Alaska State Senate
Alaska Legislature
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Term limits
None
History
New session started
January 17, 2023
Leadership
President
Gary Stevens (R-C)
since January 17, 2023
Majority Leader
Cathy Giessel (R-C)
since January 17, 2023
Minority Leader
None
since January 17, 2023
Structure
Seats20
Political groups
Majority coalition
  •   Democratic (9)
  •   Republican (8)

Non-caucusing members

Length of term
4 years
AuthorityArticle 2, Alaska Constitution
Salary$50,400/year + per diem ($200/day, in session)
Elections
Nonpartisan blanket primary / Ranked-choice voting
(Beginning in 2022)
Last election
November 8, 2022 (19 seats: all except district T)
Next election
November 5, 2024 (10 seats: districts B, D, F, H, J, L, N, P, R, T)
RedistrictingAlaska Redistricting Board
Meeting place
State Senate Chamber
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, Alaska
Website
Alaska State Senate

The Alaska State Senate is the upper house in the Alaska Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It convenes in the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau, Alaska and is responsible for making laws and confirming or rejecting gubernatorial appointments to the state cabinet, commissions and boards.

With just twenty members, the Alaska Senate is the smallest state legislative chamber in the United States. Its members serve four-year terms and each represent an equal number of districts with populations of approximately 35,512 people, per 2010 census figures. They are not subject to term limits.

Powers and legislative process

The Alaska Senate shares the responsibility for making laws in the state of Alaska with the Alaska House of Representatives. Bills are developed by staff from bill requests and information from the bill's sponsor. Bills undergo three or four readings during the legislative process. After the first reading, they are assigned to committee. Committees can amend measures or hold legislation and prevent it from reaching the Senate floor. Once a committee has weighed in on a piece of legislation, the bill returns to the floor for second hearing and a third hearing, which happens just before the floor vote on it.[1]

Once passed by the Senate, a bill is sent to the opposite legislative house for consideration. If approved, without amendment, it is sent to the governor. If there is amendment, however, the Senate may either reconsider the bill with amendments or ask for the establishment of a conference committee to work out differences in the versions of the bill passed by each chamber. Once a piece of legislation approved by both houses is forwarded to the governor, it may either be signed or vetoed. If it is signed, it takes effect on the effective date of the legislation. If it is vetoed, lawmakers in a joint session may override the veto with a two-thirds majority vote (three-fourths majority is required if it is an appropriations bill).[1]

For gubernatorial nominees requiring confirmation, the Alaska Senate sits in joint session with the Alaska House and the two bodies vote together on confirmation, with each representative and senator having one vote.

Committees

Current committees include:[2]

  • Education
  • Judiciary
  • Resources
  • State Affairs
  • Transportation
  • Committee On Committees
  • Community & Regional Affairs
  • World Trade
  • Special Comm On In-State Energy
  • Special Comm On Taps Throughput
  • Labor & Commerce
  • Rules
  • Health & Social Services
  • Finance
  • Corrections
  • Court System
  • Military & Veterans' Affairs
  • Labor & Workforce Development
  • Governor
  • Health & Social Services
  • Environmental Conservation
  • Public Safety
  • Commerce, Community & Economic Dev
  • Natural Resources
  • Administration
  • Law
  • Fish & Game
  • Education & Early Development
  • Revenue
  • Transportation & Public Facilities
  • University Of Alaska
  • Legislature

Current composition

Affiliation Party
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
Total
Democratic Republican Vacant
End 29th legislature 5 1 14 20 0
30th legislature 5 1 14 20 0
31st Legislature 6 1 13 20 0
32nd Legislature 6 1 13 20 0
Begin 33rd Legislature 9 8 3 20 0
Latest voting share 85% 15%

Past partisan compositions can be found on Political party strength in Alaska.

Membership

Qualifications and terms

Senators must be a qualified voter and resident of Alaska for no less than three years, and a resident of the district from which elected for one year immediately preceding filing for office.[3] A senator must be at least 25 years old at the time the oath of office is taken.[3]

Senators may expel a member with the concurrence of two-thirds of the membership of the body.[3] This has happened only once in Senate history. On February 5, 1982, the Senate of the 12th Legislature expelled Bethel senator George Hohman from the body. Hohman was convicted of bribery in conjunction with his legislative duties on December 24, 1981, and had defiantly refused to resign from his seat. Expulsion was not a consideration during the 2003–2010 Alaska political corruption probe, as Ben Stevens and John Cowdery were the only Senators who were subjects of the probe and neither sought reelection in 2008.

Legislative terms begin on the second Monday in January following a presidential election year and on the third Tuesday in January following a gubernatorial election.[4] The term of senators is four years and half of the senators are up for election every two years.[4]

Leadership

The President of the Senate presides over the body, appointing members to all of the Senate's committees and joint committees, and may create other committees and subcommittees if desired. Unlike many other states, the Lieutenant Governor of Alaska does not preside over the Senate. Instead, the Lieutenant Governor oversees the Alaska Division of Elections, fulfilling the role of Secretary of State. Only two other states, Hawaii and Utah, have similar constitutional arrangements for their lieutenant governors. The other partisan Senate leadership positions, such as the Majority and Minority leaders, are (usually) elected by their respective party caucuses to head their parties in the chamber.

Current leadership

PositionNamePartyDistrict
PresidentGary StevensRepublicanC
Majority LeaderCathy GiesselRepublicanE
Minority LeaderTBDRepublican

Members of the 33rd Senate

Alaska State Senate
32nd Alaska State Legislature, 2023–2024
DistrictNamePartyResidenceAssumed
office
Next
election
ABert StedmanRepublicanSitka2003[lower-alpha 1]2026
BJesse KiehlDemocraticJuneau20192024
CGary StevensRepublicanKodiak2003[lower-alpha 1]2026
DJesse BjorkmanRepublicanAnchorage20232024
ECathy GiesselRepublicanAnchorage2023
(2011–2021)
2026
FJames KaufmanRepublicanAnchorage20232024
GElvi Gray-JacksonDemocraticAnchorage20192026
HMatt ClamanDemocraticAnchorage20232024
ILöki TobinDemocraticAnchorage20232026
JForrest DunbarDemocraticAnchorage20232024
KBill WielechowskiDemocraticAnchorage20072026
LKelly MerrickRepublicanEagle River20232024
MShelley HughesRepublican[lower-alpha 2]Palmer20172026
NDavid WilsonRepublicanWasilla20172024
OMike ShowerRepublican[lower-alpha 2]Wasilla2018[lower-alpha 1]2026
PScott KawasakiDemocraticFairbanks20192024
QRobert MyersRepublican[lower-alpha 2]North Pole20212026
RClick BishopRepublicanFairbanks20132024
SLyman HoffmanDemocraticBethel19952026
TDonny OlsonDemocraticGolovin20012024
  1. 1 2 3 Senator was originally appointed
  2. 1 2 3 Not a member of the bipartisan majority

Past composition of the Senate

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Legislative Process Archived December 22, 2019, at the Wayback Machine, Alaska Legislature (accessed April 25, 2013)
  2. "Alabama Senate Committees". Open States. Sunlight Foundation. April 9, 2014. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 Alaska Handbook to State Government Archived December 22, 2019, at the Wayback Machine (accessed April 25, 2013)
  4. 1 2 Article 2 of the Alaska Constitution, Lieutenant Governor's Office (accessed April 26, 2013)

58°18′08″N 134°24′38″W / 58.302198°N 134.410467°W / 58.302198; -134.410467

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