Senator Dunleavy Discusses State Budget, Bills on Adult Foster Care, Literacy

The Alaska State Legislature’s session is underway. As the session continues, KTNA will speak with the legislators representing the Upper Valley on a regular basis. KTNA’s Phillip Manning recently spoke with Senator Mike Dunleavy about two bills he is sponsoring as well as plans to address the state’s fiscal situation.

With the Legislature entering its third week, Senator Mike Dunleavy, the Wasilla Republican whose district includes the Upper Valley, believes that his colleagues can all agree that Alaska’s continuing fiscal issues need to be solved, that a solution should come this year, and that the state’s savings are dwindling.

“I think we all understand this is not going to be a resolution that is simply one individual or one small group’s opinion. It’s got to be a solution that encompasses the diversity of the State of Alaska. It has to take everybody’s ideas into consideration….It should have a multi-year look to it. It should have several components.”

One of those components the Alaska Senate’s Republican majority wants to see is a reduction on the state’s spending cap. The cap was put into place more than thirty-five years ago by a vote of the populace, but Dunleavy and others believe more should be done to limit the growth of state government.

“The word we’re getting as we go around our districts is Alaskans are always willing to pull together in a time of crisis, but in this situation they want to make sure that, if aspects of the [permanent fund] earnings reserve are going to be used…that we’re not tapping into that to just grow government. We’re using that to get us through the next couple of years so we can get to a sustainable budget.”

While the state’s budget problems loom large over the current legislative session, they are far from the only topic being raised in Juneau. Senator Dunleavy has sponsored a total of four bills, including two dealing with issues outside of state spending. In fact, Dunleavy says neither will cost the state anything.

The first, Senate Bill 10, addresses how care for Alaskans in foster care with developmental disabilities is handled once they reach the age of majority. Senator Dunleavy says a gap currently exists that he hopes to close.

“When an individual who falls into this category turns eighteen, they lose their level of in-home care that they were receiving when they were a minor. Then, they’re basically out of that program and they’re admitted to a nursing home facility.”

The bill, if passed, would add adult foster care to the list of facilities covered by the Medicaid waiver program. Senator Dunleavy says that means Alaskans with severe developmental disabilities would be able to stay in the home they already know upon turning eighteen.

“It allows these individuals–after the age of eighteen—they basically get to stay where they were and receive the same care in the same environment that’s familiar with the same folks that know these individuals.”

Since the individuals who would be covered by the program are already wards of the state, Dunleavy says there should be no additional cost to Alaska.

The second non-budget related bill Senator Dunleavy is sponsoring is Senate Bill 27, which would establish a state task force on literacy and the impact of dyslexia. Dunleavy says people have approached him asking for bills on addressing Alaska’s low performance in literacy. Alaska performs below the national average in reading according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Senator Dunleavy says he responded to literacy advocates by proposing a task force to compare experiences amongst experts and come up with a solution.

“We want to get all these people in one room so that we’re not doing fifteen different things at once or contradicting the various approaches. That’s mainly the purpose; to form a task force, get people together to address this issue. Certainly the issue of dyslexia will be a major component that will be discussed, and there will be attempts to address it.”

Since the task force would involve literacy advocates and experts already working on the issue and does not implement a plan at this time, Senator Dunleavy says there will be no cost to the state.

Senate Bills 10 and 27 have received committee assignments, but have not yet gone through public hearings.