Giessel March 3, 2015 News

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$8 Million - Contribution or Shakedown
"Senator Cathy Giessel's Newsletter" <vivian.stiver@akleg.gov>
Tue, March 3, 2015 7:08 pm
peter.torkelson@akleg.gov
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Senator Cathy Giessel
March 3, 2015
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Many Alaskans are concerned about the state's budget, and
rightfully so. Over the years I have attended and participated in
meetings held by Commonwealth North (CWN). This
organization was co-founded by former Alaska Governor's
Walter J. Hickel and the late William A. Egan. CWN's purpose is
to educate its members, legislators and the public on significant
public policy issues affecting Alaska and its future, and to assist
in their perseverance implementing public policy.
CWN's fiscal policy study group has been studying the
state's operating budget and just released their
report, "State of Alaska Operating Budget: Critical
Crossroads, Choices, and Opportunities." The report
offers recommendations for the budget process and policy.
The link below will take you to the complete report.
Critical Crossroads, Choices, and Opportunities
Below I have provided a link to the video of the presentation
given on February 25, in Anchorage, during CWN luncheon.
I have also attached the powerpoint.
Representing
Northeast Anchorage, Anchorage
Hillside, Indian, Bird, Girdwood and
Portage
CWN Presentation on the State's Operating Budget
Presentation Powerpoint
The report identified health care as one of our major cost drivers in the state's budget. The report includes a
document from the Alaska Health Care Commission. The commission identifies strategies and policies to reduce
the costs of health care while ensuring the quality of care. I believe it is important to review their recommendations
especially with the governor proposing to expand Medicaid. To view this document you can click on the link below:
Transforming Health Care in Alaska
As always feel free to contact me with your questions and concerns.
Click here to email me.
In the Press
Alaska Journal of Commerce Editorial:
Don Obama shakes down ConocoPhillips
This editorial should have everyone concerned. The federal government is
now "requiring contributions" from ConocoPhillips in order to receive their
permits for Greater Moose Tooth Unit 1.
This is the excerpt from the Record of Decision, appendix A: Supplemental Best Management Practices referenced
in the article:
"Objective: To off-set identified impacts, including major impacts to subsistence uses that cannot be fully
mitigated by avoidance and minimization, the permittee has agreed to contribute $8 million dollars to BLM
to establish a compensatory mitigation fund that will provide for the development and implementation of a
landscape-level regional mitigation strategy (RMS) and to finance mitigation projects as identified by the
RMS as discussed further below."
What are these mitigation projects?
"...Mitigation projects may include, but are not limited to, establishment of conservation easements or leases on
Kuukpik Corporation lands along Fish Creek, or other areas with critical environmental, subsistence or cultural
significance, and cleanup of previously disturbed sites (e.g. legacy well reserve pits, landfills, etc.).
The question here is: Why is the federal government increasing the cost of doing business in Alaska by requiring a
"contribution" in addition to permitting fees to clean up the mess the federal government created or other projects not
associated with the companies making the "contribution?"
You can view the entire ROD by clicking on the link below. If you would like to read the section regarding the $8 million
dollar contribution you will want to go to pages 38 and 39.
Record of Decision February 2015
AK LNG Documents
AK LNG Environmental Documents
The Alaska Senate majority website just added the
AK LNG environmental document link. As you can see
in the photo to the right, you click on the issue button
on the homepage of the Alaska Senate Majority site
and in the drop-down menu you will see the link to
"LNG Environmental Docs."
This link takes you to the Federal Coordinator of
Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects website
where you will find all the documents for the AK LNG Project. These reports go to the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (FERC) for review and approval.
The federal coordinator's office was established to expedite and coordinate federal permitting for construction of a
pipeline to move north slope natural gas to market. This week Senators Costello, McGuire and Stedman will be
attending Energy Week in Washington,D.C. where they will be meeting with members of FERC to advocate for the
project.
Alaska Senate Majority
Bills and Committees
A New Face for the Alaska State Legislative Website
The Alaska State Legislature website has been revamped to be
more user friendly. The bill tracking feature is still available and
will alert you to the status of a bill you are interested in as the bill moves to different committees. The bill tracking
feature can be found on the homepage under the title "Of Interest." If you would like to testify on a bill your next
step will be to look up the schedule of the committee where the bill will be heard and see if the committee is taking
public comment.
Committee schedules can be found on the homepage also. At the top of the page you can click on the "Daily
Schedule" and it will take you to the current day's schedule. At this point, you can make selections to narrow your
search for the meeting you are interested in. Once you have located the meeting, the agenda will list "public
testimony."
The Alaska State Legislature Home Page
Bill Tracking Page
Daily Schedule for Committees Page
From the Senate Floor
Revisor's Bill
During the interim the legal editor and the revisors from the Legislative Affairs Agency recheck bills that have
passed both houses for manifest errors. These errors in grammar, punctuation or form are corrected with the
Revisor's Bill. These corrections do not change the intent of the bill.
I expect more bills will begin moving through committees and to the floor next week. Committees have been busy
with confirmation hearings and department overviews which update us on department activities. Work is also being
done on both the capital and operating budgets.
Marijuana
Get the Facts for Your Family
Since marijuana has been legalized for recreational use it is
expected that we will see a rise in unwanted health effects. The
Division of Public Health has a web page dedicated to information
regarding the health effects of marijuana. This information will be
updated regarding the effects of marijuana and strategies to reduce
the health risks.
I have pulled out a couple of facts from the New England Journal of
Medicine article that is posted at the state site. A number of the long-term effects refer to adolescents. You may be
asking yourself why I would select those effects since the law doesn't allow for the consumption of marijuana for
those under the age of 21. The reason: With greater access in general to marijuana, I believe that adolescent use
will increase and we need to be vigilant in protect our youth from acquiring and using marijuana.
Effects of Short-term Use
Impaired short-term memory, making it difficult to learn and to retain information
Impaired motor coordination, interfering with driving skills and increasing the risk of injuries
Altered judgment, increasing the risk of sexual behaviors that facilitate the transmission of sexually
transmitted diseases
In high doses, paranoia and psychosis
Effects of Long-term or Heavy Use
Addiction (in about 9% of users overall, 17% of those who begin use in adolescence, and 25 to 50% of those
who are daily users)*
Altered brain development*
Poor educational outcome, with increased likelihood of dropping out of school
Cognitive impairment, with lower IQ among those who were frequent users during adolescence*
Diminished life satisfaction and achievement (determined on the basis of subjective and objective measures
as compared with such ratings in the general population)*
Symptoms of chronic bronchitis
Increased risk of chronic psychosis disorders (including schizophrenia) in persons with a predisposition to
such disorders
*The effect is strongly associated with initial marijuana use early in adolescence.
To view the entire article click on the link below:
Adverse Health Effects of Marijuana Use New England Journal of Medicine
You can go to the web site by clicking on the link below:
Department of Public Health - Marijuana
Marijuana Use During Pregnancy
The Washington State Department of Health has published the following warnings to women who are pregnant or
nursing:
The active ingredient (THC) passes from mother to child during pregnancy and through breast milk.
Infants exposed to THC can have problems with feeding and may have delayed mental and physical
development.
The American Academy of Pediatrics states that using marijuana is contraindicated while breastfeeding.
Women should be advised to avoid marijuana use while nursing. (Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk,
Pediatrics, 2012.)
Marijuana may impair the mother's ability to make the best choices for the health and safety of her baby and
herself.
To review state of Alaska information regarding marijuana use among women in Alaska you can clink on the link
below to view the State of Alaska Epidemiology Bulletin:
Marijuana Use among Women Delivering Live Births in Alaska, 2002-2011
Community
Anchorage Roads
The Municipality of Anchorage provides information about road construction and traffic delays on their web site.
The site allows you to put in an address of your destination which will be displayed on a map of that location. You
can then track your route to see if there is any construction or delays on your route. You can click on the link below
to view the site.
Anchorage Citizen's View
Fun Facts about Alaska
The Juneau Family
Joseph Juneau (1833 or 1836-1899) founder of the city of Juneau, was
a miner and prospector from Canada who was born in the Quebec town of Repentigny to
François Juneau and Marguerite Juneau. He was part of the first major gold discovery
in Juneau circa 1880. Juneau has been the capital of Alaska since 1900.
His cousin, Solomon Laurent Juneau was a fur trader, land speculator, and politician who
helped found the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The city of Milwaukee was incorporated in
1845.
Earthquakes
Joseph Juneau
Alaska can have up to 24,000 earthquakes in a year, according to the U.S. Seismology
Department. On average every 13 years Alaska has a quake measuring at least 8.0 on the Richter scale. The
Good Friday Earthquake of 1964, measured 902 on the Richter scale and is the second largest earthquake ever
recorded.
Visitors to the Capitol
Senator Cathy Giessel with Dr. Adam Grove and Tawney
Buck from the Alaska Brain Injury Network
Did you know that each year, 244 people are hospitalized for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in Anchorage and the
Mat-Su? Almost half of them are under age 30. But everyone is at risk. It's icy out there this winter...a fall on the
ice, hitting the head could cause TBI. Kids love sports...but some sports result in head injuries. Alaska Brain Injury
Network helps connect folks who have experienced TBI with the services that are available to recover and become
functional. To learn more about the Alaska Brain Injury Network you can click on the link below:
Alaska Brain Injury Network
Senator Cathy Giessel with Bob Williams from Colony High, Palmer
and Mary Janis from Orion Elementary School, Anchorage
Bob and Mary are nationally certified teachers who came to talk about the value of credentialed teachers.
I couldn't agree more! As a healthcare professional, I had to achieve national board certification before I could be
licensed to practice in Alaska.
I highly recommend the book, "The Smartest Kids in the World: And How They Got That Way" by Ripley. The
Finland model supports the idea of highly qualified teachers being the level of entry into the practice of teaching.
Finland's outcomes in education are the top in the world.
Senator Cathy Giessel with Lena Hutchinson, Deanna Wedlich, Tim Green,
Jeff Osborne, Qian Chen and John Gerd from Conoco
Senator Cathy Giessel with Alaska Pharmacists Scott Watts, Dirk
White and Barry Christiansen
I don't often put pictures of my family members in the newsletter but this
week while my daughter-in-law, Taryl, was here in Juneau, I was able to
visit with my newest grandchild, Jonathan. As you can see I am a very
proud grandmother! It is a challenge to be away from family during
session, missing birthdays and opportunities to babysit the grandchildren
but they are also the reason why I am here.
We are responsible for preparing the path for the next generation of
Alaskans. We need to secure opportunities and freedoms for those who
will follow behind us.
It's a pleasure to serve and represent the wonderful people of district N!
I look forward to hearing your ideas, suggestions and comments.
To email me, click here.
Juneau: State Capitol, Room 427, Juneau, Alaska 99801
Anchorage: 716 W. 4th Ave. Ste 511, Anchorage, AK 99501
Phone: 800.892.4843 | Fax: 907.465.3871
Copyright © 2015. All Rights Reserved.
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