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Alaska Beacon state and legislative daybook for the week of April 13, 2026
- Alaska Beacon
- Apr 13
- 6 min read
Here’s what’s happening in the Alaska Capitol and elsewhere across the state
By Corinne Smith
Alaska Beacon
At the Alaska Beacon, we’re constantly trying to figure out where we should put our attention. There’s always more news than there are people to report it.
Every Thursday, the Alaska Legislature publishes its committee schedule for the coming week. Public notices alert us to meetings and events. The governor’s office occasionally lets us know ahead of time that something’s coming down the pike, too.
Here’s what we know about for the coming week. If you know of something that’s coming up that you should think we should pay attention to, email us at info@alaskabeacon.com.
We can’t cover everything on this list, but we’re interested in them and we think you should know about them in case you’re interested in them, too.
This list is ripped from our notebooks, and it is likely to change over the course of the week. We’ll update it when we can.
Are you trying to keep track of when to testify on a bill? The Legislature has a website for that.
Monday, April 13
*The House continues debating the operating budget for next year, so House committee meetings are contingent on that schedule
8 a.m. – House Education hears a that would mandate civics education
9 a.m. – Senate Finance hears a bill related to an occupational therapy licensure compact
12 p.m. – Lunch & Learn with Alaska Youth for Environmental Action
1 p.m. – House Judiciary hears bills related to consumer data privacy, to maintain sibling relationships for youth in foster care, and a bill to increase criminal penalties for selling fraudulent airbags
1 p.m. – House Resources hears the governor’s bill to provide tax breaks for the proposed Alaska LNG gas line
1:30 p.m. – House Finance hears a bill to establish criminal penalties for mail theft, and a bill to authorize pharmacists to prescribe certain medications
1:30 p.m. – Senate Judiciary considers the governor’s appointees for the Alaska Parole Board and the Human Rights Commission, and a bill to increase criminal penalties for hit-and-runs
1:30 p.m. – Senate Labor and Commerce hears a bill related to the right to repair digital devices, and a bill related to allowable charges by health insurers
1:30 p.m. – House Labor and Commerce hears bills related to benefits for emergency dispatchers, telehealth reimbursement rates, damages limits for personal injuries or wrongful death, and to close a tax loopholes for C-corporations
3:30 p.m. – Senate Education hears a presentation on the history of the state’s Regional Education Attendance Areas
3:30 p.m. – Senate Resources hears a bill proposed by the governor to provide property tax breaks for the proposed 739-mile Alaska LNG gas line project
Tuesday, April 14
8 a.m. – House Community and Regional Affairs considers “right to repair” legislation and hears bills that would make it easier for unhoused youth to get birth certificates and regulate autonomous vehicles
9 a.m. – Senate Finance hears a bill that would increase access to retirement benefits for disabled veterans and a bill that would support the civil legal services fund
9 a.m. – Senate Resources continues considering the governor’s bill to provide property tax breaks for the proposed Alaska LNG gas line
12 p.m. – Lunch and Learn presentation on delivering health care to Southeast Alaska
1 p.m. – House Energy hears a presentation on geothermal energy
1:30 p.m. – House Finance hears a a resolution to put a constitutional amendment on the November ballot to establish an education fund
3:15 p.m. – House Health and Social Services hears a bill that would expand early education services, and a bill to establish an opioid litigation settlement fund for the state to record and better manage opioid settlement proceeds
3:15 p.m. – House State Affairs hears a presentation about how other states regulate artificial intelligence
3:30 p.m. – House Health and Social Services hears a resolution in support of the Rural Health Transformation Fund
3:30 – Senate State Affairs hears a presentation on disaster management
Wednesday, April 15
Arctic Encounter Summit takes place in Anchorage
8 a.m. – House Education hears a bill to require CPR training in schools and a bill to fund free school breakfast and lunch
9 a.m. – House Finance hears a bill related to expand funding for the special education services agency
9 a.m. – Senate Finance hears a bill to allow the transfer of inmates serving long sentences to out-of-state facilities and another to allow the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority to provide loans to build workforce housing
12 p.m. – Documentary film screening: “Talking to the Tundra: How a Yup’ik Village Heals Together” by Indie Alaska
12 p.m. – Lunch and Learn presentation on the Alaska Fentanyl Response Project
1 p.m. – House Judiciary hears a bill that would allow the surrender of infants in so-called infant safety devices, a bill that would lower the legal blood alcohol limit for driving to 0.04 from 0.08, and a resolution to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot to define that corporations do not have the same rights as people to donate to political campaigns
1 p.m. – House Resources hears a companion bill proposed by the governor to provide property tax breaks for the proposed Alaska LNG gas line
1:30 p.m. – Senate Finance hears a bill related to regulating cryptocurrency
1:30 p.m. – Senate Judiciary considers governors nominees for the Commission on Judicial Conduct — Aldean Kilbourn, Donald McClintock III and Jane Moore — and a bill related to AI-generated child sexual abuse material
1:30 p.m. – Senate Labor and Commerce hears a bill that would allow municipalities to set local property tax caps
3:15 p.m. – House Labor and Commerce considers a bill that would regulate LNG gas import facilities3:30 p.m. – Senate Resources hears a bill related to state policy and oversight of the proposed Alaska LNG gas line project
3:30 p.m. – Task Force on Education Funding hears a presentation on national assessments, and holds a demonstration for lawmakers to take a state standardized test
Thursday, April 16
Arctic Encounter Summit continues in Anchorage
Native Youth Olympic Games begin at the University of Alaska Anchorage Alaska Airlines Center and run through Saturday.
8 a.m. – House Community and Regional Affairs continues consideration of “right to repair” legislation
9 a.m. – House Finance considers a bill that would establish paid parental leave program for parental leave up to 26 weeks and increases unemployment insurance maximum weekly benefit amount through the Alaska Department of Labor, and create a new parental leave fund
9 a.m. – Senate Resources continues considering a governor’s bill to provide property tax breaks for the proposed Alaska LNG gas line, and a bill to establish state policy for regulating and oversight of gas line construction
10 a.m. – House Fisheries considers a bill that would cap annual fees, streamline the permitting process and create exemptions from certain health and sanitary requirements for small commercial fishing vessels
10:15 p.m. – House Military and Veteran Affairs considers a bill that would create options for veterans who are exposed to service-related trauma and commit crimes to be able to access therapeutic services and avoid incarceration
12 p.m. – Lunch and Learn presentation on the science of child development
1 p.m. – House Energy hears a presentation on Alaska’s Sustainable Energy Corporation
1:30 p.m. Senate Community and Regional Affairs considers a bill that would require contracts for new data centers account for energy needs, prioritize renewable energy, and ensure other energy customers’ costs do not increase, and another bill that would expand the number of seats on the Board of Fisheries
3:30 p.m. House Health and Social Services considers governors’ appointees to several boards
3:30 p.m. – Senate State Affairs reviews the voter initiatives that have been certified to appear on the state ballot in November
Friday, April 17
Arctic Encounter Summit closes in Anchorage
1 p.m. House Resources continues hearing a companion bill proposed by the governor to provide property tax breaks for the proposed Alaska LNG gas line
3:15 p.m. House Labor and Commerce considers a bill that would require insurance to cover evaluations and treatment for certain pediatric neuropsychiatric disorders, and another bill to reclassify emergency dispatchers to be included in “protective services occupations” and eligible for the state’s public employees’ defined benefit retirement system
3:30 p.m. Senate Resources continues considering a governor’s bill to provide property tax breaks for the proposed Alaska LNG gas line
• Corinne Smith started reporting in Alaska in 2020, serving as a radio reporter for several local stations across the state including in Petersburg, Haines, Homer and Dillingham. She spent two summers covering the Bristol Bay fishing season. Originally from Oakland, California, she got her start as a reporter, then morning show producer, at KPFA Radio in Berkeley. Alaska Beacon is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
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