Maddy summaryThis bill updates the legal definition of "village" in Alaska's Village Safe Water Act to include various types of small municipalities and Native communities. Specifically, it expands the definition to cover second-class cities, small first-class cities, and home rule municipalities with populations under 1,000, as well as the Annette Island Reserve. The legislation also clarifies that certain unincorporated areas with populations between 25 and 1,500, including census-designated places and specific Native village councils, qualify as villages if they agree to maintain water projects funded under the act. Additionally, the bill provides a new definition for "census-designated place" to ensure consistency in how these geographic areas are identified for the program.
Sen. George Rauscher
Sponsored bills
Maddy summaryThis bill requires Alaska public school districts to provide parents of deaf or hard-of-hearing students with unbiased information about various communication methods, such as sign language, cued speech, and listening and spoken language. It mandates that districts allow parents to choose the communication method they believe is best for their child and ensures that services are delivered by professionals trained in that specific method. Additionally, the law updates definitions for terms like "bilingual approach" and "total communication" to clarify how schools should support these students. The legislation also directs the state department to support residential programs for deaf students and outlines how school districts must manage special education responsibilities when placing students in these programs.