00              CS FOR SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 1(JUD)                                                             
01 Relating to the procedure that the Thirty-Fourth Alaska State Legislature will use to                                   
02 reconsider bills and items vetoed by the governor.                                                                      
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04 WHEREAS, on January 11, 1956, the Alaska Constitutional Convention Delegates                                          
05 voted 39-12 to adopt an amendment proposed by Delegate Katherine Nordale that inserted                                  
06 into the section that became art. II, sec. 16, Constitution of the State of Alaska, the word                            
07 "immediately" following "shall," thereby directing that the legislature "shall meet                                     
08 immediately in joint session and reconsider passage of the vetoed bill or item"; and                                    
09       WHEREAS the delegates stated that the purpose of inserting the word "immediately"                               
10 in the section that became art. II, sec. 16, Constitution of the State of Alaska, was to direct the                     
11 legislature to meet in joint session and provide that the house of origin cannot "sit on the bill                       
12 and allow the veto to kill the bill"; and                                                                               
13 WHEREAS, during the First Regular Session of the First Alaska State Legislature in                                    
14 1959, Senator Joseph Earl Cooper, chair of the Senate Rules Committee, reported that "both                              
15 the State Constitution and the Joint Rules directed the House and Senate to meet immediately                            
16 upon receiving a veto message from the Governor"; and                                                                   
01 WHEREAS, in response to the adoption of House Joint Resolution No. 11 by the                                          
02 Alaska State Legislature in 1975, the voters of the state voted in 1976 to approve an                                   
03 amendment to art. II, sec. 16, Constitution of the State of Alaska, further clarifying that                             
04 "[b]ills vetoed after adjournment of the first regular session of the legislature shall be                              
05 reconsidered by the legislature sitting as one body no later than the fifth day of the next                             
06 regular or special session," and "[b]ills vetoed after adjournment of the second regular session                        
07 shall be reconsidered by the legislature sitting as one body no later than the fifth day of a                           
08 special session of that legislature, if one is called"; and                                                             
09 WHEREAS Alaska State Legislature Uniform Rule 45 recognizes that the language                                         
10 "shall meet immediately in joint session" under art. II, sec. 16, Constitution of the State of                          
11 Alaska, requires that the bodies act "promptly," and also recognizes the five-day requirement                           
12 approved by the voters in 1976; and                                                                                     
13 WHEREAS, in January 2024, during the Second Regular Session of the Thirty-Third                                       
14 Alaska State Legislature, members of the legislature reviewed the language in art. II, sec. 16,                         
15 Constitution of the State of Alaska, that states "the legislature shall meet immediately in joint                       
16 session and reconsider passage of the vetoed bill or item"; and                                                         
17 WHEREAS, without formally deciding whether the language "shall meet                                                   
18 immediately in joint session" in art. II, sec. 16, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is                              
19 discretionary or mandatory, after receiving a veto message on Friday, March 15, 2024, with                              
20 regard to Senate Bill No. 140, the legislature met in joint session on Monday, March 18, 2024,                          
21 to reconsider passage of that measure; and                                                                              
22 WHEREAS members of the public and the legislature should have predictability and                                      
23 certainty about the process the legislature will follow for reconsideration of vetoed bills and                         
24 items; and                                                                                                              
25 WHEREAS the Thirty-Fourth Alaska State Legislature finds that the precedent of the                                    
26 First Alaska State Legislature and the interpretation of art. II, sec. 16, Constitution of the State                    
27 of Alaska, and the Joint Rules by Senator Joseph Earl Cooper, Senate Rules Committee chair                              
28 in the First Alaska State Legislature, are persuasive; and                                                              
29 WHEREAS the Thirty-Fourth Alaska State Legislature finds that the voters, by                                          
30 approving House Joint Resolution No. 11 in 1976, expected and directed the Alaska State                                 
31 Legislature to act within the first five days of the next regular or special session to reconsider                      
01 bills or items vetoed by the governor after adjournment;                                                                
02       BE IT RESOLVED that the Thirty-Fourth Alaska State Legislature interprets the                                   
03 phrase "the legislature shall meet immediately" in art. II, sec. 16, Constitution of the State of                       
04 Alaska, as meaning that an immediate joint session of the legislature is mandatory; and be it                           
05       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Thirty-Fourth Alaska State Legislature finds that                                   
06 Uniform Rule 45 requires that the legislature meet "promptly" in joint session; and be it                               
07 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Thirty-Fourth Alaska State Legislature, in                                                  
08 accordance with Uniform Rule 45 and art. II, sec. 16, Constitution of the State of Alaska, will                         
09 "meet immediately in joint session" to "promptly" reconsider bills and items vetoed by the                              
10 governor; and be it                                                                                                     
11 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Thirty-Fourth Alaska State Legislature will meet in                                         
12 joint session to reconsider vetoed bills and items as follows:                                                          
13 (1)  If the legislature receives a veto message during session, upon receiving                                          
14 the veto message, the legislature shall meet immediately in joint session to reconsider the                             
15 vetoed bill or item;                                                                                                    
16 (2)  If the legislature receives a veto message after adjournment of the first                                          
17 regular session and no special session is called, the legislature shall meet in joint session to                        
18 reconsider the vetoed bill or item not later than the fifth day of the next regular session;                            
19 (3)  If the legislature receives a veto message after adjournment of the first or                                       
20 second regular session and a special session is called, the legislature shall meet in joint                             
21 session to reconsider the vetoed bill or item not later than the fifth day of the special session;                      
22 (4)  If the legislature receives a veto message after adjournment of the second                                         
23 regular session and no special session is called, the legislature will not meet in joint session to                     
24 reconsider the vetoed bill or item.