Alaska Common Ground has been reflecting a lot lately on our mission during these turbulent times – to engage and inform Alaskans to cultivate understanding and cooperation on issues important to Alaska. While we focus on Alaska policy issues, what happens in DC impacts us here, and the public discourse around democracy today presents us with the opportunity to double down on our commitment to building understanding and cooperation in our own big backyard. As we were reminded during our annual meeting, there is immense value in listening, in seeking to understand one another’s values, and in curiosity and respect. 

Our role is to create opportunities for Alaskans to dig deeper on issues important to us all. We seek to learn more, so that we may better understand not only the issue, but the nuance to the “sides” of it. The hundreds of you who joined us in the past few months to develop tools for difficult conversations and to dig into Medicaid policy, renewable energy legislation, and strategic waste management solutions joined us in his commitment, and we are grateful you did.

If you have requests for future ACG events on issues of importance to Alaska or other suggestions, we welcome and value those at any time to info@akcommonground.org.

The Alaska Legislature adjourned for the 2025 session on May 19th; the session was heavily focused on the state budget and education funding. Changes in oil production, oil prices, and oil taxes have combined to put a unique triple squeeze on our state government and its ability to deliver for Alaskans. Our state’s oil production has fallen by more than 75 percent from its peak in the late 1980s. Despite a very recent spike caused by war in the Mideast, oil prices have not stayed high enough to compensate for this drastically lower Alaska oil production. On top of the giant decline in Alaska oil production and volatile oil prices, our oil tax system has changed over the last 20 years to make our state revenues much more susceptible to sudden declines in oil prices. Additionally, inflation has caused the costs of providing state services to go up in Alaska as well as around the country.

The State of Alaska has already made various other efforts to address our state’s persistent and growing structural deficit. Over the past dozen years, the state has cut traditional spending on conventional public services and provided fewer public services to Alaskans; stepped up its spending of savings from the Constitutional Budget Reserve (CBR) and other accounts outside the Permanent Fund; cut Permanent Fund Dividends from what they would be under the statutory formula devised in the 1980s; and started the substantial use of Permanent Fund earnings to pay for both traditional public services and Permanent Fund Dividends.

The solutions to Alaska’s structural deficit are not easy. Promises from the Trump Administration for increased oil, gas, and mining in Alaska won’t help the state budget for a long time. Any increase in oil production, or construction of a gas line, will take years to bring into production and bring revenue to the state. Additionally, the state receives significantly less revenue from oil and gas production on federal lands compared to state land.

The Legislature is considering various measures to fix the structural deficit. Proposals include raising oil taxes, adopting a broad-based tax such as an income or sales tax, enacting other tax increases, and reducing Permanent Fund Dividends further. 

Regarding education funding, there has been a lot in the media about the Legislature voting to increase funding only to have it vetoed this year, twice. The Governor’s June 12th line-item veto of the Legislature’s modest increase in the Base Student Allocation (BSA) can only be restored either by a ¾ majority override in the special session next month. Meanwhile, school districts statewide are trying to figure out how to start their school year with less than even the most conservative had budgeted.

Because of the focus on the state budget and education, many of the bills that ACG recently held discussions on did not move forward during the session. The second session of the 34th Alaska Legislative begins January 20th, 2026 and legislation introduced in the 2025 session can be considered in the second session. Here are some bills of interest that did not pass:

• HB 153/SB 149 – Renewable Portfolio Standard [Read more below!]
• HB 16 – Campaign Finance Reform (passed House but not Senate)
• HB 78/SB 28 – Retirement System for certain state employees (HB 78 passed House but not Senate)
• Legislation to reform the Permanent Fund structure or governance

To learn more about these and other legislation, there is a wealth of information on the Alaska Legislature’s website. There you can find the status of legislation at the end of the first session by using the search box at the top of the home page. (For Senate Bills, type in SB and the bill number. For House Bills, type in HB and the bill number.) And there are links to find information about passed and pending legislation by Subject and Sponsor.

Alaska's Fiscal Future: Resources for the Road Ahead

This year’s legislative session and everything that has happened since they adjourned reminds us that the long debate over our State’s fiscal path forward is as critical as ever. The Governor issued his line-item vetoes to the budget passed by the Legislature for fiscal year 2026, which began July 1, 2025. He has also called the Legislature into Special Session starting on August 2, where they will vote on his line-item vetoes.

Alaska has no long-term fiscal plan for our state. ACG has been passionate about facilitating opportunities to understand and explore plan options and possibilities over the years. We intend to host additional fiscal events this fall, but in the meantime, we encourage you to check out our catalog of fiscal events here to help you get ready to engage!

Additionally, Cliff Groh – long-time ACG Board Member and recognized expert on Alaska fiscal policy as well as former legislator and current candidate – wrote a free guide to Alaska’s fiscal crisis. It features details about a workable plan along with cartoons and graphs to help explain this complex issue in an engaging way. You can get this guide by writing to him at cliff.groh@gmail.com.

Thank you!

ACG would like to extend our genuine gratitude to Northrim Bank for its recent contribution and enduring financial support of our work. We value Northrim's commitment to the community and to fostering an engaged Alaskan democracy!

Recap! 2025 Annual Meeting Featuring Tools for Difficult Conversations

Thank you to the more than 70 ACG members and guests who joined us for our 2025 Annual Meeting on April 2nd at King Street Brewing. We heard from Libby Roderick, who led an interactive program sharing tools, tips, and resources for thoughtful and productive conversations when we don’t agree or share the same perspective.

As Director Emeritus of the Difficult Dialogues Initiative at UAA, Libby works with groups around the U.S. and world to increase their capacity to effectively conduct difficult conversations. ACG is grateful to Libby for sharing her wisdom with all of us. Because this event was in person only, no video recording is available. However Libby shared some great resources with us, which you can find on our website.

Recap! Medicaid 101: What it is, What it's not, and What Potential Significant Cuts could Mean for Alaskans

Did you know, in 2024, roughly 246,000 Alaskans were enrolled in Alaska’s Medicaid program? Earlier this year, Congress passed a budget resolution that laid out a potential $880 billion in cuts to the program nationwide. To learn more about this important - and very complex - topic before it became part of budget negotiations, we hosted a Zoom event on April 29th. (Note: Since then, Congress passed a budget with deeper cuts to Medicaid than the resolution laid out, and it has been signed into law by the President).

We heard from a group of expert panelists who imparted their insights in relatable detail about what a significant reduction might look like for Alaskans and our access to healthcare (not just for those who receive Medicaid), as well as on our economy overall. While the specifics of the cuts and impacts are still coming out, the presentation provides a good overview of what may lie ahead.

ACG thanks Elizabeth Ripley, now retired President and CEO of Mat-Su Health Foundation, for moderating our panel, and Lisa Aquino, CEO, Anchorage Neighborhood Health Center; Monique Martin, Vice President of Intergovernmental Affairs, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium; and Joshua Arvidson, Chief Operating Officer, Alaska Behavioral Health for serving as our speakers. You can watch the event on our website. We also put together this fact sheet with key information shared, along with additional resources.

Recap! What's up with Recycling in Anchorage

As part of ACG’s Climate & Energy focus area, we consider how communities consume and manage solid waste. On May 27th, we were pleased to host Kelli Toth, the Municipality of Anchorage’s new Director of Solid Waste Services for an interesting Zoom presentation.

In addition to the services offered at the city’s new transfer station, Kelli introduced us to the Materials Recovery Facility - a strategic effort to reduce the amount of waste going into our burgeoning landfill. Residents can drop off food waste, plastics, and untreated wood all summer, then these items are repurposed by businesses into usable materials like compost and engineered lumber. Efforts like these help reduce methane in our atmosphere and extend the life of the landfill.

Kelli’s presentation was full of great information, which you can find on our website along with a host of other valuable resources. Stay tuned for more Climate & Energy events this fall.

Continuing ACG’s look at renewable energy legislation in Alaska, we cohosted a Zoom webinar on April 23rd with Renewable Energy Alaska Project (REAP) to discuss legislation that would establish a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) for Alaska's Railbelt region. It would require electric utilities along the state’s railbelt to diversify their generation portfolios and increase the percentage of their electricity from renewable sources.

Alaska State House Representative Ky Holland and REAP's Executive Director Chris Rose helped us better understand this complex topic, including what the RPF would require and the benefits of this legislation for Alaskans. Neither House Bill 153, nor its companion Senate Bill 149 passed this session, but ACG will keep an eye on what happens with this key legislation next session. You can find the discussion on our website.

Gratitude to Outgoing Board Members

ACG wishes to acknowledge John Parsi and Katie Severin for their dedicated service on ACG’s board. As they transition away for other important endeavors, we want share our appreciation for their commitment to our mission and for the time and passion they brought to our efforts to foster an engaged Alaska democracy!

Welcome to our Newest Board Member

You may recognize Cami Dalton as a longtime volunteer for ACG’s Climate & Energy working group. Now we’re thrilled to announce she’s joined our board! Born and raised in Colorado to a politically active family, Cami eventually moved to Alaska on what at the time was her and her husband’s “5-year adventure plan”. That plan turned into four decades, as they set down roots and raised their family here and Cami embarked on a longtime and fulfilling teaching career, from which she recently retired.

Cami has a long-standing interest in community engagement, group processes, and public policy. She is committed to the idea that as citizens, we have the ability and responsibility to engage in and advocate for the protection and improvement of systems, places, institutions, and policies we value. Welcome Cami! Learn more about Cami here.

Alaska Common Ground’s mission is to engage and inform Alaskans to cultivate understanding and cooperation on issues important to Alaska.



We rely primarily on small membership donations from the community to Advance an Engaged Alaskan Democracy and keep our free programs like these going. 

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