Alaska State Senate

Alaska State Senate
Alaska State Senate
Alaska Legislature
Type
Type	Upper house
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 17, 2023
Leadership
President	Gary Stevens (R-C) ; since January 17, 2023
Majority Leader	Cathy Giessel (R-C) ; since January 17, 2023
Minority Leader	Shelley Hughes (R non-coalition) ; since January 17, 2023
Structure
Seats	20
Political groups	Majority coalition Democratic (9); Republican (8); Non-caucusing members Republican (3);
Length of term	4 years
Authority	Article 2, Alaska Constitution
Salary	$50,400/year + per diem ($200/day, in session)
Elections
Voting system	Nonpartisan blanket primary / Ranked-choice voting; (Beginning in 2022)
Last election	November 8, 2022 (19 seats: all except district T)
Next election	November 5, 2024 (10 seats: districts B, D, F, H, J, L, N, P, R, T)
Redistricting	Alaska Redistricting Board
Meeting place
	State Senate Chamber; Alaska State Capitol; Juneau, Alaska
Website
	Alaska State Senate

The Alaska State Senate is the upper house in the Alaska Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It convenes in the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau, Alaska and is responsible for making laws and confirming or rejecting gubernatorial appointments to the state cabinet, commissions and boards.

With just twenty members, the Alaska Senate is the smallest state legislative chamber in the United States. Its members serve four-year terms and each represent an equal number of districts with populations of approximately 35,512 people, per 2010 census figures. They are not subject to term limits.

Powers and legislative process

The Alaska Senate shares the responsibility for making laws in the state of Alaska with the Alaska House of Representatives. Bills are developed by staff from bill requests and information from the bill's sponsor. Bills undergo three or four readings during the legislative process. After the first reading, they are assigned to committee. Committees can amend measures or hold legislation and prevent it from reaching the Senate floor. Once a committee has weighed in on a piece of legislation, the bill returns to the floor for second hearing and a third hearing, which happens just before the floor vote on it.^[1]

Once passed by the Senate, a bill is sent to the opposite legislative house for consideration. If approved, without amendment, it is sent to the governor. If there is amendment, however, the Senate may either reconsider the bill with amendments or ask for the establishment of a conference committee to work out differences in the versions of the bill passed by each chamber. Once a piece of legislation approved by both houses is forwarded to the governor, it may either be signed or vetoed. If it is signed, it takes effect on the effective date of the legislation. If it is vetoed, lawmakers in a joint session may override the veto with a two-thirds majority vote (three-fourths majority is required if it is an appropriations bill).^[1]

For gubernatorial nominees requiring confirmation, the Alaska Senate sits in joint session with the Alaska House and the two bodies vote together on confirmation, with each representative and senator having one vote.

Committees

Current committees include:^[2]

Education
Judiciary
Resources
State Affairs
Transportation
Committee On Committees
Community & Regional Affairs
World Trade
Labor & Commerce
Rules
Health & Social Services
Finance
Corrections
Court System
Military & Veterans' Affairs
Labor & Workforce Development
Governor
Health & Social Services
Environmental Conservation
Public Safety
Commerce, Community & Economic Dev
Natural Resources
Administration
Law
Fish & Game
Education & Early Development
Revenue
Transportation & Public Facilities
University Of Alaska
Legislature

Current composition

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)				Total

	Democratic		Republican			Vacant
End 29th legislature	5	1	14		20	0

30th legislature	5	1	14		20	0

31st Legislature	6	1	13		20	0

32nd Legislature	6	1	13		20	0

Begin 33rd Legislature	9		8	3	20	0
Latest voting share	85%			15%

Past partisan compositions can be found on Political party strength in Alaska.

Membership

Qualifications and terms

Senators must be a qualified voter and resident of Alaska for no less than three years, and a resident of the district from which elected for one year immediately preceding filing for office.^[3] A senator must be at least 25 years old at the time the oath of office is taken.^[3]

Senators may expel a member with the concurrence of two-thirds of the membership of the body.^[3] This has happened only once in Senate history. On February 5, 1982, the Senate of the 12th Legislature expelled Bethel senator George Hohman from the body. Hohman was convicted of bribery in conjunction with his legislative duties on December 24, 1981, and had defiantly refused to resign from his seat. Expulsion was not a consideration during the 2003–2010 Alaska political corruption probe, as Ben Stevens and John Cowdery were the only Senators who were subjects of the probe and neither sought reelection in 2008.

Legislative terms begin on the second Monday in January following a presidential election year and on the third Tuesday in January following a gubernatorial election.^[4] The term of senators is four years and half of the senators are up for election every two years.^[4]

Leadership

The President of the Senate presides over the body, appointing members to all of the Senate's committees and joint committees, and may create other committees and subcommittees if desired. Unlike many other states, the Lieutenant Governor of Alaska does not preside over the Senate. Instead, the Lieutenant Governor oversees the Alaska Division of Elections, fulfilling the role of Secretary of State. Only two other states, Hawaii and Utah, have similar constitutional arrangements for their lieutenant governors.^{[citation needed]} The other partisan Senate leadership positions, such as the Majority and Minority leaders, are (usually) elected by their respective party caucuses to head their parties in the chamber.^{[citation needed]}

Current leadership

Position	Name	Party	District
President	Gary Stevens	Republican	C
Majority Leader	Cathy Giessel	Republican	E
Minority Leader	Shelley Hughes	Republican	M

Members of the 33rd Senate

Alaska State Senate
32nd Alaska State Legislature, 2023–2024
District	Name	Party	Residence	Assumed office	Next election
A	Bert Stedman	Republican	Sitka	2003^[a]	2026
B	Jesse Kiehl	Democratic	Juneau	2019	2024
C	Gary Stevens	Republican	Kodiak	2003^[a]	2026
D	Jesse Bjorkman	Republican	Anchorage	2023	2024
E	Cathy Giessel	Republican	Anchorage	2023 (2011–2021)	2026
F	James Kaufman	Republican	Anchorage	2023	2024
G	Elvi Gray-Jackson	Democratic	Anchorage	2019	2026
H	Matt Claman	Democratic	Anchorage	2023	2024
I	Löki Tobin	Democratic	Anchorage	2023	2026
J	Forrest Dunbar	Democratic	Anchorage	2023	2024
K	Bill Wielechowski	Democratic	Anchorage	2007	2026
L	Kelly Merrick	Republican	Eagle River	2023	2024
M	Shelley Hughes	Republican^[b]	Palmer	2017	2026
N	David Wilson	Republican	Wasilla	2017	2024
O	Mike Shower	Republican^[b]	Wasilla	2018^[a]	2026
P	Scott Kawasaki	Democratic	Fairbanks	2019	2024
Q	Robert Myers	Republican^[b]	North Pole	2021	2026
R	Click Bishop	Republican	Fairbanks	2013	2024
S	Lyman Hoffman	Democratic	Bethel	1995	2026
T	Donny Olson	Democratic	Golovin	2001	2024

^ ^a ^b ^c Senator was originally appointed
^ ^a ^b ^c Not a member of the bipartisan majority

Past composition of the Senate

References

^ ^a ^b Legislative Process Archived December 22, 2019, at the Wayback Machine, Alaska Legislature (accessed April 25, 2013)
^ "Committees". Alaska State Legislature. June 6, 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c Alaska Handbook to State Government Archived December 22, 2019, at the Wayback Machine (accessed April 25, 2013)
^ ^a ^b Article 2 of the Alaska Constitution, Lieutenant Governor's Office (accessed April 26, 2013)

External links

Alaska State Senate Archived July 26, 2010, at the Wayback Machine official government website
Project Vote Smart – State Senate of Alaska

58°18′08″N 134°24′38″W / 58.302198°N 134.410467°W / 58.302198; -134.410467

[appointed-5] Senator was originally appointed

[minority-6] Not a member of the bipartisan majority

[process-1] Legislative Process Archived December 22, 2019, at the Wayback Machine, Alaska Legislature (accessed April 25, 2013)

[OpenStates-2] "Committees". Alaska State Legislature. June 6, 2024.

[legis-3] Alaska Handbook to State Government Archived December 22, 2019, at the Wayback Machine (accessed April 25, 2013)

[const-4] Article 2 of the Alaska Constitution, Lieutenant Governor's Office (accessed April 26, 2013)

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[a]

[b]

v t e Members of the Alaska Senate
33rd Alaska Legislature (2023–present) President of the Senate Gary Stevens (R) Majority Leader Cathy Giessel (R) Minority Leader None
▌Bert Stedman (R) ▌Jesse Kiehl (D) ▌Gary Stevens (R) ▌Jesse Bjorkman (R) ▌Cathy Giessel (R) ▌James D. Kaufman (R) ▌Elvi Gray-Jackson (D) ▌Matt Claman (D) ▌Löki Tobin (D) ▌Forrest Dunbar (D) ▌Bill Wielechowski (D) ▌Kelly Merrick (R) ▌Shelley Hughes (NCR) ▌David S. Wilson (R) ▌Mike Shower (NCR) ▌Scott Kawasaki (D) ▌Robert Myers Jr. (NCR) ▌Click Bishop (R) ▌Lyman Hoffman (D) ▌Donny Olson (D)
Majority caucus (17) ▌Democratic (9) ▌Republican (8) Minority caucus (3) ▌Non-caucusing Republican (3) Alaska Legislature House Senate List of past legislatures

v t e Legislatures of the United States
United States Congress	United States House of Representatives United States Senate
State legislatures	Alabama (H, S) Alaska (H, S) Arizona (H, S) Arkansas (H, S) California (A, S) Colorado (H, S) Connecticut (H, S) Delaware (H, S) Florida (H, S) Georgia (H, S) Hawaii (H, S) Idaho (H, S) Illinois (H, S) Indiana (H, S) Iowa (H, S) Kansas (H, S) Kentucky (H, S) Louisiana (H, S) Maine (H, S) Maryland (H, S) Massachusetts (H, S) Michigan (H, S) Minnesota (H, S) Mississippi (H, S) Missouri (H, S) Montana (H, S) Nebraska Nevada (A, S) New Hampshire (H, S) New Jersey (GA, S) New Mexico (H, S) New York (A, S) North Carolina (H, S) North Dakota (H, S) Ohio (H, S) Oklahoma (H, S) Oregon (H, S) Pennsylvania (H, S) Rhode Island (H, S) South Carolina (H, S) South Dakota (H, S) Tennessee (H, S) Texas (H, S) Utah (H, S) Vermont (H, S) Virginia (H, S) Washington (H, S) West Virginia (H, S) Wisconsin (A, S) Wyoming (H, S)
Other legislatures	District of Columbia American Samoa (H, S) Guam Northern Mariana Islands (H, S) Puerto Rico (H, S) U.S. Virgin Islands
Legislative elections	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
List of U.S. state legislators Lists of past U.S. state legislatures

Authority control databases
International	VIAF
National	United States Israel