Governor Mike Dunleavy has signed the FY-23 Fast Track Supplemental Budget, also known as House Bill 79.

The legislation will speed up recertifications for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and address case backlogs at the Public Defender Agency and the Office of Public Advocacy in Nome and Bethel.

HB79 appropriates $6.8 million in state and federal funds to hire additional public assistance eligibility technicians in the Alaska Department of Health to recertify Alaskans qualified to receive SNAP benefits.

Another $4.7 million will fund hiring more attorneys to represent vulnerable or indigent Alaskans in need of legal representation.

The legislation took effect immediately once it was signed by Gov. Dunleavy.

Image at top: Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy during a press conference in Anchorage. KNOM file photo (2019)