A panel of Alaska lawmakers voted this week to sell a parking lot and use the proceeds to improve TV and internet coverage on Gavel Alaska.
The 13-member Legislative Council approved the $1 million deal in a unanimous vote. The council also voted unanimously to approve a $30-per-day stipend for legislative staffers who relocate to Juneau seasonally.
The million-dollar camera plan will be half-funded by the sale of a legislatively owned parking lot near the Legislature’s Anchorage offices on Benson Boulevard. The other half will come from the Juneau Community Foundation, a nonprofit in the capital city.
The robotic cameras will be operated from the studios of KTOO-TV, Juneau’s public broadcaster, which operates Gavel Alaska and records legislative hearings for broadcast on the internet and TV.
Some remotely operated cameras already exist in the Capitol; the new cameras will offer additional angles, better views of presentations, and for the first time will be installed in the House and Senate chambers. Currently, human-operated cameras are used in the chambers.
“Overall, the experience for citizens watching Gavel to Gavel would be increased greatly,” Bill Legere, president and general manager of KTOO, told lawmakers.
In a separate vote, the Legislative Council — which acts when the Legislature is not in session — voted in favor of a housing stipend for legislative staffers who travel to Juneau during the annual session.
Lawmakers said the stipend is needed because changes in federal tax law mean relocation expenses are no longer deductible from federal taxes, and lawmakers feared an inability to convince staffers to move to Juneau during session.
Jessica Geary, executive director of the Legislative Affairs Agency, estimated the stipend will cost $435,600 per year for a 121-day session.