A panel of #akleg senators are scheduled to talk in about 9 minutes as part of the #seconference mid-session summit. @SenStedman, @JesseKiehl and Sen. Natasha von Imhof are slated to talk. @pmiccic has been "invited," per the meeting agenda.

Stay tuned for live updates!

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The #seconference presentations are being conducted over Zoom and are being recorded. A spokesperson for the organization told me links to the recordings will (eventually) be posted to its website and to YouTube.

Right now @JesseKiehl is the only senator connected to the meeting. Joking about his tie.

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And now @pmiccic is connected. Still waiting on @SenStedman and Natasha von Imhof, but it sounds like they're getting the meeting link opened up now.

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Von Imhof connects now, just as Kiehl has started talking.

"It's not a pretty picture anywhere in the state," Kiehl says, but SE is being hit particularly hard.

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Aaaaaaaand @SenStedman has connected.

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Kiehl says he's been on phone with AK's federal delegation, as have other AK lawmakers.

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Stedman is frozen on screen, so Micciche takes over to talk next. Micchiche says he's interested in a "sustainable" budget for the future.

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Micciche said he found the Canadian cruise ship announcement last week "relatively unacceptable."

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He's predicting that the Senate/Legislature will be able to come together when it needs to. "There's been movement on all of the key issues that could lead to a sustainable spending plan."

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Stedman on the line now, says he doesn't really have any opening remarks. "I am not very hopeful that we're going to have much of a cruise industry."

To communities, he says: "You'd better prepare for no ships."

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Von Imhof is up now, saying @GovDunleavy's budget is a "starting point." She notes that he hasn't put forth any legislation for new or increased state revenues.

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If we get "new cash," von Imhof asks, "how should we spend it?" That's a question she's thinking about, specifically naming PFDs as possible topics for that spending.

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Host Robert Venables asks whether the Legislature has the "authority and will" to enact an income tax, as was speculated upon in a #seconference presentation earlier today. Micciche responds with an analogy about growing up and moving out of your parents' house.

"I personally support kind of an all-in plan," Micciche says, where everyone takes a bit of a hit. "I think that Alaskans are ready" to sacrifice for the budget, even in his conservative district, he says, either through a sales tax or some other means.

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"If you're gonna solve the math problem, everyone's gonna feel a little bit of pain," Micciche says. Kiehl says in many ways he agrees with Micciche.

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Kiehl says #akleg made budget cuts with a fillet knife, while Dunleavy made them with a hatchet. He says he's not in favor of a statewide sales tax. References KTN's sales tax cap and his time on Juneau Assembly with sales tax applying to groceries.

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Stedman says he doesn't support statewide sales tax and doesn't think it's going to pass. Says rural AK doesn't generally support sales tax — same for income tax. Reiterates need for statute changes for some budget problems, too, like reducing ER draw cap.

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"Bills in general are sort of moving, but not really moving," von Imhof notes, because the House has yet to organize. Says this summer she studied two different papers/reports about feasibility of different taxes.

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She says only three revenue proposals could possibly make a difference for the state deficit: sales tax, income tax, or increased oil taxes. Returns to her first question: where do we spend? Mentions statewide broadband to attract remote workers.

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"We cannot put a bond package on the street and expect it to be economic stimulus anytime soon," Stedman says. In order to stimulate AK economy, he says, we need to define where it's soft and where the money would count most.

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Stedman freezes again — dropped out of meeting and just rejoined. Von Imhof talking now.

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She says COVID-19 funds complicate things — lots of different buckets, some annual, some one-time.

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Stedman says those wanting to revise Power Cost Equalization formula will also have to contend with revising statutes.

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Kiehl says he thinks there's a safe way to do cruise ships, but says if scientists say there isn't a way to do it, we shouldn't waste our time.

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Venables is asking about the unorganized borough — where's that fall on the priority list. Micciche responds, talking about sales tax. Says everywhere else has a sales tax, and we need to grow up and leave mom + dad's house. (Caveat for rural areas, he says)

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Moving on to final thoughts from the legislators. Venables asks, how do we engage?

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Micciche jokes that a few more weeks of legislators cooped up with other legislators, without being broken up by talks with regular folks, could lead to homicides.

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Stedman: "We can do this;" after all, his district (Sitka + POW + Ketchikan et al.) saw 30% timber harvest declines. Says its all about preserving the state's economic well-being for future generations.

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And that concludes day one of #seconference's mid-session summit. At 8:30am tomorrow, @repdonyoung will give a federal update, then we'll hear from a panel of House members from coastal districts, including Ketchikan's own @RepDanOrtiz. Stay tuned!

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