Officials outline cost-neutral plan to convert Alaska Division of Agriculture into Department under EO 136

Commissioner John Boyle of the Department of Natural Resources and Deputy Commissioner Brett Goodrum told the House Finance Committee on March 11 that the governor's executive order to create a Department of Agriculture would be implemented without adding net positions or immediate general-fund costs.

The plan detailed by Goodrum and Boyle would reclassify three existing Division of Agriculture positions, transfer two long-vacant positions from DNR and retain DNR for some administrative support. "As envisioned in executive order... tomorrow's department of agriculture is an important next step," Deputy Commissioner Brett Goodrum said. He described pairing a commissioner and a LEANS support services team with functional agriculture divisions to allow the new leadership to assess priorities quickly.

The committee heard that the administration's amended plan is intended to be both "cost neutral and position neutral." Goodrum said the administration rescinded an earlier plan that would have created 13 new positions and a roughly $2.7 million increment, and instead proposes reclassifying three on‑division positions and transferring two DNR positions that have been vacant for more than three years. The proposed FY26 budget includes a request for federal receipt authority of $2.2 million for microgrants aimed at food security; the administration says reclassification costs would be absorbed by the new department.

"I think everyone's well aware of the timeline in terms of the 60 days, that the legislature has to disapprove the creation of the new department," Commissioner John Boyle said, noting the department would begin transition work immediately and could be effective July 1 if the Legislature does not disapprove the executive order. Director Brian Scoresby, who leads the Division of Agriculture within DNR, urged that a commissioner-level office gives Alaska a stronger voice when negotiating market access and emergency response. "My vision for the Department of Agriculture is to continue to grow agriculture," Scoresby said. He told lawmakers farmers have told him they need "more land to grow food on, more capital to finance those projects, a market to sell a product at, and, with the Department of Agriculture, I think we'd have the strength of government behind us to make those things happen."

Committee members asked technical questions about staffing counts and wildfire staffing previously added to forestry and fire management. Goodrum and Boyle said the two positions transferred from DNR had been vacant for multiple years and that fire-management operations had contingency staffing and retention improvements separate from this reorganization.

Supporters inside and outside the hearing argued the department would raise the profile of agriculture and improve responsiveness for food security and market development. The committee also heard that the executive order preserves existing statutory responsibilities: a committee member read the EO language noting it "does not alter the statutory responsibilities and authorities related to the agriculture."

Implementation details the administration presented include reclassifying (not creating) three Division of Agriculture positions, transferring two long-vacant DNR positions, and maintaining DNR-administered administrative services to support the new department. The administration told the committee it has worked with agricultural stakeholders and expects the physical and logistical transition to be minimal because the division already is headquartered in Palmer and staff are colocated.

The Department of Natural Resources presenters and the Division of Agriculture director recommended the committee consider the executive order in the context of food security and market development; no committee final disposition of the executive order itself was recorded at this hearing. The committee then proceeded to consider related Senate Special Concurrent Resolution 1, which would disapprove EO 136 if adopted by the Legislature.