Senate Transportation committee adopts tribal-definition amendment and reports House Bill 26 to next stage

Representative Genevieve Mina, sponsor of House Bill 26, told the Senate Transportation Committee on March 24 that the bill would update Department of Transportation and Public Facilities responsibilities to include a coordinated statewide transit plan covering urban, rural and remote areas and that it would broaden alternate‑modes studies beyond urban centers. "House Bill 26 updates and modernizes the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities responsibilities to include enacting a statewide transit plan in coordination with community groups, tribal groups, local governments, tribal governments," Mina said during her recap.

Multiple public witnesses urged support. Millie Ryan, president of the Alaska Mobility Coalition, said her statewide membership of seniors, people with disabilities, transportation advocates and providers "wholeheartedly support this bill" and offered to work with DOT&PF on the statewide plan. Tom Horatka of Hope Community Resources told the committee reliable transportation is essential for Medicaid recipients to get to work. Caitlin Conway, Intergovernmental Affairs Manager for the Alaska Municipal League, said formalizing coordination with municipalities and MPOs will improve project readiness and grant competitiveness.

During discussion, the committee received technical input from Julius Adelson, an active transportation planner who said DOT has already been working toward a statewide plan and is preparing an RFP for that work; Adelson noted the activities described in HB 26 are reflected in the department's fiscal note. A committee member then moved Amendment 34‑LS‑0276 a.1 to insert Alaska Statute 44.42.020 (a definition for "tribal entity") drawn from prior legislation (House Bill 123). Representative Mina described the amendment as friendly and appropriate to clarify who should be included in tribal consultation for the bill. The committee adopted the amendment by unanimous consent.

A committee motion to report House Bill 26, as amended, from committee with individual recommendations and attached fiscal notes and to authorize legislative legal to make technical and conforming changes passed after an objection was spoken to and withdrawn. The action moves the bill forward in the legislative process; committee members signaled willingness to follow up on implementation details, including coordination with labor and private landholders where transit stops require access on non‑state property.

Next steps: House Bill 26 was reported from the Senate Transportation Committee on March 24 as amended. The committee asked DOT&PF to continue engagement on implementation and to be prepared to return with further details on coordination, outreach and the scope of tribal consultation.