The Alaska Legislature’s session ended Tuesday afternoon, May 20, after lawmakers passed the capital and operating budgets. Before those final hours, Kodiak’s legislators pushed forward bills on topics ranging from a world trade committee to commercial boat registration.
Rep. Louise Stutes, who represents Cordova, Seward, Kodiak and smaller communities spread across District 5, sponsored a handful of bills and cosponsored roughly 10 others this session. That includes House Bill 31.
“All it does is it relieves the onus of having duplicative fees," she said. "Prior to this bill passing, you had to have two stickers; one from the CFEC and one from the DMV, and it was for the same information. And you were being charged twice and there was no need for it.”
If this bill is signed into law, commercial vessels that are registered with the state Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission [CFEC] will be exempt from registering with the state Department of Motor Vehicles [DMV] and from paying two fees.
Stutes calls it “the derelict boat bill,” because it allows proceeds from the sale of registered vessels found to be derelict to go to a cleanup fund.
Stutes has tried to pass this bill several times in the last five-plus years. Last year, after the Legislature passed it, Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed it, saying the bill was not constitutionally sound, since legislators passed it, and a few others, in the early morning hours after the session ended.
This time around, Stutes said she foresees no problems.
“It’s a savings for our commercial fishermen and so I don’t see any issues," Stutes said. "I would be surprised if the Governor vetoed it.”
This session, Stutes chaired the House Fisheries and House Rules committees, and she was part of the nine-member Seafood Task Force. Using her influence within these roles, she was able to get House Bill 116 passed that allows commercial fishermen to start an insurance co-op.
Stutes said she anticipates Gov. Dunleavy will sign that into law, as well.
“I feel pretty good about this session. Right now we’ve got House Bill 116 which was an insurance carve out which allows fishermen to create their own insurance pool, which is huge," Stutes explained.
In addition to those bills, Stutes was also part of a slew of representatives in the House that sponsored a joint resolution urging the U.S. Congress and President Donald Trump to reinstate the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000, which comes with funding.
That resolution is set to be transferred to the governor, along with a joint resolution honoring the relationship between Canada and Alaska. Kodiak’s state Senator, Gary Stevens, cosponsored both of those resolutions in the Senate.
As for Kodiak’s legislator in the Legislature’s other chamber, Senate President Gary Stevens had one prefiled piece of legislation this session that lawmakers passed and is awaiting the governor’s approval. That’s a resolution to create a special Senate committee on world trade.
Stevens told KMXT back in February after the bill was already submitted to Gov. Dunleavy that this special committee goes hand-in-hand with promoting Alaska seafood and supporting the fishing industry.
“President Trump has talked about several issues that could have an impact on Alaska, particularly on the fishing industry, so I have some concerns about that," Stevens said. "So that’s where world trade [committee] may be going, is to deal with some of these issues that the President has brought up.”
For example, Trump’s sweeping tariffs on a variety of countries have resulted in retaliatory tariffs from China. U.S. fish processors say this is going to negatively impact Alaska seafood, the majority of which is exported. Although there is a 90-day pause on those tariffs, Alaska Public Media reported last week that seafood industry stakeholders are urging the Trump administration not to escalate trade tensions.
Stevens’ proposed special Alaska Senate Committee on World Trade would begin meeting this summer and hold sessions up until the start of the next legislative session if Dunleavy signs the bill into law. Stevens would also be the chair of the special committee.
Another bill Stevens cosponsored this year supports and encourages school districts to recruit and retain international educators on J-1 and H-1B visas. For rural schools like Kodiak’s, international teachers play a large role in filling vacant teaching positions as recently reported by KMXT’s Brian Venua.
Sen. Stevens is set to retire at the end of the 2026 legislative session and does not plan to run for re-election. Last week Rep. Stutes filed her intent to run for Stevens’ seat in the Senate during the upcoming year’s state primary election.
All other bills Stevens and Stutes were working on like HB 199 on commercial fishing loans that weren’t transmitted to the governor by the end of this year's session on May 20 will be carried over into the next legislative session.
