DID YOU KNOW?

• Alaska’s housing market has remained resilient. Factors such as a strong job market, low unemployment rate, and a variety of industries contribute to the stability of the housing market, making it a promising place for homebuyers.
• Living in Alaska means being surrounded by incredible adventure and breathtaking natural beauty.

 ACTIONS

• Governor Dunleavy proposed $62.5 million in the FY25 budget to support Alaska Housing Finance Corporation’s (AHFC) annual housing programs, including the Last Frontier Housing Initiative, which provides grants targeted toward communities in need of hard-to-fill, critical state positions. AHFC’s Rural Professionals Housing program serving teachers, law enforcement officials, and others, has constructed more than 500 housing units in 80 rural communities since 2004. The enacted budget contains additional funds which were appropriated by the legislature to further support these efforts.
• Governor Dunleavy successfully introduced legislation to expand AHFC’s ability to provide financial assistance to new homeowners. This legislation will make a meaningful difference for homebuyers struggling to come up with a down payment. The projected out-of-pocket savings based on the average sales price of a home in Anchorage last year is nearly $10,000.

ACTIONS

• Governor Dunleavy established a Task Force on Child Care in April of 2023.
• An initial report from the Child Care Task Force was submitted to the Governor in December 2023 with recommendations on increasing the accessibility and affordability of child care in Alaska for the short and long term.
• During the 2024 legislative session, Governor Dunleavy will introduce the Alaska Affordability Act focused on reducing the largest expenses in a family’s budget, including child care.
• An actuarial study on the cost of child care in Alaska will be completed in spring 2024, with the final report due from the task force by the end of July 2024.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Alaska’s charter school students are leading the nation!
• The Alaska Performance Scholarship (APS) is available to qualifying high school seniors to help cover the cost of a postsecondary education in Alaska.
• Alaska has a robust correspondence school system.
• The University of Alaska System offers unique advantages, with a strong emphasis on Arctic research and hands-on learning.

ACTIONS

• The Governor’s enacted FY25 budget included funding for school districts according to the Foundation Program, Pupil Transportation, and School Debt Reimbursement formulas in statute.
• The Governor’s budget supports the continued implementation of the Alaska READS Act, which has already increased students’ reading proficiency.

DID YOU KNOW?

• From 2019 to 2023, Alaska saw a significant decrease in overall crime rates with a reduction of about 31%, During that same period, violent crime dropped by 15.9%.
• Alaska’s law enforcement is uniquely equipped for diverse challenges. The Alaska State Troopers and Wildlife Troopers cover everything from day-to-day policing to wilderness patrols. Specialized units like the Alaska Bureau of Investigation handle serious crimes and Village Public Safety Officers often serve as first responders across the vast landscapes of the Last Frontier.

ACTIONS

• In 2019, Governor Dunleavy championed and signed into law omnibus crime-fighting legislation to address the gaps in Alaska’s criminal statutes and codes by strengthening sentencing for many felonies, giving discretion back to judges and the Parole Board, and making improvements to the “catch and release” bail system.
• After eliminating the historic sexual assault kit testing backlog, the Department of Public Safety launched a sexual assault kit tracking system, enabling survivors to monitor the status of their kits and preventing future backlogs.
• In 2021, the Alaska State Troopers established a major crimes investigative unit in Western Alaska.
• As a result of Governor Dunleavy’s People First Initiative, the State of Alaska’s response to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons is among the most aggressive in the nation.
• In 2022, the Alaska State Troopers established a violent crime victim navigator program to assist and communicate with victims of violent crime to ensure that they are included in the investigation and understand their rights and in 2024, the Alaska Bureau of Investigation established a Child Sexual Abuse Investigative Unit in the Bethel region to respond to the extremely high rates of child sexual abuse that occur in this region.
• Governor Dunleavy signed one of the most comprehensive crime bills in decades, aimed at improving public safety in Alaska in July 2024. The legislation targets issues like fentanyl, child exploitation, and human trafficking, while enhancing protections for crime victims. It includes stricter penalties for drug-related deaths, updates the sex offender registry, and introduces new crimes, such as assaulting someone in a child’s presence.
• In FY24 and FY25, the State of Alaska filled a multi-million-dollar federal funding gap for Alaska’s domestic violence and sexual assault shelters ensuring that victims had access to safe housing and services after experiencing a traumatic crime.

ACTIONS

• Governor Dunleavy established the Alaska Food Security and Independence Task Force in February 2022.
• In March 2023 the Alaska Food Security and Independence Task Force delivered the final report to the Governor.
• Governor Dunleavy proposed a food security omnibus bill HB296/SB211, focused on removing barriers for our local farmers and encouraging the purchase of Alaskan products by State of Alaska agencies. Additional legislation  HB272/SB190 was proposed to expand hunting opportunities for individuals experiencing disabilities.
• The Department of Environmental Conservation is working on a food freedom regulation package, increasing our local producers’ ability to sell homemade food goods to informed customers and encourage the expansion of the cottage food industry.

ACTIONS

• Governor Dunleavy introduced HB307/SB217 that would ensure the lowest cost power can move anywhere along the Railbelt electrical transmission system without artificial barriers or extra costs. This legislation also creates the same tax treatment for independent power producers that non-profit utilities enjoy, with the objective of keeping costs as low as possible for ratepayers.
• Governor Dunleavy proposed changes to increase Railbelt energy security by modernizing the royalty structure in the Cook Inlet in HB276/SB194.
• Governor Dunleavy introduced legislation HB74/SB69 to expand development opportunities for Alaska’s vast geothermal resources.
• Microreactor regulations put Alaskan communities at forefront of energy innovation. The State of Alaska adopted regulations to streamline the regulatory process for communities wanting to provide clean energy by nuclear microreactor power generation.
• Governor Dunleavy introduced legislation HB154/SB125 that would create a “green bank” to finance sustainable energy projects under the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation. AHFC has a proven track record of sound investments, and will work with the Alaska Energy Authority to develop sustainable energy projects and lower costs for Alaskans across the state.
• Governor Dunleavy established the Energy Security Task Force in the spring of 2023 – the final report was delivered to the Governor on December 1, 2023. 
• In 2023, the Governor introduced Carbon Offset and Carbon Storage legislation. SB48 Carbon Offset Program legislation passed in May of 2023, HB50 / SB49 the Carbon Storage legislation is poised to pass the legislature in the upcoming session
• The Alaska Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) Project (the Alaska LNG Project) is Alaska’s priority energy infrastructure project to maximize the benefit of Alaska’s North Slope natural gas resources.