Constituent questions for District 38 Representative Zach Fansler ran the gamut from the treatment of prisoners to state fuel and income taxes during Friday's live call-in show on KYUK.
Fansler reiterated his support for House Bill 115, the House Majority Coalition’s solution to Alaska’s fiscal situation. The bill would restructure how the state generates revenue by creating a state income tax and drawing from the Permanent Fund Earnings Reserve to fund state operations and pay for Permanent Fund Dividends.
One of the reasons to support the bill, he says, is because it creates a state revenue stream, which can support programs like drug and alcohol rehabilitation - critical issues in the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta.
“We need revenue to support programs that are going to help those of us who are suffering from this illness get help,” said Fansler.
The Representative responded to one caller’s concerns that the proposed income tax would hurt low-income residents.
“The income tax that is currently in HB 115 is based on 15 percent of what you would pay on your federal income tax, and the federal income tax does not tax you if you make under a certain amount," he said. "So if your federal liability is zero, then your state liability would also be zero.”
But when it came to using motor fuel taxes to help maintain the state’s roads, airports, and ferries, Fansler thinks the new taxes should consider alternative approaches for regions like the YK Delta where there are limited road systems.
“We have very much been in favor of trying either to find exemptions for our region, or very much trying to find ways that that money can stay in our region,” said Fansler.
One listener emailed a suggestion to use the money to establish and maintain the approximately 250 miles of Kuskokwim ice road created every winter.
On the subject of reducing recidivism, or repeat offenders, in the prison population, Fansler said that during Finance sub-committee meetings, he had pushed to include Bethel on funding lists for electronic monitoring and to expand work re-entry programs statewide.
“Where you don’t just serve your sentence and get out with a good bye and good luck, but you have a program that can help you reintegrate into society and reclaim your life,” he told listeners.
Fansler also advocated for prisons to teach inmates skills that will help them stay out of the corrections systems like subsistence hunting and fishing.
He stopped short of taking a stand on the Senate Judiciary Committee's attempts to amend Senate Bill 91, which overhauled the criminal code last year. Fansler said the House is taking a "wait and see" approach as more information about the effects of the bill come out.
Fansler encouraged every constituent to participate in public hearings throughout the legislative session, saying that it's every citizen's opportunity to be heard.
