Representative Mike Hawker R-Anchorage helps brings home clean energy cash, jobs with push for veto override

ANCHORAGE—Alaska's legislators have brought clean energy jobs and money back to the state with their vote to override former Gov. Sarah Palin's veto of $28.6 million in State Energy Program (SEP) funds.

At a combined House and Senate special session meeting today, legislators accepted funds that will be used to save Alaskans money through energy efficiency and weatherization upgrades. Alaska now joins the rest of the United States in accepting State Energy Program funds.

The extreme climate that makes Alaska such an exciting and unique place to live, makes keeping our wood floors warm and our kitchens bright more expensive than in most places in the U.S. Accepting these federal funds, which was said to be no more than a dime for each American citizen, was largely due to the hard work of Rep. Michael Hawker R-Anchorage. Hawker said he changed his mind during the process as he dug deeper looking for 'strings'. “I went from one side of this issue all the way to the other side of this issue,” Hawker said.

Palin did a good thing bringing the stimulus issue into the spotlight, Hawker said. “It brought a level of intensity that is important in our state right now [regarding] energy,” the Representative said.

The conservation community appreciates Rep. Hawker's efforts.
"We want to thank Rep. Mike Hawker for his work as the driving force behind Monday's successful override vote," said Caitlin Higgins, Executive Director of Alaska Conservation Alliance.

Hawker's work and the work of his peers on defending Alaska's SEP funds bodes well for the future of clean energy in Alaska. More so when taken with recent legislative approval of $125 million in Renewable Energy Fund projects and the attention clean energy has received during ongoing meetings of the House and Senate Special Committees on Energy - town-hall style meetings to discuss the energy needs and challenges of rural and urban Alaskans.
“Alaska's Legislators have again shown their strong support for the security, stability, savings and jobs brought by investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency,” Higgins said.