There's a gang of outlaws in Juneau. Sixty members who don't care what you think, what you want, or what you have dictated by law for them to do.
Overtime can be an exciting thing. Alaska Aces fans remember some amazing Kelly Cup playoff overtime finishes at the Sullivan Arena. NHL fans are enjoying some impressive overtime games right now in the playoffs, including a triple overtime thriller on Tuesday night.
However, the overtime in Juneau is not much fun for anybody.
In 2006, voters approved a ballot measure which read, "This initiative would reduce the maximum length of a regular legislative session from 121 days to 90 days." The aforementioned 121-day limit is set forth in Article 2 Section 8 of the Alaska Constitution.
This is the second consecutive year the Legislature has decided it doesn't need to abide by the will of the people and has headed into overtime. In 2010 the Legislature went over the 90-day limit for the first time. The legislative session that year ended at 12:37 a.m., raising questions as to the legality of legislation passed after the midnight deadline.
At the time state Senate President Gary Stevens asked the Legislature's attorneys for a legal opinion and they concluded the voter initiative did not take precedence over the 121-day limit set forth in the Alaska Constitution.
Five years later the opinion Stevens solicited appears pretty solid. There is seemingly nobody in the legal world in Alaska willing to disagree with it. Every legal expert I have spoken with tells me they are certain that if challenged, legislation passed within the 121-day limit would hold up.
Don't confuse this "overtime" with perfectly legal and legitimate special sessions. Special sessions have been called over the years, and they serve a much different purpose and go through a different process.
Special sessions can be called by the governor or by a vote of both houses of the Legislature, and only the specific issues addressed in the reason for the special session can be taken up during the session.
None of this changes the fact that in 2006 Alaskan voters sent a message to Alaska's legislators. The message was clear -- finish your work within 90 days.
Last year the Senate flippantly ignored the will of the people. They didn't even bother to begin proceedings on the final day until nearly 9 p.m. Many speculated that the reason for this was that the Republicans wanted to push the ballot measures on the primary ballot to the general election, leaving the referendum to change oil taxes alone on the August ballot.
Either way, the Legislature showed a basic lack of concern that they were violating the law the people put into place.
This is particularly interesting this year after the marijuana legalization initiative passed. Many legislators are regularly reassuring Alaskans they want to uphold the "will of the people." While legislators dismissively ignore the law set forth by the people for a shorter session, any claim they are trying to uphold the will of the people in any other sense is laughable at best.
This problem is much bigger than simply passing through the 90-day limit. It's a systemic misunderstanding by Alaska's elected officials that they work for the people, and not the other way around.
House Speaker Mike Chenault illustrated this quite well last year when he blasted a member of the public's right to freedom of speech in a House committee hearing. At a press availability after the hearing Chenault said, "This is our House!"
He was wrong. The state House belongs to the people of Alaska -- particularly because it is the House of Representatives, historically, the "people's house."
So now, the "public servants" in Juneau continue to tell us what is best for us, rather than following the directives we have given them. The arrogance that comes with the power they hold empowers them to laugh at us, as they explain that we can't possibly understand the very complicated political games in which they engage.
They hold the most important public trust, while at the same time; they've given the public no reason to trust them.
While the overtime thrillers that are indicative of the NHL playoffs distract the people of Alaska, Chenault and the rest of the Legislature will continue to engage in an overtime of their own, blatantly violating the rules of the game set forth by the most important officials -- Alaskan voters.
Mike Dingman is a fifth-generation Alaskan born and raised in Anchorage. He is a former UAA student body president and has worked, studied and volunteered in Alaska politics since the late '90s. Email, michaeldingman@gmail.com.
The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, e-mail commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com