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Local lawmakers get committee assignments

Riley Board
/
KDLL

State lawmakers are starting to get organized ahead of the legislative session that starts next month. This session, the Kenai Peninsula will be represented on committees overseeing fisheries, transportation and education, among other issues. The central peninsula’s three lawmakers say they’re committed to working with others to advance local priorities.

Soldotna Republican Justin Ruffridge will serve on the House Community and Regional Affair Committee. That group oversees the programs of the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development related to local government services.

On that committee, Ruffridge said he expects to hear legislation proposing a defined benefit retirement plan for public safety employees. That issue has been a major sticking point in recent sessions. Those in favor say it would boost recruitment and retention in understaffed sectors, while those opposed say it’d be too expensive and unsustainable long-term.

“Potentially, that would be one that we would hear right away,” he said. “I know that's one that has been, you know, projected to be an important bill for the majority in the House now.”

Ruffridge says he’d hoped to serve on the House Finance Committee. Lawmakers get some say on where they’d like to end up, but Ruffridge says committee assignments are made by the whole caucus. Finance committee members control the legislative purse strings and oversee state spending, income, capital improvement and the governor’s budget, among other things. Next session, he says the Kenai Peninsula won’t be represented at all on finance committees, in the House or Senate.

“I think that there is a real need to know that there's a huge population group of people that live here on the Kenai that are going to be unrepresented when it comes to that budget process, without a voice on the seat so – or a seat with a voice on the committee,” he said. 

Representative-elect Bill Elam will serve on the House Resources, Education and Fisheries committees. He says he’s excited to help oversee management of state resources.

“I see resource development for the State of Alaska as a high priority for the next four years, in particular with the current federal administration and delegations that we have,” he said. “And so to be able to participate in anything that we can help develop there to increase revenues for the state and just bolster our, you know, state production was a priority for me.”

Elam says he’d also like to focus on creating efficiencies in how the state manages school facilities and retaining state control of fishery resources. As an incoming freshman lawmaker, he says working with his colleagues will be important, regardless of which groups have a minority or majority.

“I think that we're all there to make the state better, and I think that if we work together, we can come up with some solutions that at least, you know, get the ball a little farther down the field,” he said. “And I think that being open minded but still standing through your convictions will ultimately get you to the place where you need to.”

In the Senate, Nikiski Republican Jesse Bjorkman will chair the Transportation and Labor and Commerce committees. He chaired Labor and Commerce last session, but will be new to Transportation. Bjorkman says he’s heading into the session from a position of strength.

“Being in the Senate Majority, as well as chairing these two committees and sitting on the State Affairs and Education committees, is to put myself in a position for the maximum benefit of my constituents,” he said.

He expects to tackle issues like workplace safety and charitable gaming on Labor and Commerce, and to prioritize state accountability when it comes to transportation.

“I think it's very important for folks to focus on those constitutionally mandated duties that our state has, and I think most folks in the legislature are,” he said. “And those duties are making sure we're taking care of our roads and public safety as well as education. And making sure that we are focused on those things, I think, is really what certainly most legislators that I know are focused on.”

Homer Republican Sarah Vance will sit on House Fisheries, Judiciary and State Affairs committees.

Kodiak Republican Gary Stevens is returning as Senate President. His district covers the southern Kenai Peninsula and Seward. He will chair special committees on world trade and Arctic affairs, and will be vice chair of the Senate Legislative Council.

When available, the full list of committee assignments for the upcoming session will be available on the Alaska Legislature’s website. The session kicks off Jan. 21.

Prior to joining KDLL's news team in May 2024, O'Hara spent nearly four years reporting for the Peninsula Clarion in Kenai. Before that, she was a freelance reporter for The New York Times, a statehouse reporter for the Columbia Missourian and a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism. You can reach her at aohara@kdll.org