Good food policy is critical.
Policy Briefs
AFPC works to give Alaskans a better understanding of Legislation with Policy Briefs
Our goal is to ensure Alaska Legislation is understandable to more Alaskans. Each Legislative Session we focus on our policy priorities and develop policy briefs for those pieces of policy that we feel will impact the health and vibrancy of our food systems.
Reading policy briefs on legislative policy is essential for food security because it keeps you informed about laws and regulations that affect food systems. These briefs provide a clear overview of proposed or existing policies on food production, distribution, and access, helping you understand how they impact local communities and food supplies. Staying updated on this information allows advocates, policymakers, and citizens to push for changes that address food insecurity, improve access to fresh food, and reduce waste. Issue briefs often simplify complex legislation, making it easier to grasp key points and understand what’s at stake. With food security being influenced by a variety of factors, such as climate change, transportation, and economic policies, staying knowledgeable through briefs helps people take meaningful action, support relevant policies, and hold lawmakers accountable for creating sustainable food systems.
As legislation moves we do our best to update these briefs to reflect how the changes can impact you and can have long-term resonance on our food system. If you have questions or would like to see other briefs, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our Advocacy and Policy Director Rachel Lord and we will do our best to create more resources to address your needs.
2025-26: 34th Legislative Session Policy Briefs
- Homemade Foods & Reduced Oxygen Packaging – SB 226
- Ag Land Leasing – SB 208/HB 296, HB 353, SB 224/HB 276 (web link)
- Department of Agriculture – Executive Order 136
- Procurement Preferences for Local Foods – HB 60/SB 67
- Healthy School Meals for All – HB 12 – Letter to House Education Committee, 4.10.2026
- Summer EBT for Children – SB 13
- Finfish farms and finfish farm products – HB 111
2023-2024 Legislative Session Policy Briefs
Bill Tracker
During Alaska’s legislative session, AFPC focuses on an array of food-related bills, providing testimony, suggestions, and support in some cases. We believe good food policy has the potential to profoundly impact our food system and we want to ensure that legislation in Alaska is developed and executed to support a thriving food economy for generations to come. Please note that AFPC is following a lot of bills, this doesn’t indicate our support of them! Where we support a bill, that is clearly specified.
For more information about individual bills, please search for the bill on akleg.gov.
Topic | Bill Number | Title | Description | FINAL Status (6/30/2026) | Current Status (5/13/2026) | Sponsor | Co-Sponsors | Committee Referrals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| School Nutrition, Food Access/Anti-Hunger | HB 12 | Reduced-price meals in public schools | (New Version T) Prohibits schools to charge eligible students for reduced-price school meals. Creates a new 'reduced-price meal fund' that can be donated to through Pick.Click.Give and legislative appropriations, and used to reimburse school districts for the costs of reduced price meals if there's money available. Doesn't require the state to provide funding, and the fiscal note is undetermined as a result. | Did Not Pass | FIN | Rep. Dibert | Burke, Edgmon, Galvin, Himschoot | EDC, FIN |
| School Nutrition | SB 187 | Prohibiting certain food dyes in school meals | School meals - prohibiting food dyes | PASSED into law | PASSED Senate | (H) RULES | Wielechowski | Rep. Josephson, Holland, Frier, Eischeid | (S) EDC, HSS | (H) EDC |
| Fisheries, Food Business | SB 130 | Fisheries product development tax credit | Fisheries product development tax credit | PASSED into law | (H) FIN | Senate Rules | PASSED Senate, (H) FIN | |
| Agriculture | SB 200 | Farm & Ag Land Assessments | Farm & Ag lands - municipal tax exemptions, updating statutes from the previous update a few years ago to include floriculture and also S Corps/other business types that apparently don't file a Schedule F | PASSED into law | (S) FLOOR | (H) CRA | Bjorkman | Meyers, Rauscher | (S) CRA, RES | (H) CRA |
| Food Business | SB 226 | Homemade food; reduced oxygen packaging | Prohibiting the sale of potentially hazardous homemade foods in reduced oxygen packaging from the state's homemade food laws | Did Not Pass | RES | Giessel | L&C, RES | |
| Food Access/Anti-Hunger | HJR 32 | Rural Health Transportation Program | Expressing commitment to the rural health transformation program and articulating priorities for the program; acknowledging the critical health care challenges facing rural areas of the state; urging action by the Governor and the Alaska delegation in Congress to continue to advocate for the state's interests and advance the rural health transformation program; and expressing legislative intent to enact comprehensive legislation relating to the rural health transformation program and the state's medical care and critical health care needs. | PASSED into law | PASSED House & Senate | GOV | (H)HSS Committee | (H) and (S) HSS | |
| Fisheries | SB 269 | Restructuring the Board of Fisheries | This bill would create three regional Boards of five members each, with the 15 members composing the full Board of Fisheries. There would be specific seats for commercial, sport, and subsistence or personal use fisheries and two members of the public on each. The regions would be the Southeast, the Central, and the Western Board of Fisheries. | Did Not Pass | RES | Hoffman | RES, FIN | |
| Food Access/Anti-Hunger | SJR 27 | Rural Health Transportation Program | Expressing commitment to the rural health transformation program and articulating priorities for the program; acknowledging the critical health care challenges facing rural areas of the state; urging action by the Governor and the Alaska delegation in Congress to continue to advocate for the state's interests and advance the rural health transformation program; and expressing legislative intent to enact comprehensive legislation relating to the rural health transformation program and the state's medical care and critical health care needs. | companion bill passed | HSS | (S)HSS Committee | HSS | |
| Fisheries, Subsistence | HB 125 | Membership of the Board of Fisheries | amends the membership of the Board of Fisheries to specify members have sector representation, including subsistence | Did Not Pass | Passed House; Senate CR&A | Rep. Jimmie | Rep. Foster, Kopp, Burke, Dibert, Story, Galvin, Carrick / Sen. Dunbar | CR&A, RES |
| Agriculture | SB 208 | State land leasing for agricultural purposes | Amends statute to create a path for leasing state lands for agricultural purposes. Includes land sales pathways. | PASSED - awaiting transmittal | PASSED Senate | (H) RES | Bjorkman | RES, FIN | |
| Fisheries | HB 356 | Requirements and permits for certain commercial fishing vessels | Directs the Dept. of Environmental Conservation to exempt from certain health and sanitary requirements and allow for vessel-based packaging and freezing for certain vessels and fisheries, restricts the fees from DEC for those who harvest less than 10,000 pounds of fishery resources annually, and directs the DEC to work with the Dept. of Fish & Game to simplify and streamline regulations for commercial fishing businesses with a direct markering fisheries business license and with vessels under 65'. It further puts a 30 day time limit on permit application response from the DEC, and requires the DEC to streamline associated regulations, prioritizing those applicable to "rural coastal communities." | Did Not Pass | FSH | Vance | FSH, L&C | |
| Agriculture | SR 5 | Recognizing the importance of preserving ag land in the state | A resolution sponsored by the Senate Resources committee that provides background on the importance of protecting ag lands and support for voluntary, incentive-based efforts to conserve it. | Did Not Pass | RES | Senate Resources | RES | |
| Agriculture | SB 224 | State Lands - Leasing & Sales, Commercial Development | SB 224 and HB 276 were introduced by the Governor, and does not directly address leasing for agriculture. As such, we haven’t been directly tracking this bill but wanted to highlight its hearings in both Senate and House Resources this week for those of you interested in digging deeper into ADNR’s leasing and sales considerations for state lands. These bills would create a streamlined path for “cutting red tape” and moving state lands into commercial business development. ADNR noted that their adjudication process to lease state lands takes roughly five years, and this would allow front-loading the determination of the lands with commercial value to then move into leasing and sales quickly for business development and subdivisions. Our largest concern is that very often, highly valuable commercial and subdivision lands are often similarly highly valuable agricultural and harvesting lands. | Did Not Pass | RES | Governor | RES, FIN | |
| Mariculture, Food Business, Fisheries | SB 131 | Duties of ASMI board/Definition of seafood | adds mariculture (amended in committee from aquatic farm) products to the definition of seafood as it relates to the duties of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute | Did Not Pass | FIN | Governor | RES, FIN | |
| Mariculture, Food Business, Fisheries | HB 135 | Duties of ASMI board/Definition of seafood | adds ‘aquatic farm products' to the definition of seafood as it relates to the duties of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute | Did Not Pass | FSH | Governor | FSH, RES | |
| Agriculture | HB 140 | Department of Agriculture | Creates a Department of Agriculture, transfering duties from Department of Natural Resources | Did Not Pass | RES | House Labor & Commerce | RES, FIN | |
| Agriculture | SB 128 | Department of Agriculture | Creates a Department of Agriculture, transfering duties from Department of Natural Resources, amended to include a Division of Food Security, Division of Mariculture, and a required annual report from the Commissioner | Did Not Pass | RES | Senate Resources | RES, FIN | |
| Procurement, Agriculture, Fisheries | HB 60 | Procurement preference: Agriculture and Fisheries products | would amend existing state law directed at municipal purchasing and state and school district purchasing to increase the cost differential for required and allowed Alaska-sourced food purchases | Did Not Pass | L&C | Governor | FSH, L&C | |
| Procurement, Fisheries, Agriculture | SB 67 | Procurement preference: Agriculture and Fisheries products | would amend existing state law directed at municipal purchasing and state and school district purchasing to increase the cost differential for required and allowed Alaska-sourced food purchases | Did Not Pass | RES | Governor | RES, FIN | |
| Food Access/Anti-Hunger | SB 13 | Summer EBT | directs the state to adopt the Summer EBT program with USDA for summertime food assistance for school kids whose families meet income guidelines | Did Not Pass | FIN | Sen. Dunbar | EDC, FIN | |
| Food Access/Anti-Hunger | HB 154 | Summer EBT | directs the state to adopt the Summer EBT program with USDA for summertime food assistance for school kids whose families meet income guidelines | Did Not Pass | HSS | Rep. Mears | Fields, Dibert | HSS, FIN |
| Fisheries | HB 111 | Finfish Farms & Products | would allow for non-salmon, inland finfish farming | Did Not Pass | FSH | Governor | FSH, RES | |
| Fisheries | SB 108 | Finfish Farms & Products | would allow for non-salmon, inland finfish farming | Did Not Pass | RES | Governor | RES, FIN | |
| Agriculture | HB 202 | Designating the Cabbage as the State Vegetable | Cabbage as the state vegetable | PASSED (within SB 208) | Passed (H) | (S) StateAffairs | Johnson | Mina, Fields, McCabe, Bynum, Stapp, Tilton, Scwanke, Burke, Tomaszewski, Prax, Carrick, Underwood, Coulombe, Foster, Elam, Vance, G. Nelson, Moore, D. Nelson | STA |
| Food Access/Anti-Hunger | SB 186 | Removing soft drinks from SNAP | SNAP restrictions - prohibiting soft drinks | Did Not Pass | HSS | Wielechowski | Cronk | HSS, CRA |
| Fisheries, Food Business | HB 129 | Fisheries product development tax credit | Fisheries product development tax credit | companion bill passed | FIN | House Fisheries | FSH, FIN | |
| Fisheries | SB 199 | Repealing the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Limited Entry Commission (CFEC) | Repealing and transferring duties of the Commercial Fisheries Limited Entry Commission to ADF&G | Did Not Pass | RES | Giessel | RES. FIN | |
| Agriculture | HB 296 | State land leasing for agricultural purposes | Amends statute to create a path for leasing state lands for agricultural purposes | companion bill passed | RES | Mears | RES, FIN | |
| Agriculture | HB 323 | Farm & Ag Land Assessments | Farm & Ag lands - municipal tax exemptions, updating statutes from the previous update a few years ago to include floriculture and also S Corps/other business types that apparently don't file a Schedule F | companion bill passed | CRA | Moore | CRA, FIN | |
| Agriculture | HB 331 | Alaska Grown Logo | This bill moves the marketing of the Alaska Grown logo, with associated fees (from selling promotional merchandise, etc) to the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development (DCCED). The permitting of the use of the Alaska Grown logo is retained with the "division within the department responsible for agriculture" (currently Division of Ag under AK Dept. of Natural Resources) | Did Not Pass | L&C | Moore | L&C, FIN | |
| Nutrition | HB 340 | Dietician licensure compact | Establishes a dietician licensure compact for Alaska. The purpose statement on the first page of the bill reads, “The purpose of this Compact is to facilitate interstate Practice of Dietetics with the goal of improving public access to dietetics services.” I haven’t had time to learn more details, and I look forward to hearing from our public health and dietician partners to hear feedback on the bill! | Did Not Pass | L&C | Moore | L&C, FIN | |
| Agriculture | HB 345 | Ag Cooperatives exemption from workers comp | Adds a subsection to state statutes that exempt certain employees from state workers compensation requirements. Currently that list has 12 exemptions - this bill would add a 13th which specifies a person who is a member of an agricultural cooperative is exempt from workers comp requirements. An ag cooperative is further defined in the bill. This language is identical to that within HB 355. | Did Not Pass | CRA | Moore | CRA, L&C | |
| Agriculture | HB 353 | Ag land lease & sales | This 10-page bill amends the Alaska Lands Act (Title 38, Chapter 5) in regards to the sale of agricultural land. It requires that land sold be between 5-320 acres, and must be used for agricultural purposes in accordance with the state's agricultural covenants stuatute (AS 38.05.321). It defines agricultural purposes, and creates language for agricultural leases, making amendments to several areas of the Lands Act. | Did Not Pass | CRA | Vance | CRA, RES | |
| Agriculture | HB 355 | Ag cooperatives: Ag loan eligibility & exemption from workers comp | Adds "cooperatives" as a specific type of corporation eligible to apply for loans through the Board of Agriculture (Ag Revolving Loan Fund - ARLF). Also includes adding a subsection to state statutes that exempt certain employees from state workers compensation requirements. Currently that list has 12 exemptions - this bill would add a 13th which specifies a person who is a member of an agricultural cooperative is exempt from workers comp requirements. An ag cooperative is further defined in the bill. The workers comp language is identical to that in HB 345. | Did Not Pass | CRA | Vance | CRA, L&C | |
| Agriculture | HB 359 | Pesticide regulation | This bill would reserve the right to regulate pesticides to the state only, specifying that a municapliaty may not regulate pesticide sale, use, application, disclosure, etc. of pesticides. | Did Not Pass | CRA | Elam | CRA, L&C |