00                            SENATE BILL NO. 144                                                                         
01 "An Act relating to disaster emergencies."                                                                              
02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
03    * Section 1. AS 18.15.390 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:                                           
04            (b)  Before the department takes a public health measure or imposes a                                        
05       requirement under (a) of this section, the action or requirement must be approved by                              
06       the legislature by law.                                                                                           
07    * Sec. 2. AS 22.10.020 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:                                              
08            (j)  The superior court is the court of original jurisdiction over all causes of                             
09       action challenging the lawfulness of state and local emergency orders, including                                  
10 compliance with limitations on emergency orders under AS 26.23.023 and                                                  
11 AS 29.20.650. The superior court shall expedite consideration of challenges to the                                      
12 lawfulness of state and local emergency orders so that they are heard within 72 hours                                   
13 of being filed and shall apply a strict scrutiny standard of judicial review. Inequality in                             
14 the applicability or impact of emergency orders on analogous groups, situations, and                                    
15 circumstances is grounds for the superior court to invalidate or enjoin an emergency                                    

01 order, or some of its applications, on the basis that it is not narrowly tailored to serve a                            
02       compelling public health or safety purpose.                                                                       
03    * Sec. 3. AS 26.23.020(c) is amended to read:                                                                      
04 (c)  If the governor finds that a disaster has occurred or that a disaster is                                           
05 imminent or threatened, the governor shall, by proclamation, declare a condition of                                     
06 disaster emergency. The disaster emergency remains in effect until the governor finds                                   
07 that the danger has passed or the disaster has been dealt with so that the emergency no                                 
08 longer exists. The governor may terminate the disaster emergency by proclamation. A                                     
09 proclamation of disaster emergency may not remain in effect longer than 30 days                                         
10 unless extended by the legislature by law. The governor may not issue more than                                     
11 one proclamation for the same or a related condition of disaster emergency [A                                       
12 CONCURRENT RESOLUTION]. The proclamation must indicate the nature of the                                                
13 disaster, the area threatened or affected, and the conditions that have brought it about                                
14 or that make possible the termination of the disaster emergency. A proclamation to                                      
15 declare a condition of disaster emergency must also state whether the governor                                          
16 proposes to expend state funds to respond to the disaster under (i) or (j) of this section.                             
17 If the governor issues a proclamation that is substantially similar to a disaster                                   
18 emergency proclamation that expired without legislative approval or that the                                        
19 legislature terminated, the substantially similar proclamation of disaster                                          
20 emergency may not take effect unless the legislature, by an affirmative vote of                                     
21 two-thirds of the membership of each house, adopts a concurrent resolution                                          
22       ratifying the proclamation of disaster emergency.                                                             
23    * Sec. 4. AS 26.23 is amended by adding a new section to read:                                                     
24 Sec. 26.23.023. Limitations on emergency orders that regulate the public.                                             
25 (a) Nothing in this section grants additional emergency powers to the governor or to                                    
26       any other state official.                                                                                         
27 (b)  The state may issue nonbinding recommendations and guidelines that do                                              
28 not include provisions for enforcement and that may help coordinate public and                                          
29       private action to prevent or respond to an emergency.                                                             
30 (c)  The exercise of an emergency power granted to the governor or another                                              
31 state official by law that binds or regulates the public is limited as provided in this                                 

01 subsection. Emergency orders that bind, curtail, or infringe the rights of private parties                              
02 must be narrowly tailored to serve a compelling public health or safety purpose. Each                                   
03 emergency order must be limited in duration, applicability, and scope in order to                                       
04 reduce any infringement of individual liberty. Only the governor may issue an                                           
05 emergency order that infringes constitutional rights, including the right to travel, work,                              
06 assemble, and speak, the free exercise of religion, contract and property rights,                                       
07 freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, and the freedom to purchase lawful                                     
08 firearms and ammunition in a nontrivial manner. Emergency orders that infringe on                                       
09       constitutional rights are further limited as follows:                                                             
10                 (1)  An emergency order expires in seven days unless                                                    
11 (A)  the legislature is in a regular session and has at least 15                                                        
12 days to consider and vote to ratify the order by adopting a concurrent                                                  
13 resolution by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the membership of each                                               
14 house or terminate the emergency order by adopting a concurrent resolution by                                           
15            an affirmative vote of a majority of the membership of each house; or                                        
16 (B)  the governor calls the legislature into a special session for                                                      
17            the purpose of considering and voting on the emergency order;                                                
18 (2)  If the seven-day expiration period under (1) of this paragraph does                                                
19       not apply, the order expires in 30 days unless                                                                    
20 (A)  the governor, or the legislature, by adopting a concurrent                                                         
21 resolution by a majority vote of the membership of each house, terminates the                                           
22            order within 30 days; or                                                                                     
23 (B)  the legislature, by adopting a concurrent resolution by an                                                         
24 affirmative vote of two-thirds of the membership of each house, ratifies the                                            
25            order within 30 days.                                                                                        
26 (d)  Each house may vote to ratify or terminate an emergency order under (c)                                            
27 of this section by remote debate and electronic or other means as established by the                                    
28 uniform rules, or, in the absence of uniform rules governing remote debate and                                          
29 electronic means, to the extent not prohibited by rules specified by the presiding                                      
30       officer of each house.                                                                                            
31 (e)  In this section, "emergency order" means an emergency order, decree,                                               

01       proclamation, regulation, or other mandate.                                                                       
02    * Sec. 5. AS 29.10.200 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read:                                               
03                 (68)  AS 29.20.650 (limitations on emergency orders that relate to the                                  
04       public).                                                                                                          
05    * Sec. 6. AS 29.20 is amended by adding a new section to read:                                                     
06 Sec. 29.20.650. Limitations on emergency orders that regulate the public.                                             
07 (a) A municipality may issue nonbinding recommendations and guidelines that do not                                      
08 include provisions for enforcement or surveillance and that may help coordinate public                                  
09       and private action to prevent or respond to an emergency.                                                         
10 (b)  To the extent that the municipality may issue emergency orders, the                                                
11 municipality may not issue an emergency order that infringes constitutional rights in a                                 
12 nontrivial manner. In this subsection, constitutional rights include the right to travel,                               
13 work, assemble, and speak, the free exercise of religion, contract and property rights,                                 
14 freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, and the freedom to purchase lawful                                     
15       firearms and ammunition.