Alaska Gov. Says Lawmakers Did Good Work, But Disappointed in No Workers’ Comp Progress

Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski this week said he was pleased with the volume of important bills passed by the Legislature before it adjourned late Tuesday night, but still expects a resolution to the state’s fiscal gap.

Among the top measures that did not pass were revisions to the state’s workers’ compensation program.

“I would commend the Legislature for its many successes over the past 121 days,” Murkowski said. “Overall, this has been a very productive session, in which quite a lot of good legislation has been enacted, meeting the needs of Alaskans. We saw a willingness to work together in a bipartisan approach, which shows that we can get more done when we set aside partisan differences and hold out the best interests of all Alaskans as our standard.

“However, I was disappointed that the Senate left town without working out a compromise solution on the Permanent Fund endowment and the use of the income for education, dividends, and local communities,” Murkowski said. “I was also disappointed in the House’s failure to pass two important measures, specifically the tobacco tax and workers’ compensation revisions.”

Murkowski said legislators will now have the opportunity to return home and hear from their constituents about issues that were left unresolved.