Repercussions from new 90-day legislative session may ripple through Juneau
In 2006, Alaska voters decided it would be a good idea to limit the Legislature to a 90-day regular session, down from the 120 days previously called for.
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Tuesday, legislators and Juneau begin to find out what that will mean.
A shorter session will likely mean less revenue for Juneau landlords who rent to legislators, staffers and lobbyists. Still, some at the Capitol say there seem to be more, not fewer, apartments available for the session.
Legislative Affairs Agency Director Pam Varni says her office keeps a list of housing available for legislators, and the shorter session has made some tourist-industry properties, such as jewelry shop apartments, available for the first time.
"It might open up more opportunities," she said. "I know it opened a couple of places downtown that wouldn't have been available last year."
Larry Spencer of Spencer Realty said Juneau will work to make sure there's enough housing for legislators no matter the length of the session.
"Whether the session is here for 90 or 120 days, the Juneau community always tries to accommodate and make sure they have housing whenever they are in Juneau," he said. "That's our obligation as a host community."
Spencer works with Develop Juneau, a local nonprofit, to develop housing for the Legislature.
The Juneau-funded Gavel-to-Gavel broadcast of legislative activity will have one-fourth fewer weeks of programming expenses. However, Alaska Committee President Win Gruening said the group expects expenses are actually going to go up slightly.
Overtime costs from the Legislature working longer hours may mean the shorter session will cost more money, he said.
"If they're going to work to 11 p.m. and on weekends, that's going to create a challenge," he said.
90-day limit
Juneau voters trailed the rest of Alaska when it came to supporting a shorter Legislative session in the 2006 general election.
Yes No
Statewide 50.8% 49.2%
Juneau 36.8% 63.2%
Source: Alaska Divisionof Elections
House Speaker John Harris said he's going to discourage members of his body from leaving on weekends in order to accomplish the work with the same amount of time available for public input.
Senate Majority Leader Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, said similar guidance may be needed in the Senate as well.
Alaska Airlines offers constituent fares to fly to Juneau, which spokeswoman Amanda Tobin Bielawski said offer "significant savings off our regular fares."
This year, those fares are available from Jan. 9 to April 29.
The shorter session means that fare won't be available for as long as it was last year, said Gruening. Whether that means fewer people than the 1,200 to 1,500 who typically use the constituent fares will be coming to Juneau is not known, he said.
Some lobbyists say they usually contract for a full year's representation, and often represent clients before administrative agencies when they're not working with the Legislature.
"I think all my contracts run Jan. 1 to Dec. 31," lobbyist Sam Kito said.
That means lobbyists will probably be paid the same, despite the shorter session.
Before voters approved a constitutional amendment limiting sessions to 120 days, sessions used to run into the summer, but lobbyist's fees didn't change.
"I'm available 12 months a year," Kito said.
House Democratic Press Secretary Frank Ameduri said he expects there to be some business impacts in Juneau due to the shorter sessions, but doesn't know where they'll be.
"It has to have some kind of impact, but it's just guesswork what it will be," he said.
It's not even clear that the session this year will be shorter than last year. While the voters approved the 90 day session, it passed narrowly and many legislators object to the reduction.
At the same time, Gov. Sarah Palin has proposed approval of a contract with TransCanada to build a natural gas pipeline. Some legislators say that may take a special session to accomplish.
"I would bet my house cat there will be a special session," said Rep. Bob Lynn, R-Anchorage. Lynn chairs the House State Affairs Committee which last year worked on new rules for the new session.
If it takes staying in Juneau or returning to Juneau to get the state a good contract, Lynn said that's OK with him.
"We knew the risks when we joined up," he said.
• Contact Pat Forgey at 523-2250 or patrick.forgey@juneauempire.com.