Unalaska, AK – Tomorrow, Governor Sean Parnell will sign two bills into law that will affect life in the Aleutians. House Bill 20 concerns a fisheries loan program. Representative Bryce Edgmon co-sponsored the bill with Bob Buch, and he explains exactly what it does.

"What House Bill 20 does is it expands the pool of fishermen who would be eligible for the commercial fishing revolving loan fund, such that a commercial fisherman who is a bona fide Alaska resident and who qualifies for the Division of Investments loan program can actually go in and get a low-interest-rate loan to purchase a new energy-efficient engine -- and right now the interest rate is about 3%, and we've had a great number of fishermen eagerly await the bill signing."

Edgmon says that it's not a major change to the program, but it should help vessels become more environmentally friendly.

"It's actually just sort of a small tweak in state statute," says Edgmon. "But the impact for those fisherman who qualify for the Division of Investments fund is going to be quite huge."

Parnell will also sign House Bill 210, which was also sponsored by Edgmon. This bill permits a land swap between the state and federal government so that a road can be built through Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. The road will connect Cold Bay and King Cove. In turn, an area around Kinzarof Lagoon will become part of the Izembek State Game Refuge.

The signing was originally scheduled for today, but postponed in recognition of Senator Ted Stevens' funeral.