The Alaska House of Representatives voted Tuesday to allocate $2 million from Arctic National Wildlife Refuge lease revenues to reestablish a state trooper post in Talkeetna, addressing growing public safety concerns along the Parks Highway corridor.

The amendment would fund four troopers and a sergeant for the Talkeetna post, which was eliminated several years ago during budget cuts. The funding comes from approximately $12.8 million in ANWR lease revenues received by the state, with $2 million drawn from the roughly $3 million remaining after federal obligations and statutory transfers.

Supporters cited increasing drug trafficking on the Parks Highway and a dangerous 113-mile gap in law enforcement coverage between Willow and Cantwell. The amendment's sponsor said the corridor has become a major route for fentanyl trafficking from Anchorage to Fairbanks and interior villages.

"If you live in Talkeetna, if you have family in Talkeetna, if you respect and understand the rule of law, and understand the problems we have with drug use, hauling fentanyl up the Parks Highway to Fairbanks, this amendment is for you," the amendment's sponsor said during floor debate.

One representative shared personal testimony about losing a friend and her seven-year-old daughter in a fatal accident near Talkeetna seven years ago. "Volunteers did CPR on little Addie for 45 minutes. If there had been troopers in Talkeetna, she might be alive," the representative said.

Another supporter emphasized the growing traffic dangers on the Parks Highway, describing it as "the main north slope surface artery for the state" that will see increased commercial and tourist traffic as major projects like Alaska LNG develop.

Opponents argued that one-time lease revenues do not provide stable funding for ongoing public safety operations. "Public safety should have reliable funding," one representative said during debate. "Using one-time lease sales left over from the DPS does not give Alaskans or our troopers the stability they deserve."

Critics also noted that the Department of Public Safety had not requested the funding in this year's budget process, suggesting the department may have given up asking after repeated rejections. However, supporters countered that the department's commissioner had previously identified a Talkeetna trooper post as his top budget priority.

The debate highlighted broader concerns about public safety funding statewide. One representative noted that Alaska spends approximately $354 million on public safety compared to $1.7 billion on education and $4.3 billion on health services.

"Why is it that public safety is so darn loved? We know that we have some of the worst, that violent crimes has risen in Alaska," one supporter said during the debate. "We have some of the most heinous sexual crimes. We have fentanyl that is killing our kids."

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough, which includes Talkeetna, currently has 54 state troopers serving approximately 110,000 residents across an area the size of West Virginia. Borough officials previously studied creating a local sheriff's department but determined it would require raising property taxes to 20 mills while the state would likely remove troopers from the area, resulting in no net gain in law enforcement.

The amendment passed by a narrow margin. The funding allocation now moves to the Alaska Senate as part of the state operating budget.

The House also debated but ultimately rejected an amendment that would have restored the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority dividend to the board-approved amount of $17 million. That amendment passed 21-19 after extensive debate about the legislature's authority to appropriate funds from the state development corporation.

The budget process continues with additional amendments and final passage expected before moving to the Senate for consideration.