Join me Saturday, March 13th at 10:00am on my official legislative Facebook page for a live update. This month I'll be covering the withdrawal of the DHSS reorganization, extension of the state Public Health Emergency, COVID-19 vaccine rollout and resources available to schedule your appointment, the Copper River Seafoods case, and local Anchorage updates. I will also be available to answer questions you may have.

You can RSVP to the event here or share it on Facebook.

As a reminder, the Municipality of Anchorage elections are coming up on Tuesday, April 6. Ballot packages will be mailed to qualified Anchorage voters on Monday, March 15. To receive your ballot package at an address other than your Voter Registration mailing address, please fill out an Application to Vote at a Temporary Address.

If you have any questions about the upcoming Anchorage election, you can call 907-343-VOTE (8683) or head to muni.org/vote.

Hot tip: If you like my Facebook page you will receive a notification anytime I go live or plan to go live. Never miss a meeting again!

Anyone who lives or works in Alaska is eligible to be immunized against COVID-19. I want to especially thank our Tribal partners, first responders and health care workers for making this possible.

The Pfizer vaccine is an option for ages 16 and up. The Moderna vaccine and the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine are options for people ages 18 and up. All available vaccines are safe options and have been shown to prevent serious illness and death from COVID-19.

Call the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services at 1-907-646-3322 to schedule your vaccine appointment. The phone line operates from Mon-Fri: 9 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. and Sat-Sun: 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Language interpretation services are available. Appointments may fill up, but more will be added. More appointments are often added on Thursdays.

Each March in Alaska we celebrate Sobriety Awareness Month. I've been sober for nearly 20 years and am proud to celebrate with organizations like Recover Alaska to encourage health, wellness, and recovery. If you would like to share your own story about sobriety, you can share your story with Recover Alaska.

The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium will also be sharing stories of sobriety and providing resources throughout Sobriety Awareness Month: "Every Friday in March, the Consortium is sharing a video series featuring five individuals who are living sober. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to hear their stories of recovery, how culture has played a positive role in their lives and how they are thriving in sobriety."

You may have heard about the Governor's proposed split of the Department of Health and Social Services through Executive Order 119. On Thursday, March 11, Governor Dunleavy rescinded Executive Order 119,ending the Administration's proposed split of the Department of Health & Social Services (DHSS). The withdrawal comes after the House Health and Social Services Committee passed HSCR 1 by a vote of 6-1, which would have blocked the Governor's split.

The legislature played a critical oversight role here. The way we do the things we do is just as important as what we do. In Health and Social Services Committee hearings, we heard many concerns from our legal counsel about constitutional and legal flaws in the executive order, and from health care and social services leaders about the rushed timeline and lack of engagement of those who provide actually services funded by DHSS. Even if this reorganization was a good idea, the EO process does not allow the legislature to amend the policy to correct its significant flaws.

Our job as lawmakers is to carefully deliberate on crucial legislation that impacts our kids, families, and our most vulnerable Alaskans. If this reorganization is a good idea, it will still be a good idea outside of this short timeline, and we can revisit it at a later date with quality input from stakeholders.

The women of the Alaska State House got together for International Women’s Day on Monday, March 8th. I am so proud to serve with this diverse group of Democrats and Republicans from across the state! Alaska has a long history of amazing women leaders, including Elizabeth Peratrovich, a Tlingit leader, who passed the first anti-discrimination law in the United States in 1945.

Finally, I want to honor Katie Hurley, Constitutional Convention Secretary and former House Representative, who just passed away last month, a few days short of her 100th birthday.

Numerous leaders serve as role models to women and girls today, including Dr. Rosita Kaahani Worl, president of the Sealaska Heritage Institute; former Lt. Governor Valerie Davidson, who broke ground as the first Indigenous woman to serve in a statewide office, and currently serves as President of Alaska Pacific University; and Tara Sweeney, former Assistant Secretary of the Interior. Leaders in business like Betsy Lawer and Eleanor Andrews. Amazing mushers like Susan Butcher, Libby Riddles and Aliy Zirkle. Leaders in the court system like Dana Fabe who was elected as the first female Chief Justice in 2000, and Karen Hunt who was the first woman from Anchorage appointed to serve as a Superior Court Judge from 1984-2000.

Taxes are due next month on April 15th. I know that calculating one's tax return is never an enjoyable process. That is why I'd like to share the IRS's free tax return calculator. The IRS Free File Program is a public-private partnership that allows taxpayers for file their taxes for free. You can file your taxes using their free tax preparation and filing options on their IRS partner websites, or directly fill out their electronic federal tax forms online. Learn more about IRS Free File and head to IRS.gov/freefile to file your taxes now.

PFD Applications due on March 31st

Make sure you and your loved ones have filed your PFD applications! The deadline is 11:59PM on March 31, 2021.

You can easily file electronically using a myAlaska account to electronically sign, which only takes a couple minutes. For more information, go to https://mypfd.alaska.gov/. If you file online requesting direct deposit, you will be eligible to receive your 2021 payment in the first disbursement at the start of October. If you file online requesting payment by check, or by submitting a paper application, you will be eligible to receive your 2021 payment in the second disbursement at the end of October.

Email: [email protected]