Legislature(2025 - 2026)DAVIS 106
04/15/2026 08:00 AM House EDUCATION
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB143 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 20 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 12 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | SB 143 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
April 15, 2026
9:04 a.m.
DRAFT
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Rebecca Himschoot, Co-Chair
Representative Maxine Dibert
Representative Ted Eischeid
Representative Jubilee Underwood
Representative Rebecca Schwanke
Representative Bill Elam
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Andi Story, Co-Chair
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 143(CRA)
"An Act relating to the terms of office of municipal school
board members; relating to the size of the city council in
second class cities; and providing for an effective date."
- HEARD & HELD
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR SENATE BILL NO. 20(FIN)
"An Act relating to cardiopulmonary resuscitation education in
public schools; and relating to the duties of the Department of
Education and Early Development."
- BILL HEARING CANCELED
HOUSE BILL NO. 12
"An Act relating to free breakfast and lunch in public schools."
- BILL HEARING CANCELED
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 143
SHORT TITLE: MUNI SCHOOL BOARD TERMS; CITY COUNCILS
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) YUNDT
03/26/25 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/26/25 (S) EDC, CRA
04/09/25 (S) EDC AT 3:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
04/09/25 (S) Heard & Held
04/09/25 (S) MINUTE(EDC)
05/05/25 (S) EDC AT 3:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
05/05/25 (S) Moved CSSB 143(EDC) Out of Committee
05/05/25 (S) MINUTE(EDC)
05/07/25 (S) EDC RPT CS 4NR 1DP SAME TITLE
05/07/25 (S) NR: TOBIN, BJORKMAN, STEVENS, KIEHL
05/07/25 (S) DP: CRONK
05/15/25 (S) CRA AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
05/15/25 (S) Heard & Held
05/15/25 (S) MINUTE(CRA)
03/17/26 (S) CRA AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/17/26 (S) Moved CSSB 143(CRA) Out of Committee
03/17/26 (S) MINUTE(CRA)
03/18/26 (S) CRA RPT CS 2NR 3DP NEW TITLE
03/18/26 (S) NR: MERRICK, DUNBAR
03/18/26 (S) DP: OLSON, GRAY-JACKSON, YUNDT
04/01/26 (S) TRANSMITTED TO (H)
04/01/26 (S) VERSION: CSSB 143(CRA)
04/08/26 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
04/08/26 (H) EDC
04/15/26 (H) EDC AT 8:00 AM DAVIS 106
WITNESS REGISTER
RYAN MCGEE, Staff
Senator Rob Yundt
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: On behalf of Senator Rob Yundt, prime
sponsor, presented CSSB 143(CRA) to the committee.
LON GARRISON, Executive Director
Association of Alaska School Boards
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of CSSB 143(CRA).
ACTION NARRATIVE
9:04:33 AM
CO-CHAIR HIMSCHOOT called the House Education Standing Committee
meeting to order at 9:04 a.m. Representatives Schwanke,
Eischeid, Elam, Dibert, and Himschoot were present at the call
to order. Representative Underwood arrived as the meeting was
in progress.
SB 143-MUNI SCHOOL BOARD TERMS; CITY COUNCILS
9:05:35 AM
CO-CHAIR HIMSCHOOT announced that the only order of business
would be CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 143(CRA), "An Act relating to
the terms of office of municipal school, board members; relating
to the size of the city council in second class cities; and
providing for an effective date."
9:06:06 AM
RYAN MCGEE, Staff, Senator Rob Yundt, Alaska State Legislature,
on behalf of Senator Rob Yundt, prime sponsor, presented CSSB
143 (CRA) to the committee. He paraphrased the sponsor
statement to CSSB 143 (CRA) [included in the committee packet]
which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
Currently Boroughs and Municipalities are allowed to
set lengths for Assembly and Mayoral terms but are not
granted the same ability to decide the term lengths
for School Board seats.
SB 143 would grant Municipalities and Boroughs those
abilities. The Mat-Su Borough for example have moved
their Assembly seats to 4-year terms, which will see a
cost savings to the Borough, since they no longer must
host elections in the off
years.
However, this legislation would not mandate that terms
are changed, but instead make this an option, should
local governments want to change the terms of their
school board seats, as they are already allowed to do
for Assembly and Mayoral seats.
SB 143 would also allow cities with a population under
1,000 people to have 3 or more members on their city
council, reducing it from the current requirement of 7
9:07:23 AM
MR. MCGEE read from the sectional analysis for CSSB 143 (CRA)
[included in the committee packet] which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
Section 1. AS 14.12.050 adds a new subsection (d)
which gives municipalities by ordinance the ability to
alter terms of office.
Section 2. Amends AS 29.20.130 by changing the number
of city council members required for cities with
populations under 1,000 people.
Section 3. Amends AS 292.20.300(a) by adding a new
subsection (c) to the exceptions in section (a)
Section 4. AS 29.20.300 adds a new subsection (c)
giving a municipality the ability to alter the terms
of office in (a) of this section.
Section 5. sets an immediate effective date.
9:08:26 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ELAM shared his understanding that the proposed
legislation would give municipalities in the state more control
over their local elections.
MR. MCGEE confirmed Representative Elam's understanding was
correct.
9:09:55 AM
REPRESENTATIVE EISCHEID asked what the cost of a schoolboard
election in the Matanuska-Susitna ("Mat-Su") Borough and asked
for an example of communities in the Mat-Su Borough who have had
trouble filling their local government bodies.
MR. MCGEE said that he did not know the cost of elections in the
Mat-Su Borough and explained that the proposed legislation was
originally an amendment proposed by a non-governmental
organization.
9:12:30 AM
REPRESENTATIVE UNDERWOOD opined that the proposed changes in
CSSB 143(CRA) could lead to more electoral participation.
9:13:19 AM
CO-CHAIR HIMSCHOOT asked if CSSB 143(CRA) would allow for ballot
initiatives to make changes to local governing boards. She
asked what the genesis of the proposed legislation was.
9:15:56 AM
CO-CHAIR HIMSCHOOT opened public testimony on CSSB 143(CRA).
9:16:31 AM
LON GARRISON, Executive Director, Association of Alaska School
Boards (AASB), testified in support of CSSB 143 (CRA). He said
the proposed legislation is a governance bill that aligns
strongly with the beliefs and long-standing resolutions of AASB,
which support local control and governance. He stated that
schools boards are comprised of local individuals and carry out
a state responsibility. He emphasized the key foundational
importance of state responsibility and local control in
education, and he said the proposed legislation is "consistent
with that structure" and would allow municipalities to determine
the value of school board term length adjustments while
requiring the approval of voters. He listed the beliefs of
AASB: local governance; local control for the operation of
school districts; and local control for determining school board
term lengths and representation.
MR. GARRISON spoke about the practical strengths of CSSB
143(CRA), including that aligning school board terms with other
municipal elections could reduce costs and support community
governance. Conversely, longer terms may reduce the frequency
of elections and opportunities for voter input; and some
communities may value that continuity, while others may prefer
"more frequent accountability." He cautioned that one other
tradeoff could be a reduced number of people willing to commit
to a four-year term.
9:20:00 AM
CO-CHAIR HIMSCHOOT, after ascertaining that there was no one
else who wished to testify, closed public testimony on CSSB
143(CRA).
9:20:08 AM
REPRESENTATIVE EISCHEID asked if there were any other states
that allowed for the sort of flexibility proposed under CSSB
143(CRA).
MR. MCGEE answered that most other states have three-year school
board terms. He explained that it was the legislative intent of
CSSB 143(CRA) to provide municipalities flexibility in their
local elections.
9:23:39 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ELAM noted the history of the intent behind the
length of current school board terms.
9:24:26 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SCHWANKE shared her appreciation for the
conversation and thanked the office of Senator Yundt for
bringing the proposed legislation forward.
9:26:06 AM
CO-CHAIR HIMSCHOOT announced that CSSB 143 CRA) was held over.
9:26:23 AM
The committee took an at-ease from 9:26 a.m. to 9:28 a.m.
9:28:48 AM
CO-CHAIR HIMSCHOOT delivered committee announcements.
9:29:21 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Education Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 9:29 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SB 143 Sectional Analysis Version I.pdf |
HEDC 4/15/2026 8:00:00 AM |
SB 143 |
| SB0143 (Version I).pdf |
HEDC 4/15/2026 8:00:00 AM |
SB 143 |
| SB 143 Fiscal Note EED-SSA 04.05.2025.pdf |
HEDC 4/15/2026 8:00:00 AM |
SB 143 |
| SB143 Summary of Changes ver A to ver I.pdf |
HEDC 4/15/2026 8:00:00 AM |
SB 143 |
| Sponsor Statement- SB 143 Version I.pdf |
HEDC 4/15/2026 8:00:00 AM |
SB 143 |
| SB 143 Oral Testimony - House Education_260415.pdf |
HEDC 4/15/2026 8:00:00 AM |
SB 143 |