Print article If all Alaskans saw were the daily goings-on at the Capitol Building in Juneau, they could be forgiven if they forgot that the state is facing an unprecedented fiscal crisis in the midst of a pandemic. Sometimes it appears legislators have, too. The state’s savings have been spent down to the point that a raid on the Permanent Fund appears possible, regardless of whether legislators sign off on Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s terminally short-sighted dividend plan. And Alaska’s disaster declaration for COVID-19 is set to expire because of legislative inaction (and, in some cases, active opposition), threatening the state’s laudable progress on administering vaccines for the pandemic that has killed hundreds of Alaskans and imperiled our economy. Yet you’d be hard pressed to discern a sense of urgency as lawmakers approach the one-third mark in the 90-day legislative session. If legislators were school students, few would be at the top of their Zoom classes. Here’s a
Print article Alaska’s top public health officials and hospital representatives urged legislators to extend the state’s COVID-19 emergency declaration Thursday as the clock ticks toward the mid-February date when it expires. The declaration provides authority for everything from mandated airport COVID-19 traveler testing and increased hospital capacity to National Guard deployments for vaccine distribution. A 30-day extension expires Feb. 14. Gov. Mike Dunleavy last month introduced legislation to extend the declaration potentially into September. But now that bill, Senate Bill 56, is stalled in committee and faces some resistance in the Legislature, where it’s increasingly possible that lawmakers may not be willing or possibly able, given the tight timeline to approve a declaration that some Alaskans see as part of a larger crackdown on individual freedoms.
Print article JUNEAU The first bill to be heard in the Alaska Legislature this year would partially dismantle voting-by-mail systems used by Anchorage, Juneau and other cities across Alaska. Sen. Mike Shower, R-Wasilla, said Senate Bill 39 is intended to strengthen the security of Alaska’s election system in a nonpartisan way, but several legislative observers began circulating alarmed emails on Friday, with Native Peoples Action asserting that Section 22 of the bill “may ban municipalities from having vote-by-mail elections.” That section would prohibit cities and boroughs from automatically sending ballots to registered voters, a cornerstone concept of by-mail voting systems. Cities and boroughs would still be able to send ballots to voters who request them.
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 legislators said the situation is similar to the 2018 session, when the House deadlocked for a month and failed to pick a leader until February.
Alaska lawmakers say state House is unlikely to choose a leader before session
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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 failed to pick a leader until February.