It’s not clear to his Republican caucus members where North Pole Rep. Mike Prax actually stands on House Bill 69. That’s the Democrats’ big spending bill that pours hundreds of millions of unaccountable dollars from unknown sources into the school districts, where students have some of the worst attendance rates and test scores in the nation.
It’s a bill that Gov. Mike Dunleavy has already said he would veto, unless it came with accountability measures.
On Wednesday, when the House Democrats brought the bill to the floor to force it out of the House Education Committee, Prax voted with the Democrats.
As one of his Republican members loudly whispered “Prax! Prax!!!” to him, he stared stoically ahead, ignoring the message that he had pushed the wrong button. He refused to acknowledge the colleague.
The bill was forced from the Education Committee on a vote of 21-18. He later explained as a mistake. Some have questioned that assertion.
In Prax’s Friday newsletter to his constituents, he never mentioned his Wednesday mistake. He wrote about HB 69, but avoided explaining his actions.
Instead, he wrote in his legislative newsletter about how the big spending measure should not pass, while at the same time saying he wanted a floor debate on it.
“Just today, House Republicans made a motion to bring HB 69, a Majority education bill to the House floor for the debate it deserves. In a vote of 20 to 18, the Democrat House Majority rejected the motion, refusing to take up their own bill,” Prax wrote.
That’s because the Democrats are waiting for House Rep. Maxine Dibert to return; she has been in the hospital for several days. There is no way that bill will hit the House floor until Dibert returns to ensure its passage.
“For weeks, HB 69 has remained stalled in committee. When finally given the chance for open discussion, the Majority shut it down,” Prax wrote of the Democrat majority.
“Alaskans deserve to know where their elected officials stand on education issues, yet House Republicans were denied the opportunity to debate the bill in full view of the public,” he wrote.
From his wording, it sounds like he is either for the bill or against it. It is unclear. Then he went on to quote his Republican colleagues:
Rep. Will Stapp of Fairbanks: “My problem with HB 69 is that the House Democrat Majority has not offered any way to pay for it. The truth is that there is no way they can pay for this without instituting a tax or eliminating the permanent fund dividend, but they want the public to believe they can. It is disingenuous and irresponsible.”
House Minority Leader Mia Costello of Anchorage: “House Republicans should be part of the education discussion—we owe it to Alaskans to have a real conversation about how to improve our schools. Our caucus includes members with deep experience in education, and we are committed to improving outcomes for students, teachers, and families. This is a critical issue, and we will continue to push for the opportunity to discuss meaningful solutions to both funding and policy.”
“House Republicans remain committed to advancing the discussion on HB 69 and ensuring that all legislation receives the consideration and public debate it deserves,” Prax wrote.
Rep. Chuck Kopp, House Majority Leader for the Democrats, said on the floor that when the bill does come up for a vote, Alaskans will see Republicans crossing over to vote for it.
“Mr. Speaker I believe that the citizens of Alaska are gonna see that the justice of our cause is shining like the noon-day sun. This is what they sent us here to do … and I think when we finally see a vote on this bill, there’s gonna be a distinct blurring of the lines between majority and minority caucuses,” Kopp predicted.
Prax represents one of the reddest districts in the state — 74% of North Pole voters cast their ballots for Donald Trump for president in November. Prax was nominated to his seat by Gov. Mike Dunleavy in 2020, when Rep. Tammie Wilson resigned to work for Dunleavy in his Fairbanks office.
