Tension in the Alaska State Legislature is heating up after the actions by Sen. Lora Reinbold of Eagle River caused concern regarding her choice of facemask when in the capitol building. The Senate voted Wednesday 18 to 1, with one excused absence being Sen. Reinbold, that would allow senate leadership to enforce legislative council policies in the senate and common capitol spaces.
In speaking to the state senate, Senate Rules Chair Gary Stevens of Kodiak asked that the senate enforce fully compliant COVID-19 mitigation policies, “Mr. President, this is a difficult motion for me to make, it falls to the rules chair to make it. In my 21 years in the legislature, I have never seen any rules chair or any senator have to make such a motion. I have great respect for all senators even the member who is making my life rather difficult at this moment. I consider her a friend, but we can no longer abide the behavior. We have tried to dissuade her, offer easier ways out than we have offered others, all to no avail. The time has come, Mr. President for decisive action. None of us want to take it, but we must for the safety of all of us. Through this motion, we are allowing senate leadership to exclude a senator from this building, an extraordinary action, Mr. President. Unprecedented, but necessary. How can a senator return to the building? It’s amazingly simple. Do what everyone else is doing. One, wear an approved mask as all of the rest of us are doing. Two, test twice a week, as all of the rest of us in the building are now doing. Three, have your temperature taken into the building, as all of us are now doing.” (transcribed audio courtesy of KTOO 360TV)
Senate President Peter Micciche spoke to KSRM on the matter, “We’re done. We’ve spent a ridiculous amount of…wasted, wasted a ridiculous amount of time for eight weeks trying to get one person to comply. That person needs to come to work. Show us that she’s had a test. Wear a mask and everything will be fine. We’ve given her full access. We love her. We want her on our team, but she’s got to follow the rules like every other single person is doing.”
Sen. Lora Reinbold, in speaking to her constituents on her social media page, said that she begrudgingly told Senate President Peter Micciche that she got a negative COVID-19 test yesterday morning. Reinbold says that she is under intense pressure by Senate leadership to follow, what she calls, controversial and arbitrarily applied Legislative Council rules.
