State Rep. Justin Ruffridge – a Soldotna Republican – met with members of the Kenai and Soldotna chambers of commerce on Wednesday. The meeting came just before Ruffridge and other state lawmakers are scheduled to meet for a special legislative session at Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s request beginning Saturday.
One of the session’s priorities is education reform.
That topic dominated Ruffridge’s discussion at the chamber. Ruffridge voted to increase per-student funding by $700 back in April. That bill was vetoed by the governor but overridden by lawmakers, including Ruffidge. The governor later vetoed that to $500 per student.
Ruffridge also spoke about ongoing issues with the state budget’s ties to oil revenue, particularly as the price of oil has decreased.
“Essentially, a lot of our state budget just isn't stable," Ruffridge said. "By the very nature that everything that our budget is based off of is volatile.”
Ruffridge voted against the budget passed by the House. The Senate later produced a balanced budget, which included a smaller permanent fund dividend than last year. This year, it’s $1,000.
Ruffridge also highlighted a bill he supported that would require insurance companies to authorize vital medical treatment within 72 hours. That was later signed into law.
Another bill he co-sponsored would cut back on some paid sick leave requirements for employees. That’s in response to a ballot measure passed by Alaska voters last year that requires paid sick leave for all employees.
Ruffridge says required sick leave is not feasible for businesses with few employees.
“What I heard from a large number of our small businesses in this community, which was, ‘I'm not entirely certain how I, with one or two employees, can afford to offer this paid sick leave at the level that the ballot measure required,’” Ruffridge said.
He says the bill is held up in the House Labor and Commerce Committee because it is “controversial.”
Ruffridge ended the update by highlighting several other bills he worked on that passed during the legislative session, including one that expands access to life-saving drugs like epinephrine. He spoke of another that expands the Alaska Performance Scholarship for graduating high school students.
Ruffridge will join other Alaska lawmakers in Juneau Saturday for a special session of the legislature. Lawmakers are expected to vote on overriding Gov. Dunleavy’s recent vetoes on school funding, and providing information on tax settlements between the state and oil companies.
