The Alaska Legislature's Priorities Are Popular
By Jason Katz-Brown
Following long-standing tradition, both the Alaska Senate and House of Representatives feature majority caucuses containing both Democratic and Republican members. The recent education bill showed the legislature’s bipartisanship and consensus-building in action, as it passed the House on a 38-2 vote and the Senate on an 18-1 vote.
New Data for Progress polling finds this education bill and other legislative priorities are widely popular among Alaskans.
Increasing School Funding
School funding has been a focal point of this year’s legislative session. The centerpiece of the recently passed Senate Bill 140 is the largest nominal increase to school formula funding in state history. It would increase the Base Student Allocation (BSA), the amount of money public schools receive per student each year from the state government.
Even though the bill passed the House and Senate with only three legislators voting against, Governor Mike Dunleavy has signaled he may veto it and emphasized his preference for more targeted incentives like teacher bonuses and a smaller BSA increase. Our new poll underscores that the legislature’s position is more popular than the governor’s.
First, voters were asked if they would prefer a large BSA increase or “a small or no increase to the BSA.” After seeing arguments for each side, 52% of Alaskan voters think there should be a large increase in the BSA, while 39% think there should be a small increase or none at all. Only in the Mat-Su do voters prefer a small or no BSA increase.
Next, the poll dug into the dollar amount by which voters would prefer to raise the Base Student Allocation. Half of likely voters (50%) think the BSA should be increased by $680 or more, compared with 37% who think it should be increased by $300 or not at all. The Mat-Su is the only region where a smaller BSA increase of $300 or none at all is more popular.
Expanding Child Care Subsidies
The poll finds that House Bill 89, passed recently on a vote of 35-5, is widely popular. The bill would expand child care subsidies to cover an additional 18,000 Alaska kids and introduce tax credits to subsidize corporations’ employee child care costs. Two-thirds (66%) of likely Alaska voters support these proposals, with 26% in opposition. This support is deep across political party lines and across the state.
Abolishing State Boards
Dunleavy this year has signed a dozen executive orders dismantling state boards and transferring their responsibilities to various state departments. The legislature is considering whether to call a joint session and vote to prevent these executive orders from becoming law. While the Dunleavy administration has argued the purpose of the orders is to “make state government as efficient and effective as possible,” the survey shows that voters do not agree. Nearly two-thirds of voters (64%) think these executive orders “will make decision-making worse by diminishing public input and community representation,” while only 25% think they “will make decision-making better by making state government more efficient and effective.” Even a majority of Republicans think these orders will make decision-making worse.
Establishing a Renewable Portfolio Standard
Alaska’s largest electric utility recently announced its support for legislation to establish a set of benchmarks that would require utilities to ramp up renewable energy generation, known as a Renewable Portfolio Standard. The poll finds support across the state for the proposed Renewable Portfolio Standard, with 55% of likely voters in support and 35% opposed.
Covering 12-Month Contraceptive Prescriptions
Currently, most women in Alaska must refill contraceptive prescriptions every month or every three months. House Bill 17 would require insurance to cover up to a 12-month supply of contraceptives when prescribed. This proposal is overwhelmingly popular, with 76% of likely voters in support and only 16% opposed.
Jason Katz-Brown (@jasonkatzbrown) is a senior advisor at Data for Progress.
Survey Methodology
From February 23 to March 2, 2024, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 1,120 likely voters in Alaska using SMS and web panel respondents. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by gender, education, race, geography, and voting history. The survey was conducted in English. The margin of error is ±3 percentage points.