The Alaska Legislative Council is a standing committee of 14 members of the

Alaska Legislature The Alaska State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a bicameral institution consisting of the 40-member Alaska House of Representatives (lower house) and the 20-member Alaska Senate (upper house). There a ...

, that meets to conduct the business of the Legislature when it is not in session.

Composition and authority

The Council is, per statute, a "permanent interim committee and service agency of the legislature." It is made up of the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

Alaska Senate The Alaska State Senate is the upper house in the Alaska State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It convenes in the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau, Alaska and is responsible for making laws and confirming or reje ...

, six Senators appointed by the President, the

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

of the

Alaska House of Representatives The Alaska House of Representatives is the lower house in the Alaska State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. The House is composed of 40 members, each of whom represents a district of approximately 17,756 people pe ...

, and six House members appointed by the Speaker. Among the powers and duties of the Council are preparing recommendations for the Legislature, an annual review of statutes, conducting hearings and investigations, to manage Legislature operations when the Legislature is not in session, to manage an internship program for the Legislature, and to undertake any special projects assigned it by the Legislature.

Notable events

In 1998 the Council sued the

Federal Government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

over plans by the United States to take over Alaska's

subsistence fishing Artisanal, subsistence, or traditional fishing consists of various small-scale, low-technology, fishing practices undertaken by individual fishermen (as opposed to commercial fishing). Many of these households are of coastal or island ethnic grou ...

program under the

Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) is a United States federal law signed by President Jimmy Carter on December 2, 1980. ANILCA provided varying degrees of special protection to over of land, including national parks, n ...

, claiming the proposal would violate the Alaska Statehood Compact, which gave Alaska the right to manage its own fish and game resources. At issue was a conflict between the Alaska Constitution, which guaranteed equal access to all Alaskans, the Governor and Legislature, who wished to give rural residents priority, and the Federal government, which wished to provide for

Native Alaskan Native may refer to: People * '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood * '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Nat ...

References

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Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...