Senate defies Walker’s call to weigh nominees

Governor Bill Walker tried and failed to get lawmakers to vote on his nominees Thursday.

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Five minutes after starting a joint session, the Legislature voted along caucus lines, 32 to 26, to adjourn without holding a vote.

Senate President Pete Kelly said he plans to hold votes on the nominees before the legislative session ends. The deadline to end the session is May 17th.

Kelly said the Legislature should focus on the budget and a plan to draw from the Permanent Fund to balance the budget. While some nominees have been controversial, Kelly denied that was a factor in the delay.

“There’s nothing about this that has anything to do with any person,” Kelly said. “There’s no one that I know of with a target on their back. I think there’s some people who may have some difficulties. There’s no question about that. But none of this has anything to do with any of the nominees.”

Kelly and other Republican lawmakers have raised questions about Attorney General Jahna Lindemuth, Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission member Hollis French and Human Rights Commission member Drew Phoenix.

They and another 100 nominees will continue to act in their positions until either a vote or the end of the session. If there’s no vote, all of the nominees must leave their positions.

House Speaker Bryce Edgmon said the Legislature should act on the nominees and then move on to other business.

“I was very disappointed that we couldn’t get that work done today, knowing the workload that lies before the Legislature,” Edgmon said.

Walker issued a proclamation on Wednesday calling the Legislature into a joint session, after the Senate twice turned down the House’s invitation to meet.

In a letter to Walker, Kelly called the proclamation “an unproductive distraction.”

Of the legislators present at the session, every Senate majority and House minority member voted to adjourn, while every Senate minority and House majority member voted against adjournment.