advocacy, on the menu, state policy

On the Menu 03.20.26

March 20, 2026

By Rachel Lord, Advocacy and Policy Director, AFPC

Happy Spring – ha! It’s snowing, cold, and/or blowing in most of the state. It doesn’t feel much like a new season, but we know time is ticking and the legislature is finishing up week nine. There are four weeks left until the 90th day of session (when Alaska Statute says they should finish up), and eight and a half weeks left until May 20th – the 121st day of session (when the Alaska Constitution says they have to finish up!). We’re over halfway there, with a lot of budget and policy needs still on the table. As bills move (or don’t!) through the legislature, remember you can always email your thoughts on priorities and issues to the relevant committees. If a bill is waiting to be heard in a committee, let them know you want to see it on the agenda. If you support or oppose a piece of legislation, you can write and let them know – and, ideally, why! Calling in for public testimony is great, but written testimony is also incredibly valuable. 

Next week on the AKLeg calendar are several hearings of interest, including: the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) resolution SJR 27 on Tuesday, public testimony on both SB 200 (farm & ag land assessments) and SB 224 (the Governor’s land sale/commercial development bill) on Wednesday, and on Friday a presentation on the Division of Public Assistance to the Senate Health Finance SubCommittee and a hearing with public testimony on SB 269, restructuring of the Board of Fisheries.

Check out our food systems calendar for relevant hearings and presentations, and always check akleg.gov for the most up-to-date information.

Updates

SB 187 – Prohibiting certain food dyes in school meals 

SB 187 is scheduled to be heard again in Senate Education today, Friday March 20, at 3:30 PM. We will cover the hearing, which is scheduled on Gavel here, in next week’s OTM!   

SR 5 – Recognizing the importance of preserving ag/farm land

This Senate Resolution (SR) was introduced on March 9 – I missed it! It is sponsored by the Senate Resources committee, and is referred only to that committee. This resolution was worked on by the Alaska Farmland Trust, and provides strong support for the importance of agricultural land and its preservation over time. You can read the reso here. 

SB 226 – Homemade Food

SB 226 was introduced on Monday, Jan 26 by Senator Giessel. Currently within Alaska Statutes, there is a list of foods that cannot be sold under the homemade food rules, including most meat or meat products, seafood, controlled substances, oil rendered from animal fat, or game meat. SB 226 would add to that list and also prohibit selling “potentially hazardous homemade food in reduced oxygen packaging” under the homemade food rules. Both vacuum sealing and canning are considered “reduced oxygen packaging”, and low-acid foods include fish, vegetables, and meats. SB 226 was heard in Senate Labor & Commerce on Monday. Sen. Giessel gave background on the bill, noting it is a simple bill that makes a small adjustment important for food safety to Alaska’s homemade food laws. It narrowly restricts packaging that has high-botulism risk, noting that Alaska has the highest botulism rates in the nation (see the UAF Cooperative Extension Botulism handout from BASIS). Low-acid foods are the serious risks that are vacuum sealed or canned. Samantha Freeborn, staff to Sen. Giessel, gave an overview of the sections of the bill. Sarah Lewis, Professor of Extension in the UAF Cooperative Extension, provided invited testimony. She works around the state with people to help them understand the laws and regulations around homemade food businesses, and supports the changes proposed in the bill. She spoke to the high risks and costs associated with botulism. Sen. Bjorkman asked the Dept. of Health staff online if there have been botulism cases associated with homemade foods. The Division of Public Health staff replied they have seen cases with home canned salmon, and typically cases are associated with traditionally prepared foods. The committee had no further questions, and held the bill for another hearing. You can watch the Monday hearing here. On Wednesday, the committee took up the bill again in a brief 3 minute hearing. There was no public testimony, and they unanimously passed SB 226 out of committee. You can find written testimony here. The bill is now onto Senate Resources.

SB 200 – Farm & Ag land assessments

SB 200 was previously heard and moved as a Committee Substitute (CS) from Senate Community & Regional Affairs. It was heard on Monday for the first time in Senate Resources. Sen. Bjorkman gave the rationale for the bill, focusing on the protection of farmlands with backing from the Alaska Legislature Food Security Taskforce recommendations. He spoke to the bill sections that would correct a previous oversight that excluded farms operating as S-Corporations, as well as clearly including flower and hay growers as eligible farms. Laura Achee, staff to Sen. Bjorkman, went through and explained the sections of the bill. Sen. Kawasaki asked about the tax deferment provisions, and Sen. Bjorkman explained that the deferment is in place as long as the land is used for farming they pay the reduced assessment and the intention is to encourage land to stay in agricultural production. Sen. Rauscher asked about nonprofit corporations, and Sen. Bjorkman noted that nonprofits are not addressed in the bill, as there’s not typically property taxes associated with nonprofit-owned lands though he’d be opening to learning more. Rito Jo Schoultz, Farm Bureau/Alaska Perfect Peony, testified in support of the bill. Sen. Wielechowski acknowledged there is a zero fiscal note for the state, and he asked about the local impact for municipalities. Sen. Bjorkman directed the committee to the tables of farm use land assessment property values. There was discussion about property owners not knowing this deferral exists. Dan Nelson, State Assessor from Dept. of Community & Regional Affairs, provided a further explanation of the deferment provision in response to a question from Sen. Kawasaki. There was further discussion about the holding of land to avoid taxes versus ensuring it is in agricultural production, and it was noted that assessors adjudicate the land use. Sen. Claman asked about the 7-year lookback related to the deferment, noting that it’s a rolling exemption for land in production more than seven years. Sen. Rauscher asked about tree farms and timber sales, and Sen. Bjorkman said he didn’t think tree farms are contemplated in this bill. Sen. Giessel asked about the $2,500 sales requirement, and asked about Bell’s Nursery as an example and whether they would qualify for the deferment. Sen. Bjorkman replied that it was a good question and he wasn’t sure, and they could clarify in the bill. No one provided public testimony, and an amendment deadline was set for Friday at 5PM. You can watch the hearing here. 

SB 224/HB 276 – State Lands – Leasing & Sales, Commercial Development

SB 224 and HB 276 were introduced by the Governor, and does not directly address leasing for agriculture. However, public land management is relevant to Alaska’s food systems, both agricultural and subsistence, and this bill proposes some substantial changes. On Monday afternoon, Senate Resources heard SB 224 again. Director Colles from ADNR DMLW (Division of Mining Lands and Water) gave a brief overview of the bill. There were a lot of questions around the provisions of the bill that would repeal two state game refuges that overlap with federal refuges – the Kenai National Moose Range and the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge. There were also questions about the lands identified that could be streamlined for “commercial business park development”, with new maps added on BASIS (statewide / southeast / southcentral / northern). ADNR staff assured the committee there would be a front-loaded public process. The bill was held for another hearing in Resources. You can watch the hearing here. 

SB 130 – Fisheries product development tax credit

SB 130 was introduced in March last year as one of the recommendations from the Alaska Seafood Industry Task Force. It would expand the existing Fisheries Product Development Tax Credit to include all fish and shellfish species, establish an expected turnaround time for the Department’s response to a proposed investment, expand the eligibility of the program, and extend the sunset date by three years. The bill was heard and passed out of Resources as a CS (Committee Substitute) last year, and is in Senate Finance. It was heard on Thursday for a second time in Finance, and they started by introducing another CS. The Finance CS would repeal the sunset date, change the definition of qualified investments and property by deleting freezers (but retaining  “other temperature-reducing technology”) and deleting “increasing the quality and value of eligible fish”, and update the retroactive effective date to Jan 1, 2026. Tim Lamkin, staff for Sen. Stevens and the Seafood Task Force, provided support of the CS. Sen. Merrick voiced opposition to the repeal of the sunset date, and the committee placed the bill aside to have further discussion before adopting the CS. A packet of all letters of support was added here. You can watch the short hearing here. 

SB 269 – Restructuring the Board of Fisheries

Introduced by Senator Hoffman on Monday, 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. SB 269 was originally scheduled for a hearing on Friday, March 20 but was rescheduled to Friday, March 27 with public testimony.

Presentation: Alaska Marine Highway System Updates

Senate Transportation heard a presentation on Thursday providing updates on the Alaska Marine Highway System. AMHS provides last-mile transportation for a lot of communities in coastal Alaska, and is integral to our logistics network for moving food and goods to many communities. You can see the slide deck here, and watch the presentation here. 

No Changes This Week:

Check out our bill tracker here to see all the food policy bills we are tracking, and where they are in the legislative process.

Budget

There were two packets of written testimony provided to House Finance last week during public testimony for the operating budget. Overwhelmingly focused on school funding, there were also a lot of comments in favor of funding the Infant Learning Program, Independent Living Council,  mental health supports, Child Advocacy Centers. On the food-front, there were several powerful letters of support for keeping the $3M in the budget for emergency food purchasing at Alaska’s food banks and food pantries, and for increasing funding for subsistence research and monitoring.  Read the written testimony here: Packet 1 – 84 pages / Packet 2 – 125 pages

Alaska State Budget Resources

Upcoming Public Testimony

SB 200 – Farm & Ag Land Assessments

Senate Resources

Wednesday, March 25, 3:30 PM

SB 224 – Public Land: Sale/Lease/Commercial Development

Senate Resources

Wednesday, March 25, 3:30 PM

SB 263 – Restructuring the Board of Fisheries 

Senate Resources
Friday, March 27, 3:30 PM

Email testimony to senate.resources@akleg.gov 

Remember – things can (and often will) change! If there is a bill you’re particularly interested in, text the bill number (ie. HB202) to 559-245-2529 and you’ll get text alerts when its status changes!

Hearings can be watched on Gavel/KTOO, and you can check out our calendar of hearings for bills we are watching here. If you’re interested in testifying but don’t know where to start, you can check out our simple “Tips for Testifying” document here.