This article is missing information about membership, committee assignments and legislative accomplishments.(March 2022) |
31st Alaska State Legislature | |||||
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Overview | |||||
Legislative body | Alaska Legislature | ||||
Jurisdiction | Alaska, United States | ||||
Meeting place | Alaska State Capitol | ||||
Term | January 15, 2019 – January 18, 2021 | ||||
Alaska Senate | |||||
Members | 20 Senators | ||||
Senate President | Cathy Giessel (R) | ||||
Majority Leader | Peter Micciche (R) | ||||
Minority Leader | Tom Begich (D) | ||||
Party control | Republican | ||||
Alaska House of Representatives | |||||
Members | 40 Representatives | ||||
Speaker of the House | Bryce Edgmon (I) | ||||
Majority Leader | Steve M. Thompson (R) | ||||
Minority Leader | Lance Pruitt (R) | ||||
Party control | Multipartisan coalition |
The 31st Alaska State Legislature represented the legislative branch of Alaska's state government from January 15, 2019, to January 18, 2021. Its initial 60-person membership was set by the 2018 Alaska elections, though two members subsequently died in office and two resigned their seats, requiring replacements appointed by Alaska governor Mike Dunleavy.
Members of the Legislature were deeply divided by budget issues and the future of the Alaska Permanent Fund. Members of the 31st Legislature continued taking substantive action after the 2020 Alaska elections, including the authorization of a lawsuit against Dunleavy.
The 31st Legislature held two regular sessions and two special sessions:
Session | Start | End |
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1st Regular | January 15, 2019 | May 15, 2019 |
1st Special | May 16, 2019 | June 13, 2019 |
2nd Special | July 8, 2019 | August 6, 2019 |
2nd Regular | January 21, 2020 | May 19, 2020 |
In Alaska's 2018 general elections, Republican candidates won 23 seats in the Alaska House of Representatives. Democratic candidates won 16 seats, and an independent was elected to the district covering the Southeast Alaska town of Ketchikan. [1] Immediately after the election, 20 of the newly elected Republicans announced that with the support of a 21st Republican, Rep. David Eastman of Wasilla, they would have enough votes to form a majority caucus and take control of the House from a coalition that had been in charge during the prior Legislature. [2] This arrangement collapsed less than a month later, after Kenai Republican Rep. Gary Knopp withdrew his support, citing concerns about Eastman's reliability. [3]
With the House divided 20–20 between a Republican bloc and a coalition, [4] the House failed to choose a leader until mid-February. It remains the longest such leadership deadlock in state history and ended only when several Republicans crossed the aisle after Speaker of the House Bryce Edgmon changed his political affiliation to "undeclared". [5] [6] The result was a coalition that included 8 Republicans, 2 independents and 15 Democrats. [7] The remaining 15 Republicans were in the minority caucus.
House Majority (Membership at end of session)
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| House Minority
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In the Alaska Senate, only 10 of 20 seats were part of the 2018 election. After the final results, the Senate held 13 Republicans and 7 Democrats. Because Senate President Pete Kelly lost his re-election campaign, the remaining Republicans picked Anchorage Sen. Cathy Giessel to lead the Senate. [9] After the Republicans selected Giessel, Democratic Sen. Lyman Hoffman of Bethel joined the majority, becoming the sole non-Republican member. [10]
Benjamin Aavan Stevens was an American politician and political advisor who served as the Chief of Staff to the Governor of Alaska, Mike Dunleavy. He previously served as the President of the Alaska State Senate as a member of the Republican Party. Stevens was the son of the late United States Senator Ted Stevens, who represented Alaska from 1968 to 2009.
The 25th Alaska State Legislature served for a term lasting from January 16, 2007, to January 19, 2009. All forty representatives and one-half of the senate were elected to their terms on November 7, 2006. The remaining ten senators were elected to their terms on November 2, 2004.
Bryce Edgmon is a member of the Alaska House of Representatives, representing the 37th District. He served as speaker from 2017–2021. The district includes all or portions of the Kodiak Island Borough, Aleutians East Borough, Lake and Peninsula Borough, Bristol Bay Borough, and the Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area.
The following table indicates the parties of elected officials in the U.S. state of Alaska:
Catherine Andrea Giessel is a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Alaska, who has served as a member of the Alaska Senate since 2023 and from 2011 to 2021. From 2013 to 2021, Giessel represented District N in the Alaska Senate, including Northeast Anchorage, Anchorage Hillside and the Turnagain Arm communities of Bird, Girdwood, Indian, and Anchorage, all within the Municipality of Anchorage. First elected in 2010 while identifying with Tea Party values, she has also served as the vice-chair of the state Republican Party and had a career in nursing. Following redistricting, she was elected to a different senate seat in 2012. Giessel serves as chair of the Resources Committee and is a member of the Senate Majority Caucus. After Senate President Pete Kelly was unseated in 2018, Giessel was elected president of the Alaska Senate, a post she held until 2021. Giessel returned to the Alaska Senate in 2023, representing the newly configured District E after defeating incumbent Republican Roger Holland. She will serve as Senate majority leader in the 33rd Legislature, overseeing a coalition caucus of eight Republicans and nine Democrats.
Lora H. Reinbold is an American politician who is a member of the Alaska Senate. She was a member of the Alaska House from 2013 to 2019, representing District 26. In 2018, Reinbold was elected to the Alaska State Senate representing the G district. She served in the State Senate from 2019 until retiring in 2023. From 2015 to the end of her tenure, Reinbold was the only member of the Alaska State Legislature unaffiliated with a caucus organization, as she was ejected from the Republican-led majority caucus in March 2015.
The 2022 United States Senate election in Alaska was held on November 8, 2022. Incumbent senator Lisa Murkowski won reelection to a fourth full term, defeating fellow Republican Kelly Tshibaka and Democrat Patricia Chesbro.
Gary Allan Knopp was an American politician who served in the Alaska House of Representatives from the 30th district as a member of the Republican Party.
The 30th Alaska State Legislature was the meeting of the Alaska Legislature, beginning January 17, 2017.
The 2018 Alaska House of Representatives election were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018, with the primary election on August 21, 2018. Voters in the 40 districts of the Alaska House of Representatives elected their representatives. The elections coincided with the elections for other state offices, including the gubernatorial election and the state senate elections. While Republicans nominally gained a majority in the chamber, when the new House convened in 2019, Democratic members formed a coalition with Independents and dissident Republicans to re-elect Bryce Edgmon as Speaker.
Kelly Merrick is an American politician from Alaska. A Republican, she was a member of the Alaska House of Representatives, representing District 14 from 2019 to 2023. In 2022, Merrick was elected to the Alaska State Senate representing District L, she was succeeded in the Alaska House by Independent Alyse Galvin. She took office as State Senator on January 17, 2023.
The 2022 Alaska gubernatorial election was held on Tuesday November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of Alaska. Incumbent Republican Governor Mike Dunleavy won re-election to a second term, becoming the first Republican governor to be re-elected to a second term since Jay Hammond in 1978 and the first governor, regardless of political affiliation, to be re-elected to a second term since Tony Knowles in 1998.
The 2020 Alaska House of Representatives election was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, with the primary election on August 18, 2020. Voters in the 40 districts of the Alaska House of Representatives elected their representatives, in conjunction with state senate elections and the biennial United States elections for federal offices.
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The 32nd Alaska State Legislature represented the legislative branch of Alaska's state government from January 19, 2021 to January 17, 2023. Its initial 60-person membership was set by the 2020 Alaska elections. The Alaska Senate was led by a 14-member majority that included 13 Republicans and one Democratic member.
The 2022 United States state legislative elections were held on November 8, 2022, for 88 state legislative chambers in 46 states. Across the fifty states, approximately 56 percent of all upper house seats and 92 percent of all lower house seats were up for election. Additionally, six territorial chambers were up in four territories and the District of Columbia. These midterm elections coincided with other state and local elections, including gubernatorial elections in multiple states.
The 2022 Alaska House of Representatives elections were held on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, with the primary election on August 16, 2022. Voters in the 40 districts of the Alaska House of Representatives elected their representatives, in conjunction with state senate elections and the biennial United States elections for federal offices.
The 2022 Alaska Senate elections took place on November 8, 2022, with the primary elections being held on August 16, 2022. State senators serve four-year terms in the Alaska Senate, with half of the seats normally up for election every two years. However, because most districts were greatly changed in redistricting, elections were held for 19 of the 20 seats; the only exception is District T, represented by Democrat Donny Olson, which was mostly unchanged in redistricting and thus did not have an election. Some senators were elected to serve four-year terms, while others would serve shortened two-year terms.
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