Lights are on but nobody's home

March 2, 2011: As Alaskans from around the state gave public testimony today in the House Finance committee on the proposed fiscal year 2012 budget, lawmakers listening in Juneau couldn't even muster a quorum. In fact only four finance committee members were on hand to hear public testimony.

As the state legislature reaches the halfway point of the ninety day legislative session, the legislature for the most part has shut down for the week to allow 28 of the 60 members to attend an Energy Council meeting in Washington D.C. A call to a Fairbanks legislator's office seeking information on a budget matter was met with the response, "It's energy week so everyone is gone."

It was just nine days into this year's session, on January 27, that Senate President Gary Stevens sat before the State Affairs committee and presented his bill to increase the legislative session to 120 days every other year, as he argued that the current ninety day limit did not give lawmakers enough time to do the peoples business.

If Stevens proposed legislation was a joke, it would be hilarious, but it isn't. Similar legislation is on the move in the House.

The fact that 28 out of the 60 lawmakers packed up and headed out of town shows a complete disregard for time management. Many of these travelling lawmakers don't sit on any energy or resource related committees, many of these lawmakers have absolutely no reason to leave Juneau, thus causing legislative business to grind to a halt.

Meanwhile in Juneau, Alaskans are speaking to an almost empty finance committee room.