Alaska Beacon state and legislative daybook for the week of March 16, 2026

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

Snow falls on the Alaska State Capitol on Monday, March 16, 2026, in Juneau, Alaska. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

By James Brooks

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, March 23

House/Senate floor sessions in the morning

Look for conference committee to pop up on Monday or Tuesday

8 a.m. – House Education continues hearing a bill to increase per student funding by $630 next year; a bill to increase funding for students attending residential schools; and a bill to offer CPR training in schools

9 a.m. – Board of Dental Examiners meeting

9 a.m. – Board of Social Work Examiners meeting

1 p.m. – House Judiciary considers several governor appointees to the Commission on Judicial Conduct, Violent Crimes Compensation Board, and Alaska Police Standards Council

1:30 p.m. – Senate Judiciary Committee hears a bill that would raise the age of consent from 16 to 18 years old

6 p.m. – Holi Festival hosted by Spice Bollywood Dancers on Franklin Street downhill from the Capitol

Tuesday, March 24

Alaska Tribal Conference on Environmental Management opens in Anchorage

Look for conference committee to pop up on Monday or Tuesday

7:30 a.m. – Senate Finance Subcommittee hears a presentation from the Office of Children’s Services on their proposed budget for next year

8 a.m. – Will the state’s new sick-leave law be weakened to benefit fish processors? House Community and Regional Affairs is hearing a bill.

9 a.m. – Electronic pull tabs resemble slot machines and they’re in use at tribal gaming halls — will the state authorize them in other places? Senate Finance looks at SB 170.

12 p.m. – Lunch and learn presentation on 65 years of ISER, the Institute for Social & Economic Research at the University of Alaska Anchorage

12:30 p.m. – Alaska Police Standards Council meeting

1 p.m. – House Transportation takes up a bill to regulate self-driving vehicles

1:30 p.m. – Senate Transportation looks at a bill that would make it easier to import classic cars into the state

3:15 p.m. – House Health and Social Services hears a bill to update criminal law related to sexual assault by a health care worker

Wednesday, March 25

House/Senate floor sessions in the morning

8 a.m. – House Education Committee hears a presentation on a state-run career guidance program and a bill to expand career and technical education grants 

9 a.m. – Regulatory Commission of Alaska regular meeting

9 a.m. – Senate Finance takes up a bill that would reduce the annual transfer from the Permanent Fund to the state treasury, and it looks at the big tax bill that came out of Senate Resources

9:30 a.m. – Alaska Corp. for Affordable Housing meets to approve $15 million for a project in Wasilla

10 a.m. – AHFC may approve borrowing almost $150 million for housing projects statewide, during a regular meeting

11 a.m. – Anchorage airport jobs fair

12 p.m. – Lunch and earn about a “forensic training academy”

1 p.m. – House Judiciary Committee considers the governor’s appointees to the Commission for Human Rights

1 p.m. – Should Alaska lower the limit for drunken driving? House Judiciary takes up a bill that would halve it.

1 p.m. – The governor’s big gas pipeline subsidy bill gets its first hearing in House Resources

Thursday, March 26

8 a.m. – Public records bill in House Community and Regional Affairs

9 a.m. – House Finance Committee considers a bill to expand funding for Regional Education Attendance Areas to include Mt. Edgecumbe High School and rural teacher housing

11 a.m. – Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission meeting

1 p.m. – House Energy Committee hears a presentation on the Alaska Center for Energy and Power

1:30 p.m. – Senate Community and Regional Affairs hears a presentation on how property taxes impact school funding by the Alaska Municipal League

3 p.m. – Controlled substances advisory committee meeting

3:15 p.m. – House State Affairs hears a presentation on broadband in Alaska

3:30 p.m. – House Health and Social Services Committee hears a presentation on the Alaska Citizens Review Panel, and Office of Children’s Services director Kim Guay speaks.

6 p.m. – What can Anchorage do about rising natural gas prices? A presentation by Alaska Common Ground

Friday, March 27

House/Senate floor sessions in the morning

8 a.m. – House Education considers governor’s appointees to the Professional Teaching Practices Commission; a bill to increase education funding, and a bill to increase funds for special education

9 a.m. Senate Health Committee hears a presentation on the Division of Public Assistance

House/Senate floor sessions in the morning

12 p.m. – Lunch and learn about state energy data

1 p.m. – House Judiciary looks at changing the way the Legislature handles Ethics Act complaints

1:30 p.m. – The controversial nurse licensure compact bill gets a hearing in Senate Labor and Commerce

3:30 p.m. Senate Education hears a bill that would require school districts to report academic progress to the Legislature, including financial data for each school; and a bill to cap local contributions to school districts. 

Saturday, March 28

12 p.m. – “No Kings” rally at Juneau’s Overstreet Park (the whale statue)

3:15 p.m. – House State Affairs takes public testimony on two different bills that would eliminate Daylight Saving Time in different ways

• James Brooks Cascade is a longtime Alaska reporter who lives in Juneau. He previously worked at the Anchorage Daily News, Juneau Empire, Kodiak Mirror and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Alaska Beacon is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.