Justin Ruffridge

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.

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.

Senator Jesse Bjorkman and Representatives Ben Carpenter and Justin Ruffridge attended a discussion Monday, where Kenai Peninsula Borough School District board members discussed the district's legislative priorities, and heard from lawmakers about theirs.

Department of Transportation officials talked the Sterling safety corridor, Kenai Spur, Cooper Landing Bypass and more in a legislative town hall Thursday.

The first bill exempts veterinarians from the state's prescription drug monitoring database. The second "modernizes" the statues for the state's Board of Pharmacy.

The bill would remove vets from the responsibility of reporting opioid prescriptions in the state database, which advocates say doesn't make sense for the industry. Soldotna's Justin Ruffridge sponsored the bill during his first session in the House.

Soldotna Rep. Justin Ruffridge has released an accompanying bill to one introduced in the Senate by Jesse Bjorkman. The bill would allow Cook Inlet set-netters to sell their permits back to the state.

Volcanic ash from an eruption in eastern Russia has affected more than 100 Alaska Airlines flights, including those of Rep. Ben Carpenter and Sen. Jesse Bjorkman.

Freshman legislator Justin Ruffridge has been in the statehouse for three months, where he's worked on legislation related to his pharmacy background, and co-chaired the House Education Committee during a busy session.

Rep. Justin Ruffridge introduced the bill, which has broad support from veterinarians. Vets say the state drug database reporting system just isn't applicable to non-human patients.