Hear the House State Affairs Committee Deliberation on HB 287 - You Be the Judge

Click here to be directed to the Gavel to Gavel Alaska webpage. If you enter February 9 and push the NEW DATE tab on the left of the webpage, you will be able to access the audio file of the Feb 9th House State Affairs Committee proceedings. Discussion of HB287 begins about 55 minutes into the meeting and lasts about 1.5 hours. The politics are very interesting!

You will hear testimony from many Alaskans (from Juneau, Fairbanks, and Anchorage)in support of the legislation, testimonies from members of the Sudan Divestment Task Force, including Max Croes, who helped draft the legislation, and testimonies from Mike Burns with the Alaska Permanent Fund Board and Brian Andrews with the Alaska Retirement Management Board.

The real stars of this hearing, though, are the legislators. Take note of the questions; who they are directed to and who they are not directed to and the unstated purpose behind the questions. Also, be sure to review the last few blog entries for the truth behind the testimonies presented by Mr. Burns and Mr. Andrews, as well as the stated concerns of the legislators.

Rep. Lynn was out due to his wife's illness, so he was not able to present the legislation. We are glad he and his wife are both doing well now. Rep. Les Gara is the "prime" who, in Rep. Lynn's absence, conducts this task with intelligence and passion. Thank you, Representatie Gara.