00                   HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 12                                                                   
01 Proposing an amendment to the Uniform Rules of the Alaska State Legislature relating                                    
02 to abstention from voting.                                                                                              
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04    * Section 1. Rule 34(b), Uniform Rules of the Alaska State Legislature, is amended to read:                        
05            (b)  Abstention. Every member present in the house shall vote unless the house                               
06       allows [FOR SPECIAL REASONS PERMITS] a member to abstain. A request to                                    
07       abstain [ALL MOTIONS EXCUSING A MEMBER] from voting shall be made                                             
08       before the house divides or before the call for the yeas and nays is commenced. A                             
09       member may request to abstain from voting if the member reasonably believes                                   
10       that by voting the member would violate a specific provision of AS 24.60                                      
11       (Legislative Ethics Act), or for any other reason. A request to abstain shall be                          
12       accompanied by [MEMBER REQUESTING TO BE EXCUSED FROM VOTING                                                   
13       MAY MAKE] a brief oral statement of the reasons for the request and, if the request                           
14       is made to avoid violating a specific provision of AS 24.60, a reference to or                                
15       citation of the specific provision of that chapter that requires the member's                                 
16       abstention. A request to abstain that is made solely to avoid violating a specific                            

01       provision of AS 24.60 shall be decided by a majority vote of the members                                      
02       present; otherwise, a member may be allowed to abstain only upon the                                          
03       unanimous consent of the membership. The [REQUEST AND THE] question of                                        
04       granting permission to abstain shall be taken without further debate and, a [. A]                             
05       member may not explain a vote, may not discuss the question while the yeas and nays                               
06       are being called, and may not change a vote after the roll call result has been                                   
07       announced. Upon division and count of the house of any question a member who is                                   
08       not within the chamber may not be counted. [A MEMBER MAY NOT BE                                                   
09       PERMITTED TO ABSTAIN EXCEPT UPON THE UNANIMOUS CONSENT OF                                                         
10       THE MEMBERSHIP.]