Lawmakers had a busy day Wednesday, with both the Alaska Senate and House of Representatives voting to pass multiple bills and the House Finance Committee releasing an updated budget proposal.<\/p>\n
In the Senate<\/strong><\/p>\n Senators passed two bills, the first would prohibit restrictions on firearms during a disaster declaration and the other would prevent businesses from requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for employees.<\/p>\n Several Republican senators rose to address concerns with the vaccination bill. The bill — Senate Bill 156 — came from Sen. Lora Reinbold, R-Eagle River, and prohibits businesses or government agencies from requesting COVID-19 vaccination status or requiring the vaccine as a condition of employment. Reinbold, a frequent critic of COVID-19 mitigation measures, has been banned from Alaska Airlines due to her refusal to comply with COVID-19 mitigation requirements.<\/p>\n Speaking on the floor Wednesday, Reinbold said her bill was to stop the segregation and discrimination currently going on against unvaccinated people who had been denied access to certain facilities or businesses.<\/p>\n Sen. Natasha von Imhof, R-Anchorage, said some businesses such as elder care facilities need the flexibility to require vaccines of their employees.<\/p>\n “Private businesses don’t want interference from government on either side,” von Imhof said. “This is simply a mandate it’s just on the other side of the aisle.”<\/p>\n In a vote of 13-6, the bill picked up some Democratic votes. Sens. Tom Begich, Anchorage and Scott Kawasaki, Fairbanks, voted for the bill. Republicans von Imhof and Sen. Bert Stedman, Sitka, voted against. Juneau Sen. Jesse Kiehl, a Democrat, voted against it. <\/p>\n In the House<\/strong><\/p>\n For the second time this week floor sessions in the House went into the evening as lawmakers debated a bill to enact limits on individual campaign contributions. On Monday and Wednesday House members first met in the morning, but as debates dragged out, the body recessed until the afternoon or evening to continue the session.<\/p>\n House members were able to pass two bills during Wednesday’s morning session. The first modified requirements for marriage witnesses with the aim of making it easier for tourists to have destination weddings in the state.<\/p>\n