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Print article JUNEAU — The new version of the Alaska Senate that organized this week has placed Republican moderates in charge of the state budget and put conservative Republicans at the head of policy committees. Those conservatives say they intend to work as part of a “caucus of equals” including more moderate Republicans, but minority Democrats contend that the conservative Republican senators are now in position to advance long-held goals, including limits on abortion and new election security procedures. “We’re gonna see, potentially, some divisive bills move toward the floo...

Wed, 01/06/2021 - 9:03am With the 32nd Session of the Alaska Legislature set to convene on Jan. 19, neither the House nor the Senate have organized into majority caucuses or chosen leadership positions. (Illustration/AJOC) The Alaska Legislature is still struggling to pick its new leaders in the wake of the 2020 elections. While members of the Alaska Senate believe they will pick a new Senate president before the Legislature convenes Jan. 19 in Juneau, members of the Alaska House of Representatives say they expect their leadership deadlock to extend through the session’s start. Several le...

Alaska lawmakers say state House is unlikely to choose a leader before session Share on Facebook Print article The Alaska Legislature is still struggling to pick its new leaders in the wake of this year’s elections. While members of the Alaska Senate believe they will pick a new Senate president before the Legislature convenes Jan. 19 in Juneau, members of the Alaska House of Representatives say they expect their leadership deadlock to extend through the session’s start. Several legislators said the situation is similar to the 2018 session, when the House deadlocked for a month and f...

Print article The public will be barred from the Alaska State Capitol, members of the news media will be prohibited from entering the House and Senate chambers, and lawmakers must wear masks under a set of new anti-COVID rules approved Monday by a committee of the Alaska Legislature. Any legislator that refuses to submit to a health screening at the Capitol’s entrance “will be denied entrance to the Capitol.” Any lawmaker who refuses to wear a face covering on the floor of the House or Senate “will be escorted ... to their individual office where they shall remain,” according to t...

December 24th, 2020 |     There's just more than a month until the Legislature returns to session in 2021, and nearly every issue that plagued lawmakers in 2020 looks likely to be the same or worse. The partisan rifts are deeper. The state's budget situation is more dire. The COVID-19 pandemic is raging on, with grave impacts to both public health and Alaska's economy. And, as in the last Legislature, the challenge of organizing majority caucuses in the House and Senate looks daunting. On top of that, Gov. Mike Dunleavy's budget would set a scary, shortsighted precedent. Same as it ev...