BRADNERS' ALASKA LEGISLATIVE DIGEST

For this month’s Business Intelligence
Ketchikan may seek investors in dock expansion plans
Ketchikan to boost taxes, utility rates to increase employees’ pay
Nome hikes its property tax to increase local school contribution
Fairbanks utility rates rise to fund construction, maintenance
Southcentral contractors hustling with earthquake repairs
Southeast Alaska in drought; hydro levels being watched
Southcentral utilities now intervenor on Chugach-ML&P proceeding
State has new air quality study underway in Juneau
State supplies drinking water to Yakutat after contamination found
Increased discharges in Cook Inlet a worry for fishermen

High-speed internet in Nome Nome is now getting high-speed internet through Quintillion Inc.’s fiber-optic undersea cable. The cable was completed in October, 2017 but service has just started. Local telecom provider TeleAlaska is delivering internet locally under an agreement with Quintillion. The service will triple the speed at which data can be downloaded at prices competitive with what consumers are paying now. Plans for service range between $179 per month to $329 per month. GCI now offers service through its…

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Petersburg debates cruise tours Pro-tourism Petersburg residents shouted down the town’s mayor, Mark Jensen, over a letter Jensen proposed to Viking Cruise Lines asking the compa- ny to delay a plan for cruise vessel stops, saying the Southeast fishing town “isn’t ready” for large-scale tourism. Local people objected, saying they want the economic benefits. Viking officials visited Petersburg in August, looking for vessel stops for the 2020 sum- mer season. Petersburg had 8,850 visitors this year. Nearby Wrangell, in contrast,…

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<b>Cruise tax decision a dilemma</b> U.S. District Court Judge Russel Holland’s decision on litigation over cruise passenger fees levied by coastal municipalities has created a dilemma for those communities. The decision, on a case brought against the City and Borough of Juneau by the Cruise Lines International Association, was not unexpected. Holland ruled that Juneau’s use of the cruise tax revenue to build tourism enhancements was illegal. The ruling was narrow, however, find- ing that expenditures of the revenues could…

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ALASKA PRIMARY ELECTION A BLOODLETTING AMONG REPUBLICANS: The primary election was a bloodletting among Republican leaders, and while Republicans may command House and Senate organizations next year there may not be organizations that prove very functional in key decision-making. There’s still a general election in front of us but the Senate appears to have a likely split of seven Democrats and nine “regular” Republicans, with four Republicans as a part of the present Senate coalition (Stedman, Stevens, von Imhof, and…

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Ketchikan cruise dock expansion Ketchikan starts construction in October on a corrosion protection project as part of its cruise ship dock expansion. Berths 1 and 2 are being rebuilt to accommodate the new super-sized cruise ships coming to Southeast Alaska. The docks are to be done in time for the 2020 summer tourism season.   Wrangell harbor: Wrangell let a contract to Tamico RnR JV for a $8.3 million harbor renovation. PND Engineers received a $731,328 contract to provide engineering…

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Things are looking a little brighter in Alaska’s oilpatch? Job numbers have not yet ticked up and in fact they’re still slipping, though modestly now, after big cuts made in 2016 and 2017 as producing companies adjusted to the world of lower prices. But prices are rising, after a long slump. Even during the slump a number of new projects were being worked on and the brighter price outlook should cause some companies to push the green button on their…

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Was this a virus whipping through the state capitol in Juneau? As the Legislature shut down last Saturday, May 12, odd things happened: There was civility, cooperation, bipartisanship, and good feelings. “The House and Senate and both (Democrat and Republican) caucuses really came together this year,” House Speaker Bryce Edgmon said as the session ended. Things were much different than last year, when the House and Senate, Republicans and Democrats, were all at each others’ throats. There were extended special…

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At the end, it happened fast. The conference committee on SB 26 convened at 9 a.m. May 8, voted and sent the bill out eight minutes later. A few hours later both the House and Senate ratified the conference committee report, sending SB 26 on to the governor. After a year of agony and sniping over the proposal to use some of the Permanent Fund earnings for the budget the quick resolution seemed anticlimactic. But that’s the way these things…

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There seems to be a deal coming together on SB 26, the bill that sets a percent-of-market-draw,
or POMV, in statue as a rule for using Permanent Fund earnings to support the state budget. This is the remaining big issue of the 2018 session and if an agreement is made in the next couple of days a rush to adjournment could begin. An adjournment push should happen even if the deal does not come together, too. Word has been circulating in…

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