Response to Governor’s Office Wasilla Middle School Proposal
Considerations and Questions
Legal and Historical Record
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AS 24.05.100(b) was first enacted in ch. 100, SLA 1982. As part of the 1982 HB 185 House
Judiciary Bill File, there was a news clipping noting that, in 1980, some legislators asked
governor Hammond to consider calling them into special session in Anchorage. Attorney
General Condon told the governor, however, that the special session should happen in
Juneau, because there was going to be a legal question as to whether the legislature could
convene outside of Juneau. The article also notes that the laws enacted during the
territorial days specified that any legislative session must be in the capital.
Ms. Wallace read through the legislative history of AS 24.05.100(b), and it is her opinion
that the legislature never contemplated that the governor would select both the location
and the venue in the proclamation for a special session called by the governor. Accordingly,
ultimately, it should be left for the legislature to decide the appropriate venue to hold
legislative sessions in the location selected by the governor. The legislature may consider
venues suggested by the governor, but the legislature should be responsible for procuring
the space and designating use of the space therein.
The legislature has a remedy if it does not agree with the location designated by the
governor – the legislature can adjourn from the special session without taking action. The
legislature must consider vetoes within 5 days of the next special session.
The inattention to the historical record is one of the greatest deficiencies throughout the
proposal. An accurate historical record is fundamental to any meeting of the legislature.
There must be adequate recording, transmission and a clear historical record for any
session to be considered successful (see AS 24.05.135), especially when considering
monumentally important decisions. If no record of proceedings captures the deliberations,
this causes immense problems contemporaneously and for posterity. Contemporaneously,
if audio/video of sessions are not available, this will require additional onsite staff who
would otherwise be able to follow proceedings on either Gavel to Gavel or the legislature's
AlaskaLegislature.tv The provision of "up to 10 cordless microphones" does not allay this
concern as these mics are notably unreliable, require frequent battery replacement and
deliver poor sound quality. The historical record and the people of Alaska deserve better
than the spotty recordings of the 2015 Anchorage special session.

Security
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Security is essential during working (legislator/staff safety) and non-working hours
(records/equipment theft).
Uniform Rules 11 and 12 govern access to and use of legislative chambers and offices. The
space contemplated in the proposal for a Senate chamber states the room has "some
exterior doors that are secured" and "multiple entrances." The security of a legislative
chamber protects not only members and staff but the sensitive, confidential information
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they possess; any space would need all doors secured either by physically being locked
(which could pose emergency exit issues) or having personnel stationed to secure them.
Also relevant to any discussion of security is the question of how many people (teachers,
administrators, maintenance) currently have access to the proposed space.
The middle school camera system is a major concern. As proposed, the governor's office
has access to all cameras for the entire building. This is not appropriate. The governor
should not have access to security cameras over legislative space. Who will respond to
public info requests for camera footage? Will the governor's office respond to inquiries for
leg office area footage? Will they adopt the Legislative Council records policy? In addition,
would the school own/have access to the footage? They also are not bound by the
legislature’s records policy.
Sgts-at-Arms will be less able to assist with security concerns as chambers with multiple
access points will require constant supervision. How many additional staff will be required
for Sgts-at-Arms to fulfill duty to "maintain order on the floor of the chamber and in the
galleries and adjoining hallway…" as required by Uniform Rule 3(c)?
Additional security concerns have been identified by the House and Senate Sgt-at-Arms and
legislative security.
How to secure members with their backs to guests in bleachers?
Will current security protocols be implemented offsite?
How to communicate to citizens the Legislature’s authority to secure legislative space?
Where to stage space for coat/bag check required for guests in the "gallery". Will the
legislature be able to enforce current policies regarding use of legislative space by guests?
Would this require contracting additional private security?
Would Wasilla Police Dept or Alaska State Troopers be able to respond/assist?
Would governor's security staff coordinate with legislative security - who would ultimately
control space?
Would this require installation/use of magnetometers/other "hard" resources?
Will site-specific emergency and/or active shooter plans be developed? Would training
and/or drills be provided?

Floor sessions
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The spaces suggested for House and Senate Chambers is inadequate for reasons of
recording, access, and security (mentioned above).
No active sound system exists in the space proposed for the Senate and the configuration of
a gymnasium with no acoustical treatments will not allow people to hear each other during
sessions and will not allow for reasonable transmission/recording.
The existing sound system in the gym proposed for the House is not adequate for a floor
session due to output and control requirements and the co-location of the controls with the
Sgts-at-Arms or LIO moderator to ensure that off-record audio is not recorded or streamed.
The lack of acoustical treatments is also a factor in this location.
There are not enough wireless microphones even with Media Services bringing additional
portable mics. Also, are these recording mics?
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Is there a hardline phone in the gym to make calls to Legal, etc. during floor sessions?
The audio system does not have sufficient controls to ensure audio privacy safeguards when
not on the record, i.e., “Sergeant at Arms” sound switch.
Media Services requires centralized equipment for video broadcast distribution: technical
specifications require camera, video and sound equipment be within 300 feet of the
centralized broadcast location. This is not available at the proposed site and would have to
be purchased or rented.
Chief Clerk/Senate Secretary need reliable audio of proceedings to input action into BASU in
real time.
Is there designated press space as controlled by Uniform Rule 11(d)?
Who will provide bookcases with statutes/admin code/court rules that members are
accustomed to have as reference during floor sessions?
Are the “galleries” ADA/otherwise accessible?
How to control noise of guests climbing, sitting in bleachers?

Committee Meetings
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Classrooms have been proposed as possible committee rooms; however, with "no sound
system in rooms", no provision has been made to comply with Uniform Rule 23 which
requires each standing, special and joint committee "to record its meetings
electronically…prepare minutes of each meeting". If committee staff cannot record and
transcribe minutes remotely, they will need to be physically present in the special session (a
deviation from past procedure). The record of committee proceedings is equally crucial to
the overall historical record of legislative decision making.
With no sound system and no teleconference option, there is no way for testifiers to call
into the committee meeting.
LAA does not have extra teleconference, broadcast, recording and testimony equipment to
provision multiple committee rooms and both chambers. As with floor sessions, the audio
system cannot ensure audio safeguards when not on the record (“Red Light System”).
In order to stream committee meetings for AlaskaLegislature.tv, LAA would need to
purchase and install upgraded streaming servers. The alternative would be no access to
those not physically present.
There is no indication if there is furniture available appropriate to a committee meeting.
Desks and other classroom furniture are not appropriate for legislative business.
Will committees have access to statutes or other necessary materials?

Office Space
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There has been no provision made for the workspace required by the Chief Clerk and
Senate Secretary to prepare and proof their constitutionally required journals (art. II, sec.
12: "Each shall keep a journal of its proceedings."). Space for clerks and secretaries should
be co-located to facilitate transmission of documents between the bodies as well as to
allow for the sharing of staff and equipment that is necessitated by an offsite session. The

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space should be located near the chamber location for the same reasons and to allow
legislators access to Chief Clerk/Senate Secretary staff for needs/requests.
There is insufficient office space for each legislator to have their own secure, confidential
office. This may disrupt confidentiality with Legal Services and constituents and interfere
with the confidentiality of legislative records/immunity.
In the absence of sufficient space, legislators may seek to use the Anchorage LIO, which will
present logistical issues for attending floor sessions and/or committee meetings.
Is there a place where caucuses can meet securely?
Do spaces for Legal and Chief Clerk/Senate Secretary have locking file cabinets?
Are chairs/desks/furniture adult-sized?

Information Technology
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Network/data/phone port needs per classroom for high density office environments are
insufficient.
Voice/data and broadcast networks must be separate networks, as video and broadcast
traffic will saturate a network.
Committee rooms and gyms do not have teleconferencing capability for recording,
broadcast and testimony.
There is not enough available equipment to provision off-site, temporary legislative offices.
Secure network connections are required to transfer documents remotely from Legal
Services to Chief Clerk and Senate Secretary and to access confidential databases if working
on-site. Is the school district willing to remove their networking equipment from their
equipment racks and telecom closets?
What is capability/location of "large copiers"? Who will operate/troubleshoot/maintain?
Even if the available copiers are adequate, high speed large capacity printers would need to
be purchased or rented, as would additional copiers.

Accessibility
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The Capitol is equipped such that hearing devices automatically connect to floor sessions
and committee meetings when needed; there does not appear to be ADA audio accessibility
in proposed space.
The proposal did not address that there will be no Gavel-to-Gavel presence; therefore,
Alaskans in rural and remote locations would have no access to legislative proceedings.
Even if LAA purchased upgraded streaming equipment, there are many communities with
unreliable internet connections and they too would be unable to access the special session
proceedings.

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 Cellular Service
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Cellular service is marginal at “two bars” for reliable voice and data and streaming demands
that a special session requires.
Callers might have to compete for cellular services for legislators, staff, press, and data
streams during peak usage. The Capitol just went through an upgrade to address numerous
cellular access issues.
Is there service for Verizon customers?

Staffing
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Another incidental effect of offsite special sessions is that the staff who are present pick up
additional duties and responsibilities generally covered by other support staff in the Capitol.
The lack of committee staff, copier operators, supply personnel and others adversely affect
the speed and productivity of a session. Will additional staff be onsite so Chief Clerk and
Senate Secretary can focus on core functions?
How many committee staff will travel to record/transcribe?
How many copier operators?
How many legislative security staff will be present? Will this leave the Capitol with no
security presence?
Who will contract custodial staff who can flexibly accommodate legislative schedule?

Lodging
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Chief Clerk and Senate Secretary staff, as well as Legal, IT, and Supply staff must be colocated nearby the special session venue.
If additional staff are needed to support the session, it may not be possible to house
everyone within a reasonable distance of the venue.
It may be unreasonable to expect legislators and staff to do a 2-hour round trip commute
for committee meetings and/or floor sessions, thus additional housing would be needed
than was assumed in the proposal.

Miscellaneous
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Adequate signage for the public and members/staff to locate people/committee
rooms/chamber space in any facility.
Is there a facility to make/serve coffee/tea as expected by members?
Do we need to ensure there are gender neutral restrooms?
Mat-Su school calendar indicates a "workday" for teachers August 14 and shows school
beginning August 15. Depending on when the session is called, this may not allow adequate
time for breakdown/cleanup.
Some staff have legitimate, medically necessary food restrictions - will these be
accommodated by proposed caterer?
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Who will select/hire/oversee proposed caterer?
Are there facilities onsite to prepare/reheat food for staff?

Governor’s Space
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A surprising facet of this proposal is the provision of space for the governor and his security
team as well as facilities for commissioners. We do not recall the governor attending offsite
special session in years past. In fact, it is an extremely rare occurrence for any governor to
appear in the gallery of either the House or Senate during legislative proceedings. The fact
that the needs of the administration have been addressed before some necessary
requirements for a fully functional legislative session underscores the reason why the
legislature, as an independent branch of government, controls its own process.
The governor has proposed taking over the entire administrative area of the school,
including space for his Cabinet. As stated above, the legislature shall be responsible for
procuring and designating space. If the legislature wants to assign the governor space, it
may do so at its discretion.
Administrative areas are likely to have confidential school records. These would need to be
secured.
Again, it is problematic for the governor to have access to the legislature’s security footage.

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