Alaska Beacon state and legislative daybook for the week of May 11, 2026

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

Senators passed the mental health budget by a 20 to 0 vote on May 7, 2026. (Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)

By Corinne Smith

Alaska Beacon

We’re headed into the finale of the second legislative session of the 34th Legislature. The Senate passed a draft operating budget and the House continues work on the capital budget, while lawmakers are considering final bills to pass or reject. A joint session to vote on the governor’s appointees for various boards and commissions is expected this week, but a date has not been set yet. 

Gov. Mike Dunleavy is in Juneau and pushing for legislative action on the proposed Alaska LNG gas line project, but there is still considerable disagreement among legislators about what that should look like — and how much the state should subsidize the gas line.

This is the Alaska Beacon’s list of where we’re putting our attention in the coming week. 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, May 11

House/Senate floor sessions in the morning 

9 a.m. – Senate Finance considers an omnibus crime bill, containing ten bills related to a variety of court and criminal justice issues

1:30 p.m. – House Finance considers a “mini-bus” education bill, including adding nearly $82 million in one-time funding for schools and a variety of policy changes

3:15 p.m. – House Labor and Commerce considers a bill to change charitable gaming law to include electronic pull tabs, passed by the Senate

3:30 – Senate Resources continues considering tax breaks for the proposed Alaska LNG gas line project

Tuesday, May 12

8 a.m. House Community and Regional Affairs considers a bill to expand property tax deferments for some farms and agricultural businesses, which was passed by the Senate

9 a.m. – Senate Resources continues considering the proposed Alaska LNG gas line project, and a bill to enact tougher standards for residential licenses for hunting and fishing, which was already passed by the House

1:30 p.m. – Senate Transportation considers a bill that would regulate autonomous vehicles, which was passed by the House

3:15 p.m. – House State Affairs considers a bill that would cap campaign contributions and enact more reporting requirements for political campaigns

3:30 p.m. – Senate Resources considers a bill to establish cooperatives for salmon setnetters that has been passed by the House, and continues considering the proposed Alaska LNG gas line project

3:30 p.m. – Senate State Affairs considers a bill to establish an Alaska Native Languages Task Force, and looks at a new elections bill introduced by Gov. Dunleavy after he vetoed a bipartisan elections reform bill that the Legislature tried and failed to override

Wednesday, May 13

9 a.m. – House Finance considers a bill to enact a statewide spay and neuter program, and another bill that would establish shared responsibility for construction project owners and contractors for unpaid wage violations

9 a.m. – Senate Finance hears a presentation on the Donlin Gold project 

9 a.m. – Senate Resources continues considering the proposed Alaska LNG gas line project

1:30 p.m. – House Finance considers a bill related to property taxes for the proposed Alaska LNG gas line project

1:30 p.m. – Senate Labor and Commerce considers a bill that would require contracts for new data centers to account for energy needs, prioritize renewable energy and ensure other energy customers’ costs do not increase

3:15 p.m. – House Labor and Commerce continues considering a bill to change charitable gaming law to include electronic pull tabs, passed by the Senate

3:30 p.m. – Senate Resources continues considering the proposed Alaska LNG gas line project

Thursday, May 14

9 a.m. – House Finance considers a bill to expand state funding for early education, including school districts’ funding for pre-K student programs, passed by the Senate

9 a.m. – Senate Finance to consider a governor’s proposal, amended by the Senate Resources Committee, to levy a state tax for education and expand corporate income taxes

9 a.m. – Senate Resources continues considering tax breaks for the proposed Alaska LNG gas line project

1:30 p.m. – House Finance continues hearing a House proposal for tax breaks on the proposed Alaska LNG gas line project

1:30 p.m. – Senate Finance considers two bills that would allow communities to borrow from the state’s bulk fuel loan program to help offset rising fuel costs

3:15 p.m. – House State Affairs continues to consider a bill that would cap campaign contributions and enact more reporting requirements for political campaigns, and another bill to update state law to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity or expression in real estate transactions

Friday, May 13

9 a.m. – House Finance considers a bill that would enact a $0.98 monthly surcharge on all phone lines to fund behavioral health crisis services, including a 988 crisis hotline

1:30 p.m. – House Finance continues consideration of a House proposal for tax breaks on the proposed Alaska LNG gas line project

1:30 p.m. – Senate Labor and Commerce considers a bill to exempt seafood processing workers from paid sick leave, passed by Alaska voters with Ballot Measure 1 in 2024

3:30 p.m. – Senate Resources continues considering the proposed Alaska LNG gas line project

Saturday, May 14

Hearings on various bills are scheduled to continue in Senate Finance, House Finance, House Health and Social Services and House State Affairs

• 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.