State leaders hustle to get a quorum
Some predict state will request court extension on benefits plan for gays
Phone lines were humming at the Capitol on Tuesday as legislators struggled to find enough members to provide a quorum for a special session called by Gov. Frank Murkowski.
By Tuesday evening, it appeared a quorum would be present in time for a 10 p.m. session of the Senate, according to House Speaker John Harris's office. That still depended, however, on an Alaska Airlines flight carrying five legislators from Anchorage.
The House of Representatives plans to meet again on Wednesday, assuming they are able to muster enough legislators for a quorum.
Murkowski called the special session to pass rules that would adopt employment benefits for same-sex partners. Many legislators have objected to the session and questioned the need for it.
State Sen. Kim Elton, D-Juneau, said he assumes the Legislature will meet and adopt a resolution asking the courts to give the state more time to develop benefits rules,
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as some leaders of the Republican majority have suggested. If the Senate passes a resolution Tuesday night, the House could adopt it Wednesday, which could be the reason for the unusual late-night meeting, he said.
"It's indicative that the leadership is going to pass a resolution asking courts to extend the deadline," he said, cautioning he didn't know for sure what the Republican leaders intended. "I don't know that the leadership knows what they are going to do at this point."
State Rep. Beth Kerttula, D-Juneau, said she also expected the Legislature would seek an extension.
The session called by Murkowski is simply unneeded, she said, because the Legislature could seek an extension without meeting or the governor could have adopted the rules as ordered by the court without any legislative action being necessary.
"This is really wasting people's time and money," she said.
For Elton and Kerttula, living in Juneau, the inconvenience has been minor. For other legislators, the special session has turned into a multiday saga of canceled flights and waiting for weather to clear.
• Pat Forgey can be reached at pat.forgey@juneauempire.com.