Accomplishments — Bjorkman for State Senate

Chaired the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee, supporting and improving bills that benefit Alaskans and our business environment.

Supported the FY24 and FY25 budgets, which provided for Alaska’s needs without spending from savings or taxing hard working Alaskans and will pay an estimated $1,655 dividend this fall.
Introduced and passed SB 87 Lumber Grading Program to allow Alaska’s sawmills to produce and sell dimensional lumber for use in home construction.
Introduced and passed SB 179 Muni Property Tax/Telecomm Tax; Xfer Tax, which protects hard working Alaskans by prohibiting transfer taxes on the sale of homes and other real property.
Included property tax breaks in SB 179 for Alaska’s food-producing farmers originally introduced as SB 161 Tax Exemption For Farm Land/Structures.

Introduced legislation that was passed within SB 189 Extend Boards; Game Permits; Taxes; Child Care to extend the Board of Massage Therapists, which uses the experience of board members to help fight human trafficking by reviewing license applications for signs of illegal operations, and the Big Game Commercial Services Board, which manages the activities of hunting guides and transporters to protect the State’s wildlife resources.

Added language to HB 230 Teachers: Out-Of-State Experience, Retired to give pay increases to teachers who achieve National Board Certification. The recognition of additional education and expertise will encourage more educators to pursue National Board Certification, making them better teachers and encouraging them to remain in our state with increased compensation for their additional skills.

Inserted language in SB 147 Workers' Comp; Extend Senior Benefits Payment to better ensure injured workers receive timely benefit payments and helped get the bill passed. SB 147 includes provisions to better ensure injured workers have time to heal and help them get back to work faster.
Introduced and passed SB 93 Fishermen's Fund: Vessel Owner Claims to increase the benefits paid to injured fisherman from the self-funded Alaska Commercial Fishermen’s Fund.
Introduced and passed SB 196 Employer Drug and Alcohol Testing so that when drug and alcohol testing are necessary, it is easier for employees and employers.
Introduced and passed SB 126 Architect/Engineer Registration Board, which ensures that the professions with the greatest number of members are well represented on the Board of Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors and modernized the statutes that govern how they do their work.

Supported inclusion of $174 million in school funding in the FY24 and FY25 budgets inside of the BSA formula.
Inserted language into HB 202 Schools: Overdose Drugs, Correspond Programs to protect the homeschool allotment program.
Co-sponsored HB 104 Timber Sale: Expedited/Salvage/Negotiated, which allows DNR to expedite timber sales so that timber can be sold while it is still useable, providing more timber for Alaska mills.
Co-sponsored SB 170 Extend Senior Benefits extending the Senior Benefits Program, which provides modest cash assistance to low-income seniors to help pay for expenses such as food, electricity, and prescriptions. The language extending the program was added to SB 147.
Co-sponsored HB 251 Homemade Foods; Agricultural Loans, which expands the ability for producers and retailers to sell homemade food products, and supported inclusion of language to expand the types of agricultural operations eligible under the Agriculture Revolving Loan Fund.

Co-Sponsored HJR 3 Concealed Handgun Reciprocity encouraging Congress to pass legislation to allow a person qualified to carry or possess a concealed handgun to be allowed to do so in other states that allow for concealed carry.

Co-sponsored HB 233 Motor Vehicle Warranty Work to ensure Alaska’s auto mechanics are paid fairly for their time.
Supported HB 50 Carbon Storage; Cook Inlet Oil and Gas to allow for DNR to regulate natural gas storage to increase the volume of reserves available for winter. The bill also allows for reserves-based lending, so companies have access to more capital for exploration and development, increasing Cook Inlet’s natural gas supply.
Supported SB 45 Direct Health Agreement: Not Insurance to allow patients and healthcare providers, including those on Medicare, to enter into direct healthcare agreements in order to reduce bureaucracy and provide greater medical freedom.

Co-sponsored SB 121 Pharmacies/Pharmacists/Benefits Managers which makes prescription prices more transparent and ensures Alaskans have access to the prescriptions they need. Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) often prevent Alaskans from getting timely access to necessary, even lifesaving, prescriptions. In many other states, investigations have shown that PBMs drive up the cost of medications and don’t compensate local pharmacies fairly – driving them out of business. SB 121 gives the Director of the Division of Insurance oversight over PBMs operating in Alaska and the ability to observe their internal cost-setting practices.
Co-Sponsored HJR 3 Concealed Handgun Reciprocity encouraging Congress to pass legislation to allow a person qualified to carry or possess a concealed handgun to be allowed to do so in other states that allow for concealed carry.

Co-sponsored HB 233 Motor Vehicle Warranty Work to ensure Alaska’s auto mechanics are paid fairly for their time.