Gov. Mike Dunleavy is asking lawmakers to put before voters this summer a $356 million bond issue for projects across the state. The governor wants a special election - rather than waiting until the next statewide vote in 2022 - to get the work out sooner to help the pandemic-tattered economy.
"This statewide bond package is essential to stabilizing our economy and putting Alaskans back to work following the economic upheaval caused by the pandemic," Dunleavy said in a statement. "Not only will this proposal create jobs, it will improve critical infrastructure for all Alaskans."
There are no Wrangell-specific projects on the governor's list.
If the Legislature puts the package on the ballot, and if voters approve the measure, it would be Alaska's first general obligation bond issue in almost 10 years. Unlike revenue bonds, which are repaid from a project's income, such as rent collected at Anchorage International Airport, general obligation bonds are repaid through state revenues such as taxes and Permanent Fund earnings.
The measure, which has not yet been heard in a legislative committee this session, includes $25 million for top-priority major school maintenance projects around the state, as determined by the Alaska Department of Education, and $14 million for municipal harbor grants. The governor's proposal does not specify which projects might be on either of those lists.
Legislators are likely to remove, add and amend items on the list if they take action the measure and seek voter approval.
Many of the projects are transportation related, which grabs matching federal funds, such as almost $29 million for repairs and upgrades for the Dalton Highway to Alaska's North Slope, $5.6 million for work on the South Tongass Highway in Ketchikan, almost $30 million for the Sterling Highway south of Anchorage, and about $32 million for airport work in Bethel, Cordova, Deadhorse, Fairbanks, Homer, Klawock, Kotzebue, Nome, Utqiagvik and Wasilla.
Harbor projects include Unalaska at $9.3 million and Craig at $8.3 million.
The governor's list also includes almost $30 million for work at the University of Alaska campuses in Fairbanks and Anchorage.
The Legislature has a lot of work to do to make the list more geographically balanced before sending the bond package to Alaskans for a vote, Juneau Sen. Jesse Kiehl told the Juneau Empire newspaper in an interview last week.
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