Alaska House, Senate pass a handful of bills before some legislators leave for town hall meetings

The Alaska House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to allow the families of newly deceased Alaskans to freely transfer a car or boat if its owner dies.

Lawmakers approved House Bill 81, by Rep. George Rauscher, R-Sutton, with a unanimous 40-0 vote and sent it to the Senate for further consideration.

The bill was one of several floor actions in the House and Senate on Wednesday. Many legislators are planning to return to Anchorage this weekend for community town hall meetings and announced that they will be absent from the Capitol on Thursday and Friday.

In addition to passing HB 81, members of the House voted 39-1, with only Rep. David Eastman, R-Wasilla, opposed, to allow the Alaska Housing Finance Corp. to issue home loans with a minimum 3% down payment. 

The current minimum down payment is 5%, above the minimum required by federal lenders. AHFC, a state-owned corporation, had requested the change in order to match federal standards. House Bill 273, introduced by Gov. Mike Dunleavy, advances to the Senate.

Members of the House were more divided on a nonbinding resolution that asks Alaska’s delegation in Congress to obtain federal funding for expanding the Alaska Railroad to Fort Greely in Delta Junction and Port MacKenzie in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.

The resolution is a biannual feature of the Legislature but was opposed this year by some Democrats and independents, who said they feared it would take away from attention to the Port of Alaska in Anchorage. The resolution passed 32-8 and advances to the Senate.

In the Senate, which also met on Wednesday, legislators voted 19-0 to advance a bill updating the state’s laws pertaining to reemployment rights and treatment after an injury on the job. Sen. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel, was excused absent. 

Sen. James Kaufman, R-Anchorage and the lead sponsor of Senate Bill 147, said that it was an unexciting bill but one that updates a 20-year-old section of state law. SB 147 advances to the House for consideration.

The Senate is scheduled to meet again on Thursday morning before legislators adjourn to travel away from Juneau. The House is planning to meet on Friday morning.