Rep. Justin Ruffridge has been on the defense this summer, as conservatives in District 7 on the Kenai Peninsula press him about his controversial vote on a bill that would have created new protections for transgenders in public accommodations.
HB 99 ended up tabled in the Judiciary Committee, but it first had to be heard in the Community and Regional Affairs Committee of the Alaska House of Representatives.
The bill title says it is “An Act relating to and prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.”
The voting record is clear: To get the bill moved out of committee required a majority vote. Three Democrats voted to move it — Rebecca Himschoot, Donna Mears, and C.J. McCormick. (Himschoot is a no-party member who caucuses with the Democrats).
Republicans Kevin McCabe and Tom McKay voted against the bill.
Ruffridge has been telling people on the Kenai that there was no vote, and that the Must Read Alaska story is fabrication.
But Republican Ruffridge was a “no recommendation.” That made the vote 3-2, and passed the bill along to Judiciary.
Mason’s Manual says that a “no recommendation” vote is the same as an abstention, and in the case of what would be a tie vote, it prevents the tie, which prevents the bill from advancing.
Anything other than a “do not pass” in this vote was a “pass.”
