Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed four bills into law on Tuesday, including two related to child care, one addressing big-game hunting, and one that updates the state’s insurance laws. Senate Bill 96 creates a tax credit program that rewards companies that offer childcare programs for their workers.
Senate Bill 95 increases the income threshold for families to qualify for state childcare assistance, allowing more households to become eligible for support. It also allows the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development to distribute grants to the highest-quality childcare centers in the state, as determined by whether a center is part of the state’s ranked system.
The Legislature passed both bills last year, but each was stymied by a lawsuit that challenged the way lawmakers combined bills to pass them more quickly. The Alaska Constitution restricts legislation to a single subject.
With the governor’s approval, Senate Bill 97 establishes a hunting concession program for big-game hunting guides. Modeled after the federal system, which offers hunting concessions on federal lands, SB 97—developed in collaboration with the state’s Big Game Commercial Services Board—creates a comparable program for state-owned lands.
Dunleavy also signed Senate Bill 132, the state’s omnibus insurance bill. That lengthy measure includes changes to the state’s treatment of pharmacy benefit managers, middlemen who manage prescription drug benefits on behalf of insurance plans.
The bill also expands the types of health insurance that employers can offer their workers, requires insurers to report financial information, includes consumer protection improvements, and makes changes for non-resident insurance adjusters in Alaska. Governor Dunleavy called these measures significant steps forward as the bills aim to ease family burdens and modernize key sectors of state governance.
