The Anchorage Assembly’s 2026 Legislative Program identifies several budget requests plus advocacy for particular statutory changes and administrative actions, including support of HB 78, which seeks to establish a new defined benefits program for public employees.
Budget Requests
The Assembly’s top budget request is $200 million of state funding for the continuation of the Don Young Port of Alaska Modernization Project (PAMP). The Port of Alaska handles 75% of Alaska’s inbound cargo, drives $14 billion in economic activity annually, and supplies 90% of Alaskans with basic necessities. The project, created in 2014 to create four new terminals, seeks to improve operational safety and efficiency, enable modern shipping operations, and improve resiliency to seismic activity.
The rest of the budget requests are grouped into three main goals: safe, secure, and affordable.
Aiming to make Anchorage a safer place, the Assembly requests $1.5 million for the APD Real-Time Crime Center, which would connect up to 750 camera feeds to a centralized network. They also request $1 million in blight reduction funding, stating that the Municipality has targeted over 200 derelict structures for remediation or demolition. Additionally, they ask for a full contribution to the Community Assistance Fund to be used to enhance public safety via Police and Fire Departments and $200,000 to equip the Anchorage Fire Department with two unmanned aerial systems for emergency response.
According to the Assembly, $250,000 for a Chugach Park Access Study will help make Anchorage a more secure place.
To make Anchorage more affordable, the Assembly requests $2 million for predevelopment work toward Anchorage’s Waste to Energy program. They also ask for an undetermined amount of funding to support a residential weatherization program for mobile homes.
Statutory and Administrative Actions
In addition to funding request, the Assembly identified several statutory and administrative actions as priorities in 2026. Advocacy for statutory changes include inflation adjusting for the E911 surcharge on wired and wireless lines, passing the new defined benefits plan (HB 78), increasing rates paid by the General Relief for Assisted Living to help homeless individuals with disabilities, allowing utilities to include more kinds of infrastructure upgrades in the Plant Replacement and Improvement Surcharge Mechanism (PRISM), and developing new mechanisms to use AIDEA to build affordable housing.
Administrative actions include prioritizing winter road maintenance coordination and fully staffing the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities Central Region.
The Assembly also identified several District specific requests. Readers can access the full 2026 Legislative Program below: