Spotlight on Juneau
May 5, 2002
 

Hello Fellow Taxpayers:

The regular session of the 22nd Legislature ends May 14, but there is still plenty of time for bad bills to be pushed through. This is like the "showdown at the OK corral" Alaska style. On one side we have the fiscally liberal "tax and spend gang", and on the other side Alaska Voters, with the final outcome of this battle being decided in the fall!

Last week our House of Representatives voted to TAX and SPEND BILLIONS! See how your Representative voted on the Watchdog page. These bills have now moved over to the State Senate for consideration. To make a positive difference, you must act on the following bills NOW:

HB 20 raids the Permanent Fund
HB 175 gives $43 million to utility companies
HB 225 raises Alcohol TAX
HB 302 State builds natural gas pipeline
HB 303 Income TAX
HB 304 Spends Permanent Fund
HB 344 Increases Driver's License TAX 50%
HB 498 Gives over $1 Billion to a private company
HB 519 Gives oil companies $600 million TAX break (this bill is still in the House)

You can check the status and committee hearing schedule for any of these bills by going to the BASIS page on the State of Alaska web site. Enter bill number in the "Bill Root" window, and push "display bill root" button. Give us a call if you have any questions about operating this system.

To contact your legislator regarding any of these bills, use the tools provided on our Action page.  You can now send the same message to all legislators using a recently added feature listed under the Email section. Don't forget to also send a POM! Legislators welcome your telephone calls, and most have a toll free number.

We now have members in all election districts, and the State Senate needs to hear from everyone.  You must act NOW, as time is running out for you to be heard!!!

If you have any questions about how to become involved, call the Alaska Voters Organization at (907) 776-8008 or send us an Email.

Until the next time remember to keep those POM's and Letters flooding into Juneau. We must keep up the pressure now, or pay a BIG bill later. The choice is clear, we must manage the legislature, as we can not AFFORD let them manage us any longer!

Mike McBride

PS please forward this message to concerned family members, friends, neighbors, and business associates. Ask them to do the same. Everyone is welcome to join, and will automatically receive future issues of the "Spotlight on Juneau".

If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, send an email with QUIT written in the message box.  Make sure the "reply to" address on your message is the one you want removed from our files.

            

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