Legislators from the Kenai Peninsula officially took their oaths of office at the 34th Alaska Legislature in Juneau on Tuesday, Jan. 21. Senator Jesse Bjorkman and Representatives Justin Ruffridge, Bill Elam, and Sarah Vance joined Lieutenant Governor Nancy Dahlstrom to sign their oath documents, then were later sworn in during House and Senate sessions.
Bjorkman, Ruffridge, and Vance all won reelection in November, and Elam won a tight race against John Hillyer to take over the House District 8 seat vacated by Ben Carpenter.
“I’m excited for the opportunities that we have for our state, and hopefully we can can work together,” said Rep. Elam before heading down to Juneau for his freshman legislature. “[I’m] kind of trying to put some plans together for how I’m gonna operate from a minority perspective, but you know, I think we have a lot of shared.”
Prior to the current session’s commencement, legislators pre-filed a host of House and Senate bills, including six from Peninsula lawmakers. Vance and Bjorkman each pre-filed a trio of bills before heading for Juneau.
The 90-day session is scheduled to conclude on Apr. 20; however, a special vote can extend it an additional 30 days if necessary, but it cannot extend beyond 121 days.
Last year, some House bills were left on the floor when the final house session went past its midnight deadline.
*Audio and video courtesy of Gavel Alaska.