A bill that would change Alaska's system of taxing oil and gas production together got its first hearing Tuesday, with consultants giving the Senate Finance Committee a rundown on the separation of the two.

State health officials are concerned that Alaska gonorrhea rates, which held steady for years, suddenly jumped by 69 percent in 2009 -- the biggest one-year rise since the 1970s, said Susan Jones of the state's Department of Health and Social Services .

The Senate Judiciary Committee heard mostly supportive testimony Monday of a measure that would dole out harsher sentences in crimes motivated by hatred, bias or prejudice.

The House Finance Committee Monday rejected an effort to provide funding for Marine Advisory Program agents slated to be cut.

President Obama plans to boost the effort to develop Alaska's natural gas resources into the executive office of the White House, according to legislators who visited Washington, D.C., to discuss energy issued with other legislators.

The Assembly agreed at a special meeting Monday evening to use $2.9 million of state money to extend the West Douglas road.

In Michigan, where many enterprises are struggling to survive, the renowned University of Michigan is in the midst of a construction boom and hiring spree. Michigan State University, on the other hand, plans to lay off faculty and cut programs, blaming state funding that is lower than it was a decade ago. Flagship universities in other states are also prospering, while their lesser-known counterparts suffer from vanishing state appropriations. 

So, why not change the arrangement and require big-name universities to take responsibility for their own financing, leaving more state money to support the other state schools? As legislatures face their toughest budget year since the recession began, the idea of giving a few universities autonomy to control their own finances has some appeal.