While both of Haines’ state legislators have pre-filed bills and have their own priorities, they agreed that education funding will likely be at the forefront of discussion during the 34th Legislative Session.
Last year, the legislature and Gov. Mike Dunleavy deadlocked after extensive negotiation on a historic increase in education funding with the Governor ultimately vetoing it and the legislature failing by one vote to override that veto.

Democrat Rep. Andi Story said the current system sets school districts up for failure in that it provides sporadic one-time funding, but lacks meaningful increases.
“We need to make sure it’s permanent funding,” she said.
Democrat Sen. Jesse Kiehl said the majority caucuses in both chambers are “committed to a real and a durable boost in K-12 funding. We have our work cut out for us because it has to happen this year.”
Both lawmakers also said that it’s not likely there will be much funding for projects in the capitol budget.
Story prefiled two bills:
HB28 establishes a student loan repayment pilot program. She described it as one solution to the state’s out-migration problem. The bill’s target audience are Alaskans who have left the state to get education elsewhere. “It’s an incentive for them to return home. If they return, it’s a loan repayment program. I’ve nicknamed the bill ‘Come Back Home,’ she said. She’s proposing about $20,000 over three years for people who get state employment or jobs as teachers.
HB21 allows pre-registration to vote for minors who are at least 16-years-old or older. They would still have to be 18 to vote but they’re able to register early. Story said at least 24 other states do it – both red and blue states. “It increases people’s awareness of the importance of voting and then they’re ready to vote when they’re able,” she said.
She also identified the ferry system and making the best use of federal funds as a priority, as well as finding a way to balance the budget when oil prices have been consistently lower than the $79 a barrel that would be needed to balance it currently.
Her staff this year are Honour Miller-Austin, Cherie Bowman, and Tammy Smith and she encouraged residents to reach out to them at 907-465-3744.

“We want to hear from people about what you want us to be working on,” she said.
Kiehl said he plans to introduce a lot of bills this year, but for now he also has two prefiled bills.
SB27 is a pension bill he has been working to get passed for several years. It’s a proposal that would reinstate a pension-based retirement system that was cut by the legislature more than two decades ago. And, while he has introduced it again, Kiehl said he set it aside last session to support Sen. Cathy Giessel’s pension bill and will likely do the same thing again this session. “I think my bill is kind of the ideal approach for a return to a pension, but her bill is also very strong. It will solve the problems and I think it has more support,” he said.
SB31 is an address confidentiality program that Kiehl said almost made it to the finish line last year, but ultimately failed to pass before the legislature adjourned. The bill would create a registry that would allow crime victims under a protective order and those working in law enforcement and corrections to list a State of Alaska post office box address which would then forward mail to their actual addresses. The bill comes with a price tag as it would be a new program, but Kiehl said it’s important. “This will allow them to participate in the rest of the society, as they have every right to do, without exposing their address or P.O. box to people who they have arrested, incarcerated, or with a history of criminality,” he said.
Kiehl said he’s also taking two bills on for the Governor, one which allows people who attend the Merchant Marine Academy to still qualify for a PFD, and a second that would add safety and soundness regulations to crypto-currency companies operating in the state.
Kiehl said he’s also keeping an eye on solutions a legislative task force on commercial fishing has identified to help the beleaguered industry. He’s also working to tweak a program that put a temporary law in place making it easier for commercial fishermen to tap into a revolving loan fund – but it had an unintended hit on CFAB – the Alaska Commercial Fishing and Agriculture Bank which also provides loans to commercial fishermen. So he said he’d like run at least one bill aimed at rectifying the problem.
Kiehl’s staff are Cathy Schlingheyde, Aurora Hauke, Ella Addison and Cole Ostrowski. They can be reached at 907-465-4947.