Press Release: A Recovery Agenda for Alaska

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For Immediate Release April 1, 2020

Contact: Melodie Wilterdink

(410) 725-9079

Melodie@AlaskaPolicyForum.org

 

A RECOVERY AGENDA FOR ALASKA

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The current economic crisis facing Alaska is only the beginning. While government responses to stop the spread of COVID-19 have been robust, their effect on the economy has been stifling. In response, Alaska Policy Forum has published the Recovery Agenda for Alaska, a list of policy recommendations that encourage economic growth and provide financial relief.

The Agenda includes policies that would allow for increased flexibility and capacity for medical professionals — including suspending certificate of need laws, allowing pharmacists to prescribe medication for routine cases, and suspending or extending continuing medical education requirements — and provide financial relief for individuals, such as temporarily waiving occupational licensing fees, extending expiring driver’s licenses and vehicle registrations, and enacting property tax deferrals.

“We will get through this pandemic together as Alaskans, but next will come the challenge of restoring our economy. The government can mitigate the economic damage wrought by emergency closures by implementing common sense regulatory reforms that reduce financial and compliance burdens for individuals and businesses, including those fighting COVID-19.”

— Bethany Marcum, Executive Director at Alaska Policy Forum

The Alaska Governor and Legislature have enacted several regulatory suspensions, and APF applauds many of the efforts made — including expanding virtual schools, extending the tax filing deadline, and implementing emergency unemployment benefits — but much more can be done to mitigate economic damage and prepare Alaska for a strong recovery. The Recovery Agenda for Alaska is available at https://alaskapolicyforum.org/2020/03/recovery-agenda-ak/.

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Alaska Policy Forum (APF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank dedicated to empowering and educating Alaskans and policymakers by promoting policies that grow freedom for all. APF does not accept any form of government funding. To learn more about APF, visit www.AlaskaPolicyForum.org.