upper house
An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restric ...
in the
Alaska Legislature
The Alaska Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a bicameral institution consisting of the 40-member Alaska House of Representatives (lower house) and the 20-member Alaska Senate (upper house). There are 40 Ho ...
, the
state legislature
A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system.
Two federations literally use the term "state legislature":
* The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...
of the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U ...
. It convenes in the
Alaska State Capitol
The Alaska State Capitol is the building that hosts the Alaska Legislature and the offices of the Governor of Alaska and Lieutenant Governor of Alaska. Located in the state's capital, Juneau, the building was opened on February 14, 1931, as a fe ...
in
Juneau, Alaska
The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau ( ; tli, Dzánti K'ihéeni ), is the capital city of the state of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a unified municipality and the ...
and is responsible for making laws and confirming or rejecting gubernatorial appointments to the state cabinet, commissions and boards.
With just twenty members, the Alaska Senate is the smallest state legislative chamber in the United States. Its members serve four-year terms and each represent an equal number of districts with populations of approximately 35,512 people, per 2010 Census figures. They are not subject to
term limits
A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...
.
Powers and legislative process
The Alaska Senate shares the responsibility for making laws in the state of
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U ...
. Bills are developed by staff from bill requests and information from the bill's sponsor. Bills undergo three or four readings during the legislative process. After the first reading, they are assigned to committee. Committees can amend measures or hold legislation and prevent it from reaching the Senate floor. Once a committee has weighed in on a piece of legislation, the bill returns to the floor for second hearing and a third hearing, which happens just before the floor vote on it.Legislative Process Alaska Legislature (accessed April 25, 2013)
Once passed by the Senate, a bill is sent to the opposite legislative house for consideration. If approved, without amendment, it is sent to the governor. If there is amendment, however, the Senate may either reconsider the bill with amendments or ask for the establishment of a conference committee to work out differences in the versions of the bill passed by each chamber. Once a piece of legislation approved by both houses is forwarded to the governor, it may either be signed or vetoed. If it is signed, it takes effect on the effective date of the legislation. If it is vetoed, lawmakers in a joint session may override the veto with a two-thirds majority vote (three-fourths majority is required if it is an appropriations bill).
For gubernatorial nominees requiring confirmation, the Alaska Senate sits in joint session with the Alaska House and the two bodies vote together on confirmation, with each representative and senator having one vote.
Committees
Current committees include:
Current composition
Past partisan compositions can be found on
Political party strength in Alaska
The following table indicates the parties of elected officials in the U.S. state of Alaska:
* Governor, including pre-statehood governors, who were appointed by the U.S. president and usually of the same political party; and
* Lieutenant Governor
...
.
Membership
Qualifications and terms
Senators must be a qualified voter and resident of Alaska for no less than three years, and a resident of the district from which elected for one year immediately preceding filing for office.Alaska Handbook to State Government (accessed April 25, 2013) A senator must be at least 25 years old at the time the oath of office is taken.
Senators may expel a member with the concurrence of two-thirds of the membership of the body. This has happened only once in Senate history. On February 5, 1982, the Senate of the 12th Legislature expelled
Bethel
Bethel ( he, בֵּית אֵל, translit=Bēṯ 'Ēl, "House of El" or "House of God",Bleeker and Widegren, 1988, p. 257. also transliterated ''Beth El'', ''Beth-El'', ''Beit El''; el, Βαιθήλ; la, Bethel) was an ancient Israelite sanc ...
senator
George Hohman
George Harold Hohman, Jr. (June 2, 1932 – November 20, 2006) was an American teacher and Alaskan politician.
Biography
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Hohman moved with his family to Glennie, Michigan and then graduated from high school in Oscoda ...
from the body. Hohman was convicted of bribery in conjunction with his legislative duties on December 24, 1981, and had defiantly refused to resign from his seat. Expulsion was not a consideration during the 2003–2010
Alaska political corruption probe
The Alaska political corruption probe refers to a 2003 to 2010 widespread investigation by the Public Integrity Section of the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Internal Revenue Service into political corr ...
John Cowdery
John Joe Cowdery (February 11, 1930 – July 13, 2013) was a Republican member of the Alaska Senate, representing the O District from 2001 through 2008. He was previously a member of the Alaska House of Representatives from 1982 through 1984, an ...
were the only Senators who were subjects of the probe and neither sought reelection in 2008.
Legislative terms begin on the second Monday in January following a presidential election year and on the third Tuesday in January following a gubernatorial election.Article 2 of the Alaska Constitution Lieutenant Governor's Office (accessed April 26, 2013) The term of senators is four years and half of the senators are up for election every two years.
Leadership
The
President of the Senate
President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies.
The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for ex ...
presides over the body, appointing members to all of the Senate's committees and joint committees, and may create other committees and subcommittees if desired. Unlike many other states, the Lieutenant Governor of Alaska does not preside over the Senate. Instead, the Lieutenant Governor oversees the
Alaska Division of Elections
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
, fulfilling the role of Secretary of State. Only two other states, Hawaii and
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
, have similar constitutional arrangements for their lieutenant governors. The other partisan Senate leadership positions, such as the
Majority
A majority, also called a simple majority or absolute majority to distinguish it from #Related terms, related terms, is more than half of the total.Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' aMerriam-Webster Minority leaders, are (usually) elected by their respective party caucuses to head their parties in the chamber.
Current leadership
Members of the 32nd Senate
↑: Senator was originally appointed
Past composition of the Senate
See also
*
Alaska House of Representatives
The Alaska State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Alaska Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. The House is composed of 40 members, each of whom represents a district of approximately 17,756 people per ...
*
Alaska State Capitol
The Alaska State Capitol is the building that hosts the Alaska Legislature and the offices of the Governor of Alaska and Lieutenant Governor of Alaska. Located in the state's capital, Juneau, the building was opened on February 14, 1931, as a fe ...
*
List of Alaska State Legislatures
The legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska has convened 32 times since History of Alaska#Statehood, statehood became effective on 1959 in the United States#January–March, January 3, 1959.
Legislatures
See also
* List of governors of Alaska ...
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...