Alaska House Speaker Louise Stutes canceled the floor session Wednesday, because “a large portion of representatives have been exposed to Covid-19 in the last 24 hours,” according to her office. Instead, Wednesday was a “technical session,” lasting less than 20 seconds.
The leftist majority under Stutes was planning to continue its efforts to strip Rep. David Eastman from all of his committees due to his membership in the nonprofit organization called Oath Keepers.
Rep. Bart LeBon of Fairbanks posted on his Facebook page that he had tested positive, and sources say he had been in caucus with 16 of the 18 Republican minority members. None who have tested for Covid have yet announced they tested positive, but not all members have tested.
“If you’re following events in Juneau, you may have noticed I’ve not been attending committee hearings in person. The reason is that I recently tested positive for COVID-19 and am currently in quarantine. I am fully vaccinated and my symptoms have been mild. Legislators and staff are on a testing cycle to ensure new cases are identified early and the Capitol has activated the appropriate exposure protocols following my positive test. Though I am not physically in the building, I’m staying current on legislative business. I have been attending meetings remotely and my dutiful staff is keeping me up to date on any official business. Thank you to all those who have reached out to wish me a speedy recovery. I look forward to returning to the Capitol next week after my symptoms resolve,” LeBon wrote on his Facebook page.
The House Committee on Committees Democrats have been plotting against Eastman to remove him from all committees, with Republican members Cathy Tilton and Laddie Shaw objecting; the report must be approved with a simple majority of the House. It is becoming evident that the leftist House majority does not have the votes, and at this point cannot even conduct business.
Since convening 17 days ago, Stutes majority has fixated on Eastman as its sole purpose, and little work has been accomplished under her watch. Many will be gone on Friday, while others will be in quarantine.
The one bill that is being advanced to the floor for Friday, should there be a regular floor session, is HB 118, legislation to grant prisoners more rights to computer access. Its sponsor is Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins of Sitka.
