2021 Alaska legislative session

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2021 Alaska legislative session
General information
Session start:    January 19, 2021 Session end:    May 19, 2021
Leadership
Senate President Peter Micciche (R) House Speaker Louise Stutes (R) Majority Leader Senate: Shelley Hughes (R) House: Chris Tuck (D) Minority Leader Senate: Tom Begich (D) House: Cathy Tilton (R)
Elections
Next Election:    November 8, 2022 Last Election:    November 3, 2020
Previous legislative sessions
2020 • 2019 • 2018
Other 2021 legislative sessions
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In 2021, the Alaska State Legislature was scheduled to convene on January 19, 2021, and adjourn on May 19, 2021.

The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2020 elections. Republicans won a 13-7 majority in the Senate and a 21-15 majority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship. Due to a power-sharing agreement in the House, the state was under divided government. At the start of the 2021 session, Alaska was one of 28 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

In the months following the 2020 elections, partisan control of the House remained uncertain. Though Republicans won 21 seats, Rep. Louise Stutes (R) joined a coalition composed of Democrats and independent members, leaving the chamber split into 20-member factions. Stutes was elected speaker on February 11 and said she supported the formation of a multipartisan governing majority, which would require at least 21 members to be functional.

Redistricting is the process by which states draw new Congressional and state legislative districts following the U.S. Census. Officials sent data from the 2020 U.S. Census to states in early 2021 to begin the process of redistricting. As of the 2020 census, Alaska was one of four states where an independent commission was responsible for state legislative redistricting.

At the beginning of the 2021 legislative session:

Republicans held a numerical majority in the Alaska state House and state Senate.

Alaska was one of 12 divided governments.

Alaska's governor was Republican Mike Dunleavy.

Aftermath of elections

Control of chamber

A multipartisan coalition formally organized a governing majority in the Alaska House of Representatives on February 18, ending months of uncertainty over who would control the chamber after the 2020 elections. Members voted 22-17 on a plan of organization that placed coalition members at the head of House committees. However, two legislators who voted with the coalition caucus to select committee members, Reps. Sara Rasmussen (R) and Geran Tarr (D), said they will not join either the coalition or Republican caucuses. That left both groups without a numerical majority in the 40-member House.

Though Republicans maintained a 21-seat majority in the House after the November 3 elections, it was unclear whether they would take control of the chamber or if the multi-partisan coalition that had controlled the House since 2018 would remain in charge. Usually, the majority party selects the presiding officer. But when Rep. Louise Stutes (R) announced support for the coalition group on December 9, legislators were split evenly into 20-member factions.

After Stutes left the Republican caucus, the outcome of a lawsuit Rep. Lance Pruitt (R) filed had the potential to affect control of the House. Pruitt filed the suit on December 10 to challenge the election results in his race against Liz Snyder (D). If the lawsuit had been successful, Republicans would have had a governing majority of 21 members after Stutes left the Republican caucus. On January 8, 2021, the Alaska Supreme Court denied Pruitt's challenge and confirmed Snyder's victory. Pruitt's attorney, Stacey Stone, said Pruitt would not pursue any further actions to challenge the results.

When the 2021 session began on January 19, House members adjourned shortly after an attempt to elect a temporary speaker failed in a tie vote (leadership candidates need at least 21 votes to be elected in the 40-member House). After several other nominations for temporary speaker ended in ties, the House elected Rep. Josiah Patkotak (I) as speaker pro tempore, taking over for Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer (R) who had filled the role of presiding officer since the legislative session began.

On February 11, 2021, Stutes was elected speaker of the House in a 21-19 vote. Rep. Kelly Merrick (R) broke with the Republican caucus and voted for Stutes. After initially not saying whether she would join the coalition, which included Stutes, the chamber's 15 Democrats, and 4 independents, Merrick joined it on February 15. This gave the group a 21-member majority. However, on February 17, Rep. Sara Rasmussen (R) said that she would serve as an independent Republican and not join either the coalition or Republican blocs of the House. Rep. Geran Tarr (D) broke away from the coalition branch on February 18, also choosing to vote independently of either group. With Rasmussen and Tarr serving independently, the coalition caucus was left with 20 members and the Republican caucus with 18 members.

A similar period of deadlock occurred after the 2018 elections. Republicans won 23 seats, Democrats won 16 seats, and a Democratic-aligned independent won another race. Although Republicans had a 23-16 majority with one independent, a coalition of 15 Democrats, four Republicans, and two independents elected Bryce Edgmon (I) as House speaker on February 14, 2019. Edgmon was elected as a Democrat, but changed his party affiliation to Independent before his election as speaker. The parties split control of key leadership positions and committees and elected Edgmon as speaker. The House majority consisted of 15 Democrats, eight Republicans, and two members unaffiliated with either party. Of the eight Republicans who joined the majority coalition in 2018, only Steve M. Thompson and Louise Stutes were re-elected in 2020.

Timeline

• February 18, 2021: The House organized under control of the coalition caucus and approved a plan of organization by a 22-17 vote.
  • House speaker: Louise Stutes (R)
  • Majority leader: Chris Tuck (D)
  • Minority leader: Cathy Tilton (R)
  • Community and Regional Affairs Committee co-chairs: Sara Hannan (D) and Calvin Schrage (I)
  • Education Committee co-chairs: Harriet Drummond (D) and Andi Story (D)
  • Finance Committee co-chairs: Neal Foster (D) and Kelly Merrick (R)
  • Health and Social Services Committee chair: Liz Snyder (D) and Tiffany Zulkosky (D)
  • Judiciary Committee chair: Matt Claman (D)
  • Labor and Commerce Committee co-chairs: Zack Fields (D) and Ivy Spohnholz (D)
  • Resources Committee chair: Josiah Patkotak (I)
  • Rules Committee co-chairs: Bryce Edgmon (I) and Louise Stutes (R)
  • State Affairs Committee chair: Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins (D)
  • Transportation Committee co-chairs: Grier Hopkins (D) and Ivy Spohnholz (D)

• February 17, 2021: Rep. Sara Rasmussen (R) said that she would serve as an independent Republican not affiliated with the coalition majority or the Republican minority. Rep. Geran Tarr (D) also said she will serve independently and broke from the coalition branch of the House, leaving it without a majority.

• February 16, 2021: Stutes said that Merrick had joined the coalition branch of the House, giving it a 21-vote majority. Merrick did not respond when asked if she had joined the coalition. Merrick said the next step in the process is "for the committee on committees to convene, and try to come up with a functioning group. We’re working closely with both groups of legislators and we’re going to try to give every opportunity for folks to fill leadership positions.”

• February 11, 2021: Rep. Kelly Merrick (R) voted for Stutes as speaker, providing the 21st vote necessary for her to win the office. Merrick did not say whether she would join with the minority coalition on policy matters.

• February 4, 2021: The Alaska House of Representatives elected Josiah Patkotak (I) as temporary speaker of the House. Patkotak was chosen in a 39-0 vote after Rep. Mike Cronk (R) nominated him. Rep. Geran Tarr (D) was absent. Patkotak presided over the chamber until Louise Stutes (R) was elected permanent speaker.

• January 19, 2021: Control of the House remained undecided as members met and then adjourned shortly after a vote on a temporary speaker failed. Rep. DeLena Johnson (R) nominated Rep. Bart LeBon (R) as house speaker pro tempore, but the chamber vote ended in an even 20-20 tie. A candidate for speaker needed at least 21 votes in the 40-member chamber. Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer (R) presided over the House in the interim.

• January 8, 2021: The Alaska Supreme Court confirmed Rep. Lance Pruitt’s (R) 11-vote loss to Democratic challenger Liz Snyder on Friday, January 8. The court ruled that Pruitt did not provide sufficient evidence to sustain his challenge of the election results.

• December 30, 2020: Anchorage Superior Court Judge Josie Garton said that she found no issues with the Alaska Division of Election's vote count and that Pruitt's attorney failed to prove that changing the location of a polling place affected the results. The Alaska Supreme Court was scheduled to hear oral arguments concerning the case on January 8, 2021.

• December 10, 2020: Rep. Lance Pruitt (R) filed a lawsuit challenging the election results in District 27, where he ran against Liz Snyder (D). Pruitt said that the state did not adequately notify the public when the Alaska Division of Elections moved a polling location and that the Division of Elections did not secure absentee ballots.

• December 9, 2020: Rep. Louise Stutes (R) said she would join with 19 other representatives in the multi-partisan coalition. With 20 Republicans favoring a Republican-led majority, control of the chamber was uncertain. Twenty-one votes were needed for control.

• November 3, 2020: Republicans won 21 seats in the November 3 election, while Democrats won 16 and independents won three.

Alaska Leadership in 2021

State Senate

• Senate president: Peter Micciche (R)
• Majority leader: Shelley Hughes (R)
• Minority leader: Tom Begich (D)

Alaska House of Representatives

• Speaker of the House: Louise Stutes (R)
• Majority leader: Chris Tuck (D)
• Minority leader: Cathy Tilton (R)

Partisan control in 2021

See also: State government trifectas

Alaska was one of 12 divided governments at the start of 2021 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 neither 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 2021 legislative session.

Alaska State Senate

Party		As of January 2021
	Democratic Party	7
	Republican Party	13
Total		20

Alaska House of Representatives

Party		As of January 2021
	Democratic Party	15
	Republican Party	21
	Independent	4
Total		40

Regular session

The following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2021 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria in 2021. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

Redistricting

See also: Redistricting in Alaska after the 2020 census

Redistricting is the process of enacting new district boundaries for elected offices, particularly for offices in the U.S. House of Representatives and state legislatures.

Click here for more information.

Alaska's single United States representative and 60 state legislators are all elected from political divisions called districts. District lines are redrawn every 10 years following completion of the United States census. Federal law stipulates that districts must have nearly equal populations and must not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity.

To learn more about the redistricting process in Alaska after the 2020 census, click here.

Standing legislative committees

See also: Standing committee and List of committees in Alaska state government

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 2021 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

• Alaska Northern Waters Task Force Committee, Alaska Legislature
• Administrative Regulation Review Committee, Alaska Legislature
• Armed Services Committee, Alaska Legislature
• Education Funding District Cost Factor Committee, Alaska Legislature
• Higher Education/Career Readiness Task Force Committee, Alaska Legislature
• Legislative Budget and Audit Committee, Alaska Legislature
• Legislative Council Committee, Alaska Legislature

Senate committees

• Community & Regional Affairs Committee, Alaska Senate
• Education Committee, Alaska Senate
• Finance Committee, Alaska Senate
• Health & Social Services Committee, Alaska Senate
• Judiciary Committee, Alaska Senate
• Labor & Commerce Committee, Alaska Senate
• Resources Committee, Alaska Senate
• Rules Committee, Alaska Senate
• State Affairs Committee, Alaska Senate
• Transportation Committee, Alaska Senate

House committees

• Community & Regional Affairs Committee, Alaska House of Representatives
• Education Committee, Alaska House of Representatives
• Finance Committee, Alaska House of Representatives
• Health & Social Services Committee, Alaska House of Representatives
• Judiciary Committee, Alaska House of Representatives
• Labor & Commerce Committee, Alaska House of Representatives
• Resources Committee, Alaska House of Representatives
• Rules Committee, Alaska House of Representatives
• State Affairs Committee, Alaska House of Representatives
• Transportation Committee, Alaska House of Representatives

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:

See also: Article XIII of the Alaska Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in Alaska

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

See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

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

See also: Convention-referred constitutional amendment

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 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

Historical Senate control

Of the 32 Alaska State Senate elections held between 1958 and 2020, 18 left the Democrats and Republicans 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 either Republicans 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 2020. 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: 1992-2020

Year	'92	'94	'96	'98	'00	'02	'04	'06	'08	'10	'12	'14	'16	'18	'20
Democrats	9	8	7	5	6	8	8	9*	10*	10*	7	6	6	7	7
Republicans	10	12	13	15	14	11	12	11	10	10	13	14	14	13	13
Independents	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

*Chamber controlled by bipartisan governing coalition

From 1992 to 2020, 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.

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. 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, and the partisan breakdown remained at 13-7 following the 2020 election.

Historical House control

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.

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.

See also

Elections	Alaska State Government	State Legislatures	State Politics
Alaska State Senate elections, 2020 Alaska House of Representatives elections, 2020	Alaska State Legislature Alaska House of Representatives Alaska State Senate Governor of Alaska Alaska Supreme Court	State legislative elections, 2020 State legislative special elections, 2020 State legislative elections, 2018 State legislative elections, 2016	State government trifectas State government triplexes Veto overrides in state legislatures State executives State courts Ballot measures The State Legislative Decade

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Alaska State Legislature homepage

Footnotes

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