Alaska State Senate

From Ballotpedia

Alaska State Senate
General Information
Type:	Upper house
Term limits:	None
2012 session start:	January 17, 2012
Website:	Official Senate Page
Leadership
Senate President:	Gary Stevens (R)
Majority Leader:	Kevin Meyer (R)
Minority leader:	Charlie Huggins (R)
Structure
Members:	20
	Democratic Party (10) Republican Party (10)
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Art II, Alaska Constitution
Salary:	$50,400./year+ per diem
Last Election:	November 2, 2010 (10 seats)
Next election:	November 6, 2012 (10 seats)
Redistricting:	Alaska Redistricting Board has control
Meeting place:

The Alaska State Senate is the upper house of the Alaska State Legislature. There are 20 state senators; they represent 20 districts each composed of an average of 35,512 residents, as of the 2010 Census.^[1] After the 2000 Census, each member represented 31,347 residents.^[2] The districts are identified by a letter of the alphabet, rather than a number as is the more common norm in other states. The senators serve four-year terms and are not subject to term limits.^[3] Half of the senate is up for re-election every two years.

During 2010, the Legislature was in session from January 19th to April 18th.^[4]

Sessions

Section 8 of Article II of the Alaska Constitution contains provisions relating to the timing and length of sessions of the Alaska State Legislature, of which the Senate is a part. However, the provisions related to the convening date of the Legislature have been changed by law, and the provisions limiting the length of legislative sessions have been changed by the Alaska 90-Day Legislative Session Amendment. This amendment was passed in a 2006 ballot initiative, and it limits the regular sessions of the Legislature to ninety days.

Section 9 of Article II allows for special sessions to be called by the Governor of Alaska or by a two-thirds vote of the legislators. Special sessions are limited to thirty days.

2012

See also: Dates of 2012 state legislative sessions

In 2012, the Legislature was in regular session from January 17 to April 15. It was in special session from April 15 to April 30.^[5]

Major issues

Legislators will be taking up Governor Sean Parnell's (R) suggestion to decrease the oil tax in order to increase economic growth. They are also expected to consider a ban on texting while driving, education funding, the state's unfunded pension liability, and whether to extend the legislative session from 90 to 120 days.^[6]

2011

See also: Dates of 2011 state legislative sessions

In 2011, the Senate was in session from January 18th to April 17th. A special session was called on June 27 to discuss reauthorization of the state's Coastal Management Program, which is set to expire June 30. Measures to reauthorize the program failed during the regular session. ^[7]

2010

See also: Dates of 2010 state legislative sessions

In 2010, the Senate was in session from January 19th to April 18th.

Elections

2012

See also: Alaska State Senate elections, 2012

Elections for the office of Alaska State Senator will be held in Alaska on November 6, 2012. Ordinarily, half (10) of the senators would be up for election in 2012, and half would be up for election in 2014 because senators serve staggered four-year terms. However in 2012, every senator except Dennis Egan (D) will face re-election due to changes resulting from state legislative redistricting. Senators normally scheduled for the 2014 election will be elected to two-year terms in 2012, preserving Alaska's staggered Senate elections. Thus, a total of 19 seats will be up for election in 2012.^[8]

The signature-filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections is June 1, 2012, and the primary election day will be August 28, 2012.

2010

See also: Alaska State Senate elections, 2010

Elections for the office of Alaska State Senator were held in Alaska on November 2, 2010. State senate seats in all even-numbered districts excluding District 20 were on the ballot in 2010, in addition to the District 19 seat.

The signature-filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was June 1, 2010, and the primary election day was August 24, 2010.

During the 2010 election, the total contributions to the 29 Senate candidates was $1,227,692. The top 10 contributors were:^[9]

Donor	Amount
Dziubinski, Philip L	$153,806
Higgins, Pete	$45,410
Moronell, Mark W	$39,162
Alaska Republican Party	$28,450
Giessel, Cathy	$27,535
Giessel, Catherin A (Cathy)	$18,125
Alaska Association of Realtors	$15,800
Senate Democratic Campaign Cmte of Alaska	$15,000
Alaska State Employees Association Local 52	$13,000
Alaska Laborers Local 341	$12,000

Qualifications

Article II, Section 2 of the Alaska Constitution states: A member of the legislature shall be a qualified voter who has been a resident of Alaska for at least three years and of the district from which elected for at least one year, immediately preceding his filing for office. A senator shall be at least twenty-five years of age and a representative at least twenty-one years of age.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures

How Vacancies are filled in State Legislatures

If there is a vacancy in the Senate, the Governor is responsible for selecting a replacement. The Governor must select the replacement within 30 days after the vacancy happened. The Governor cannot appoint a replacement if the vacancy happens before a new legislative session is schedule to convene^[10]

Senators

Leadership

The Republican and Democratic parties each have ten seats in the 20-seat senate. However, a majority coalition known as the "Alaska Senate Bipartisan Working Group", composed of members from both parties, is the senate's majority coalition. The working coalition consists of all ten Democrats in the state senate, and six of its GOP members, and elects the chamber's leaders.^[11],^[12]

Current leadership

Position	Name	Party
President of the Senate	Gary Stevens	Republican
Majority Leader	Kevin Meyer	Republican
Minority Leader	Charlie Huggins	Republican

The three Republicans who are part of the working coalition are Wasilla Senator Charlie Huggins, Ketchikan Senator Bert Stedman, and Kodiak Senator Gary Stevens.^[13]

Salaries

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries

As of 2010, members of the Alaska State Senate are paid $50,400 per year as a base salary rate. They are also paid a per diem of either $189 or $234/day, tied to the federal rate. This per diem varies depending on the time of the year. Legislators who live in the Juneau area receive 75% of federal rate.^[14]

The $50,400/year salary received by Alaska state senators as of 2010 is an increase over the $24,012/year that they were paid in 2007.^[15]

When sworn in

See also: When state legislators assume office after a general election

The terms of Alaska legislators begin on the 4th Monday of the January following a November election.

Partisan composition

See also: Partisan composition of state senates

Party		As of May 2012
	Democratic Party	10
	Republican Party	10
Total		20

List of current senators

District	Senator	Party	Term Up	First elected
A	Bert Stedman	Republican	2012	2002
B	Dennis Egan	Democratic	2010	2009
C	Albert Kookesh	Democratic	2012	2004
D	Joe Thomas	Democratic	2010	2006
E	Joe Paskvan	Democratic	2012	2008
F	John B. Coghill	Republican	2010	2009
G	Linda Menard	Republican	2012	2008
H	Charlie Huggins	Republican	2010	2004
I	Fred Dyson	Republican	2012	2002
J	Bill Wielechowski	Democratic	2010	2006
K	Bettye Davis	Democratic	2012	2000
L	Johnny Ellis	Democratic	2010	1992
M	Hollis French	Democratic	2012	2002
N	Lesil McGuire	Republican	2010	2006
O	Kevin Meyer	Republican	2012	2008
P	Catherine A. Giessel	Republican	2014	2010
Q	Thomas Wagoner	Republican	2012	2002
R	Gary Stevens	Republican	2010	2002
S	Lyman Hoffman	Democratic	2010	1994
T	Donald Olson	Democratic	2012	2000

Committees

See also: State senate standing committees

The Alaska State Senate has 10 standing 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

There is also one special committee:

• Senate World Trade Committee, Alaska Senate

External links

• The Alaska Senate's website
• Alaska Senate on Wikipedia
• Website of the Alaska Bipartisan Working Group
• Alaska Senate Minority
• Vote Smart profile of Alaska Senate
• Statenet's 2010 chart of partisan composition of all state legislatures

References

v • d • e Current members of the Alaska State Senate Senate President: Gary Stevens • Majority Leader: Kevin Meyer • Minority Leader: John Coghill     Bert Stedman (R) Dennis Egan (D) Albert Kookesh (D) Joe Thomas (D) Joe Paskvan (D) John B. Coghill (R) Linda Menard (R) Charlie Huggins (R) Fred Dyson (R) Bill Wielechowski (D) Bettye Davis (D) Johnny Ellis (D) Hollis French (D) Lesil McGuire (R) Kevin Meyer (R) Catherine A. Giessel  (R) Thomas Wagoner (R) Gary Stevens (R) Lyman Hoffman (D) Donald Olson (D) Democratic (10) • Republican (10) • Majority Coalition (13) • Alaska State Senate • Alaska House of Representatives

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	v • d • e State of Alaska Juneau (capital)
Ballot measures	List of Alaska ballot measures | Local ballot measures | School bond issues | Ballot measure laws | Initiative laws | History of I&R | Campaign Finance Requirements |
Government	Alaska State Constitution | House of Representatives | Senate | Legislative Research Services | Legislative Auditor |
State executive officers	Governor | Lieutenant Governor | Attorney General | Comptroller | Commissioner of the Department of Revenue | Commissioner of Education | Director of Insurance | Director of Agriculture | Commissioner of Natural Resources | Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development | Regulatory Commission |
Judiciary	Alaska Supreme Court | Alaska Court of Appeals | Anchorage Trial Courts | Anchorage Superior Court | Anchorage District Court | Judicial selection in Alaska | Alaska judges in the news |
Transparency Topics	Public Records Act | Transparency Checklist | Government corruption reports | Transparency Legislation | Open Records procedures | Transparency Advocates | Transparency blogs | State budget | Taxpayer-funded lobbying associations |
Divisions	State | List of Boroughs | List of Cities | List of School Board Districts | Evaluation of borough websites | Evaluation of city websites | Evaluation of township websites | Evaluation of school district websites |