Alaska Legislature

Alaska Legislature
Type
Type	Bicameral
Houses	Senate House of Representatives
Term limits	None
New session started	January 18, 2011
Leadership
President of the Senate	Gary Stevens, (R-Coalition) since January 20, 2009
Speaker of the House	Mike Chenault, (R) since January 20, 2009
Structure
Members	60
Political groups	Republican Party (34) Democratic Party (26)
Authority	Article 2, Alaska Constitution
Salary	$50,400/year + per diem
Elections
Last election	November 2, 2010
Next election	November 6, 2012
Redistricting	Alaska Redistricting Board
Meeting place
Alaska State Capitol Juneau, Alaska
Website
Alaska State Legislature

The Alaska Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state 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 and the second-smallest of all state legislatures (only the 49-member unicameral Nebraska Legislature is smaller). There are no term limits for either chamber.

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

Meetings

Annual sessions begin in January and are limited by statute to 90 calendar days. Special sessions of 30 calendar days may be convened by a consensus of two-thirds of each house.

In the 2006 elections, a voter initiative was passed that reduced the statutory length of the session from 121 days. The 2008 session was the first 90 day session. Although the session adjourned on time, some members of the legislature claimed that legislation was rushed and public input was jeopardized.

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.

See also

• Alaska Legislature at Ballotpedia
• Alaska political corruption probe
• Alaska State Capitol
• List of Alaska State Legislatures
• Statewide Suicide Prevention Council

External links

• Alaska Legislature
• Senate Bipartisan Working Group Bipartisan leadership organization
• Republican Senate Caucus
• House Majority Organization Bipartisan leadership organization
• House Democratic Legislators