Alaska State Legislature

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The Alaska State Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a bicameral body, comprising the Alaska House of Representatives and the Alaska State Senate. The Legislature convenes at the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau.

Structure and Function

The Alaska State Legislature consists of two chambers:

Together, these two bodies are responsible for creating state laws, approving the state budget, and providing a check on the executive branch.

Members

The Alaska Legislature has relatively short sessions, allowing many lawmakers to maintain outside employment, especially in seasonal industries like fishing and tourism. This characteristic has led to minor controversies over potential conflicts of interest due to legislators' external jobs.

Candidates for legislative office must be qualified voters and residents of Alaska for at least three years, and residents of their district for one year prior to filing for office. Senators must be at least 25 years old and representatives at least 21 at the time they take the oath of office. Each chamber can expel a member with a two-thirds majority vote, a rare occurrence in the legislature's history.

The Alaska Constitution allows the legislature to set term start dates. Legislative terms begin on the second Monday in January following a presidential election year and the third Tuesday in January following a gubernatorial election year. Representatives serve two-year terms, while senators serve four-year terms, with half the Senate elected every two years.

Meetings

Annual sessions begin in January and are limited to 90 days by statute, although special sessions of up to 30 days can be convened with a two-thirds consensus of each house. A voter initiative in 2006 reduced the session length from 121 days to 90 days, starting with the 2008 session.

Leadership

The leadership of the Legislature includes:

  • The Speaker of the House, who presides over the House of Representatives.
  • The President of the Senate, who presides over the Senate.
  • Majority and Minority Leaders in both chambers, who lead their respective party members.

Caucuses

Both houses of the Alaska Legislature have majority caucuses that often include members from both major parties. Democrats joining the majority are known as "Bush Democrats," typically from the Alaskan bush regions. These members receive the same committee assignments and participate in caucus meetings as majority members.

Legislative Process

The legislative process in the Alaska State Legislature follows a structured path:

  • Introduction: Bills are introduced by legislators or through a Rules Committee for gubernatorial submissions. Each bill is assigned a number and read by number, sponsor, and title before being referred to one or more committees.
  • Committee Work: Committee chairs decide whether to hear a bill. Committees can approve, modify, or substitute bills. Approved bills move to the next committee or to the Rules Committee, which can amend or schedule the bill for floor action.
  • Floor Action: Scheduled bills are read again and discussed during Second Reading. Amendments can be proposed and voted on. In Third Reading, the chamber votes on the bill.
  • Opposite Chamber: Approved bills are sent to the other chamber for the same process of introduction, committee review, and three readings.
  • Enactment: If unmodified, the second chamber sends the bill to the governor. Modified bills require the originating chamber's acceptance or a conference committee for finalization. The governor can sign or veto the bill; vetoes can be overridden with a two-thirds majority vote. Unlike many states, Alaska's governor does not have a pocket veto.

Elections

Members of the Alaska House of Representatives are elected every two years, while members of the Alaska Senate are elected every four years. Elections are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even-numbered years.

Starting in 2022, Alaska adopted a nonpartisan blanket primary system, also known as the "top-four" primary. Under this system, all candidates, regardless of party affiliation, compete in a single primary election. The top four candidates then advance to the general election.

In the general election, Alaska uses a ranked-choice voting system. Voters rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate receives a majority of first-preference votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and those votes are redistributed to the remaining candidates based on the voters' next preferences. This process continues until a candidate receives a majority of the votes.

Before 2022, Alaska used a partisan primary system followed by a first-choice general election.

See Also

External Links

Alaska State Legislative Districts

Congressional: At-Large
State Senate: A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · J · K · L · M · N · O · P · Q · R · S · T
State House: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13 · 14 · 15 · 16 · 17 · 18 · 19 · 20 · 21 · 22 · 23 · 24 · 25 · 26 · 27 · 28 · 29 · 30 · 31 · 32 · 33 · 34 · 35 · 36 · 37 · 38 · 39 · 40