2005 Survival Guide to the Alaska Legislature

2004 Hitchhiker's Guide to the Alaska Legislature

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Q&A: Rep. John Harris
Speaker of the House John Harris, R-Valdez, oversees the business of the 40-member state House of Representatives. This is Harris' first session as Speaker, and he almost lost the seat late last year when Democrats and some Republicans attempted to establish a bipartisan majority coalition. The coup failed to stick and organizers were punished, but Harris said it has not established an atmosphere of distrust in the House.

• Q&A: Rep. Ethan Berkowitz
House Minority Leader Ethan Berkowitz, D-Anchorage, heads the 13-member minority Democratic caucus in the state House of Representatives. The 40-member House is the body known for performing the "heavy lifting" in the Legislature; most bills originate in the House and the body has successfully passed components of a long-range fiscal plan several years in a row, only to see them die in the Senate. Nine freshman lawmakers are entering the House this year.

BASIS Bill Tracker

Type a bill number in the box below and click the "Track It" button to view a bill's current status and history.

• More about BASIS
• Learn how to read a bill

Gavel to Gavel

Click here for live, streaming video coverage over the Internet from Gavel to Gavel.

Contact Information

Listings of all lawmakers, including biographies.

Constituent Fare Information

Constituent Fares are back! Alaska Airlines and the Alaska Committee have teamed up once again to offer discounted roundtrip airfares to the capital city. The fares are available to Alaska Airlines' mileage plan members within Alaska. If you aren't a mileage plan member, it's easy to join...call 1-800-654-5669 or online at alaskaair.com. Find out more at the Juneau Convention and Visitors Bureau website.

Session Recaps

2002: Lawmakers finally call halt to special session
2002: Legislature finally adjourns
2002: Last-minute change in school bill killed it, lawmakers say
2002: Republicans ponder exit strategies
2001: Legislature passes cruise ship bill in special session
2001: Ship bill battle left unsettled
2000: Gov. Knowles downplays differences with legislators
1999: Session begins with urban/rural split
1998: Budget praised, panned
1997: State employees get raise, youth center planned
1996: Lawmakers pass more than 200 measures

Multimedia

We've got Video and VR to give you a peek at the inside of that big brown building on the hill in Juneau.

Reference Links

• The Alaska State Constitution

• Current Alaska Statutes - 2003

• State of Alaska

• Alaska Legislature

• Legislative Majority

• Legislative Minority

• U.S. Rep. Don Young

• U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens

• U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski

• Juneau Visitors Guide

• The L3xicon Search

Budget Plan spends half of oil windfall
Gov. Frank Murkowski released his budget proposal for fiscal year 2006 on Dec. 15, with plans to spend over the next three years more than half of a projected $653 million windfall from high oil prices.

Permafund bonds would pay for capital projects
Federal money would cover more than half of Gov. Frank Murkowski's $1.46 billion plan for capital improvements in 2006 and almost a quarter would come from a $343 million bond package.

STATE DEPARTMENTS
Information

Legislative Affairs Agency and Legislative Information Offices
Information

Lawmakers set to review Alaska's oil tax
Record-high oil prices have staved off Alaska's budget woes for the coming year, but the state's projected $653 million windfall would have likely been more than $1 billion if not for what some are calling an outdated oil tax.

The session on TV
"Gavel to Gavel Alaska," the service that provides unedited Internet and televised coverage of the Alaska Legislature, enters its 11th year of operation as lawmakers convene for the first session of the 24rd Legislature.

A basic guide to using BASIS
Online tracking program allows citizens to review status of bills

Photo: Opening day
Rep. Peggy Wilson, R-Wrangell, left, and then-Rep. Albert Kookesh, D-Angoon, watch the opening ceremony on the first day of the 2004 session. Kookesh is now a state senator.

Lawmakers file 83 bills, amendments for session
Education funding, cruise ship taxation and construction of a new capitol are among the slew of new bills filed before the Alaska Legislature's session.

Gas pipeline puts Legislature in hot seat
The Alaska Legislature may make one of its most far-reaching decisions in decades in the coming session.

Web Links
Information