Rep. Sam Kito III will head the powerful Legislative Council when the Alaska Legislature convenes in January.
One day after announcing its creation, the new bipartisan Alaska House Majority revealed who will head each of the House’s standing committees. Committee chairmen are powerful figures in the the Legislature: they can kill bills assigned to their committees.
The Legislative Council controls the functioning of the Legislature itself and can make decisions when the Legislature isn’t in normal session.
In the 29th Legislature, the Juneau Democrat Kito was a minority member of the Legislative Council and voted ‘no’ on several actions associated with the controversial Anchorage Legislative Information Office building.
Now, Kito will be chairman of that same committee.
“Based on my experience on the committee, I believe it is very important for the district and for the state,” he said by text message.
He added, “I will be looking for efficiencies in operations and interested in looking into the existing procurement processes to make sure we are making decisions in the public interest.”
Kito was also named chairman of the House Labor and Commerce Committee.
Rep. Justin Parish, D-Juneau, will be co-chairman of the House Community and Regional Affairs Committee alongside Rep. Zach Fansler, D-Bethel.
By text, Parish said it’s an important committee for Juneau, and he looks forward to working with Fansler.
Other chairmanships:
House Resources: Rep. Geran Tarr, D-Anchorage and Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage
House Judiciary: Rep. Matt Claman, D-Anchorage
House Labor and Commerce: Rep. Sam Kito III, D-Juneau
House State Affairs: Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, D-Sitka
House Community and Regional Affairs: Rep. Zach Fansler, D-Bethel and Rep. Justin Parish, D-Juneau
House Education: Rep. Harriet Drummond, D-Anchorage
House Transportation: Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak and Rep. Adam Wool, D-Fairbanks
Legislative Budget and Audit: Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage (vice chairman)
Legislative Council: Rep. Sam Kito III, D-Juneau
Legislative Ethics: Rep. Chris Tuck, D-Anchorage
Armed Services: Rep. Scott Kawasaki, D-Fairbanks (vice chairman)
Energy: Rep. Adam Wool, D-Fairbanks
Fisheries: Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak
Military and Veterans Affairs: Rep. Jason Grenn, I-Anchorage
Economic Development, Tourism and Arctic Policy: Rep. Dean Westlake, D-Kotzebue
On Wednesday, the five-member Alaska Senate minority also announced its committee assignments. Sen. Dennis Egan, D-Juneau, remains in the minority and will serve on the transportation and labor/commerce committees in the Senate.
• Contact reporter James Brooks at 523-2258 or james.k.brooks@juneauempire.com.
