Alaska State Legislature

From Ballotpedia

The Alaska State Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of Alaska. It is a bicameral institution, consisting of the lower Alaska House of Representatives, with 40 members, and the upper house Alaska Senate, with 20 members. With a total of 60 lawmakers, the Alaska Legislature is the smallest bicameral state legislature in the United States, due to factors including the geographic size of the state, and the state's small population.

The Alaska Legislature meets in the State Capitol building in Juneau.

Meetings

Annual sessions begin in January and are limited by statute to 120 calendar days. Special sessions of 30 calendar days may be convened by a consensus of two-thirds of the each house.

In the 2006 elections, a voter initiative was passed that reduced the statutory length of the session to 90 days. Current legislation would make changes to accommodate a 90 session. However, the fate of a 90 day session in Alaska remains to be determined.

Non-professional Legislature

Unlike other state legislatures with longer sessions, the comparatively short Alaska Legislature session allows many lawmakers to retain outside employment, especially in the state's many seasonal industries, such as fishing and tourism. In this, the Alaska Legislature retains some of the volunteer nature that characterized most state legislatures until the middle of the 20th century. This has led to recurring but minor controversy around the potential for conflict of interest inherent in legislators' outside employment.

Senate

The Alaska Senate is the upper house in the Alaska Legislature. The Senate consists of 20 members, each of whom represents a district of about 31,347 people (2000 figures). Senators serve four-year terms, without term limits. Half of the Alaska Senate is up for re-election every two years. With just 20 Senators, the Alaska Senate is the smallest legislative chamber in the United States.

Like other upper houses of state and territorial legislatures and the federal U.S. Senate, the Senate can confirm or reject gubernatorial appointments to the state cabinet, commissions and boards.

House of Representatives

The Alaska House of Representatives is the lower house in the Alaska Legislature. The House is composed of 40 members, each of whom represents a district of about 15,673 people (2000 figures). Members serve two-year terms without term limits. With 40 Representatives, the Alaskan House is the smallest state legislative lower house in the United States.

References

• Wikipedia: Alaska Legislature

External links

• Alaska State Legislature

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