The Alaska Legislature will reconvene in Juneau on Monday, May 18 at 2 pm. They will take up the CARES Act funding allocation that was approved by the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee earlier this week.
The 120th day of the Legislature ends at midnight on May 20. Until then, the session has technically continued, although it has been recessed.
A lawsuit by two Juneau residents has prompted the entire Legislature to meet, further delaying the release of funds to communities and small businesses.
Republicans believe the Democrats are pushing for a Juneau meeting so they can change the terms of various appropriations, and even carve off money intended for small businesses in Alaska. Most small business owners vote Republican, so critics believe that the Democrats would rather see the funds divided between the unemployed in Alaska, rather than the employers. That was a position stated last week by the Democrats in the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee meeting.
