Southeast Alaska: Southeast Alaska Navy Timber Sale Announced - The Tongass National Forest’s Navy Timber Sale Record of Decision makes about 13.1 million board feet of sawlog and utility timber available for harvest from about 1,252 acres of commercial forest land on Etolin Island approximately 22 miles south of Wrangell, Alaska.

“The Navy Timber Sale will produce a supply of timber for the timber industry with minimal effects to the environment. It addresses the key issues by providing a supply of timber, maintaining old-growth forest habitat, and not entering any 2001 inventoried roadless areas,” said Tongass Forest Supervisor M. Earl Stewart. “I find that the Selected Alternative provides the best mix of beneficial resources for the public within a framework of existing laws, regulations, policies, public needs and desires, and the capabilities of the land.”

“The Navy timber sales will not be advertised until it appraises with positive values,” Stewart added. “It is important to have this timber volume available to offer as market conditions improve.” - More...
Sunday PM - August 16, 2015

Alaska: Avoid a lawsuit: Walker Urged To Rescind Medicaid Expansion Order - In a memo to Governor Walker and key legislative committees last week, Senator Mike Dunleavy (R- Valleys) urged Governor Bill Walker (I) to rescind his order to expand Medicaid and allow time for the Alaska Legislature to vet the issue, or risk a lawsuit over the Legislature’s constitutional authority to appropriate funds.

“The announcement on July 16 by Governor Walker that he would unilaterally expand Medicaid by superseding the normal public process of legislative hearings means the voice of my constituents via me as their elected senator is being quashed,” Senator Dunleavy wrote. “Under this process, his proposal need not ever be approved or disapproved by the legislature.”

Senator Dunleavy said a major policy decision, which will impact the economy and healthcare in Alaska, should only be made after the Legislature receives detailed information from independent experts, including a 10-year projection showing the overall costs of Medicaid expansion to the state.

To avoid a lawsuit, Senator Dunleavy asked the governor to delay the implementation of expansion until the Legislature has the opportunity to review the legislation during a special session in the fall or regular session in 2016. Senator Dunleavy also urged the leadership of both the House and Senate to take up the issue as the first order of business if the governor agrees to delay implementation. - More...
Sunday PM - August 16, 2015

Alaska: Governor Walker Nominates Elizabeth Peratrovich to be Featured on Redesigned Ten Dollar Bill - Governor Bill Walker and Lieutenant Governor Byron Mallott sent letters to the U.S. Department of Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew on Friday, nominating Elizabeth Peratrovich to be featured on the redesigned ten dollar bill. This effort follows the U.S. Treasury Department’s announcement in May that it would be selecting a woman recognized by the public as a champion for democracy in the United States to be featured on the next ten dollar bill.

Elizabeth Peratrovich

“It is with great conviction and admiration that I nominate Elizabeth Peratrovich as the woman featured on the redesigned United States ten dollar bill,” said Governor Walker. “Elizabeth was a driving force for civil rights in Alaska, and played an instrumental role making Alaska the nation’s first organized government to end legal discrimination – nearly twenty years before passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964. She is a true hero of American democracy.”

In their letters to Secretary Lew, Governor Walker and Lieutenant Governor Mallott praised Ms. Peratrovich for her unwavering commitment to equal rights and her brave testimony before the Alaska Territorial Senate in support of a bill prohibiting racial discrimination. Confronted by absolute opposition, she spoke of her own experiences, and those of friends, her children, and others, transforming her staunch adversaries into a captive audience. Ms. Peratrovich’s decisive and impassioned speech ended with thunderous applause from lawmakers, and is credited as the deciding factor in the passage of the territory’s Anti-Discrimination Act of 1945. - More...
Sunday PM - August 16, 2015

Alaska: Department of Labor Cracks Down on Worker Misclassification Fraud - In an effort to crack down on worker misclassification, the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with the Division of Insurance, Department of Revenue, and the U.S. Department of Labor. Worker misclassification is the practice of mislabeling employees as independent contractors, or inaccurately classifying employees in lower paying job categories, in order to avoid paying state and federal taxes.

These Memorandums of Understanding will improve enforcement of the law and prevent unscrupulous businesses from undercutting legitimate enterprises that pay workers compensation and unemployment insurance.

“With these law enforcement agreements, we are standing up for businesses that play by the rules and for workers who are being exploited,” said Commissioner Heidi Drygas. “At a time of unprecedented fiscal pressure for the state, we will do everything in our power to reduce tax fraud perpetrated through worker misclassification.” - More...
Sunday PM - August 16, 2015