JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Senate has voted overwhelmingly to eliminate daylight saving time in the state. The bill, from Sen. Anna MacKinnon, passed 16-4 Wednesday. It will next go to the House. The bill would stop the state from springing forward beginning in 2017.
It would also direct Gov. Bill Walker to petition the U.S. Department of Transportation to consider changing the state’s time zones. It would be up to the department to organize hearings around the state on the matter and to consider moving part or all of the state onto Pacific time.
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Supreme Court has granted the state’s motion for a stay of a lower court ruling pending an appeal in a lawsuit over public education funding.
A superior court judge had invalidated the state’s requirement that local municipalities help pay for education. Judge William Carey ruled the contribution is a dedicated fund, which violates the state constitution’s provision that no state tax will be earmarked for any special purpose.
The lawsuit was brought by the Ketchikan Gateway Borough. State legislators, grappling with a multibillion-dollar budget deficit amid low oil prices, have been following the case. The attorney general’s office is scheduled to brief the House Education Committee on the lawsuit Friday.
