The chamber of the Alaska House of Represenatives was empty on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, after floor sessions in the body were canceled as three Republican lawmakers refuse to comply with masking requirements reinstated amid an outbreak of COVID-19 among House members and their staff. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

The chamber of the Alaska House of Represenatives was empty on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, after floor sessions in the body were canceled as three Republican lawmakers refuse to comply with masking requirements reinstated amid an outbreak of COVID-19 among House members and their staff. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

House cancels floor sessions until next week

Tensions over masking cause delays

Floor sessions for the Alaska House of Representatives have been canceled until next week as some Republican lawmakers refuse to comply with temporarily reinstated masking requirements in the House chamber.

Several lawmakers and their staff tested positive over the weekend, and on Monday, House Speaker Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, informed members mask requirements were temporarily being reinstated. But Republican Reps. Ben Carpenter, Nikiski; Chris Kurka, Wasilla; and David Eastman, Wasilla, refused to wear masks on the floor of the House leading to an abrupt cancellation of Monday’s session. Floor sessions have been scheduled for 10 a.m. every day this week and since Monday all have eventually been canceled amid continuing refusal by those lawmakers to wear masks.

A session was canceled for the third day on Wednesday, and later the House majority coalition announced sessions would be canceled until at least next week.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

Speaking to reporters Wednesday Stutes said 26 positive COVID-19 cases have been identified among House lawmakers and their staff and with the close quarters in the House chamber precautions needed to be taken.

“All we’re trying to do is keep our members safe, that’s all I’m asking,” Stutes said.

[House again cancels floor session amid masking debate]

It’s not the first time masking has been a point of contention for lawmakers, but House leadership has said they intended to read this year’s operating budget bill across the floor this week and without a full floor session, that can’t be done. The Legislature is constitutionally required to pass a budget and technically has until May to be able to do that, but last year lawmakers went through multiple special sessions before the process was finished.

The Republican minority said in a statement Tuesday three members refusing to wear masks was insufficient reason to cancel a floor session.

Masking rules for the Alaska State Capitol building are governed by the bicameral Legislative Council which lifted the rules in February, but committee chairs and presiding officers still have authority in their respective chambers. Stutes said Wednesday she told lawmakers at the time masking may be required again if case counts rise.

“This is the policy and if you think you’re going to come in here and totally ignore the policy, we simply aren’t going to have session,” Stutes said.

• Contact reporter Peter Segall at psegall@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @SegallJnuEmpire.

More in News

Kachemak Bay is seen from the Homer Spit in March 2019. (Homer News file photo)
Toxin associated with amnesic shellfish poisoning not detected in Kachemak Bay mussels

The test result does not indicate whether the toxin is present in other species in the food web.

Superintendent Clayton Holland speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, July 7, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Federal education funding to be released after monthlong delay

The missing funds could have led to further cuts to programming and staff on top of deep cuts made by the KPBSD Board of Education this year.

An angler holds up a dolly varden for a photograph on Wednesday, July 16. (Photo courtesy of Koby Etzwiler)
Anchor River opens up to Dollies, non-King salmon fishing

Steelhead and rainbow trout are still off limits and should not be removed from the water.

A photo provided by NTSB shows a single-engine Piper PA-18-150 Super Cub, that crashed shortly after takeoff in a mountainous area of southwestern Alaska, Sept. 12, 2023. The plane was weighed down by too much moose meat and faced drag from a set of antlers mounted on its right wing strut, federal investigators said on Tuesday.
Crash that killed husband of former congresswoman was overloaded with moose meat and antlers, NTSB says

The plane, a single-engine Piper PA-18-150 Super Cub, crashed shortly after takeoff in a mountainous area of southwestern Alaska on Sept. 12, 2023.

Armor rock from Sand Point is offloaded from a barge in the Kenai River in Kenai, Alaska, part of ongoing construction efforts for the Kenai River Bluff Stabilization Project on Wednesday, July 23, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Work continues on Kenai Bluff stabilization project

The wall has already taken shape over a broad swath of the affected area.

An aerial photo over Grewingk Glacier and Glacier Spit from May 2021 shows a mesodinium rubrum bloom to the left as contrasted with the normal ocean water of Kachemak Bay near Homer. (Photo courtesy of Stephanie Greer/Beryl Air)
KBNERR warns of potential harmful algal bloom in Kachemak Bay

Pseudo-nitzchia has been detected at bloom levels in Kachemak Bay since July 4.

Fresh-picked lettuces are for sale at the final Homer Farmers Market of the year on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
USDA ends regional food program, pulls $6M from Alaska businesses

On July 15, the Alaska Food Policy Council was notified that the USDA had terminated the Regional Food Business Center Program “effective immediately.”

Exit Glacier is photographed on June 22, 2018. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
2 rescued by park service near Exit Glacier

The hikers were stranded in the “Exit Creek Prohibited Visitor Use Zone.”

Two new cars purchased by the Soldotna Senior Center to support its Meals on Wheels program are parked outside of the center in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
State restores grant funding to Soldotna Senior Center

In recent years, the center has been drawing down its organizational reserves to provide some essential services.

Most Read

You're browsing in private mode.
Please sign in or subscribe to continue reading articles in this mode.

Peninsula Clarion relies on subscription revenue to provide local content for our readers.

Subscribe

Already a subscriber? Please sign in