Alaska State Legislature

A superior court judge has overturned the state's allotment program that provides reimbursements to homeschool families for courses and activities. The decision could impact the thousands of Kenai Peninsula students who are homeschooled, but lawmakers say they're looking into a solution.

Legislators bristle at court order striking down homeschool allotments.

Hundreds of students protested outside the high school Wednesday morning, chanting for a raise in the Base Student Allocation.

The bill would provide free lifetime state parks passes to disabled veterans. Nikiski Sen. Jesse Bjorkman prefiled the bill in January, and it had three hearings in March and April.

The legislature failed to override Gov. Dunleavy's veto of a $680 per-student funding increase by just one vote. The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District will now craft a budget with no legislative funding increase in advance of a May 1 deadline to present a balanced budget.

In a Resources Committee meeting Wednesday, Enstar said utilities will need to look to import natural gas, which won't be available until 2030, while producers including Hilcorp told legislators about their challenges extracting gas in Cook Inlet.

The Board of Education's Information Committee met Thursday morning to discuss talking points and bills that are priorities to the district, including a Base Student Allocation increase. Board members and student representatives will travel to Juneau later this month.

Senate Bill 171 would align the in-state hunting and fishing license requirements with PFD eligibility. Sen. Jesse Bjorkman says it would help preserve in-state bag limits and hunting opportunities for residents.

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman and Rep. Sarah Vance have both prefiled bills for the upcoming legislative session.

January 1, 2024 marked the rollout of new regulations for Alaska's breweries and distilleries. Taprooms will now be able to stay open an hour later, host four live events a year and sell their products directly to consumers.