Alaska Senate

Alaska Senate
Alaska Legislature
Type
Type	Upper house
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 17, 2017
Leadership
President of the Senate	Pete Kelly (R) Since January 17, 2017
Majority Leader	Peter Micciche (R) Since January 17, 2017
Minority Leader	Berta Gardner (D) Since January 17, 2015
Structure
Seats	20
Political groups	Majority caucus   Republican (14)   Democratic (2) Minority caucus   Democratic (4)
Length of term	4 years
Authority	Article 2, Alaska Constitution
Salary	$50,400/year + per diem
Elections
Last election	November 8, 2016 (10 seats: districts B, D, F, H, J, L, N, P, R, T)
Next election	November 6, 2018 (10 seats: districts A, C, E, G, I, K, M, O, Q, S)
Redistricting	Alaska Redistricting Board
Meeting place
State Senate Chamber Alaska State Capitol Juneau, Alaska
Website
Alaska State Senate

Majority caucus

Minority caucus

The Alaska Senate is the upper house in the Alaska Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It convenes in the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau, Alaska and is responsible for making laws and confirming or rejecting gubernatorial appointments to the state cabinet, commissions and boards.

With just twenty members, the Alaska Senate is the smallest state upper house legislative chamber in the United States. Its members serve four-year terms and each represent an equal amount of districts with populations of approximately 35,512 people, per 2010 Census figures. They are not subject to term limits.

The Alaska Senate shares the responsibility for making laws in the state of Alaska. Bills are developed by staff from bill requests and information from the bill's sponsor. Bills undergo three or four readings during the legislative process. After the first reading, they are assigned to committee. Committees can amend measures or hold legislation and prevent it from reaching the Senate floor. Once a committee has weighed in on a piece of legislation, the bill returns to the floor for second hearing and a third hearing, which happens just before the floor vote on it.

Once passed by the Senate, a bill is sent to the opposite legislative house for consideration. If approved, without amendment, it is sent to the governor. If there is amendment, however, the Senate may either reconsider the bill with amendments or ask for the establishment of a conference committee to work out differences in the versions of the bill passed by each chamber. Once a piece of legislation approved by both houses is forwarded to the governor, it may either be signed or vetoed. If it is signed, it takes effect on the effective date of the legislation. If it is vetoed, lawmakers in a joint session may override the veto with a two-thirds majority vote (three-fourths majority is required if it is an appropriations bill).

The Alaska Senate has the sole responsibility in the state's legislative branch for confirming gubernatorial appointees to positions that require confirmation.