🧵 The House is back for the floor amendments. They are continuing on amendments to SB 24, the bill that would formally raise the age for tobacco to 21 while also raising some taxes on vapes. A previous version was vetoed because it included a tax.
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They're back with a Rep. Bynum amendment reworking his prior amendment to avoid penalizing minors who possess tobacco. Again, running into opposition from the majority, who say the retailer-focused penalties are not gonna fly with Gov. Dunleavy, who vetoed a bill for smaller penalties.
The amendment shifting penalties from minors onto retailers fails 19-21 out of fear that it'd sink the bill with Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who has already vetoed a more modest version of the amendment.
The next amendment by Rep. McCabe would create a carve-out in state law for cigars. "The difference between cigars and cigarettes is cigarettes have tens of thousands of cancer-causing chemicals, cigars have three." He says it'd allow cigar lounges as long as they don't smoke any nasty cigs.
Rep. McCabe says that cigar lounges should be allowed because... they're small Alaska businesses. He says it draws a line between "premium cigar culture" and cigarettes. He says some adults just want a place to go "enjoy a nice premium cigar."
Rep. Hannan says the problem with lounges is the impact on employees, who don't have a choice. "There is no safe level of exposure for second-hand smoke. People are free to smoke cigars in their own location, in a place with no employees or out in their backyard."
Rep. David Nelson, the face of premium cigars, says that he strongly supports the amendment and if it passes, he's gonna become a cigar connoisseur.
Rep. Stapp says that he supports the cigar lounge idea. He says that it's bullshit that cigar lounge is bad for employees because if you work for them, then you're probably OK with cigar lounges. He notes that cigar lounges are: "Super popular, super cool." (They are, in fact, not super cool.)
Rep. Josephson says it'd be "sad" if they turn a nicotine prevention measure into a cigar lounge legalization bill.
Rep. Ruffridge agrees with Rep. Stapp that cigar lounges are, in fact, popular and cool. He also complains that there are places that have on-site marijuana consumption (IIRC, the Soldotna ones are outside, not indoor lounges).
Rep. Gray says that there's nothing special about expensive, premium cigars that makes them safer than cigarettes. Just because they're expensive, doesn't mean they should get special treatment. He adds that they should also ban cannabis consumption.
Rep. Garrett Nelson says they allow cannabis consumption, alcohol consumption and "greasy cheeseburger" consumption. "Let's not dictate to businesses what they can and cannot do." He also says he's not a "puffer," he "sucks" it down.
Frankly, we should legalize the cigar lounges, so we can all avoid these goobers. Rep. Elam is also complaining about the cannabis shops: "You're gonna get a contact high because of the smell of the cannabis that's going on in these shops and the consumption that's going on in these facilities." That's literally not happening in Juneau.
Rep. Tomaszewski also fuckin just loves stogies. He says everything at all times should be left up to individual choice. "I wanna speak on freedom. If I walked into a restaurant and they offered smoking, I'd probably walk out. That's my choice."
Rep. Tomaszewski: "I've sat around with a group of guys, and the air quality was terrible." But others were really good. So it's a choice.
Rep. Tomaszewski: "If someone applies for a job at a cigar lounge, they're probably going to know if there's smoke and it'd give them the freedom to work there or not. The freedom of choice." He says it's about more freedom.
Then Rep. Saddler shares a dumb joke about the Dalai Lama. "Life is gonna kill you. No one gets out alive, so you might as well enjoy it." He says let the boys have their special place for cigar safety and comfort.
Rep. McCabe says that cigar bars are just fuckin' great. He says their ventilation is better than ANY restaurant.
Rep. McCabe then suggests that nicotine helps deal with the "long covid" effects of getting the mrna vaccine.... ... which....
Rep. McCabe then brags about spending like $200 on brandy, cigars and a tip. (Or, I guess, bought by a lobbyist) He says it's a measure to help the enjoyment of guys like him.
And the House votes 21-19 in favor of legalizing cigar lounges. It's a 21-19 vote. Majority Reps. Frier, Jimmie and Kopp joined the Minority in passing it. Minority Rep. Johnson voted against.
And Speaker Edgmon says they are now officially facing a special session starting Thursday. Gov. Dunleavy just called it. He says the special session call includes: The AKLNG bill. #akleg
After a long break, they're back for the amendments to the smoking bill. After a while Rep. Bynum, who has the amendment to ease the penalties for minors with tobacco, says that he talked with the sponsor and they don't want the amendment, so he withdraws it. There's an objection from Rep. Jimmie. The vote to withdraw the amendment passes. Onto the bill itself, which is carried by Rep. Hannan of Juneau. -It raises smoking from 19 to 21, aligning with federal law -Taxes vapes, which are not yet taxed in the state -Legalizes new cigar lounges
Rep. Stapp says he opposes the taxes in the bill because they will be a precursor to a sales tax. He also adds that he hates the idea that 19 and 20-year-olds shouldn't be allowed to have tobacco. He says those in the military love to vape. "Those kids are going to go to war someday."
Rep. Stapp says that he'll oppose the bill even though it has the super awesome cigar lounge provisions. Rep. Allard says: "This isn't a tobacco bill, it's a tax bill. Tax, tax, tax. ... For me, it's about freedom." Tobacco, she says, doesn't impair your ability to drive.
Rep. Prax: "I remember being in high school." He says that having penalties for breaking the law will breed general mistrust of cops.
Rep. Gray, also a veteran, says that sure, cigarettes are a big part of military history, but it's not a good part of military readiness. "Addiction is not freedom. Addiction is not freedom. ... Addiction is not a choice!"
Rep. Josephson says that the whole point is to adopt the federal age limit, and treating vapes like ciggies. He also notes that the existing law includes a $500 fine and a MANDATORY court appearance. He says this bill is just $100 with no court appearance.
And SB 24, the bill to raise the age of tobacco possession to 21 (aligning with federal law), lowering but not eliminating the penalties, and instituting a tax on vapes akin to tobaccy. Oh, and it'll legalize cigar lounges because why not. #akleg
Rep. DeLena Johnson, whose vote not to reopen the amendment last night derailed the AKLNG bill altogether, just moved to continue work on the bill even though they already have a special session starting on Thursday. The vote fails along caucus lines. #akleg
And House Rules Committee Chair Stutes moves to bump SB180, the AKLNG bill, back to the Rules Committee. Basically ending all the bullshit. Rep. Johnson says that they might as well try to work on the bill right now. Someone must have a vacation scheduled for Thursday.
Rep. Saddler says he doesn't support putting the bill in a place where he "can't touch it."
House Resources Committee Chair Rep. Frier, who saw much of her work undone yesterday, says that Rep. Saddler had plenty of opportunities to, in his words, "touch" the bill because he's on Resources! She says there's not much time left in session, focus on other things. You have the special.
And along caucus lines, SB 180, the AKLNG bill, has been sent back into the Rules Committee, where it will die along with everything else at the end of the session. The special session bill will now be the vehicle, washing away all of yesterday's amendments. #akleg
Now up is Rep. Stutes, who's carrying SB 181. A employment data sharing bill that sounds pretty technical. Oh, it's a fisheries bill. Here's the link: akleg.gov
And it passes unanimously. A bill dealing with farm assessments passes on the rare 39-NCOULOMBE.
Rep. Gray's carrying the next bill, SB 282, dealing with the Joint Armed Services Committee. -1 dedicated seat to AFN, 1 to AML -Raises quorum to nine -Tasks the Legislative Affairs agency with Alaska Decoration of Honor awards Rep. Allard basically says that having non-military normies being on the JASC is bullshit because they don't understand anything about the military. It's not a place, she says, for the military to have to answer to the normies about stuff like Alaska's potential involvement in foreign wars. Rep. Saddler rebuts Allard, saying that they are, in fact, doing stuff on the committee, talks about various things they've done. He says it's up to the committee chair to make of it (which sorta feels like a dig at Rep. Gray) Rep. Stapp notes that there are Alaska Decoration of Honor recipients that have never been delivered, so he's happy to see that direction to create an accurate roster is appreciated.
Rep. Gray apologizes for his joke about people not knowing what the JASC does, which is apparently what triggered Allard. Then SB 282 passes on a 39-NALLARD.
Onto HJR 46, recognizing the self-determination of communities affected by Typhoon Halong in relocating, with Speaker Edgmon gently teasing the clerk about pronouncing Kwigillingok.
Rep. Jimmie, whose community was hit by Typhoon Halong, talks about the devastation. She says it's hard to imagine what 90% destruction looks like on the ground, and what it would be like to vote to relocate. "The water didn't just take our homes, it took our dead."
Jimmie, continued: "After all that, those villages still had to find a way to make a decision about where the living go next. They made it themselves and this resolution asks us to honor that."
She says that the promised help from the federal government has been frozen, calling for a stronger response from the state to take care of the affected communities and respect their basic dignity.
And the resolution passes the House on a 39-0 vote.
I'd say this eyewitness-y at-ease music is my favorite. Like it'd be playing in a question section in an educational video that you watch on the av cart. They're getting back. Trying to roll up the calendar so they can get SB 174, invasive species council, and SB 67, PFD eligibility. Rep. Vance objects. She's a little salty that they didn't take up the AKLNG bill, so she says they shouldn't get to work on anything else right now.
They need 27 votes to roll back up and open up the bills, which they JUST get. This allows them to get these two bills on the floor now.
They're onto SB 174. In addition to invasive species, it includes a spay-and-neuter-and-release program for feral cats. Several people are opposed to spay-and-neuter programs, warning that the release is gonna hurt the wild bird populations. Rep. Schwanke says trap, neuter, release of feral cats "is the single worst decision that urban areas around the United States have made when it comes to urban bird populations. They're predators." She says leave it to the Board of Game.
Rep. Schrage says this is a voluntary program meant for local communities to opt in to the programs, and there's funding available for them if they want to go ahead with trap-neuter-release programs for feral cats and dogs. He says regardless, cities still have issues with feral animal populations
And the attempt to adopt the House Finance substitute for SB 174 that includes the spay-neuter-release bill (Rep. Stapp's, I believe) fails on a 16Y-23N vote.
So then they take the base version of SB 174 that was passed over, sans the trap-spay-release feral cats and dogs rider. Rep. Himschoot carries the bill. It deals with invasive species management in the state.
We get some interesting debate about invasive species. Reps. Schwanke and Saddler are against. Sure invasive species are bad, but more government is worse! Rep. McCabe says Saddler and Schwanke are wrong and they need to be proactive against invasive specie, particularly around things that would ruin lakes. And the invasive species management bill passes 35-5. Onto SB167, dealing with PFD eligibility for people with overturned convictions (I believe this would be pretty much limited to the Fairbanks Four).
And of course Republicans are using this PFD bill to try to end automatic voter registration again. Basically, they complain that voters are idiots and constantly fuck up their registration because they can’t be bothered to read the filing. Rep. Josephson warns that repealing automatic voter registration WILL kill this bill. He also says the automatic voter registration is an opportunity for people to engage in democracy. Rep. Hannan also says that the mismatch between voter rolls and registration but of all the exemptions. Onto the underlying bill, SB 167, to restore the PFD payments to people who were wrongfully convicted. Specifically, that's the Fairbanks Four -- four Alaska Native young men who were wrongly convicted of murdering a Fairbanks teen in 1997. Rep. Carrick, D-Fairbanks, says it's about justice.
The PFDs for wrongfully convicted Alaskans bill, SB 167, has passed the House on a 38-2 vote. Reps. Elam and Ruffridge are the lone no votes.
Rep. Dibert carries SJR 20, a resolution calling for greater support and coordination to clean up marine debris along coastlines. Ketchikan Rep. Bynum's a fan.
And SJR 20, calling for better handling of marine debris passes the House 40-0. Surprised no one stood up on behalf of the styrofoam.
And then they're onto SB237. The bill that they passed was already sent to the Senate with a problematic amendment. They had to get the bill back and remove the amendment. It passes unanimously.
A lot of concurrence votes are going on now. Seems like everyone is really exhausted. Rep. Josephson's disposable food service ware bill is back up. He notes that the Senate included a local opt-out option, so it's more conservative now. Looks like the local option won them an additional vote. It passes concurrence 26-14.
The exhaustion seems to really be settling in right now. Everyone's dragging after the last few days have been pretty friggin' tense. Rep. Ruffridge won't concur with HB 27, which addresses training for major medical emergencies, because it adds CPR training in schools. He says he doesn't support requiring schools to have CPR lessons because some already do on their own. It passes it anyway. 27-13
Next up is Rep. Fields' bill naming the Shoup Bay Marine Park and the UAA Institute of Social and Economic Research after the late constitutional delegate Vic Fischer. Fischer helped found ISER. Rep. Stapp says it's a worthwhile change.
Rep. Saddler says naming ISER after Vic Fischer, who helped found the institution, is "a bit of reach." So he's a no.
The bill naming Shoup Bay Marine Park and ISER after Vic Fischer clears the House over the objections of the haters. It passes 29-11.
Onto concurrence with the operating budget report, which is usually a last move of the session sort of thing. Rep. Josephson says that they're trying to maximize the benefit for Alaskans, especially in the face of higher-than-expected oil prices. He says education and child care are big deals.
I haven't watched much of the latest on the budget stuff, but there really is a lot in there. Putting full funding, plus forward funding for community revenue sharing, is big. Frankly, much of the enshittification of services happened when the Legislature pulled back revenue sharing. I remember the revenue-sharing cuts hitting Fairbanks really hard. A lot of trickle-down non-profits that were providing services ended up feeling it. Always felt weird that it was one of the first things to go. Like, who are you working for? Rep. Stapp, the minority's budget negotiator, thanks Rep. Josephson for the very thorough budget overview. He says, however, that he's gonna vote against the budget deal. "We are swimming in money, we are absolutely swimming in money."
Rep. Stapp says the surplus should have been put in the PFD. He says it's hard for anyone to justify the budget when oil prices are so high. "We should have waterfalled that money into the PFD."
And that's it for debate.... maybe? Brief at ease for them to figure out if everyone wants to be heard. Rep. Vance says she needs to address the taking of people's dividends. She says legislators are socking money away in savings when they should be giving Alaskans more money. "The biggest disappointment," she says. She also seems to slag the Perm Fund investors, to boot.
Honestly, why doesn't Dunleavy put an energy relief payment on the special session call? Like it's literally right there, teed up for him. Rep. Galvin is grateful to Rep. Josephson for his work focusing on items that help Alaskans and put money into savings.
Rep. Johnson also thanks Rep. Josephson for disagreeing without being disagreeable. Then she says she's a no vote on the budget.
House Speaker Edgmon, with extreme exhaustion in his voice: "I'm going to have a cigar when this is all over." Then Rep. McCabe gets up to bitch about PFDs. The House has passed the budget on a caucus-line vote, 21-19. They get the effective date on a 40-0. And fail the reverse-sweep vote, needing 30. They got 21. No CBR draw was planned. #akleg
The reverse sweep is kinda of a minimal issue now. Dunleavy already upended the precedent around it years ago, so most of the funds are already depleted. Not a lot of money to put back. Onto the mental health budget, which shouldn't be controversial, but always room for a NALLARD. Not quite a NALLARD. And the House has adjourned for the night! Everyone seems so exhausted.
That's it for Day 120. Thanks for following along! If you appreciate my coverage and need more #akleg wonkery: I do a newsletter! akmemo.com And a podcast! podcasts.apple.com And have a tip jar! akmemo.com And, as always, LOOK AT THIS DOG!
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