advocacy, on the menu

On the Menu 1.24.2025

By Rachel Lord, Advocacy and Policy Director, AFPC

Welcome to the weekly On The Menu for the 34th Legislature! Earlier this week we gave a preview of the session ahead, and not too much has changed. EXCEPT – both the House and Senate organized quickly on Day 1, which hasn’t happened in quite a while. We’re excited that both chambers are ready to get down to work with their leadership and committees established! 

The start of the session is a great time to catch high-level overviews from different departments across the State of Alaska. This week has been a smattering of oil & gas production and energy updates, revenue forecasts, municipal government, and transportation overviews. Of note for food folks was a presentation on Thursday afternoon with a Department of Health overview before the Senate Health & Social Services Committee. 

The Department of Health overview (presentation here) provides a broad review of the different divisions, operational updates, and 2025 focus. We hope the IT modernization efforts coupled with increased employee engagement will help improve SNAP processing times.

Today, Friday, there are several overviews including an overview of the Department of Fish & Game to House Resources at 1 PM (presentation here), and the Governor’s budget to House Finance at 1:30 PM. 

Coming up next week:

  • Monday, 1/27: 12 PM House Resources Overview of the Department of Natural Resources budget (Division of Agriculture is housed within ADNR)
    • Continued on Wednesday, 1/29 at noon
  • Tuesday, 1/28: 3:15 PM House Health & Social Services Overview of the Department of Health
  • Tuesday, 1/28: 7 PM State of the State Address by Governor Dunleavy
  • Wednesday, 1/29: 3:15 PM House Labor & Commerce, HB 34 (AK Innovation Council), invited testimony only
  • Thursday, 1/30: 4:30 PM House HSS Finance Subcommittee, Overview of the Dept. of Health finances

Since this is week one, and we don’t have a ton to report on yet, I’m going to try and set us up with some resources for success to help follow the legislative process over the next few months.

Resources:

On The Menu

Coming out every Friday, we here at AFPC will give you a rundown of what happened over the past week on the bills that we’re tracking, as well as budget priorities impacting our food systems. If you want to add something to our list, please let me know! Email advocacy@alaskafoodpolicycouncil.org. In addition to a summary of the week, we’ll also look ahead and let you know what hearings and public testimony opportunities have been scheduled. Unfortunately, this isn’t a perfect system, so always know there could be additional meetings and we’ll get the word out as quickly as we can. Bookmark this link to see the full “On the Menu” on our website.

AK Leg Food Calendar

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

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 the session. The 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, and processes, 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.