that combines two different versions of the budget — one passed by the […]

Less than two years after Alaskans approved a ballot measure creating a mandatory sick leave law, the Alaska House of Representatives has voted to partially repeal it. By a 22-18 vote on Saturday, the House approved an amendment that would cancel the law’s application for seasonal workers and for workers employed by a business with […]

The Alaska Legislature approved legislation to add a faculty member to the University of Alaska Board of Regents, the body that oversees policy and management of the state’s public university system. The Alaska Senate passed House Bill 10 by a vote of 18 to 2 on Friday, which now goes to Gov. Mike Dunleavy for […]

Alaska’s smallest towns and villages would be allowed to shrink their city councils under a bill that neared final passage Friday in the Alaska Legislature. Senate Bill 143 decreases the minimum city council size to three members for second-class cities with 1,000 or fewer residents. It also allows local governments to lengthen or shorten the […]