Alaska Gov, Lawmakers' Fights Mark Session End

A bill by Rep. John Coghill, R-North Pole, requiring parental consent for an abortion of a girl under 17, morphed into a compromise requiring parental notification in most cases. Palin supported the original but said she would back the compromise. State Sen. Betty Davis, D-Anchorage, said Friday the measure needed more work and it remains in her committee.

One less weighty matters did make it through — lawmakers set up a special day to honor the marmot.

Left on the table for next year are several of the governor's top priorities, including continued work to advance an in-state natural gas pipeline, a Railbelt utilities plan, a natural gas tax and the continuing dilemma of how to pay for government in a time of diminishing income.

In her State of the State Address, Palin said she looked forward to working with lawmakers on adjustments to children's health insurance. Alaska is one of five states that funds the State Children's Health Insurance Program, known in Alaska as Denali KidCare, below 200 percent of the federal poverty line. The federal government picks up two-thirds of cost of the program, which provides government-funded health insurance for poor and middle-class children. A bill by Sen. Davis would have raised it to that level. It was passed by the Senate but could not get out of the House Health and Social Services Committee, chaired by Rep. Wes Keller, R-Wasilla.