Peggy's Corner of the House

Hello and welcome to week ten of Peggy’s Corner of the House.

Every year I look forward to the House Majority poll on issues pertinent to Alaskans. I was personally very pleased to see that the majority of the public opinion indicates that both sides of the Legislature are on the right track. There were, of course, many questions in the survey dealing with all kinds of issues that the Legislature is working on that will affect all of us. I also know that it is important for those of us in rural and Southeast Alaska to always take these results with a grain of salt as there are more people located in the rail belt and of course their voice puts an urban spin on the results! It’s also why I really zero in on the results that are indicative of SE Alaska. I will highlight some of the polling outcomes that I found to be interesting.

The majority of Alaskans appear to have confidence that our Alaskan economy is in pretty good shape. I am encouraged that this confidence will continue as support and progress on the Prince of Wales mines and Ketchikan and Wrangell capital projects continue to grow our local economies.

In this same vein, expanding the number of vocational and technical educational courses in Ketchikan and Prince of Wales will also add opportunities to the district. Over 90% of Alaskans polled believe that we need to expand our access and offerings of vocational technical courses. This is enormously important as we look at large state infrastructure projects, increased and more varied marine facility and shipyard activities, the potential in-state large diameter gas pipeline and associated treatment facilities. The future job opportunities will be boundless for all Alaskans!

Sadly and unchanged from last years’ poll, the majority of Alaskan’s still do not realize that 90% of our state revenues are generated by OIL TAXES. I believe this is even more relevant than we realize in southeast as everything in our state budget is driven by these revenues. As we hear of activity (or inactivity) in our oilfields, and the discovery of oil reserves at new sites, it will affect our entire state budget - either positively or negatively!

Looking back over the past 4 years of polling data, support confirms the State of Alaska should finance a portion of an in-state natural gas pipeline. The support of this one item does not vary; there is majority support across all demographics and all crosses party lines.

During session in Juneau the Legislature is occasionally able to take part in community events promoting good causes. Last week I was pleased to be part of the Thanksgiving in March fundraiser for Southeast Alaska Food bank with many of my fellow legislators. We put on our aprons and helped to serve turkey dinners to fundraise during this event. This week we also took part in the Choose Respect march that started at the Capitol Building and wound through downtown Juneau. I am proud to join Governor Parnell’s administration in helping to fight the epidemic of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child sexual abuse in Alaska.

I want to remind the non-profits in my district that they need to register themselves in order for them to receive Pick-Click-Give donations. I noticed that many worthy organizations are missing from the Permanent Fund website.

Also the Alaska Department of Transportation has posted the proposed Alaska Marine Highway schedule so please take the time to review and make comments!

That’s all for now from Peggy’s Corner of the House – talk with you next week!