Senate Passes Bunde Resolution Supporting Senior Caregivers and Encouraging DHSS to Provide Additional Education on Effects of Aging

Juneau – The Alaska State Senate today unanimously approved a resolution, SCR 13, which supports senior caregivers and encourages the Department of Health and Social Services to provide additional education on the effects of aging and the importance of senior caregivers.

“Advances in medicine, technology, and assisted living practices are enabling seniors to live longer, more productive, and more comfortable lives than ever before,” said Sen. Con Bunde, R-Anchorage, the prime sponsor of SCR 13. “Yet, the fact remains that many of our aging loved ones will at some point require some form of care-giving. In fact, more than 25 percent of all seniors need some level of assistance with their daily activities. It is critical that we as a state are prepared to meet and manage the needs of our aging population.”

A concurrent resolution is a formal method by which the Legislature can address a concern directly to an agency of the state government. SCR 13 will now be referred to the House for its consideration.

Poll Shows Alaskans Support Keeping Exit Exam by 3-1 Margin

Juneau – A recent Dittman public opinion poll commissioned by Sen. Con Bunde, R-Anchorage, shows that 74 percent of Alaskans support keeping the High School Graduation Qualifying Exam, also known as the exit exam. Currently there is a bill in the Legislature that would repeal the exit exam.

Bunde, who authored the original exit exam language when it was passed into law in 1997, said the Dittman poll results clearly indicate that the public still supports the exam as a way to ensure that possessing a high school diploma means graduates can demonstrate basic competency in reading, writing and arithmetic.

“Currently in the Senate, there is, in my view, a misguided effort to do away with the high school graduation qualifying exam. This poll shows that three-quarters of the people of Alaska do not want it to go away,” Bunde said. “That’s a pretty substantial level of support.”

Bunde said the idea to do away with the test is rooted in a well-intended push by some groups representing students who have had a difficult time passing the exam.

“Last year there were 8,008 graduates who passed the exit exam and received a high school diploma. At the same time there were 270 high school seniors who were unable to pass the exit exam, and therefore received a certificate of attendance,” Bunde said. “So, the question is, should we dilute the value of the diploma for the thousands who passed it just to accommodate the few who do not? I don’t think we should, and clearly, almost three-quarters of the Alaska public don’t think we should, either.”

The Dittman poll was conducted February 9-22, 2010. The bill to repeal the exit exam, SB 109, recently passed out of the Senate Education and the Community and Regional Affairs committees and is currently sitting in the Senate Finance Committee.

Sen. Bunde to be Honored for DNA Forensics Legislation; America’s Most Wanted Host Walsh to Present Award

Juneau – Sen. Con Bunde, R-Anchorage, will be honored in Philadelphia on July 22 for his contribution toward getting legislation passed to require DNA samples to be taken from suspected criminals when they are arrested for felonies or crimes against other persons.

The award will be presented by John Walsh, host of the television show, America’s Most Wanted, at a luncheon hosted by DNASaves.org in Philadelphia, PA. The luncheon is being held while legislators are in town for the annual convention of the National Conference of State Legislatures.

“I appreciate the honor, and am glad I was able to do my part to help modernize Alaska’s DNA database to better protect the public,” Bunde said. “It seemed to me that upon a felony arrest, a DNA sample should be taken, a modern day fingerprint, if you will. However, I will not be able to attend the luncheon, and have asked my colleague, Sen. Gene Therriault to accept this award on my behalf.”

Previous to 2007, the state’s DNA database was limited to criminals who had been convicted of a felony. As forensic DNA technology improved over time, states were able to share more DNA data with other jurisdictions, to better track criminals, and states began changing their laws to require taking DNA samples at the time of felony arrest. In 2007, during the time Bunde’s legislation to require this was being considered in committee, Kenneth Dion was arrested for the 1994 rape and murder of Bonnie Craig, providing the impetus to incorporate Bunde’s bill into an omnibus crime bill, House Bill 90.

Dion’s DNA match was made from a New Hampshire DNA database following an arrest for burglary. Karen Foster, Bonnie Craig’s mother, and others close to the Bonnie Craig case believe that if Alaska’s new DNA swabbing requirement had been in place in 1994, Dion would have been identified as the prime suspect within a year of her murder.

DNASaves.org was begun by the family of Katie Sepich, who was raped and murdered in 2003. It advocates for the adoption of laws requiring the taking of DNA samples upon felony arrest, also known as “Katie’s Laws.”

Bunde Introduces Bill to Turn Down Salary Increases for Legislators, Top Administration Staff

JUNEAU – Sen. Con Bunde, R-Anchorage, has introduced legislation (SB 106) to disapprove the recommendation of the Alaska State Officers Compensation Commission, which would increase the salaries of legislators and top state officials. If the recommendations are not disapproved through legislation and signed by the Governor by March 30, 2009, the raises will automatically take effect.

“I firmly reject the notion that higher legislative salaries will provide for more ethical and honest legislators,” Bunde said. “However, good arguments can be made for or against increasing legislative salaries. This bill is a vehicle that will allow those discussions to occur and the legislature the opportunity to vote on the recommendations.”

The compensation commission, created under HB 417 last year, released its findings and recommendations last fall. Under those recommendations, the Governor’s annual salary would remain at $125,000; the Lt. Governor’s salary would remain at $100,000; commissioners’ salaries would be set at $135,000; and legislator’ salaries would rise to a uniform $50,400, while long-term per diem for legislators would be stopped.

Bunde said the commission’s report is an “all-or-nothing” decision for the Legislature, but that the salaries should not take effect without a thorough public discussion, which his bill would facilitate when it is heard in committee.

SB 106 was referred to the Labor & Commerce, Judiciary, and Finance committees.

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Bunde Resolution (SCR 3) Urges Governor to Sue Feds to Protect State’s Right to Navigable Waterways

JUNEAU – The Alaska State Senate today is considering a resolution to ask Governor Sarah Palin to file suit against the U.S. Department of Interior, National Park Service, to assert Alaska’s rights to control navigable waters within the state. Senate Concurrent Resolution 3 , introduced by Sen. Con Bunde, R-Anchorage, describes growing problems the state is experiencing with the NPS, as that agency usurps control of activities on water bodies that belong to the state.

“It is absolutely critical that the State of Alaska stand up for its rights under the Statehood Compact and the equal footing doctrine,” Bunde said. “These bodies of water, including the Yukon River, belong to the state, so when the Park Service attempts to dictate who can run a boat on them, or land an airplane, or use them to fish or hunt, we have a real problem with that.”

Bunde’s resolution notes that the foundational documents under which Alaska entered the Union clearly give control and ownership of navigable waters to the state, and this was reiterated in the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) in 1980. However, the NPS began usurping the state’s sovereign rights over waterways inside National Parks in 1996. The resolution also notes that the state has attempted for the past 12 years to resolve the conflict without success.

“I am convinced that the only way to resolve this issue is through the courts, because the federal managers and bureaucrats have a vested interest to continue to build their empires at the expense of the state,” Bunde said. “There are hundreds of thousands of acres of submerged lands at stake, under rivers, lakes and tidal waters. Access to Alaska’s lands was guaranteed under ANILCA, but it is slowly but surely being denied by federal employees.”

SCR 3 also urges the Governor to allocate sufficient resources to the Department of Law, the Department of Natural Resources, and the Department of Fish and Game to fund and support a legal challenge to protect the state’s sovereign right to manage the public use of its navigable waters. The resolution was referred to the Senate Resources committee.

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