X-rays and putdowns — just like at airports — may be coming soon to the Capitol in Juneau.
Alaska’s Capitol may be the few left in America where screening of visitors at the entry is not routinely conducted. Wyoming and Montana capitol buildings do not require x-ray, pat-downs, and backscatter screening of visitors and their belongings, but Idaho’s Capitol does, for instance.
Alaskans come and go from the building without having to put their purses and parcels through an x-ray as they have since the territorial days.
The new policy, being discussed in open and in executive session at the Dec. 12 meeting of the Legislative Council, will require all visitors to the Capitol, meaning those without badges that indicate they are employees of the building, the state, or are regular lobbyists with special badges, will be screened by a magnetometer. Visitors may opt-out of the magnetometer and receive a pat-down screening. The new policy says:
- All carried items will be screened by an X-ray device.
- A person who escorts or allows a visitor inside through another door must escort the visitor to the lobby of the Capitol Building for standard entry screening.
- Weapons, firearms, explosives, and knives (except pocketknives with blades under 3 inches and knives used by the legislative lounge staff to prepare or serve food) are prohibited in the Capitol Complex, which includes associated buildings such as the Terry Miller Building and the Assembly Building, as are other items deemed dangerous by security (e.g., fireworks, flammable substances, andcorrosive materials).
- Visitors using wheelchairs will be screened with a handheld magnetometer.
- Service animals will be visually inspected by security personnel.
- Visitors requiring other security screening accommodation should contact Capitol Security in advance.
- Visitors are required to undergo screening each time they enter the Capitol, regardless of previous entries that day.
- The screenings include children who are visiting on school field trips.
The new screening procedures have been in the works for several months. The Legislative Council had Legislative Affairs open up a period to receive bids for the equipment that will be used, and will be discussing those bids in executive session on Dec. 12.
In addition, the Legislative Council is in the process of moving the Capitol mailroom, now located on the entry-level floor, to a site outside the building, in order to provide greater security.
All of the documents that have been made public related to this upcoming series of security actions can be viewed at this Legislative Council link.
Because Democrats and their allies control the Legislature and thus the Legislative Council, it’s likely that these bids for security screening and rules that get implemented around screening are bound to go into effect, but what is not certain is when. The Alaska Legislature convenes Jan. 21, which means legislators and staff will be moving into their offices in mid-January at the same time the security team might be receiving and installing the new equipment.
Follow the Legislative Council’s meeting on Dec. 12 at 9:30 a.m. at this link.
Watch the public portion of the meeting on Gavel Alaska at this link.
