Capitol Report: March 6, 2026

Capitol Report: March 6, 2026

March 6, 2026

UA House Finance Subcommittee Closes - Employee Compensation, Public Safety and Student Mental Health Services Funded for UAA, UAF, and UAS; Public Testimony Opportunities Coming up

Rep. Galvin Strongly Supports the University and Closes Out the UA House Finance Subcommittee

The UA House Finance Subcommittee closed on Monday, March 2 having funded many of the UA System's budget priorities. Rep. Galvin, as well as Rep. Schrage, Rep. Hannan, Rep. Jimmie, Rep. Foster, Rep. Josephson, Rep. Moore, Rep. Stapp, Rep. Tomaszewski, Rep. Allard, and Rep. Bynum should be thanked for their thoughtful questions. We encourage all our UA family, when appropriate, (see below "Public Testimony" section for more details) to reach out to these offices to express gratitude and encourage their continued support!

Here's the breakdown for what was funded in the House subcommittee close-out:

1. Full compensation for UA employees - $9.8M
2. UAA public safety request - $500K
3. UAA student mental health request - $440K
4. UAF campus safety request - $326K
5. UAF student mental health request (clinical psychology) - $350K
6. UAS improving campus safety and physical security - $250K
7. UAS student mental health and life skills support - $175K

Next, these budget items will be considered by the House Finance Committee as part of the overall operating budget. The items still may be subject to change.

Legislation Benefiting UAA's Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) Gets Hearing Scheduled for Next Week

Senate Bill 181(SB181), which is carried by Senator Stevens, at the request of the Joint Alaska Seafood Industry Task Force, has been scheduled in the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee for March 9 and 1:30PM. The bill takes a meaningful step toward modernizing Alaska's data infrastructure to better serve the state's workforce, fisheries, education system, and policy-makers. It is heavily supported by ISER and will significantly improve policy making, based on data, throughout the state.

Higher Education Investment Fund (HEIF) Replenishment Rescheduled to March 9 on Senate Floor

House Bill 289(HB289), is one of the most important bills moving this session. It includes the $129.6M replenishment of the HEIF, which is critical for long term stability of the Alaska Performance Scholarship (APS). The APS is important for many young people in Alaska and helps fund their post-secondary education. The bill has now been scheduled to be heard on the Senate floor on March 9.

In order to replenish the HEIF, ¾ of the legislature (House and Senate) will need to support a draw from the Constitutional Budget Reserve. If the Senate approves the draw, the bill will return to the House for further consideration.

Senate Bill 140 (SB140), the Legislation Supporting a State Fire Station Fund, Passes Senate Senate Bill 140(SB140) passed the Senate on March 4. It has been sent to the House Finance Committee. The bill establishes the Fire Station Grant Program and promotes a robust partnership between local communities and the state to strengthen safety and security. This matching grant program provides funding for up to 50 percent of the total project cost for constructing or renovating fire stations. UAF's fire station may be a recipient of these needed funds, once the money becomes available.

UAS Chancellor Palmer Meets with Legislators on Key Topics

Dr. Bridget Weiss Testifies on the University of Alaska College of Education Consortium in the Senate Education Committee

Dr. Weiss testified about the good work being done and highlighted a number of key issues for the Senate Education Committee. Those issues included, but are not limited to:

• Increased Fall 2026 enrollment at UAF (up 85 students from Fall 2025)
• UAS developing Masters of Arts in Teaching, Indigenous Languages
• Progress with UAA's apprenticeship program

A full review of the Senate Education Committee presentation can be found here.

UAF Drone Program Presents to Legislature

UAF's Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft System Integration (ACUASI) was before the House Transportation Committee on Tuesday to talk about the future of innovation in Alaska and how ACUASI is partnering with businesses, government, tribal health consortiums, and others to move Alaska forward.

The presentation from Dr. Catherine Cahill, ACUASI Director, and John Robinson, Deputy Director, can be viewed on akleg.

UA Foundation Board of Directors Meets in Juneau at UAS

The UA Foundation Board of Directorsmade their annual visit to UAS for their Spring Board meeting.

At the meeting, they welcomed four new Board members:

• Bill Bailey - Vice President, Business Development Officer, Northrim Bank
• Tanya Kaquatosh - Chief Operating Officer, Doyon, Limited
• Amy Cook - Fairbanks Manager, TOTE Maritime Alaska
• Melissa Kookesh - Permit Facilitator, Alaska Broadband Office Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development, State of Alaska

Public Testimony

The House Finance Committee will be taking public testimony on the state operating budget next week. The schedule below shows the dates and times when Alaskans from across the state can call in to share their thoughts on the budget.

Committee call in numbers:

From Anchorage: (907) 563-9085

From Juneau: (907) 586-9085

All other callers: (844) 586-9085

Remember that the Executive Branch Ethics Act, and Board of Regents' policy set limits on partisan political activities by university employees. This "Compliance Chat" provides a brief yet comprehensive overview of the guidelines aimed at avoiding potential issues concerning political activity.

What We're Watching

Monday, March 9

• 9:00 a.m. - House Finance: House Bill 263: Appropriations: Operating Budget; Amend; Supplemental. Subcommittee Closeout Reports.
• 1:30 p.m. - House Finance: House Bill 263: Appropriations: Operating Budget; Amend; Supplemental. Subcommittee Closeout Reports.
• 1:30 p.m. - Senate Finance: House Bill 78: Retirement Systems; Defined Benefit Option. Testimony from UAA's Institute of Social and Economic Research.
• 1:30 p.m. - Senate Labor & Commerce: Senate Bill 181: Employment Information Disclosure.

Tuesday, March 10

• 1:30 p.m. - House Finance: House Bill 263: Appropriations: Operating Budget; Amend; Supplemental. Subcommittee Closeout Reports.

Wednesday, March 11

• 9:00 a.m. - House Finance: House Bill 263: Appropriations: Operating Budget; Amend; Supplemental.
• 9:00 a.m. - Senate Finance: House Bill 78: Retirement Systems; Defined Benefit Option.
• 1:30 p.m. - House Finance: House Bill 263: Appropriations: Operating Budget; Amend; Supplemental.
• • Public Testimony: Juneau, Sitka, Petersburg, Delta Junction, Dillingham, Glennallen, Valdez, Wrangell, Homer, Ketchikan, Kodiak, Seward, Tok, Off-Net Callers.
• 1:30 p.m. - Senate Labor & Commerce: Presentation: UAF's Integrated Workforce Development Pipeline: From Technical Training to Engineering Leadership by William Schnabel, Dean, UAF College of Engineering and Mines; Kevin Alexander, Dean, UAF Community and Technical College.
• 4:30 p.m. - House Finance: House Bill 263: Appropriations: Operating Budget; Amend; Supplemental.
• • Public Testimony: Off-Net Callers.

Thursday, March 12

• 9:00 a.m. - Senate University of Alaska Finance Subcommittee: FY27 Budget Request.
• 1:30 p.m. - House Finance: House Bill 263: Appropriations: Operating Budget; Amend; Supplemental.
• • Public Testimony: Fairbanks, Kenai, Bethel, Cordova, Kotzebue, Nome, Utqiagvik, Off-Net Callers.

Friday, March 13

• 1:30 p.m. - House Finance: House Bill 263: Appropriations: Operating Budget; Amend; Supplemental.
• • Public Testimony: Anchorage, Mat-Su, Off-Net Callers.

Read last week's Capitol Report here.