Articles written by Iris Samuels & Sean Maguire


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  • Legislators say not enough time left in session for a sales tax

    Iris Samuels and Sean Maguire, Anchorage Daily News|May 3, 2023

    Almost two weeks after Gov. Mike Dunleavy told lawmakers he would propose a new sales tax, legislators have yet to see the governor’s bill — and are still far from reaching agreement on the state’s fiscal future. Lawmakers broadly agree on the need for new revenue sources amid declining oil taxes. But any proposal from the governor, along with other revenue measures considered by lawmakers this year, are unlikely to pass with only two weeks until the constitutional deadline marking the end of the regular legislative session, key lawma...

  • State board recommends transgender girls be excluded from girls sports at schools

    Iris Samuels and Sean Maguire, Anchorage Daily News|Mar 22, 2023

    In an unannounced move, the State Board of Education unanimously passed a resolution March 14 that urges the Alaska Department of Education to limit the participation of transgender girls in girls school sports. The resolution, which is non-binding, encourages the department to adopt a policy that would ban transgender girls from competing alongside girls who are cisgender — meaning their gender identity matches their sex assigned at birth — in school sports. The resolution asks the department to create two sports divisions: one exc...

  • Governor proposes parental-rights legislation and teacher retention bonuses

    Iris Samuels and Sean Maguire, Anchorage Daily News|Mar 15, 2023

    While education advocates continue to push for increased state funding to Alaska public schools, Gov. Mike Dunleavy last week opted to introduce proposals that would limit sexual education in schools and impose new requirements on gender-nonconforming students. The governor at his March 7 news conference did not propose any increase in the state’s per-student funding formula for school districts, essentially unchanged in six years, though he did ask legislative approval of retention bonuses for teachers. Most legislators have said an i...

  • Republicans organize state House by including lawmakers from Native rural areas

    Iris Samuels and Sean Maguire, Anchorage Daily News|Jan 25, 2023

    JUNEAU — A newly formed House majority — comprised of 19 Republicans, two Democrats and two independents — finalized its membership last Thursday, signaling a rightward shift in the chamber after six years of bipartisan coalitions composed mostly of Democrats. The four-member Bush Caucus representing predominantly Alaska Native rural areas of the state joined most House Republicans to form a caucus on the second day of the legislative session, ending weeks of uncertainty over House leadership and giving many Republicans their first exper...