advocacy, on the menu, state policy

On the Menu 01.16.26

January 16, 2026

By Rachel Lord, Advocacy and Policy Director, AFPC

It’s that time again! Welcome to AFPC’s weekly On The Menu, where we follow food-related legislation throughout the Alaska Legislature’s session! Our goals are to provide you with regular updates so you can both stay abreast of what’s happening, and also participate in hearings and better understand the legislative process. This week, we’re kicking off with a session preview and some resources that we’ll use regularly over the next few months.

The Alaska Legislature holds two-year sessions; the second session of the 34th Legislature starts at 1PM on January 20. There’s been some reorganization in the House and Senate, with Senators Mike Shower and Shelley Hughes leaving vacancies after resigning to run for lieutenant governor and governor in 2026. Sen. Cathy Tilton and Sen. George Rasucher, formerly in the House, have now joined the Senate. Senator Mike Cronk (District R, Tok/Northway) is now the Minority Leader, replacing former Sen. Mike Shower. Sen. Robb Myers (District Q, North Pole) is still Minority Whip.

The two vacant House seats are now filled by new legislators Rep. Garret Nelson (District 29, Sutton) and Rep. Steve St. Claire (District 26, Wasilla) – you can read some background on them here. Rep. DeLena Johnson (District 25, Palmer) is now the Minority Leader and Rep. Justin Ruffridge (District 7, Kenai) is the Minority Whip.

Some committee assignments have been announced in the news, but we’ll wait till the “Committee on Committees” report is released after the session starts to run through the new members.

All of the legislation that wasn’t passed when the Legislature gaveled out in May 2025 is still in play – you can see the complete list of bills with their current status here. Today was the last opportunity for “pre-filed” bills, which will all be introduced on the first day of session. Legislators will still have until February 23 to file personal bills. At the end of session (May 20th at the latest), all bills that haven’t passed are dead. Any bills for the next session will need to start fresh at the beginning of the process for the 35th Legislature.

From the pre-filed bills, we will be tracking SB 200 (Bjorkman; farm and agricultural municipal land assessments), SB 208 (Bjorkman; state land leasing for agricultural purposes), SB 199 (Giessel; repealing the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Limited Entry Commission (CFEC)). We’ll be developing policy briefs and other resources as the session gets started!

Resources:

On The Menu

Coming out every Friday, AFPC will give you a rundown of what happened over the past week on the food systems bills that we’re tracking (stay tuned – we’ll have a list up by next week!), and what hearings and public testimony opportunities have been scheduled. You can share the sign up link here. 

AK Leg Food Calendar

Also maintained by AFPC, you can check out this Google Calendar to see updates of hearings and testimony opportunities for the bills we’re tracking.

Advocacy Training/Education

Check out AFPC’s webpages that we are continually updating and adding to for more resources, including tips for testifying and advocacy blog posts.

Gavel Alaska/KTOO

The akleg.gov website has video and audio recordings of legislative hearings, but Gavel Alaska/KTOO is really my go-to for both watching and revisiting coverage in Juneau and beyond.

Floor and Meeting Schedules

Find daily schedules for the House and Senate floor sessions (when everyone comes together), and for all of the Committees and other meetings happening daily during session. Floor session calendar is here, and the daily meeting schedule is here.

Text Message Bill Tracking

(Provided by the State) Are you really interested in knowing when a particular bill gets scheduled for a hearing? When it passes out of a committee or some other action is taken? Text a bill number (ex: HB1) to 559-245-2529 to enroll in text alerts. You will receive an enrollment confirmation and instructions on how to stop receiving the alerts.

Your LIO / Online LIO

The Legislative Information Offices around the state are staffed with incredibly helpful people. The LIOs are a great first-stop with questions about legislative issues, process, and help for following along and participating. Here’s the list of LIO locations around Alaska. You can also chat with LIO staff online at akleg.gov during office hours – look at the bottom right!

Publications

This page on the akleg.gov website hosts a bunch of helpful publications for the legislature, including contact information for legislators and others, seating charts for the House and Senate floors, and SO MANY other fantastic resources.