2025 APDC Summary

Written by Chris Mertil, President Elect

The Alaska Professional Design Council (APDC) serves as the link between the state’s design and engineering professionals and the public policy decisions that shape our built environment and public safety. Representing over 1,200 professionals, including landscape architects, engineers, and other design professionals, each professional society, including ASLA-Alaska, has two volunteer members on its Board of Directors. The ASLA-Alaska seats are held by Monique Anderson (Sitka), and Christopher Mertl (Juneau) serving as Secretary. APDC meets monthly.

Legislative Advocacy and Professional Licensure

The past year has been a marathon of tracking and shaping policy related to professional licensure, including interior designers, and the extension of our licensing Board.

In 2025, APDC helped shape and advocate for Senate Bill 54, which would extend the Board of Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors (AELS) for 8 years, grant interior designers’ registration, and adjust the AELS Board seats to better represent the various engineering disciplines. Despite passing both the House and the Senate, the bill was vetoed by Governor Dunleavy in September 2025 due to concerns about regulatory workloads and perceived additional permitting requirements. Following an unsuccessful veto override attempt, the APDC quickly pivoted to support House Bill 314, introduced in February 2026, which largely mirrors SB 54 with minor language changes. Critical to getting this bill passed is that the AELS Board is set to sunset on June 30, 2026. The new bill still includes the licensure of interior designers and adjustments to the AELS Board seats. The APDC and its lobbyist are working to ensure this bill passes during the current session.

Key Priorities for Infrastructure, Funding, and Education

Beyond licensure, in 2025 and 2026 the APDC championed priorities related to education, state infrastructure, funding, and public safety:

• Education Funding: We continue to advocate for sustainable school funding to restore purchasing power lost to inflation. High-quality STEM and arts programs are essential for Alaska’s future workforce, especially in design and engineering.

• Infrastructure Maintenance: The state manages over 2,400 facilities. APDC supports an annual maintenance budget of 3-5% of replacement costs to prevent costly deferred repairs.

• Transportation (STIP): We urge the Legislature to pass a $70 million supplemental appropriation to meet federal matching needs for STIP and keep design and construction projects on track statewide.

• Sustainable Operating Budget: APDC supports a sustainable operating budget. This budget ensures long-term fiscal stability and incorporates new revenue to fund Alaska’s

• infrastructure. It also strengthens the design, operations, and maintenance workforce for these facilities.

• Capital Budget: APDC recommends that the state provide, at a minimum, the matching funds needed to fully leverage federal infrastructure investments. The House Legislative Finance Division has identified a $2.4 billion backlog of deferred maintenance. This underscores the significant scale of need facing the state.

• Statewide Building Code (HB 80): We actively support adopting a statewide residential building code to ensure Alaskans' safety outside major city centers who have not adopted building codes.

  
  

Our annual APDC Legislative Fly-In took place February 18–20, 2026. Nine APDC members and our lobbyist visited the Capitol to meet with legislators and advocate for APDC priorities. Monique and Chris represented the ASLA-Alaska chapter and discussed APDC priorities with lawmakers.