2019 Alaska legislative session
Alaska State Legislature | |
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General information | |
Type: | State legislature |
Term limits: | None |
Session start: | January 15, 2019 |
Session end: | May 14, 2019 |
Website: | Official Legislature Page |
Leadership | |
Senate President: | Catherine A. Giessel (R) |
House Speaker: | Bryce E. Edgmon (I) |
Majority Leader: | Senate: Mia Costello (R) House: Charles Kopp (D) |
Minority Leader: | Senate: Tom Begich (D) House: Vacant |
Structure | |
Members: | 20 (Senate), 40 (House) |
Length of term: | 4 years (Senate), 2 years (House) |
Authority: | Art II, Alaska Constitution |
Salary: | $50,400/year + per diem |
Last election: | November 6, 2018 Senate House |
Next election: | November 3, 2020 Senate House |
Redistricting: | Alaska Redistricting Board |
Meeting place:![]() |
Alaska convened its legislative session on January 15, 2019, and legislators remained in session until May 14, 2019. No party had a veto-proof supermajority this legislative session, just as in 2018. Following the 2018 election, Republicans had a 13-7 majority in the Senate and a 23-15 majority in the House. Democrats formed a majority coalition with eight members of the Republican Party and two unaffiliated candidates in the House, resulting in a divided government. The governor of the state during this session was Mike Dunleavy (R).
Click the links to read more about the 2020 state Senate and state House elections.
Click the links to read more about the 2018 state Senate and state House elections.
Partisan control in 2019
- See also: State government trifectas
Alaska was one of 14 states under divided government at the start of 2019 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.
Alaska was also one of 28 state legislatures where no party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.
The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Alaska State Legislature in the 2019 legislative session.
Alaska State Senate
Party | As of January 2019 | |
---|---|---|
Democratic Party | 7 | |
Republican Party | 13 | |
Total | 20 |
From when Alaska gained statehood in 1959 to 2019, control of the Alaska State Senate was competitive. Of the 31 elections held between 1958 and 2018, 18 left the two parties within four seats of each other. However, control of the chamber was not always determined by the partisan split. For example, from 2007 to 2012, a bipartisan coalition comprised mostly of Democrats controlled the chamber even though Republicans either had the numerical majority or the chamber was split 10-10. Only in the elections after 2012 did Republicans begin holding both numerical and governing majorities. The table below shows the partisan history of the Alaska State Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2018. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.
Alaska State Senate election results: 1992-2018
Year | '92 | '94 | '96 | '98 | '00 | '02 | '04 | '06 | '08 | '10 | '12 | '14 | '16 | '18 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democrats | 9 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 9* | 10* | 10* | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 |
Republicans | 10 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 13 |
Independents | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
*Chamber controlled by bipartisan governing coalition
From 1992 to 2019, Republicans had numerical majorities in the Alaska Senate after all but two elections that split the chamber 10-10, but they did not necessarily control the chamber whenever they had a numerical majority. Going into the 1990s, Democrats had not held a numerical majority since the 1980 elections. Republicans continued to maintain majorities, with their high point being a 15-5 advantage following the 1998 elections. Their control weakened after that as they saw their majority reduce to 11-9 after the 2006 elections. It was in the aftermath of that election that Republican Lyda Green assembled a bipartisan coalition that included all nine Senate Democrats and six Republicans. The coalition elected Green as president. She did not run for re-election in 2008, in which year the chamber reached a 10-10 split. However, the bipartisan group maintained control of the chamber, sometimes working against the priorities of Republican Gov. Sean Parnell.[1]
In 2012, Republicans retook control of the Alaska Senate with a 13-7 majority, effectively ending the bipartisan group that Green had established. Although some rural Democrats joined with the new Republican majority, they did not have the same influence over the agenda that Democrats previously had.[2] Republicans expanded their majority in 2014 and 2016 by winning a 14-6 majority, just one seat away from their 1998 high point. In 2018, Democrats regained control of one seat.[3]
Alaska House of Representatives
Party | As of January 2019 | |
---|---|---|
Democratic Party | 15 | |
Republican Party | 23 | |
Independent | 2 | |
Total | 40 |
From when Alaska gained statehood in 1959 to the 2018 elections, there were two eras of partisan control in the state House, one for each major party. From 1960 to 1994, Democrats enjoyed almost uninterrupted control of the chamber, losing their majority in just two elections: 1966 and 1982. 1994 marked the beginning of the next era, with Republicans winning control every year until 2016. That year, Republicans won a numerical majority, but Democrats gained effective control of the chamber through a bipartisan governing coalition. After the 2018 elections, the parties split control of the House. The table below shows the partisan history of the Alaska House of Representatives following every general election from 1992 to 2018. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.
Alaska House of Representatives election results: 1992-2018
Year | '92 | '94 | '96 | '98 | '00 | '02 | '04 | '06 | '08 | '10 | '12 | '14 | '16 | '18** |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democrats | 20 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 17 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 17* | 16 |
Republicans | 18 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 23 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 23 | 21 | 23 |
Independents | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
*17 Democrats, three Republicans, and two independents formed a 22-member governing coalition.
**15 Democrats, four Republicans, one independent, and Speaker Bryce Edgmon, who changed his party affiliation from Democratic to unenrolled on February 11, formed a 21-member governing coalition.
The Democratic-controlled era of the Alaska House began to unravel in the 1980s as Republicans closed the long-standing seat gap between the parties. In 1994, Republican gained a five-seat advantage and began their own period of control. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Republicans expanded their seat advantage to double-digits, controlling as many as 27 of the chamber's 40 seats after the 2000 and 2002 elections. The 2006 and 2008 elections gave a boost to the Democrats, putting them just four seats behind the Republicans. However, the elections from 2010 to 2014 widened the gap between the parties.
In 2016, Republicans lost two seats, bringing their caucus to 21 members — the bare minimum for a majority. However, their majority came apart when three Republicans — Paul Seaton, Louise Stutes, and Gabrielle LeDoux — left the caucus to join 17 Democrats and two independents in a majority coalition. According to Seaton, the majority coalition was constructed around a shared vision of fiscal policy, with members wanting to decrease spending, restructure Alaska's Permanent Fund, and institute a broad-based tax. The coalition elected Democrat Bryce Edgmon as speaker of the house.[4]
After the 2018 elections, Republicans held 23 seats in the chamber, with 16 Democrats and one independent. On February 11, 2019, Edgmon changed his party affiliation from Democratic to unenrolled. Three days later, Edgmon, the chamber's remaining 15 Democrats, four Republicans, one independent officeholder voted to elect Edgmon speaker again. The parties then split control of key leadership positions in a power-sharing agreement.
Leadership in 2019
Alaska State Senate
- Senate president: Catherine A. Giessel (R)
- Majority leader: Mia Costello (R)
- Minority leader: Tom Begich (D)
Alaska House of Representatives
- Speaker of the House: Bryce E. Edgmon (I)
- Majority leader: Charles Kopp (D)
- Minority leader: Vacant
Regular session
The widget below provides information on legislation in the 2019 legislative session that passed both chambers of the legislature, was signed by the governor, or was approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria yet in 2019. This information is provided by BillTrack50.
Standing legislative committees
A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.
At the beginning of the 2019 legislative session, there were 27 standing committees in Alaska's state government, including seven joint legislative committees, 10 state Senate committees, and 10 state House committees.
Joint legislative committees
Senate committees
- Senate Community & Regional Affairs Committee
- Senate Education Committee
- Senate Finance Committee
- Senate Health & Social Services Committee
- Senate Judiciary Committee
- Senate Labor & Commerce Committee
- Senate Resources Committee
- Senate Rules Committee
- Senate State Affairs Committee
- Senate Transportation Committee
House committees
- Fisheries Committee
- House Community & Regional Affairs Committee
- House Education Committee
- House Finance Committee
- House Health & Social Services Committee
- House Judiciary Committee
- House Labor & Commerce Committee
- House Resources Committee
- House Rules Committee
- House State Affairs Committee
- House Transportation Committee
- Military & Veterans' Affairs Committee
Legislatively referred constitutional amendments
In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.
The methods by which the Alaska Constitution can be amended:
The Alaska Constitution provides two mechanisms for amending the state's constitution—a legislative process, and a state constitutional convention. Alaska requires a simple majority vote (50% plus 1) for voters to approve constitutional amendments. Alaskans do not have the power to use a citizen initiative to amend the state's constitution. The power of initiative in Alaska is restricted to proposing state statutes.
Legislature
A two-thirds vote in each legislative chamber of the Alaska State Legislature during one legislative session to refer a constitutional amendment to the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 27 votes in the Alaska House of Representatives and 14 votes in the Alaska State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
Convention
According to Section 3 of Article 13 of the Alaska Constitution, a question about whether to hold a state constitutional convention is to automatically appear on the state's ballot every 10 years starting in 1970. Alaska is one of 14 states that provides for an automatic constitutional convention question.
The table below shows the last and next constitutional convention question election years:
State | Interval | Last question on the ballot | Next question on the ballot |
---|---|---|---|
Alaska | 10 years | 2022 | 2032 |
Historical context:
- A total of 54 measures appeared on statewide ballots in Alaska from 1995 to 2018.
- From 1996 to 2018, the number of measures on even-year statewide ballots ranged from one to seven.
- Between 1996 and 2018, an average of four measures appeared on the ballot in Alaska during even-numbered election years.
- Between 1996 and 2018, 55.77 percent (29 of 52) of the total number of measures that appeared on statewide ballots during even-numbered years were approved, and about 44.23 percent (23 of 52) were defeated.
Historical partisan control
The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Alaska.
Alaska Party Control: 1992-2025
No Democratic trifectas • Six years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Governor | I | I | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | I | I | I | I | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
Senate | S | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | S | S | S |
House | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | S | S | S | S | S | S | S |
See also
Elections | Alaska State Government | State Legislatures | State Politics |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ McClatchy DC, "Tea party goes after Alaska's bipartisan Senate coalition," July 9, 2012
- ↑ Alaska Commons, "Day 98: Or, Why I Miss the Bipartisan Working Group," April 26, 2016
- ↑ Alaska Dispatch News, "Alaska House will be run by coalition while Senate remains under Republican control," November 10, 2016
- ↑ Alaska Dispatch News, "Alaska House will be run by coalition while Senate remains under Republican control," November 10, 2016