Peggy's Corner of the House

Hello and welcome to week two of Peggy’s Corner of the House. This has been a busy week with the beginning of the Session, startup of Committees and a high volume of visitors through my office. We have quite a few new faces here in Juneau and the energy level is very high. We all realize that the decisions being made this session will affect our state for a very long time to come.

As many of you may have seen in the news or on the Legislative site, there has been a flurry of bills introduced by the Governors’ Office, Senators and Representatives. My staff and I are carefully reviewing the bills, doing research and determining how these bills may affect our state and you as constituents.

Over the course of the past 2 weeks I convened the joint House and Senate Transportation Committee meetings with the Department of Transportation to get discussion going about the proposed change in direction for the Alaska Marine Highway new ferry acquisition. We have given equal time to both the DOT and the public. We want to be sure the new design for the ferry is robust enough to withstand the rough seas and high winds of the Lynn Canal, that the design is comprehensive enough to meet the needs of our passengers and in the best interests of the communities affected as well as provide local shipyard jobs. We had over 2 hours of public testimony and countless other communications from our constituents throughout Alaska. This is a perfect example of the Legislature at work on your behalf. It is obvious through this discussion that we are all looking forward to seeing the design when it is presented to the committee.

I would like to thank Commissioner Kemp and Captain Falvey for the time he and his staff have devoted to providing the joint committee with overviews of the departments and providing us with details about ongoing changes being made within the Department of Transportation in addition to listening to all of the public comment.

I am on the Legislative Council which is a collection of very senior members of both the Senate and House. We meet together to ensure that the Legislature is running smoothly in all matters. We take care of all administrative matters relating to the Legislature including your local Legislative Information Offices. I am also on the Committee of Committees which is intensive during the startup of the Legislature as changes take place.

Again this session I am on the Resources & Education Committees. Both of these committees have very full agendas.

I am on the finance subcommittees for Community and Economic Development, the Department of Education and Early Development, and Environmental Conservation. We are looking at each department’s mission, their core responsibilities to see if they do indeed achieve their goals and if not where to shift gears. We drill into their budgetary operating costs with the goal of reducing costs without loss of function while also maintaining sustainable programs.

I have high hopes during this session that we can all work together constructively to improve our state now and in the future by paving the way for future generations.