{"id":42625,"date":"2019-02-04T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-02-04T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/news\/capitol-live-heres-whats-happening-today-2\/"},"modified":"2019-02-04T17:00:08","modified_gmt":"2019-02-05T02:00:08","slug":"capitol-live-heres-whats-happening-today-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/news\/capitol-live-heres-whats-happening-today-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Capitol Live: Without organization, House committees gather as ‘informational meetings’ anyway"},"content":{"rendered":"

3:15 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just seven of 11 House representatives are sitting in the House Finance room for a presentation about state debt — the same presentation given to a fully organized and legitimized Senate Finance Committee just this morning. Four of the normally filled committee seats are empty.<\/p>\n

Debt Manager Deven Mitchell is treating the room as if it were the normally functioning House Finance Committee, addressing Rep. Tammie Wilson, R-North Pole, as chair even though no one can chair a committee that doesn’t technically exist. Wilson sponsored the presentation, calling it an “informational meeting.”<\/p>\n

“We have to call them informational meetings since we’re not organized,” Wilson said to the Empire after the meeting. “But these are meetings that we would have had in finance at this point, which keeps us on track as far as when the budget comes out, we won’t have to then do these meetings because we will have already gotten the information.”<\/p>\n

Wilson said she’s agreed that there will be six people from both sides of the aisle at such future meetings. If they aren’t in attendance at the start of the meeting, then whatever representative is in the audience can participate in their place.<\/p>\n

— Mollie Barnes<\/em><\/p>\n

1:02 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n

What are the directions for program improvement that the data suggests for University of Alaska Anchorage’s education program, which recently lost accreditation? That’s the question at hand for the Alaska State Board of Education and Early Development today.<\/p>\n

UAA is asking the State BOE&ED to approve initial licensure of recommended candidates through August of 2019 and to consider those candidates to have graduated from a state approved program, as the university’s official accreditation expired on Dec. 31, 2018. Their reasoning for this request is that most of the students completed the majority of their courses under the accredited program.<\/p>\n

— Mollie Barnes<\/em><\/p>\n

11:20 a.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Healy Republican Rep. Dave Talerico’s nomination for House Speaker failed with a 20-20 vote. But this was not without drama.<\/p>\n

Rep. David Eastman nominated Reps. Dave Talerico, R-Healy, and Bryce Edgmon, D-Dillingham, to be Speaker of the House.<\/p>\n

Then Rep. Chris Tuck made a point of order, saying that Eastman, a Repubulican from Wasilla, could not submit two nominations per Mason’s Rules, which is a manuel of rules followed by the legislators. Speaker Pro Tempore Neal Foster then overruled Eastman’s nominations.<\/p>\n

After a brief at-ease, Eastman resubmitted a nomination for Talerico.<\/p>\n

Tuck submitted Edgmon’s name for speaker nomination but he rescinded that immediately.<\/p>\n

Just before a vote on Talerico’s nomination, Rep. Geran Tarr objected to the vote on account of the “continuing stunts,” in reference to Eastman’s nominations.<\/p>\n

“It’s really breaking all the trust we have worked for,” Tarr said.<\/p>\n

A few Republican representatives stood up to offer their vocal support for Talerico before the vote.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile the House remains without a permanent speaker and no committee assignments. It cannot get down to business until this occurs.<\/p>\n

— Kevin Baird<\/em><\/p>\n

10:30 a.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here’s what some on Twitter are saying about #AKleg.<\/p>\n

\n

I think the governor owes Alaskans an outline of what services he plans to privatize or eliminate and how much of a local tax increase to expect. It's more fun to talk about the PFD, but that's the easy part. #akleg<\/a> #akgov<\/a><\/p>\n

— Dermot Cole (@DermotMCole) February 4, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n