Valley senators lose key positions

Mat-Su’s legislative delegation lost a lot of its clout in a reorganization in the state Senate. The action was taken Tuesday, Jan. 21, as the Legislature convened its 2020 session.

One senator from the region, Sen. Shelley Hughes, lost her position as chair of a major committee. A second, Sen. Mike Shower, lost his seat on the Finance committee, an influential position, and his chairmanship of the Senate State Affairs Committee, which handles bills related to the Permanent Fund and the dividend.

Sen. Lora Reinbold, Republican from Eagle River who usually votes with Mat-Su Republican senators, lost her position as chair of the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee, another important committee.

The moves were a consequence of the senators’ votes on Permanent Fund Dividend budget issues.

Mat-Su still has one senator on the Finance committee, however: Sen. David Wilson, a Republican.

Hughes was replaced as chair of Judiciary by Sen. John Coghill, R-Fairbanks, who has chaired the committee is previous Legislatures. The Judiciary committee deals with criminal justice matters as well as issues related to law and other matters.

Reinbold was replaced as chair of Labor and Commerce by Sen. Click Bishop, R-Fairbanks. The committee handles bills related to business and regulatory matters.

In another move, Sen. Peter Micciche, R-Kenai, was moved off the Finance Committee but was given the chair of the Resources Committee. Being on the Finance committee is a position of power in the Senate but so is being chair of the Resources Committee, which handles legislation related to fisheries and oil and gas, which are both important to Micciche’s Kenai Peninsula constituents.

The four senators had gotten crosswise with their Republican senate colleagues partly because of their support for a “fully-funded” Permanent Fund Dividend, or a PFD funded according to a formula in state statutes. Most Senate Republicans favor a lower dividend, so as to leave more money to fund public services.

Still, it is significant that the four remain as members of the Senate’s Republican majority. They were not kicked out of the Republican-led Majority caucus, in other words.

The informal rules that govern the Senate’s organization require members to support the Majority’s final decisions on the state budget. Last year the four split off on budget votes, which other Republican senators said was a violation of the rules.

From a practical standpoint being part of the Majority allows legislators to sit in on closed caucus meetings in which positions on bills decided. However, being a member of the Finance committee or a chair of other committees creates strong leverage for a legislator within the caucus.

Losing a position as chair or being kicked out of the caucus can have an effect on staffing levels. A legislator can lose staff by losing positions on committees, or the staff that remains may take a cut in pay grade. In that sense these actions have effects that affect peoples’ livelihoods.

There’s ample precedent for legislators staking an independent course from colleagues, and suffering consequences. The most famous example in recent years was when now-Gov. Mike Dunleavy, as a state senator, voted “no” on a budget bill because he thought it too large. Dunleavy was kicked out of the majority by colleagues and lost his seat on the Finance Committee.

When Lora Reinbold, as a member of the House, voted no on a budget bill in violation of the House Republican Majority rules she was kicked out of the caucus, lost most of her committee assignments and lost her staff, too.

But the process can be arbitrary, too. Rep. Gabriel LeDoux, an independent, voted against the budget and was kicked out of caucus by the Democrat, but LeDoux was able to keep one staff person. Sen. Shelly Hughes voted against her caucus once before on a budget, too, and suffered consequences.