The Alaska Senate has announced who will serve on its committees for the next two years. Bethel Democratic Sen. Lyman Hoffman has joined the Senate majority caucus and will retain his seat on the coveted Senate Finance Committee.
This ensures that the mostly Republican Senate majority will have at least one Democrat for the seventh straight year. Hoffman has been the only majority Democrat since 2017. All of the other members of the Finance Committee are returning.
Hoffman will also serve as the only Senate Democrat on the Legislative Council and the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee, which are both places where members from both chambers serve. Senate Democratic minority caucus members objected to this, saying that it leaves them without representation on two important committees.
The House again failed to organize a majority or pick a temporary or permanent speaker on Jan. 21. It’s next scheduled floor session is on Jan. 25.
The Senate committee chairs will be:
- Sen. Shelley Hughes, R-Palmer, Community and Regional Affairs;
- Sen. Roger Holland, R-Anchorage, Education;
- Sen. Click Bishop, R-Fairbanks, capital budget Finance co-chair, and Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, operating budget Finance co-chair;
- Sen. David Wilson, R-Wasilla, Health and Social Services;
- Sen. Lora Reinbold, R-Eagle River, Judiciary;
- Sen. Mia Costello, R-Anchorage, Labor and Commerce;
- Sen. Josh Revak, R-Anchorage, Resources;
- Sen. Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, Rules;
- Sen. Mike Shower, R-Wasilla, State Affairs;
- Sen. Robert Myers, R-North Pole, Transportation; and
- Sen. Natasha von Imhof, R-Anchorage, Legislative Budget and Audit.
The senators on all committees are listed on the Alaska Legislature’s website.
