HB 63 (Thomas)
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY GRANT FUND
Summary: The legislature may appropriate money equal to 10 cents per barrel of oil produced per year to this fund when the average price of oil is $35 a barrel or higher. Money in this fund may be used to fund new or existing grants to electric utilities for alternative energy projects. Priority for funding shall be given to projects in areas where fossil fuel costs are higher than other areas of the state.

HB 67 (Gruenberg)
MUNI PROP TAX EXEMPTION FOR POLICE HOMES
Summary: A municipality may exempt, through ordinance, an area within its boundaries that meets eligibility requirements (is eligible under a federal program of special assistance for urban development, neighborhood revitalization, or law enforcement, or has a statistically higher occurrence of crime than the municipality as a whole) from taxation of up to $150,000 per residence on a residence owned and occupied as the primary place of residence by a law enforcement officer. Up to two exemptions ($300,000) may be granted if two law enforcement officers occupy the same residence.

HB 150 (House CRA)
MUNICIPAL FISCAL NOTES
Summary: would require the Department of Commerce, Community & Economic Development to prepare a municipal fiscal note for any legislation that causes significant cost to a municipality.

HB 152 (HARRIS, Thomas)
ESTABLISHING A RENEWABLE ENERGY FUND
Summary: This bill would establish a fund, administered by the Alaska Energy Authority, to help communities fund and develop alternative energy projects.

HB 199 (KAWASAKI, Guttenberg)
MUNICIPAL PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION
Summary: HB 199 would allow municipalities to exclude, exempt, or partially exempt, by ordinance ratified by the voters, up to $100,000 of assessed value of residential property (would allow municipalities, by option, to increase the “homestead” exemption.)

HB 200 (Dahlstrom)
WORKERS' COMP: DISEASE PRESUMPTION
Summary: This bill would establish a presumption in the Worker's Compensation program for professional and volunteer firefighters that have been on the job for at least 7 years. This bill would grant benefits to firefighters who become ill of certain diseases that may have been caused due to exposure to harmful toxins while on the job.

HB 202 (Community & Regional Affairs)
COMMUNITY REVENUE SHARING
Summary: This is a companion bill to SB 72, the sustainable revenue sharing bill introduced by the Senate Community & Regional Affairs Committee on February 2. This bill is substantially similar to SB 72, with the exception that it allows for unincorporated communities within incorporated boroughs and unified municipalities to also receive revenue sharing, if they meet certain criteria.

HB 222 (Ramras)
PASSENGER VESSEL TAX CREDIT
Summary: The bill says, “A passenger liable for the tax under AS 43. 52. 220 is entitled to a tax credit against the tax equal to the total amount of passenger tax paid to one or more of the first five municipalities that are ports of call for the vessel on which the passenger is traveling.” We have contacted the sponsor’s office to find out what the passenger’s tax credit would be applied toward. At this point, we have not heard back from the sponsor’s office, so do not know what affect HB 222 might have on municipalities.

HB 285 (Coghill)
MUNI TAX EXEMPTION: COMBAT DEATHS
Summary: This bill provides municipalities the option to either partially or wholly exempt property owned and occupied by a widow/widower of a member of the armed forces. (sponsor statement)

HB 311 (request by Governor)
BUDGET: CAPITAL, SUPP. & OTHER APPROPS
Summary: Governor's proposed FY 09 capital budget, including $75 million to Municipal Revenue Sharing.

SB 3 (Wilken)
COMMUNITY DIVIDEND PROGRAM
Summary: This bill would allow appropriation from the General Fund to communities based on $70 for each individual residing in the municipality or community plus an additional $30 for each individual if that municipality operates its own school district.

SB 34 (Bunde)
TAX ON RESIDENTS/EMPLOYEES IN REAA;GRANTS
Summary: This bill attempts to tax the residents of the unorganized borough through a formula that would divide the amount of the total local contribution to schools required in boroughs by the number of residents between the ages of 21 and 64 within those boroughs. That resulting figure would then be the tax assessed on all members of the unorganized borough between the ages of 21 and 64 or those people who are employed in the unorganized borough.

SB 72 (Senate C&RA)
COMMUNITY REVENUE SHARING
Summary: This bill would provide a means for sustainable revenue sharing in order to allow communities to continue providing basic services. SB 72 would allow the legislature to allocate 6% of certain natural resource revenues to revenue sharing every year. Basing revenue sharing on the state’s annual income allows for the flexibility needed to continue the program during lean years, when state revenue is down.

SB 79 (Bunde)
APPROP: PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTIONS
Summary: This bill would appropriate money from the general fund to reimburse municipalities for revenue lost due to state-mandated property tax exemptions for seniors and disabled veterans. (sponsor statement)

SB 88 (McGuire)
MUNICIPAL PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION
Summary: Would raise the senior citizen and disabled veteran’s property tax exemption from the first $150,000 to the first $250,000. SB 88 does not reimburse municipalities for lost revenues related to this exemption increase.

SB 96 (ELLIS, Stevens)
ESTABLISHING A RENEWABLE ENERGY FUND
Summary: This bill would establish a fund, administered by the Alaska Energy Authority, to help communities fund and develop alternative energy projects.

SB 117 (French)
WORKERS' COMP: DISEASE PRESUMPTION
Summary: This bill would establish a presumption in the Worker's Compensation program for professional and volunteer firefighters that have been on the job for at least 7 years. This bill would grant benefits to firefighters who become ill of certain diseases that may have been caused due to exposure to harmful toxins while on the job.

SB 122 (THOMAS)
MUNICIPAL PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION
Summary: SB 122 would allow municipalities to exclude, exempt, or partially exempt, by ordinance ratified by the voters, up to $100,000 of assessed value of residential property (would allow municipalities, by option, to increase the “homestead” exemption.)

SB 125 (Rules by Request of the Governor)
PERS CONTRIBUTIONS; UNFUNDED LIABILITY
Summary: This bill would change the defined benefit plan of the Public Employees’ Retirement System into an employer cost-sharing program similar to the Teachers’ Retirement System.

SB 168 (Finance)
PASSENGER VESSEL TAX CREDIT
Summary: The purpose of this bill to provide a credit to cruise ship passengers visiting ports of call that already have a passenger head tax. This bill would allow ports that currently impose municipal head taxes to recoup the fees from the current $50 excise tax and thus having the remainder of the $50 excise tax be paid to the other ports of call.

SB 204 (Therriault)
MUNI TAX EXEMPTION: COMBAT DEATHS
Summary: This bill provides municipalities the option to either partially or wholly exempt property owned and occupied by a widow/widower of a member of the armed forces. (fact sheet)

SB 221 (request by Governor)
BUDGET: CAPITAL, SUPP. & OTHER APPROPS
Summary: Governor's proposed FY 09 capital budget, including $75 million to Municipal Revenue Sharing.