Here are some of lawmakers’ first ideas ahead of the legislative session

Jan. 12—An initial batch of proposed legislation was unveiled Friday, revealing some of lawmakers’ personal priorities ahead of a legislative session that will begin later this month.

The House and Senate are both expected to be led by bipartisan coalitions that bring together Democrats, independents and moderate Republicans all hoping to focus their efforts on a long-debated increase to public education funding and reform of the state’s struggling retirement system. They are also looking at solutions for a shortage of natural gas that powers much of the state.

But lawmakers can also bring forward their own personal agendas. For conservative Republicans in the minority, it’s an opportunity to lay out their priorities — even if they are unlikely to be considered. The 81 measures introduced so far are a first glimpse of the topics that lawmakers may focus on in the months to come, but many bills never get much more than a cursory glance. In the previous two-year legislative term, Alaska lawmakers collectively introduced 803 measures, including bills and resolutions. Of them, 167 — or around one in five — passed both the House and the Senate.

[Related: Retirement reform reintroduced ahead of legislative session, topping agendas in House and Senate]

This year’s legislation covers education policy, election reform, and health care policy, among many other topics, with more to come. Another batch of prefiled bills will be released next week, and once the session begins, lawmakers can introduce new legislation on a daily basis.

Another attempt to repeal ranked choice voting and open primaries

Sutton Republican Rep. George Rauscher is proposing a bill to repeal Alaska’s election system of ranked choice voting and open primaries, reverting the state to a partisan primary system and pick-one general elections.

Alaska’s election system was adopted through ballot measure in 2020 and preserved after a 2024 ballot measure seeking to repeal the system narrowly failed.

The incoming bipartisan House and Senate coalitions are not expected to support a reversion to Alaska’s former voting system, after the open primaries favored several of their members. However, the Alaska Republican Party has worked diligently to repeal the system, arguing that it disadvantages its favored candidates.

Coalition members instead say they want to focus on improving the state’s election laws, including by allowing voters to correct ballot errors after they vote.

Separately, two groups are…