What others say: Location doesn’t matter when lives are at stake

Some legislators are in Fairbanks. Others are in Anchorage. A handful are in Juneau.

It’s hard to negotiate when no one is in the room.

The first Alaska Legislature knew this. Back in 1959, one of the laws approved in that first state Legislature set the rules for how the Legislature or the governor could call a special session.

No thought was given to location. The assumption was that in order to work well together, lawmakers would be best off in the capital, in Juneau.

That assumption didn’t change for more than 20 years. In 1982, Rep. Terry Martin, a Republican from Anchorage, sponsored House Bill 184, which allowed the Legislature to hold a special session at any place in the state. If the governor called the special session, he (or she) decided its location. If the Legislature called the special session, a poll of both houses would decide its location, but only if lawmakers wanted it outside the capital.

In 1982, the year House Bill 184 passed, capital move furor reached its climax. Voters were asked that fall whether they wanted to spend $2.8 billion to move the capital from Juneau to Willow. The vote failed, with 53 percent of Alaskans against.

Now, it appears that House Bill 184 was a mistake as much as the idea of a capital move was. Instead of focusing on the state’s budget, lawmakers won’t even get in the same room together.

This newspaper has indicated its willingness to compromise. We have long opposed any movement of capitol operations elsewhere, but we won’t complain about legislative special session work in Anchorage, if lawmakers complete their budget work in Juneau first.

Lawmakers can talk dollars and cents all they want, but in Juneau, we think about the people behind those numbers. The budget approved by the Legislature at the end of its regular session calls for the loss of 382 full-time jobs, 50 part-time jobs and 68 temporary jobs across the state. Many of those people live in Juneau.

These are Alaskans whose lives will be irrevocably changed by the Legislature, and their future is in limbo while lawmakers quibble over location.

When the state is facing a multibillion-dollar fiscal gap and the threat of a government shutdown, location doesn’t matter. Get your work done.

— Juneau Empire,

May 15

More in Opinion

Logo courtesy of League of Women Voters.
Point of View: Tell your representatives SAVE Act is not needed

The SAVE Act will disenfranchise Alaska voters and make the process of voting much more restrictive.

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, a Nikiski Republican, speaks in favor of overriding a veto of Senate Bill 140 during floor debate of a joint session of the Alaska State Legislature on Monday, March 18, 2024 (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Capitol Corner: Taking steps toward a balanced budget

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman reports back from Juneau.

Rep. Justin Ruffridge, R-Soldotna, speaks in support of debating an omnibus education bill in the Alaska House Chambers on Monday, Feb. 19, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Capitol Corner: Dedicated to doing the work on education

Rep. Justin Ruffridge reports back from Juneau.

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, speaks at a town hall meeting in the Moose Pass Sportsman’s Club in Moose Pass, Alaska, on Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Rep. Justin Ruffridge speaks during a town hall meeting hosted by three Kenai Peninsula legislators in the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly Chambers in Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, March 29, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Capitol Corner: HB 161 — Supporting small businesses

Rep. Justin Ruffridge reports back from Juneau.

The Swan Lake Fire can be seen from above on Monday, Aug. 26, 2019, on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Alaska Wildland Fire Information)
Point of View: Fire season starts before Iditarod ends

It is critical that Alaskans exercise caution with anything that could ignite a fire.

The U.S. Capitol in Washington, March 25, 2025. (Eric Lee/The New York Times)
Point of View: Wake up America

The number one problem in America is our national debt resulting from the inability to control federal spending.

Rep. Justin Ruffridge, R-Soldotna, speaks during a town hall meeting hosted by three Kenai Peninsula legislators in the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly Chambers in Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, March 29, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Capitol Corner: Preparing for wildfire season

Rep. Justin Ruffridge reports back from Juneau.

Snow collects near the entrance to the Kenai Community Library on Thursday, March 10, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Libraries defend every American’s freedom to read

Authors Against Book Bans invites you to celebrate National Library Week.

Alaska State House District 7 Rep. Justin Ruffridge participates in the Peninsula Clarion and KDLL 91.9 FM candidate forum at the Soldotna Public Library on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
Capitol Corner: Putting patients first

Rep. Justin Ruffridge reports back from Juneau.

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, speaks at a town hall meeting in the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly Chambers in Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, March 1, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Capitol Corner: Building better lives for Alaskans

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman reports back from Juneau.