Alaska Beacon state and legislative daybook for the week of Feb. 23, 2026

Here’s what’s happening in the Alaska Capitol and elsewhere across the state

Snow falls around the Alaska State Capitol on Dec. 31, 2025. (Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)

By Claire Stremple

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, Feb. 23

House and Senate floor sessions in the morning

• 9:00 a.m. Senate Finance gets its questions answered by the Legislative Finance Division

• 1 p.m. House Judiciary Committee hold an investigatory hearing into ICE detention of minors in Alaska

• 1 p.m. House Resources Committee hears mining association update

• 1: 30 p.m. Senate Judiciary Committee hears Alaska Criminal Justice Data report

• 1:30 Senate Labor and Commerce hears a bill that would expand the scope of practice for Physicians Assistants

• 3:30 p.m. House and Senate Task Force on Education Funding hears an update on special education 

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Tuesday, Feb 24

Alaska Miners Association Juneau Mining Forum 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Baranof Hotel

• 9 a.m. House Finance Subcommittee hears about the Department of Correction’s FY27 budget request

• 9 a.m. Senate Finance Committee hears invited and public testimony on a bill that would reimburse exonerated felons for lost Permanent Fund Dividend payments

• 10 a.m. House Fish and Game hears from Commissioner Doug Vincent Lang on FY27 fiscal topics

• 1:30 p.m. House Finance takes up the operating and mental health budgets

• 1:30 p.m. House Transportation looks at a bill that would regulate autonomous vehicles

• 3:15 p.m. House Health and Social Services looks at a resolution to support the Rural Health Transformation Program

• 3:15 p.m. House State Affairs considers a bill that would prohibit law enforcement from concealing faces and another that would require the governor to submit a balanced budget to the Legislature

• 3:30 p.m. House Health and Social Services considers a bill that would require parent notification for bullying and create a safe gun storage fund

• 3:30 p.m. Senate State Affairs hears an update on the Department of Corrections

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Wednesday, Feb 25

• 8 a.m. House Education hears an update on the Alaska Reads Act, then an update on career and technical education

• 9 a.m. House Finance hears about marijuana tax reform bill

• 9 a.m. Senate Finance gets an update on the Alaska Permanent Fund’s performance

• 1 p.m. House Resources hears a North Slope production update presentation from Hilcorp 

• 1 p.m. House Judiciary hears a presentation on foster care sibling relationships from Facing Foster Care, a non-profit advocacy group, and an update from the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault

• 1:30 p.m. House Finance looks at the Governor’s proposed budget for DOC and Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development

• 1:30 p.m. Senate Judiciary considers a bill that would raise the age of consent to 18

• 3:30 p.m. Senate Education hears a bill on University of Alaska fees

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Thursday, Feb 26

• 8 a.m. House Public Safety looks at Department of Public Safety’s FY27 budget topics with Commissioner Jim Cockrell

• 9 a.m. House Subfinance Committee continues hearing the Department of Corrections FY27 budget request

• 9 a.m. Senate Finance hears regional public testimony related to the budget

• 12 p.m. Lunch and Learn presentation with Facing Foster Care, a non-profit advocacy group

• 1:30 p.m. Senate Special Committee on Arctic Affairs hears about rural energy costs and nuclear power from UAF’s Gwen Holdmann

• 1:30 p.m. Senate Finance hears regional public testimony related to the budget

• 3:20 p.m. House Health and Social Services hears an update on the Division of Juvenile Justice, then an update on a recent audit of the Office of Children’s Services

• 3:30 p.m. Senate State Affairs hears an update on response systems for domestic violence and sexual assault

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Friday, Feb 27

• 8:00 a.m. House Education Committee 

• 9 a.m. Senate Finance hears regional testimony from Fairbanks, the Interior and Copper River Valley 

• 1:30 p.m. House Resources hears an update from the Division of Natural Resources’ Division of Mining, Land and Water; Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys and Office of Project Management and Permitting

• 1:30 p.m. House Finance gets a response from the Office of Children’s Services on its recent audit and an update on its budget overview

• 1:30 Senate Finance hears regional public testimony from Anchorage, the Kenai Peninsula and Matanuska-Susitna Valley

• 3:30 p.m. Senate Resources looks at a resolution that would support the extension of an executive order banning the import of Russian seafood

• Claire Stremple began reporting in Alaska in 2018 as a public radio reporter in Haines. Since then, she has reported across the state on the health environment, education and justice beats. Alaska Beacon is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.