Regular Session Bills Enacted for Healthcare, Trawling, and Interior Design
Photo Credit: Klodien | Adobe Stock
Although lawmakers continue their overtime session in Juneau, setting tax statutes for a proposed North Slope natural gas pipeline, several bills affecting business and commerce in the state became law, weeks after the regular session ended.
The Alaska House and Senate finished an operating budget for the fiscal year that begins in July and enacted new rules for pharmacists, interior designers, physician assistants, and trawl fisheries.
Enacted Over Vetoes
The operating budget totals $13.9 billion, which includes a $1,000 per person dividend from the Alaska Permanent Fund and a $200 bonus described as an energy relief payment. The capital budget totals $2.5 billion for statewide construction and renovation projects. Lawmakers also approved a $144 million one-time payment to public schools, some of which depend on oil prices remaining high through July 1.
With the House and Senate still in the capitol to work on gasline legislation, at Governor Mike Dunleavy’s request, the legislature held a joint session to override some of the governor’s vetoes. The governor vetoed nine bills that were sent to his desk as the session ended, and two become law in spite of his wishes.
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June 2026
Dunleavy had rejected House Bill 195, to give pharmacists more authority to prescribe medicines or conduct simple medical tests, stating, “Major changes to professional scope of practice should be accompanied by clear statutory boundaries.” The state medical board opposed the bill. However, legislators voted 43–17 on Friday to enact the law anyway. The lead sponsor, Anchorage Representative Genevieve Mina, says pharmacists are uniquely positioned to fill a healthcare service gap where primary care providers are in short supply.
Another veto override lets interior designers register with the state, enabling them to practice independently without requiring a separate architect to stamp their plans. House Bill 314 was a new version of a measure Dunleavy vetoed last year, too, putting interior designers under the State Board of Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors. The bill also reauthorized the board itself, so the veto risked eliminating it. The House and Senate voted 45–15 to override.
One veto that sticks is Dunleavy’s rejection of Senate Bill 21, which would’ve provided state-run retirement plans for workers at businesses that do not offer retirement benefits. The attempt to override on Friday ended up 39–21, one vote short of the threshold.
Dunleavy has vetoed a higher proportion of bills than any other Alaska governor. Although some previous governors have issued more total vetoes, Dunleavy has tried or succeeded to block almost one-fifth of bills passed by the 34th Alaska Legislature.
Physician Assistants and Setnetters
Several bills became law on Thursday without the governor’s signature, avoiding his direct opposition. Senate Bill 89, like the pharmacist bill, is meant to improve healthcare access by reducing the bureaucratic burden on physician assistants, especially those working at licensed medical facilities, enabling them to practice to the fullest extent of their licensure.
Senate Bill 272 also became law without the governor’s signature, updating a 2009 law creating a statewide electronic health information exchange system.
Electronic monitoring of the state’s commercial finfish trawl fishery is the goal of House Bill 117, but it didn’t start that way. The bill was introduced last year in response to a legal interpretation that required set gillnet fishermen to keep their catch separate, even though setnetters have traditionally harvested as families under a single permit. Language restoring that traditional approach remains in the bill, but the Senate Resources Committee added a provision about trawling last month, a few days before the bill passed. It became law without the governor’s signature a month later.
Also on June 18, the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority gained the flexibility to finance workforce housing projects. The state-owned development corporation has a mandate to increase jobs for Alaskans, and Juneau Representative Andi Story, the lead sponsor of House Bill 184, says its loan participation program and bank partnerships will make rental housing more affordable to build, in concert with the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation.
Metal Tender
A bill passed earlier in the session became law without the governor’s signature on May 30. House Bill 1 defines gold and silver specie—that is, coins or bullions worth the value of their metal content—as legal tender. Thus, local sales taxes may not apply to exchanges of specie, as surely as making change with cash doesn’t count as a taxable transaction. Big Lake Representative Kevin McCabe introduced the bill as “a practical step toward empowering Alaskans with greater control over their financial choices, protecting against inflation, and reinforcing our state’s sovereignty within the bounds of federal law.” It does not mandate that specie must be accepted for payments, however.
Still awaiting action from the governor are Senate Bills 86 and 249, both dealing with cryptocurrency, and House Bill 25, which would restrict polystyrene foam food containers.
Altogether, the 34th Alaska Legislature passed 111 bills during its two-year term, about on par with sessions going back the last six years.
