Last year, Rep. Rebecca Himschoot introduced one of the first bills to be voted on by the full Alaska House of Representatives – a remarkable feat for a freshman legislator.
This year, she has a more conventional agenda that will probably take more time, but she’s no less eager to start the slow business of lawmaking.
In 2023, a lawsuit by a Washington state conservation group threatened to shut down the commercial fishing season for king salmon in Southeast Alaska. Rebecca Himschoot’s House District 2 includes 21 communities, most of them – especially Sitka and Petersburg – heavily invested in trolling, the one-fish-at-time hook-and-line method of harvesting kings for the premium seafood market.
Himschoot found herself guiding a resolution in support of Alaska’s salmon trollers to a remarkably fast vote in the full House, and the first vote in the Alaska Senate (which was unanimous).
She is quick to admit that it usually doesn’t go this way for first-time legislators.
“My goal last year had been to introduce nothing,” she said. “I wanted to go and just learn. You know, learn the ropes and learn how it all works and watch the process and and then find ideas from the constituents or from the process itself over in Juneau. And instead, the wild fish thing came up and I just felt like, okay, we’re jumping into this fire with both feet.”
House Joint Resolution 5, the Defense of Alaska Fisheries, was signed by the governor, and Southeast trollers – at least in the near-term – prevailed in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and were allowed to fish for kings as usual beginning on July 1.
This year, Himschoot is again introducing legislation that’s likely to gain broad support in the capitol, but it will move at the more stately pace of most bills – if it moves at all. House Bill 201 would make the residency requirement for hunting and fishing licenses the same as the residency requirement for the Permanent Fund Dividend. The genesis of the bill comes from the southern half of Himschoot’s sprawling legislative district, where some are bending rules to take advantage of Alaska’s generous harvest limits for residents.
“On Prince of Wales, everybody knows each other across the entire island,” Himschoot explained. “And so they see people coming in who are claiming residency for hunting and fishing, and filling freezers and then leaving, or taking a lot of fish boxes with them. And not actually investing in the community. Sometimes – I’ve heard stories, I haven’t seen this – they even bring most of their groceries with them, so that they’re really not committing to the community and not really providing any sort of support for the community where they’re using the boat ramps and the roads and taking advantage of all the infrastructure that’s there, without really contributing in a meaningful way.
House Bill 201 has received the support of all three Fish & Game Advisory Committees on Prince of Wales Island. The Petersburg Assembly passed a unanimous resolution in support of the bill, and Himschoot is going to try to put it before the Sitka Assembly for consideration before the legislature opens on January 16.
Success is never guaranteed. Himschoot is an independent, but is a member of the minority House Coalition and politics are… well, politics, and everything in the capitol is subject to negotiation. Himschoot is among many in the legislature who believe the state has underfunded education, and supports an increase in per-pupil funding to catch up with inflation. Raising the so-called Base Student Allocation – or BSA – is not a goal shared by the governor, who has proposed funding salary incentives for teachers (HB206), depending on how rural or remote the school.
“I think the difference between how the governor sees it and how I see it is I believe in local control,” said Himschoot. “And I think if we increase the BSA, with the multipliers involved, then the various districts can increase the teacher pay as they need to within their district.”
Local control is important, Himschoot says, because not everyone critical to student success is a teacher.
“In a lot of the communities in my district, the people who are there every single day, no matter how much the teachers turnover, are the bus drivers, the cooks, and the people working in classrooms with kids who may not hold teaching certificates. And to not recognize the value and the necessity of those staff members as well is very misguided.”
Himschoot says the BSA should be increased by at least $1,300, but she is “willing to work with the governor to find a number that he will actually support.”
Himschoot is practical about all this. The BSA might not go up this year; her bill on hunting and fishing residency requirements might not get to a vote by the end of the session, and so die.
In that case, Himschoot would have to start over again in January 2025, after winning a second term in the general election this November.
“I’ve filed,” she says. “I’m hoping to be back at it next year.” Then she corrects herself. “I’m planning to be back.”
Other issues important to House District 2
The second session of the 33rd Alaska Legislature begins later this month. Rebecca Himschoot represents House District 2, which includes 21 communities in Southeast Alaska, Sitka and Petersburg being the two largest.
Himschoot recently stopped by KCAW to share her views on a number of issues important to the district, starting with the Alaska Marine Highway.
Marine Highway System
The bipartisan federal infrastructure bill is pouring hundreds of millions into renovating the state’s ferry system. However, Himschoot says this year the Marine Highway’s emphasis will be on hiring crew for seven ships, and bringing the Kennicott – and perhaps the Matanuska, eventually – into service. She urges residents to be patient for at least another year.
“It’s unlikely we’ll ever go back to peak service that we had at one time, but we are going to get better service with newer vessels starting in 2025, when they should be building the new vessels. So we’ll try to crew up the vessels we do have, we’ll try to nurse along the vessels we do have, and keep the service we have now, adding in what we can where we can. And when I say ‘we’ I’m talking about the ferry service. And then the plans for the Tustumena replacement vessel are sort of the linchpin for all of it, because that’s going to be how they modify and build new docks. And they’re trying to make it so that every vessel can go to every port, so that we’re not back in this jigsaw situation that we’re in now.”
Hoonah Borough formation
Another major issue in the district is the potential formation of a Hoonah Borough. It’s a controversial topic for Chichagof Island residents outside of the town of Hoonah. Himschoot is going to let the process play out before she weighs in.
“I’m going to wait until that goes through the Boundary Commission and comes to the legislature. And you know, it’s not the first time that they’ve tried. I know that Pelican has declined, Gustavus has declined. And so what they’re trying to form is a really large area. And I know the state would like more boroughs to be formed, it just takes a little bit of the burden off the state. So if there are wins all around, I can’t see being opposed to it. But I’d like to let it go through the process.”
A new Alaska/Hawaii postal zone
Although it’s not a legislative issue, Himschoot has been working to rally local and tribal officials in her district to oppose the creation of a special postal zone for Hawaii and Alaska. The public comment period closed on January 4. Himschoot believes setting higher rates for the country’s youngest states is contrary to the mission of the US Postal Service.
“It will be hugely – I don’t want to say disastrous – but it’s going to change life for all of us if we have to start paying a much higher rate for post.”
Petersburg Medical Center construction
One of the largest public works projects in the district in coming years is likely to be a new hospital in Petersburg. Himschoot agrees there is significant need, but landing state money to support the project could take time.
“I think that the hospital leadership and various folks in Petersburg have done a good job of making sure that Senator Stedman and I are aware of the need. And I enjoyed a really thorough tour of the building. And they’re doing a great job of making the patient care area welcoming. And, you might think it doesn’t really need to be replaced until you go into the heart of the building. And I was allowed to look at Alaska’s third oldest freight elevator and other parts of the facility that really are outdated and constructed in a way that really can’t be replaced. So I will, along with the senator, be looking for opportunities to help Petersburg with the big project.”
Replacing the Enforcer
The Alaska Fish & Wildlife trooper vessel Enforcer recently reached the end of its service life. The boat is moored in Ketchikan, but patrols much of Himschoot’s district. She supports replacing the Enforcer.
“I think the governor has included funding for a new Southeast Trooper vessel in the budget. And we’re going to need to keep that funding in there and make sure that’s supported. So that’s probably nothing that community members are going to be banging on the door to make sure it happens. But I think it’s an important part of making sure that we have the ability to respond to emergencies in Southeast.”
Himschoot also agrees with the governor’s proposal to fund more personnel to manage food support for low-income Alaskans.
“Adding 30 eligibility technicians so that we can get SNAP benefits to vulnerable Alaskans in a timely way – that’s a win, and that needs to stay in the budget. And I’m grateful to the governor for having that in there. So there are things that are good that we need to keep some things that we need to change and some things that we might be able to let go.”
Rep. Rebecca Himschoot is an independent from Sitka, who represents House District 2 in the Alaska Legislature.
The legislative session begins on January 16.
