MISC-20260514-1030

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In accordance with the provisions of Uniform Rule 51, I turn the gavel over to the President of the Senate, the Honorable Gary Stevens. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will this joint session of the Alaska State Legislature please come to order?

Madam Secretary, please read the roll of the Senate.

Senator Bjorkman. Here. Senator Clayman. Here. Senator Cronk.

Here. Senator Dunbar. Here. Senator Giesel. Here.

Senator Gray Jackson. Honored to be here. Senator Hoffman. Here. Senator Kaufman.

Here. Senator Kawasaki. Here. Senator Keel. Here.

Senator Merrick. Here. Senator Myers. Senator Olson. Senator Rauscher.

Senator Steadman.

Senator Tilton. Senator Tobin. Senator Wilkowski. Senator Yunt. President Stevens.

Here. There are 20 Senate members present. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Will House members please vote.

Madam Clerk, will you please tally the board? 40 Members present. Thank you, Madam Secretary. Will you please announce the combined tally? There are 60 members present.

Thank you. With 60 members present, this joint session has a quorum to conduct business. The joint session was called for the sole purpose of considering the governor's appointments. As a reminder, and under Mason's Rules 121 and 124, I ask members to please keep your remarks strictly to the qualifications of the appointees being considered. Madam Majority Leader, please explain the process.

Thank you, Mr. President, uh, Mr. Speaker. On your desks, members, is the governor's list of appointees. The vote requirement for confirming the governor's appointees requires a yes vote of a majority of the full legislature, that is 31 votes. The first page lists the governor's attorney general and commissioner appointees, which will be taken up individually. I emphasize individually.

The second page and thereafter are the governor's appointees for various boards and commissions. They will be taken up page by page. That means that as we come to each page, I will make the motion to confirm the boards and commission appointees on that page. If there is objection, you need to verbalize your objection as that person's name is stated. If there is an objection to someone We will set that name aside and move through the rest of that page.

We'll return to that person later at the end of all the pages of appointees. So I will start by making a motion to confirm the, the Attorney General and then each of the commissioners one by one, and we will then vote on each one and then go page by page to the other appointees. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Madam Majority Leader. We will now begin the confirmation process.

Madam Majority Leader. Mr. President, I move that the appointment of Stephen Cox as Attorney General for the Department of Law be confirmed. There has been an objection. Is there discussion?

Please, Senator Gray— uh, Representative Gray. Thank you, Mr. President and Mr. Speaker. I rise in opposition to the nomination of Stephen Cox for Attorney General. When I first met him in November 2025, he told me that he was fairly new and was wanting to tread with a light step until he figured out the way of things here. At that time, he had already created a new division, the Quality of Life Division, and created a new second highest official in the Department of Law.

The Solicitor General. To me, that was not treading lightly, and I said as much. I asked about both steps, but I'd like to focus my remarks today on the creation of the Solicitor General and the hiring of Jenna Lawrence, a 2017 law school grad with no previous relationship with the state of Alaska. Mr. President, AG Cox has stated multiple times, including that day back on November 17th, that he had considered Alaska lawyers for the job, but that none fit the needs as well as Jenna Lawrence. One of the justifications for the creation of the role was that most other states have a Solicitor General.

I asked how many other states chose as their first Solicitor General a young attorney with no previous relationship with that state. I was told that this was an interesting question and that it would be looked into. But I have never heard back. I suspect it is because no other state has had a first Solicitor General with no previous relationship with that state. Attorney General Cox has stated that what Lawrence has that Alaska candidates were lacking were connections with other Solicitor Generals in other states, that her role required her to advocate for Alaska outside of Alaska, and her connections are what set her apart.

Since taking office as Acting Attorney General, Stephen Cox and the State of Alaska has signed on to over 110 amicus briefs, and an important role for the new Solicitor General would be reviewing and vetting possible cases for our state to sign on to. What's important to understand, Mr. President and Mr. Speaker, is that when Alaska signs on to another state's amicus brief, we cannot edit or change anything about that brief. We simply add our name. However, when we author amicus briefs, the situation is different. My office requested from the Department of Law all of the amicus briefs that Alaska has authored under Attorney General Cox.

5 Amicus briefs were sent to us. 2 Dealt with nuanced questions of federal Indian law and civil procedure that Lawrence did not participate in. We assumed that she had participated in the other 3 amicus briefs that Alaska authored. We learned in his House Judiciary confirmation hearing that the amicus brief in support of a public schoolteacher in Connecticut's right to display a foot-high crucifix in her classroom was, in fact, not authored by Alaska. So I would like to speak about the other two cases.

The first is Ex-A versus the Matsu School Board and deals with the school board's policy that children must use the bathroom of the sex assigned at birth. This is a state case and not a federal case, so I was interested in why the state was weighing in. It was explained that this was not unusual, but due to Lawrence's lack of expertise in Alaska law, a senior Department of Law attorney assisted her extensively. So, Mr. President, I'm not sure that we can say that that amicus brief is her work. So which amicus brief is definitively Solicitor General Lawrence's work?

Well, that would be the amicus brief authored by the State of Alaska, taking no position on a case challenging a Mississippi law allowing mail-in votes— mail-in ballots to be counted so long as they are sent by Election Day and received within 5 days of the election. If Mississippi loses that case, it would mean the end of similar laws around the country, including Alaska's, which allows for mail-in ballots to be counted if they are sent by Election Day so long as they are received within a specific amount of time after the election. To be clear, The state of Alaska, in this brief we authored, has no position on whether any ballots should be counted if they are received by the Division of Elections after Election Day. At his first appearance in front of the House Judiciary Committee on January 26th, 2026, I asked Attorney General Cox about this position. He explained that the idea of counting ballots received after Election Day was, quote, "controversial." I asked him if that position was controversial among Alaskans.

I would like to quote Attorney General Cox's answer verbatim. Quote, "I wouldn't say that I did any research into it. I didn't do any polling of this sort of thing. But my experience is that with respect to election law and how the rules are set, is that it's highly controversial in any state. End quote.

Mr. President, Alaska is not just any state. Anyone who has spent significant time here knows the challenges of our postal system, especially for our communities that are off the road system. Alaska also has one of the highest rates of military personnel per capita in the nation. Mail-in voting is critical for ensuring that deployed service members are able to vote in our elections. Multiple organizations representing military service members filed briefs in support of Mississippi, as did the National Congress of American Indians and the Alaska Federation of Natives.

Mr. Speaker, I do not believe that Alaskans think that it is, quote, highly controversial. That many valid ballots are received after Election Day. Mr. President and Mr. Speaker, Stephen Cox is a nice person. His children and my child share a piano teacher. I believe that Stephen Cox would make probably a good attorney general in a state, just not in our state.

He is not the right choice for Alaska, and I encourage a no vote. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Representative Gray. Is there further discussion?

Further discussion? Mr. President? Yes. Would you let me order this, please? And we'll ask Representative Nelson to speak first.

Yes. Thank you, Mr. President. I rise in support of Attorney General, the nominee.

Attorney General Cox. So just some of the points that were brought up, a lot of the amicus briefs, like, he was not the direct author of, but, you know, people that he had delegated to were. But I want to go into, you know, we have the foot-high crucifix and something about the Matsu bathroom. However, when we talk about qualifications And the comments that were made about receiving ballots after Election Day being controversial. I mean, it's undoubtedly controversial.

I mean, it's before our Supreme Court right now, and that he didn't do any polling before a particular meeting. I have met with the Attorney General or the acting, I guess, multiple times, and I don't know what qualifications he would need. If we look at his resume, his qualifications are stellar. He's been working in Alaska for the last 15 years. He's been working and spending time in this state longer than I've lived here.

And that's just the reality of, of our state, is that people come and go. And I don't, I don't know what the qualifications would be that would, uh, satisfy people of time or experience. I'm standing here now, I've lived here 10 years, and I was elected by people that live in my district, or I will be, I was appointed, so slight correction there, Mr. President. I apologize, no disrespect to this body or the people that live in District 29. However, if we look at qualifications, I think that he absolutely presents, absolutely possesses them.

And if we look at the qualifications of the people that founded our country, uh, the, the time that was spent by him in our state and his actual legal qualifications, I think completely, or should in my opinion, satisfy, satisfy anybody's concerns on whether he would do a good job or not. So I recognize that there are some questions about those things, but in my opinion and from my experience meeting with him directly and, uh, and having these hard questions, I think he absolutely, absolutely satisfies them. So I stand in support of Stephen Cox. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Representative Nelson.

And we will then move on to Representative St. Clair. Thank you, Mr. President. I support Stephen Cox, had him in my office. We talked, he was a nice guy. There was a little glitch in his resume.

He answered the question and it was not him personally. The amicus briefs, we signed on to them. One was on the elections, as that was previously stated. There was another one that I looked at that, you know, I really didn't oppose. I think that he's fully qualified.

He meets the requirement to be the AG. The problem is We've politicized this process, and because we may not like someone politically, we're going to say they're not qualified. So again, I support A.G. Cox. Thank you, Representative St. Clair. Representative Colon.

Thank you, Mr. President. So I'm rising in support of A.G. Cox, who is also my constituent. I think his qualifications are clear. I find him to be very plain spoken, someone with integrity. I think he's qualified.

But the one thing I'm— I really pushed me over to a yes vote is the Department of Law launching the Joint State Anchorage Quality of Life Initiative targeting retail theft, repeat offenders, drug interdiction, and public disorder through coordination between state and local leadership, law enforcement, prosecutors, and private partners. This is something that Anchorage has needed for a long time. We've had a public safety problem for quite some time. AG Cox was vital to making that connection between the governor and the resources from the Department of Law to come help our city, and I really, really appreciate that from him. We haven't seen that before.

The governor's working with the mayor to help address our public safety needs. And so for me, that was the one thing that I know he cares about Alaska. He cares about my city and, and the people, all Alaskans within the state. But for me, who lives in Anchorage, I appreciated that effort. So I'll be a yes vote.

Thank you, Representative Colombe. Representative Prox.

Thank you, Mr. President. I rise in support of the Attorney General appointment. When I spoke with him, when he came by to visit me, I thought he had really good, a broad range of experience, federal experience, corporate experience, and et cetera. And it seemed like he would be a good administrator, which is part of the attorney general's duties, responsibility to manage the Department of Law. We didn't agree on everything, but he was also humble enough to listen and admit there were some disagreements and some different points of view, and there will always be disagreements and different points of view, but I was kind of impressed by the fact, and listening to the different hearings, that I think there's a degree of humility that I appreciate and also a, if you will, a love of the law that he's there to enforce the law, not make the law, and give advice to that.

So I support Mr. Cox's appointment. Thank you. Thank you, Representative Frocks. Senator Tobin.

Thank you, Mr. President. Well, I do rise in opposition —of the confirmation of this appointee. And it's not because I believe that Mr. Cox has any moral failing or because we have significant political differences, because we very much do. I rise in opposition because when it comes to defending Alaska against federal overreach, protecting our privacy rights, and serving as Alaska's top law officer, this appointee is sufficiently underqualified. For the past year, Mr. Cox has refused to defend Alaska against unconstitutional seizures of federal dollars for our public universities.

He has not stopped the freezing of federal dollars for Alaska's nonprofits providing for the public good, and he has not stopped the withholding of Title funds for our public education system. Instead, he shared in Senate Judiciary he has spent the last year fighting lower 48 culture wars. In Senate Judiciary, Mr. Cox said he focuses his time on building new departments and offices at the Department of Law, expanding the size of government, hiring out-of-state lawyers who just do not have experience here in Alaska, and he's doing that in lieu of Elevating our highly qualified legal teams who work at the Department of Law and who have decades of experience. I cannot in good conscience confirm someone who has devoted precious staff time writing over 100 amicus briefs, as we have heard here on this floor, and joining those frivolous lawsuits. Instead, I would like our Attorney General to focus on issues that are pertinent and relevant to us here in Alaska.

Alaska has significant issues that we need our top law officer focused on. Issues around missing and murdered Indigenous women. We have a serious backlog of sexual assault kits that have not been properly vetted and time and resources allocated to ensuring that those, those folks are held accountable for their crimes. Mr. President, I want an attorney general who is focused on persecuting— or excuse me, prosecuting crimes here in Alaska instead of wasting our precious resources fighting lower 48 issues. I want an attorney general who has ample prosecutorial experience.

But for me, Mr. President, the most egregious issue has been Mr. Cox joining an amicus brief that challenges the bedrock principle of birthright citizenship. That stance threatens my rights. It threatens your rights, Mr. President. It threatens every Alaskan's rights. Mr. Cox signed on to this amicus brief, Trump v. Barbara, and it questions the very core principle of birthright citizenship here in the United States.

Now, unfortunately, in that amicus brief, there is a quote from Alexander Porter Morris, who wrote in 1981 a treatise on citizenship and used the words— permission to read, Mr. President? Without objection, Senator. The words "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" excluded the children of foreigners transiently within the United States as subjects of a foreign nation. Now, for those who might not know, Morris was a Confederate soldier in the Civil War. He was a Louisiana attorney who fought for legal segregation.

He fought for legal segregation.

Segregation in an 1896 Supreme Court separate but equal case. Now, Mr. President, I represent one of the most racially diverse districts in Alaska, and the fact that our Attorney General signed my name to a micas brief that quotes a Confederate soldier is not only deeply offensive to me, it is deeply offensive to the citizens of Alaska. The Attorney General is not any one individual's lawyer. He is our lawyer. His responsibility is to fight for every Alaskan.

When Alaska signs on to these national legal briefs and amicus statements, it reflects who we are. It reflects our values. It reflects our priorities. Unfortunately, Mr. Cox chose to place Alaska on the side of a national effort that has inflamed distrust, inflamed distrust at a time when our nation desperately needs calm, stability, and respect for democratic institutions. Now, for me as a Black person, my right to belong as a citizen is not abstract.

It has been fought with blood, intimidation, marches, jail cells, and sacrifice. My ancestors didn't go through literacy tests poll taxes, voter suppression, simply for Alaska to sign its name onto the very case that challenges my right to be here and to defend the people of my district. So the issue before us is a judgment. Alaska's Attorney General has enormous discretion. They choose the cases and they put the credibility of the state on the line.

This confirmation is about trust. It is about public confidence, and I believe Alaska's Attorney General should stand above partisan extremism. We deserve an Attorney General who is focused on our public safety, on consumer protection, on missing and murdered Indigenous peoples, on racial justice, on rural protections, and on defending our constitutional rights, not ideological national legal battles. Our democracy is strongest when public officials defend our institution rather than inflame division. For these reasons, I respectfully urge members vote no on the confirmation of Mr. Cox.

Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Senator Tobin. Representative Allard. Thank you, Mr. President. I appreciate you calling on me.

So, um, I'm the daughter of two foreign-born individuals. And I will tell you, I appreciate the amicus brief of defining the definition of what a U.S. citizen is, so you're not going to have any argument there with me. I also would like to say that Attorney General— Acting Attorney General Cox is a man of character, integrity, and just a really good stand-up guy. And even though I don't agree with everything, because I will be honest with you, Mr. Speaker— or Mr. President— he has been in my office and we have full-blown hashed it out. Hashed it out because I disagree with him on several issues, which might seem unusual to some people, but we do.

And because he was accessible, and it wasn't just because he's trying to become the Attorney General and get confirmation for it. I've known Mr. Cox from years prior, working with him on education issues and things that he's putting forward in this state. His past experience since 2011, working with the state of Alaska, with the inlet, Cook Inlet, and other issues, tells me he does have experience up here in the state. I know elected officials that had to go to court just so they could be an elected official because they didn't even live up here long enough. So, Mr. President, we don't all agree with everybody, but Mr. Cox is a stand-up guy, and I really think we should push the green button and confirm him.

Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Representative Ballard. Is there further discussion? Representative McCabe. Thank you, Mr. President.

I know I'm hard to see over here, Mr. Speaker.

You know, with all due respect to the attorneys in the room, attorneys are mercenaries. They work for somebody. Usually they don't usually work for themselves. They're hired by somebody. Somebody's their boss, whether you're paying them or whether the governor or the executive hires them.

So I suspect that a lot of what we are talking about here is not some rogue attorney general off on his own. I think that he's had direction, direction's been provided to him, he's doing a certain number of things that, uh, his boss is telling him to do. For me, it's a whole lot different. I didn't spend a whole lot of time, uh, investigating hundreds of amicus briefs. I'm, I'm a little unclear.

I heard once that he had authored 100 amicus briefs, and I heard once that we've only authored 5, so I'm not real sure where that is. What's more important to me is he came into my office, he shook my hand, he looked me in the eye, he answered all my questions. The ones that he didn't know, he got back to me on. He was honest. We have to understand that when you work for somebody else, when an attorney works for somebody else, that somebody else might be of a different political persuasion, and that attorney is doing the best he can for the people that hired him.

His bosses, arguing their side, not his opinion, but their side. So if we look at his past cases or his past, um, body of work and we find something political that we don't agree with, it doesn't necessarily mean it's his position. It means he was doing a job for those that hired him, whether it be a governor or whether it be somebody paying for him. So in my opinion, I have to go on what I saw from the guy when I interviewed him, when he came into my office and talked to me. And, you know, I don't know that he's a good guy.

I don't have a relationship with him. So I'm left with an hour's worth of discussion with him and the fact that he honestly answered my question, looked me in the eye, shook my hand. At some point, I think in this country we need to get back to that, and I will be in I'm in full support of Mr. Cox for Attorney General. Thank you, Representative McCabe. Senator Dunbar.

Thank you, Mr. President. You know, there are relatively few votes in my political career that I regret. I have been in elected office for about 10 years now, and I've done a fairly good job, I think, of aligning my votes with my values. Some of the few votes that I do regret happened on the Anchorage Assembly when I was pressured, uh, by the then-Bronson administration to vote for appointees that I either believed or later came out in the newspaper were unqualified for their positions. I think that these are tough votes sometimes because folks think, well, the executive gets their team.

But we really do need to look at the qualifications and the outcome of the votes that we take.

I think there's a perception that attorneys are, as the previous speaker said, just mercenaries, and that there are no real ethical standards when you're arguing cases. That's actually not the case. Attorneys take a test on ethics that we have to study for. We are not supposed to make arguments that are dishonest, that are spurious. That is actually counter to what we are taught in the Bar Association, at law school, all of it.

And I wanna touch on one particular case that Senator Tobin raised about birthright citizenship. It's not just that I disagree with the idea of revoking birthright citizenship politically. It is also the case that that amicus brief is ahistoric, it is untruthful, it is counter to what people said at the ratification of the 14th Amendment, it was counter to things that were in the press, it was a counter to settled law, it is wrong. And not wrong just in a moral sense, wrong in a factual sense. We should not have signed onto it, and a qualified attorney should not have signed onto it.

I don't know if the governor pressured the attorney general to sign on to it or if he did it voluntarily. It actually doesn't matter. An ethical attorney, when being asked to make those spurious arguments and sign on to that amicus brief that would have repealed birthright citizenship, should have resigned rather than go forward with that argument. As I said, Mr. President, there are relatively few votes that I regret. I do think if you were in this chamber and you believe in the constitutional law of this country, you believe in the law, particularly post, uh, Brown v. Board of Education, if you believe in the independence that we've had in Alaska to not get caught up in some of these lower 48 fights, if you believe in those things and you vote yes, I think you will regret that vote for the rest of your life.

And so I ask you, Mr. President, and my colleagues, please vote no. Thank you, Senator Dunbar. Senator Kaufman.

Thank you, Mr. President. The field's getting plowed up pretty well. I won't chew on it much more, but I'm rising in support. I believe that the nominee has the experience, background, and can do a good job at this, so I'm going to support him. Thank you.

Thank you, Senator Hoffman. Is there further discussion?

If you are ready for the question, the question being, shall the appointment of Stephen Cox, U.S. Attorney General, as U.S. Attorney General for the Department of Law be confirmed? Mr. Speaker.

Members may proceed to vote.

Will the clerk please lock the roll? Does any member wish to change his or her vote? Will the clerk please announce the vote? 19 Yeas, 21 nays. Thank you, Madam Secretary.

Please call the rule of the Senate. Senator Tobin. No. Senator Wilkowski. No.

Senator Yunt. Yes. Senator Bjorkman. Yes. Senator Clayman.

No. Senator Cronk. Yes. Senator Dunbar. No.

Senator Giesel. No. Senator Gray Jackson. Senator Hoffman. Yes.

Senator Kaufman. Yes. Senator Kawasaki. No. Senator Keele.

No. Senator Merrick. Yes. Senator Myers. Yes.

Senator Olson. No. Senator Rauscher. Yes. Senator Steadman.

Yes. Senator Tilton.

Yes. President Stevens. No.

Do any senators wish to change their vote? The Secretary will lock the roll, and the Secretary then will announce the vote. 10 Yeas, 10 nays. Madam Secretary, please announce the combined vote.

29 Yeas, 31 nays.

And so, by a vote of 29 yeas and 31 nays, Stephen Cox has failed to be confirmed as Attorney General for the Department of Law.

Madam Majority Leader.

Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, I move the appointment of Randy Bates as Commissioner for the Department of Environmental Conservation be confirmed. Thank you. Is there discussion? Representative Sadler. Thank you, Mr. President.

I rise in strong, nay enthusiastic support for confirmation of Randy Bates as Commissioner of DEC. Randy's got tremendous experience in the agencies responsible for conserving and responsibly developing our natural resources.

In multiple positions of increasing responsibility over a long, successful career at DNR and DEC, he's built a reputation for hard work, for listening to Alaska's stakeholders and finding solutions that advance Alaska's interest and comport with the laws that we send them. Randy knows our resources both as a bureaucrat, honestly, but also as a commercial fisherman who's made his living on the waters engaging with and taking sustenance from our resources. He's, he's learned it in the real world. Randy's a good guy, a hard worker, easy to get along with, and I really appreciate the, and the fact he's going to step up and take on this tremendous additional responsibility and work hard for the next 7 months or maybe more to protect Alaska's resources and people and their interests as Commissioner of the Department of Alaska's Department of Natural Resources. He's a great guy.

Let's support him. Thank you, Representative Sadler. Is there further discussion?

Seeing none, if you are ready for the question, the question being, shall the appointment of Randy Bates as Commissioner for the Department of Environmental Conservation be confirmed? Madam Secretary, please call the roll of the Senate. Senator Wielechowski. Yes. Senator Yunt.

Yes. Senator Bjorkman. Yes. Senator Clayman. Yes.

Senator Cronk. Yes. Senator Dunbar. Yes. Senator Giesel.

Yes. Senator Gray Jackson. Yes. Senator Hoffman. Yes.

Senator Kaufman. Yes. Senator Kawasaki. Yes. Senator Keel.

Yes. Senator Merrick. Senator Myers. Yes. Senator Olson.

Yes. Senator Rauscher. Yes. Senator Steadman. Yes.

Senator Tilton. Yes. Senator Tobin. Yes. President Stevens.

Yes. Madam Secretary, please announce the combined vote. 20 Yeas, 0 nays for the Senate votes. And then the combined vote, please.

House needs a vote. I'm sorry, we have to count the House too.

Minor, minor matter. Who would have thought? Yeah, I'm sorry. Mr. Speaker, House members may proceed to vote.

Will the clerk please lock the roll? Does any member wish to change his or her vote? Will the clerk please announce the vote? 39 Yeas, 1 nay. And now, Madam Secretary, the combined vote.

59 Yeas, 1 nay. And so by a vote of 59 yeas and 1 nay, Randy Bates has been confirmed as Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation.

Madam Majority Leader. Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, I move the appointment of Tracey Dompling as Commissioner for the Department of Family and Community Services be confirmed. Thank you. Is there discussion? Please go ahead, Representative Tomaszewski.

Thank you, Mr. President. I rise in support of Tracey Dompling. For the commissioner position, I find her to be very qualified, very capable, and does a great job in what she's doing. So I support her and hope that you would all also. Thank you.

Thank you, Representative Tomaszewski. Is there further discussion? If you are ready for the question, the question being, shall the appointment of Tracy Dompling as commissioner for the Department of Family and Community Services be confirmed. Mr. Speaker, members may proceed to vote.

Will the clerk please lock the roll? Does any member wish to change his or her vote? Will the clerk please announce the vote? 40 Yeas, 0 nays. Thank you.

Madam Secretary, please call the roll of the Senate.

Senator Yunt. Senator Bjorkman. Yes. Senator Clayman. Yes.

Senator Cronk. Yes. Senator Dunbar. Yes. Senator Giesel.

Yes. Senator Gray Jackson. Yes. Senator Hoffman. Yes.

Senator Kaufman. Yes. Senator Kawasaki. Yes. Senator Keel.

Yes. Senator Merrick. Senator Myers. Senator Olson. Senator Rauscher.

Senator Steadman. Senator Tilton.

Senator Tobin. Senator Wilkowski. President Stevens. Yes.

Madam Secretary, please announce the combined vote. 20 Yeas, 0 nays in the Senate. 60 Yeas, 0 nays total. 60 Yeas, 0 nays. So by a vote of 60 yeas, 0 nays, Tracey Dompling has been confirmed as Commissioner for the Department of Family and Community Services.

Madam Majority Leader. Mr. President, Mr. Speaker. I move that the appointment of John Krother as Commissioner for the Department of Natural Resources be confirmed. Thank you. Is there discussion?

Representative Fields. Thank you, Mr. President. I strongly support John Krother. He has years of experience in the department. He's an outstanding communicator.

He is very collaborative, and I particularly appreciate the work that he's done on cook-in-let production, gas production, at a time when we face serious risks of energy supply. So I urge members to vote yes. Thank you, Representative Fields. Is there further discussion?

Please go ahead, Representative Sadler. Thank you, Mr. President. I also rise in strong support of John Krauthammer for DNR. I've had the privilege of working for John in various positions through his long and honorable career at DNR. And his increasingly responsible positions both in D.C. and in Alaska.

John is whip-smart. His resume reflects that, but he's modest and rather unassuming. As an attorney, he understands the tremendously complicated legal and regulatory regime both in our state and in D.C. and how they interact to affect our resources. And his experience in both of those milieus have given him a unique and very valuable perspective as he addresses the issues that come before DNR. I would say too that Mr. Crowther is a modest man.

You won't see him on the 6 o'clock news or in the blogs, but you will see evidence of his presence in his work and responsible development policies for Alaska. And I'm pleased he's willing to step up and look forward to confirming him. Thank you, Representative Sadler. Is there further discussion? Seeing none, if you are ready for the question.

The question being, shall the appointment of John Crowther as Commissioner for the Department of Natural Resources.

Be confirmed. Madam Secretary, would you call the roll of the Senate? Senator Bjorkman. Yes. Senator Clayman.

Yes. Senator Cronk. Yes. Senator Dunbar. Yes.

Senator Giesel. Yes. Senator Gray Jackson. Yes. Senator Hoffman.

Yes. Senator Kaufman. Yes. Senator Kawasaki. Yes.

Senator Keele. Yes. Senator Merrick. Yes. Senator Myers.

Yes. Senator Olson. Yes. Senator Rauscher. Yes.

Senator Steadman. Yes. Senator Tilton. Yes. Senator Tobin.

Yes. Senator Wilkowski. Senator Yunt. Yes. President Stevens.

Yes.

Do any senators wish to change their vote? The secretary will please lock the roll, and the secretary will please announce the vote. 20 Yeas, 0 nays. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Members may proceed to vote.

Will the clerk please lock the roll? Does any member wish to change his or her vote? Will the clerk please announce the vote? 40 Yeas, 0 nays. Thank you, Madam Secretary.

Please announce the combined vote. 60 Yeas, 0 nays. So by 60 yeas to 0 nays, John Crowther has been confirmed as Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources. Madam Majority Leader. Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, I move the appointment of Janelle Earls as Commissioner for the Department of Revenue be confirmed.

Thank you, Madam Majority Leader. Is there discussion?

Representative, um, Tomaszewski, please go ahead. Thank you, Mr. President. I rise in full support of Janelle Earls for the Department of Revenue. I have watched her come in and, um, and fill that position well over these last few months, and I think she is rallying the department and doing a great job. So I am in full support of Ms. Earls for the Commissioner of the Department of Revenue.

Thank you, Representative Tomaszewski. Is there further discussion at this time? Seeing none, if you are ready for the question, the question being, shall the appointment of Janet Earls as Commissioner for Department of Revenue be confirmed, Mr. Speaker? Members may proceed to vote.

Will the clerk please lock the roll? Does any member wish to change his or her vote? Will the clerk please announce the vote? 40 Yeas, 0 nays.

Thank you. Madam Secretary, please call the roll of the Senate.

Senator Clayman. Yes. Senator Cronk. Yes. Yes.

Senator Dunbar. Yes. Senator Giesel. Yes. Senator Gray Jackson.

Yes. Senator Hoffman. No. Senator Kaufman. Yes.

Senator Kawasaki. Yes. Senator Keel.

Senator Keel. Yes. Senator Merrick. Yes. Senator Myers.

Yes. Senator Olson. Yes. Senator Rauscher. Yes.

Senator Steadman. Yes. Senator Tilton. Yes. Senator Tobin.

Yes. Senator Wilkowski. Yes. Senator Yunt. Yes.

Senator Bjorkman. Yes. President Stevens. Yes.

Madam Secretary, please announce the combined vote— please announce the vote of the Senate. 19 Yeas, 1 nay. Thank you. And Madam Secretary, please announce the combined vote. 59 Yeas, 1 nay.

And so by a vote of 59 yeas to 1 nay, Janet Earls has been confirmed as Commissioner for the Department of Revenue.

A brief adieu.

Will the joint session please come back to order. Madam Majority Leader, if you could remind us what will be happening now. Yes, thank you, Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, respected colleagues. We now begin the page-by-page process. So if you turn in your packet to page number 2, I will now read each name under each board individually.

If you have an objection to that individual, you must voice objection when the name is read. Your objection will be noted. I will continue through the page, and we will confirm the people that are left on the page. We will return to your objection at the end of page— I believe 11 is how far this goes, Mr. President. Very good, thank you.

Please continue, Madam Majority Leader. Thank you, Mr. President. Beginning on page 2, Board of Public Accountancy, Elizabeth Stewart. Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, Dana Walukiewicz. State Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors, Sterling Strait.

State Assessment Review Board, Jana Weltson.

Board of Barbers and Hairdressers, Danielle Hager.

Mr. President, I move and ask unanimous consent to confirm the appointments on page 2, with the exception of Jana Weltson, to the Board of excuse me, the State Assessment Review Board.

Thank you, Madam Majority Leader. Without objection, all appointments not subjected— not objected to on page 2 are confirmed. Madam Majority Leader. Mr. President, continuing on page 3, Big Game Commercial Services Board: Brianna Hotch, Larry Kunder, Rudy Martinez, Robert Mumford. Board of Chiropractic Examiners: Edward Barrington, Walter Campbell.

Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission: Tracy Welch.

Board of Dental Examiners: Travis Perkins, Michael Sanders. Mr. President, I move and ask unanimous consent to confirm the appointments on page 3 with the exception of Tracy Welch, Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission. Thank you, Madam Chair. Without objection.

All appointments not objected to on page 3 are confirmed. Madam Majority Leader. Mr. President, continuing on page 4. Board of Education and Early Development: Joy Cogburn-Smith, Pamela Dupraz, Sally Stockhausen. Board of Fisheries: Paul Cyr, Continuing Board of Fisheries, Blair Hickson.

Continuing Board of Fisheries, Mike Wood.

Fisherman's Fund Advisory Appeals Council, Renee Allward. Mr. President, I move and ask you unanimous consent to confirm the appointments on page 4. With the exception of Paul Sear, Blair Hickson, and Mike Wood. Thank you, Madam Majority Leader. Without objection, all appointments not objected to on page 4 are confirmed.

Madam Majority Leader. Mr. President, continuing on page 5, Board of Game, Jacob Fletcher. Objection.

Continuing, Board of Game, Stanley Stosh Huffman.

Continuing, Board of Game, David Loring.

Continuing on page 5, State Commission for Human Rights, Mary Salazar. Commission of Judicial Conduct, Aldine Kilbourne, Donald McClintock III, Jane Moores. Mr. President, I move and ask unanimous consent to confirm the appointments on page 5, with the exceptions of Jacob Fletcher, Stanley Hoffman, David Loring, all to the Board of Game. Thank you. Without objection, all appointments not objected to on page 5 are confirmed.

Madam Majority Leader. Mr. President, on page 6, Alaska Judicial Council, Mike Miller.

Continuing on page 6, Alaska Labor Relations Agency, Jennifer McConnell. Marijuana Control Board, Darrin Cooper, Ellie Cyrus. Board of Marine Pilots: Angel Holbrook, Cullen Maynard. Board of Massage Therapists: Aneta Atwell, Caron Cobden. Mr. President, I move and ask unanimous consent to confirm the appointments on page 6 of With the exception of Mike Miller, Alaska Judicial Council.

Thank you. Without objection, all appointments not objected to on page 6 are confirmed. Madam Majority Leader. Mr. President, at ease.

Will the joint session please come back to order?

And we need to stop talking and listen, please.

Madam Majority Leader. Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, we are now on page 7.

Mr. President, I move that the following appointments be confirmed. We're on the State Medical Board: Michael McNamara, Hannah Milkey, Robert Scala, Alan Swenson, Norman Walker.

Board of Certified Direct Entry Midwives, Stacia Miller. Board of Nursing, Michael Collins, Heather Crivello. Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, Tom McKay.

I'm sorry, was there an objection? I'm having a hard time hearing. Was there an objection to Tom McKay? Yes.

Mr. President, I move and ask unanimous consent to confirm the appointments on page 7 with the exception of Hannah Milkey and Norman Walker to the State Medical Board and Tom McKay to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. Thank you. Without objection, all appointments not objected to on page 7 are confirmed. Madam Chair, we're on page 8 now. Board of Examiners in Optometry: Damian Deltzer, Catherine— or excuse me, Kathleen Rice, Charles Rumstrom— Rudstrom, pardon me.

State Board of Parole, Stephen Mayer. Board of Pharmacy, Rebecca Balms, Lillian Okpaleke— pardon me, I apologize to Lillian— Sarah Rasmussen. Mr. President, I move and ask unanimous consent that the appointees listed on page 8 be confirmed. I thank you. With no objection, the appointees— appointments on page 8 are confirmed.

Mr. President, we now go to page 9.

State Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Board: Eliza Ellsworth, Michelle Scott-Webber.

Alaska Police Standards Council: Michael Craig, Am I missing people? I believe that is.

Well, the joint session, please come back to order. Does anyone not have page 9? Everybody has page 9? Madam Majority Leader.

Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, it's Very gratifying to know that everyone is attentively listening. We are now on page 9, and I'll begin again. Page 9, State Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Board, Eliza Ellsworth, Michelle Scott Weber. Alaska Police Standards Council, Michael Craig. Board of Professional Counselors, Jillian Garrity, Crystal Herring.

Professional Teaching Practices Commission, Michael Robbins. Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, I move and ask unanimous consent to confirm the appointments on page 9 with the exception of Crystal Herring. Thank you. Without objection, all appointments not objected to on page 9 are confirmed. Madam Majority Leader.

Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, we're now on page 10. Boris— to not confirm someone, you have missed the chance to do that. Everyone, without exception, have been confirmed, so please stay in the room. Madam Majority Leader. Thank you, Mr. President.

We now are on page 10, Board of Certified Real Estate Appraisers. Makenly Labuda. Real Estate Commission, Eliza Buchholz. Regulatory Commission of Alaska, Julie Vogler. Board of Social Work Examiners, Judy Kendall, Ivy Valani.

Board of Veterinary Examiners, Sierra Villaro. Mr. President, I move and ask unanimous consent that the appointments on page 10 be confirmed. With no objection, the appointments on page 10 are confirmed. Madam Majority Leader. Thank you, Mr. President.

We're now on page 11, which is our last page. Violent Crimes Compensation Board: Anna Kameta, Joel Hard. Alaska Workers' Compensation Board: Anthony Ladd, Randall McClellan II, Lake Williams, Brian Zamedis. Mr. President, I move and ask unanimous consent to confirm the appointments on page 11. I think with no objection, the appointments on page 11 are confirmed.

Madam Majority Leader.

Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, I am—.

On page 2. Moving to page 2.

I move the appointment of Jana Weltson to the State Assessment Review Board be confirmed. Thank you. Is there discussion? Representative Sadler. Thank you, Mr. President.

I voiced the objection to the original confirmation. The reason is Ms. Wilson is an attorney who was a participant in an effort to bring retail marijuana sales to my community of Chugiak/Eagle River, which I believe is definitely not in the best interest of our community or something that the majority of my constituents support. We have specific prohibitions in municipal code that were the bulwark against this establishment. That particular kind of manufacturing and sales outfit was not going to be allowed in Eagle River. And I'm concerned that there has and will continue to be an effort to overturn this prohibition with the result there will be marijuana sales in my community.

In committee, when Ms. Wilson was before us, I asked her if she would continue to advance that cause. The answer I got was that if she heard from the community that it was desired, she would. And Mr. Speaker— Mr. President, rather— when you listen to people on your side, you tend to hear what you want to hear. So I fear that that effort is maybe moribund but going to going to flare up again. I'm sure she's a fine person, a good attorney, and this is a policy matter, not personal, but I'm concerned about elevating Ms. Wilson to a position of responsibility on a state board responsible for real estate issues that, just out of concern for my local interests, I will oppose this nomination.

Don't think I'm going to win, but I just had to make my case clear. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Representative Satter. Representative Fields. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I actually voted against legalizing marijuana. So, um, I think that's not really the issue here. Ms. Weltson is a very experienced attorney. She has many years of experience in assessments. She has been before our committees of jurisdiction for years.

I think many of us have interacted with her and find that she is very knowledgeable and understands, um, the laws where— that she'll be participating in on this board. So I support her. Thank you, Representative Fields. Senator Clayman. Mr. President, I rise briefly in support of Ms. Welson for this position.

She has been for several years the leading attorney representing various commercial marijuana interests, and she brings tremendous expertise to that work. I've heard from members of the assessment review board that they need people who put the detailed work into figuring out these assessment issues. I have confidence that on this board, Ms. Welson will not only put the same kind of rigor and scrutiny that she puts in her work as an attorney for mostly the marijuana industry, but she'll put that same attention to this board. And I strongly encourage a yes vote for Ms. Wilson. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you, Senator Clayman. Is there further discussion? If you are ready for the question, the question being, shall the appointment of Jana Wilson to the State Assessment Review Board be confirmed. Madam Secretary, beginning with the House, please call the roll of us— with the Senate, please call the roll of the Senate. Senator Cronk.

Yes. Senator Dunbar. Yes. Senator Giesel. Yes.

Senator Gray Jones.

Senator Hoffman. Yes. Senator Kaufman. Yes. Senator Kawasaki.

Yes. Senator Keel. Yes. Senator Merrick. Yes.

Senator Myers. Yes. Senator Olson. Yes. Senator Rauscher.

Yes. Senator Steadman. Yes. Senator Tilton. Yes.

Senator Tobin. Yes. Senator Wilkowski. Senator Yunt. Yes.

Senator Bjorkman. Yes. Senator Clayman. Yes. President Stevens.

Yes.

Thank you, Madam Secretary. Um, do any senators wish to change their vote? The secretary will please lock the roll and the secretary will please announce the vote. 20 Yeas, 0 nays. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Members may proceed to vote.

Will the clerk please lock the roll? Does any member wish to change his or her vote? Will the clerk please announce the vote? 38 Yeas, 2 nays. Thank you, Madam Secretary.

Please announce the combined vote. 58 Yeas, 2 nays. And so by a vote of 58 yeas to 2 nays, Jana Wilson has been confirmed to be on the State Assessment Review Board.

Madam Majority. Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, I'm on page 3 now. I move the appointment of Tracy Welch to the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission. Thank you. Is there discussion?

Um, Rosalie Stutes. Thank you, Mr. President and Mr. Speaker. Um, I appreciate this opportunity. I'd like to rise in strong support of the confirmation of Tracy Welch as the CFEC commissioner. We're incredibly fortunate to have such an exceptional appointee for this position.

Tracy grew up commercial fishing. With her entire family in Petersburg. After graduating from high school, she obtained dual degrees in political science and German from Notre Dame. She then went on to get a law degree from the University of Oregon and was admitted to the bar in 2012. Returning home to Petersburg, Tracy served as the president of the Petersburg Indian Association, and she is the youngest person to have ever held that position.

For the last 4.5 years, Tracy has represented commercial fishermen in Alaska as the Executive Director of the United Fishermen of Alaska. Through this role, she's developed a strong working relationship with the current Executive Director of the CFEC and has extensive knowledge of the important role the agency plays in our state. With this rare combination of truly hands-on understanding of commercial fishing in this state, experience heading a tribal organization, a law degree, and a deep understanding of the fisheries policy. I cannot imagine a better person to serve in this role as a commissioner. And with that, Mr. President, I remove my objection.

Thank you, Representative Suits. Is there further discussion? If you are ready for the question, the question being, shall the appointment of Tracy Welch to the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Intercommission be confirmed. Mr. Speaker, brief— any— Joint session, come back to order, please. Is there additional speakers?

If not, then the objection has been removed. And Tracy Welch has been appointed to the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission.

Madam Majority Leader. Mr. President. Mr. Speaker. I'm now on page 4, continuing in the great— the stream of fisheries. The first appointee I will move is the appointment of Paul Sear to the Board of Fisheries.

Thank you. Is there discussion? Representative Suits. Thank you, Mr. President and Mr. Speaker. Once again, speaking to the appointment of Paul Cyr, I strongly support Mr. Cyr's appointment to the Board of Fish.

The governing statutes for the board appointment state: Governor shall appoint each member on the basis of interest in public affairs, good judgment, knowledge, and the ability in the field of action of the Board, and with a view to providing diversity of interest and points of view in the membership. With his broad-based experience in commercial fishing, lodge operations, and mariculture, I'm certain Mr. Cyr exceeds these requirements. Furthermore, he brings representation of the southeast back to the Board, and it has been quite some time since that has been in the case. Mr. Sayre has supported— has support from all sectors of the fishing world, which is a rare thing in today's fisheries, as we can all imagine. I'm confident that Mr. Sayre will be fair, thoughtful, and a deliberative board member who will enrich the broad process of the board with his diverse experience and perspective.

Thank you, Mr. President, Mr. Speaker. And with that, I remove my objection. Thank you, Representative Stutes. Is there further discussion? The objection has been removed.

With no further objection, Paul Sear has been confirmed to the Board of Fisheries. Madam Majority Leader. Continuing page 4, continuing Board of Fisheries. Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, I move the appointment of Blair Hickson to the Board of Fisheries be confirmed. Thank you.

Is there discussion?

Seeing none.

There is discussion. Please go ahead, Senator Bjorkman. Thank you very much, Mr. President. I appreciate the opportunity to speak briefly about this appointment.

Cook Inlet and its fisheries are vitally important to the people of our districts, Mr. President. On the Kenai Peninsula, the setnet fishery used to produce on average of $50 to $75 million a summer, but that fishery has been shuttered and all but banned now by the current board and its recent action taken on May 1st. The board has made also recent decisions that seem to set aside scientific data collection done by different fisheries as well as promoted by Fish and Game in making decisions. I found the transcript of Mr. Hickson's answers in House Fisheries interesting in the fact that when asked about how he would make decisions based on allocation proposals, he talked about anecdotal evidence, stakeholder input, all of which are very important.

But I, I haven't read yet where he talks about the science of fisheries management and looking to specific ways that we measure and collect data so that we can actually rely on good, sound scientific ways of managing our fishery. If it is that we want to manage our Fish and Game resources based on feelings and emotions— and Blair's a nice guy, I met him, he's a young strapping young lad who has grown up living the Alaska dream, and we've heard lots of nice things about him on our side of the Capitol. However, when we look and, and want to speak to people that have experience and have qualifications rooted in education, rooted in scientific management and the study of data. Although Mr. Hickson has a lot of experience in the sport fishing realm, not sure he quite lives up to the bill of being qualified with his education and scientific experiential credentials. So with the current makeup of the board, Mr. President, and its absolutely destructive decisions made to my community and my fishery, which I should mention, I am a permit holder in Cook Inlet drift fishery.

I cannot support this confirmation. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Senator Bjorkman. Representative Jimmy.

Booyah, Mr. President. Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to express my support for Mr. Hickens. The fact that he has a real connection to the land and he does work using science and committed to bringing more fish to our rivers. I just appreciate and want to express my support. Boyana.

Thank you, Representative Jimmy. Is there further discussion?

Seeing none, if you are ready for the question, question being, shall the appointment of Blair Hickson to the Board of Fisheries be confirmed? Mr. Speaker. Members may proceed to vote.

Will the clerk please lock the roll? Does any member wish to change his or her vote? Will the clerk please announce the vote? 23 Yeas, 17 nays. Thank you.

Will the secretary please call the roll of the Senate? Senator Dunbar. Yes. Senator Giesel. Yes.

Senator Gray Jackson. Yes. Senator Hoffman. Yes. Senator Kaufman.

Yes. Senator Kawasaki. Yes. Senator Keele. No.

Senator Merrick. Yes. Senator Myers. Yes. Senator Olson.

Yes. Senator Rauscher. Yes. Senator Steadman. No.

Senator Tilton. Yes. Senator Tobin. Yes. Senator Wielechowski.

Yes. Senator Yunt. Yes. Senator Bjorkman. No.

Senator Clayman. Yes. Senator Cronk. Yes. President Stevens.

No.

Madam Secretary, please announce the vote of roll of the Senate and announce the vote. 16 Yeas, 4 nays. Thank you. And would you please combine the vote?

39 Yeas, 23 nays.

Thank you.

Will the joint session please come back to order? Madam Secretary, please announce the combined vote. 39 Yeas, 21 nays. And so by a vote of 39 yeas and 21 nays, Blair Hickson has been confirmed to the Board of Fisheries.

Madam Majority Leader. Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, we're continuing on page 4. I move the appointment of Mike Wood to the Board of Fisheries be confirmed. Thank you. Is there discussion?

Representative Stutes. Thank you once again, Mr. President and Mr. Speaker. I rise in strong support of Mr. Wood's reappointment to the board of FISH. Mr. Wood has served with distinction and is often one of the few voices on the board calling out poor process and raising concerns about the erosion of transparency and public trust on that board. Mr. Wood has proven that he can work well with all user groups and is respected by everyone.

This was exemplified when even the freshwater guiding organization testified in support of his confirmation in the Fisheries Committee despite his commercial fishing background. He's thoughtful, deliberative, listens to the science and all the perspectives. We are very fortunate that he has put his name in for reappointment, and I am grateful that he will continue on as a board member of the Board of Fisheries. And with that, I will remove my objection. Thank you.

Thank you. The objection has been removed. Further discussion? Further objection? Very well.

Then Mike Wood has been confirmed to the Board of Fisheries. Madam Majority Leader. Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, I'm now on page 5. I move the appointment of Jacob Fletcher to the Board of Game be confirmed. Thank you, Madam Majority Leader.

Is there discussion? Yes, please go ahead, Representative. Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, I want to be clear, and I'm going to speak just once as to these 3 nominees or re-nominees to the Board of Game, because I can't give you detailed information about how— I can't individuate them. I can't tell you that one is good and the other less good, etc.

But I speak out of concern, and I speak on behalf of tens of thousands of Alaskans. I want to say that again. There are tens of thousands of Alaskans who are very disappointed in the Board of Game policies as regards, in particular, intensive management. Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, in our budget this year, there are hundreds of thousands of dollars admittedly, I think the low hundreds of thousands, but it's like $300,000 of attorney's fees that we're paying, for example, to the Alaska Wildlife Alliance because, uh, they successfully challenged policies of the board that may or may not have been properly administered by the Department of Fish and Game relating to predator control. And the court has taken note of the right of predators to, through their attorneys frankly, have a say in these matters, both as to the maximum benefit to the people of our natural resources, but also as to whether Department of Fish and Game has done adequate studies of whether intensive management can— whether the rate of predators can be sustained such that they frankly can thrive and survive.

For example, in Southeast Islands, another, I think down by Prince of Wales, there's a subspecies of wolves that was almost completely taken out. And there was litigation right across the street in the Superior Court about that as well. There was litigation involving, repeat litigation involving the Murchatna management issue. Repeat litigation involving the Kenai Peninsula wolf management issue. I mentioned Southeast Islands.

So there's all of those concerns. You know, I view this as a lost viewing opportunity for some people, hunting opportunities for others. One thing I do value greatly, the time of the members on this floor. I'm told because the roll call of the other body is by name call-out.

That the sweetest sound to an individual is the sound of one's own name. So I apologize in advance for making members go through this process. But again, this is not some idiosyncrasy. This is an important value of tens of thousands of Alaskans. And I would submit that most tourists coming off the cruise ships, if they knew about our management policies, they would be equally concerned.

And for that reason, um, and I will note that in the past my policy has been if the nominee is new, if the nominee is new, I don't oppose them. But these are repeat nominees. I'm sure they're fine individuals. I'm sure they work hard. I just find the policies themselves, uh, very objectionable.

And for that reason, I maintain my objection. Thank you, Representative Justus. And Representative Schwanke. Thank you, Mr. President. I rise in support of all three of these repeat nominees.

I've had the opportunity to work professionally with all three of them over my career with the Department of Fish and Game. Dave Loring was a retired Alaska Wildlife Trooper. He has consistently maintained a very professional view every time he is up serving on the Board of Game up in front of the public. I've known Stosh Hoffman for many, many years. He's been on this board and served selflessly since the year my son was born.

So I have found that his approach to issues up in front of the Board of Game have been extremely professional. He looks at all sides of issues. Jake Fletcher, same. I have not had the courtesy of working specifically with him in my professional capacity, but I watched him serve on the Board of Game for the last several years. All three of these individuals very much respect Article 8 of the Alaska Constitution.

We are supposed to manage our resources for common use and for sustained yield. And I feel that all three of these appointees have done that professionally. Thanks. Thank you, Representative Schwanke. Is there further discussion?

Obviously, we will be dealing with these one at a time. Madam Majority Leader. Oh, we have another, I'm sorry, Representative Vance. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of the reconfirmation of these appointments.

I have little interaction with the Board of Game. Typically it's the Board of Fish that I hear concerns about in my district. However, a couple of years ago, an issue did come up around moose hunting. And there was a requirement for sealing, you know,.

The antlers and there was a big rumble among the moose hunters about whether their hunt was legal or not. And they would either not report it or they would drive all the way up to Soldotna to Public Safety or Fish and Game up there because of a local controversy. And I called the commissioner and told him that there was an issue about the discrepancy and people's meat had been confiscated and in essence it was turning Alaskans who are trying to provide for their families into lawbreakers. And that was a big concern of mine. We want people to have access to local food and not feel like they are missing the mark on a technicality about one product.

Person's perspective in the department over another. The commissioner took this issue to the Board of Game and they made a decision on this that had an impact that said, hey, we've been overly restrictive for a while, we want to turn it back. And, you know, I respect that their goal isn't so that we can't access our food. It's the goal is that everyone has an opportunity to be able to hunt and, and do that in a way that protects the resource and looks at the management, but they listen to people, they listen to the department, and that to me garners great respect because they're taking in all of the information to be able to make these sound decisions that impact our constituents in being able to provide for their families. So they garnered a deep respect from me and I will be confirming all of them today.

Thank you, Representative Vance. Is there further discussion? Senator Crown. Thank you, Mr. President. I actually stand in support of all 3 of these, but when we, you know, we're going to bring up predator control, I'm going to be real honest here.

I represent a third of the state, lots of rural people, and one, what I care about is making sure everybody out there can provide food for their family, whether that's moose, caribou, sheep. And, you know, I have lots of people in my district that ask, they want more wolf control or bear control, and The fact is, is predator control really doesn't eliminate them. It's trying to give the moose or caribou populations a break so they can rebuild. And you know what, I honestly— that's what I care about. I care about Alaska.

I really don't care about anybody that comes off a cruise ship and what they think about Alaska. I'm glad they accept their money that they want to spend here, but their ideology I really don't care about because we want to take care of Alaskans first. And part of this process is making sure that we have food. So thank you. Thank you, Senator Crocker.

Is there further discussion? Madam Majority Leader, to begin with, Jacob Fletcher.

Yes, Mr. President, I will repeat the motion. While I appreciate the attempt at efficiency, we're doing these individually. So, Mr. President, I move the appointment of Jacob Fletcher to the Board of Game be confirmed. Thank you. Is there further discussion on Jacob Fletcher?

Are you ready for the question? The question being, shall the appointment of Jacob Fletcher to the Board of Game be confirmed? Begin with the Senate. Madam Secretary, please call the roll of the Senate. Senator Giesel.

Yes. Senator Gray Jackson. Yes. Senator Hoffman. Yes.

Senator Kaufman. Yes. Senator Kawasaki. Yes. Senator Keele.

Senator Keele.

Senator Merrick. Senator Myers. Senator Olson. Senator Rauscher. Senator Steadman.

Senator Tilton. Senator Tobin. Senator Wilkowski. Senator Yunt. Yes.

Senator Bjorkman. Yes. Senator Clayman. Yes. Senator Cronk.

Yes. Senator Dunbar. Yes. President Stevens. Yes.

Do any senators wish to change the vote? The secretary will please lock the vote— lock the roll, and the secretary will announce the vote. 20 Yeas, 0 nays. Thank you, Mr. Majority Leader.

Members may proceed to vote.

Will the clerk please lock the roll? Does any member wish to change his or her vote? Will the clerk please announce the vote? 39 Yeas, 1 nay. Thank you.

Madam Secretary, please announce the combined vote. 59 Yeas, 1 nay. And so by a vote of 59 yeas to 1 nay, Jacob Fletcher has been confirmed to the Board of Game. Madam Majority Leader. Thank you, Mr. President.

I'm on page 5 still. Mr. President, I move and ask— excuse me, I move the appointment of Stanley Hoffman Jr. to the Board of Game be confirmed. Thank you. Is there further discussion? Representative Mr. President, I have taken the temperature of the room and I find it chilly, and I'm going to remove my objection to Mr. Hoffman and Mr. Loren.

Thank you. The objection has been removed. Thank you, Representative Josephson. Is there further objection? Hearing none, Stanley Hoffman Jr. has been confirmed to the Board of Game.

And David Loring has also been confirmed to the Board of Game.

Madam Majority Leader. Thank you, Mr. President. We are moving to page 6. Mr. President, I move the appointment of Mike Miller to the Alaska Judicial Council be confirmed. Thank you.

Is there discussion? Please go ahead, Senator Clayman. Thank you, Mr. President. I want to speak briefly about Mr. Miller's appointment, he was recently appointed to the Judicial Council after the prior nominee resigned that position, and I was pleased to see the resignation of the prior nominee. And Mr. Miller came to the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday, and I asked a number of questions to really kind of see where he was, because in the early 2000s he'd been a plaintiff in a lawsuit against members of the Judicial Council as well as 14 to 16 judges.

Because he was unhappy in that lawsuit with their refusal to answer certain questions about their positions on things that might come before the, before courts. And so I had a very detailed discussion with Mr. Miller about whether or not he believed in the most qualified standards that are used to pick judges that's been part of the Judicial Council bylaws for, for a number of decades. I had questions about his commitment to the rule of law, and I had questions about his his commitment to work within the council and, and really work to, to have strong decisions in the council that relied on the information that were provided. And I even asked him questions about whether he would be asking questions to nominees similar to what he'd been wanting to ask in the lawsuit in the year 2000. And by, by all of his answers, I think he's shown a commitment to supporting the process in the Judicial Council, supporting the rule of law, and supporting the very processes that have been such a strong part of the independent judiciary that we have in Alaska for many, many years that was envisioned by members— or the folks that wrote our Constitution.

So for all those reasons, I'm a strong supporter for Mr. Miller's appointment to the Judicial Council. And with that, I remove my objection. Thank you. The objection has been removed. Is there further objection?

Yes. An objection has been maintained. Please speak to your objection.

Uh, Senator Tomaszewski.

I'm sorry, Representative Tomaszewski. Thank you, uh, President Stevens. I rise in support of Mr. Miller. I think he is a former senator, Mike Miller, and, um, I believe that, uh, He will do a fair and honest job in his role on the Judicial Council. And he also owns the Santa Claus House.

So you may be on the naughty list if you don't vote for this particular member. So with that, I fully support and hope you will too. Thank you, Representative Tomaszewski. Representative Prax. Thank you, Mr. President and Mr. Speaker.

I rise in strong support of Mike Miller's appointment to the Judicial Council. I've known him for decades. He used to represent what is now District 33, and he has, in my view, always been very diligent about his work. He does have a respect for the law and the process, and I think he will be a very good member of the Judicial Council. And of course, you gotta think about this too.

It is Santa Claus, so be careful. Thank you, Representative Price. Representative Stapp. Yeah, thank you, Mr. President. I rise in strong support of this appointment for the Judicial Council.

I can't think of a better person with so much long history of experience. And I actually, I think former Senate President as well, so. Ask the members to vote yes.

Thank you, Representative Stapp, for the discussion.

If you are ready for the question, question being, shall Mike Miller be appointed to the Alaska Judicial Council? Should that be confirmed? Mr. Speaker, members may proceed to vote.

Will the clerk please lock the roll? Does any member wish to change his or her vote? Will the clerk please announce the vote? 40 Yeas, 0 nays.

Thank you, Madam Secretary. Please call the roll of the Senate. Senator Gray Jackson. Yes. Senator Hoffman.

Yes. Senator Kaufman. Yes. Senator Kawasaki. Yes.

Senator Keele. Yes. Senator Merrick. Senator Myers. Yes.

Senator Olson. Yes. Senator Rauscher. Senator Steadman. Yes.

Senator Tilton. Yes. Senator Tobin. Yes. Senator Wilkowski.

No. Senator Yunt. Yes. Senator Bjorkman. Yes.

Senator Clayman. Yes. Senator Cronk. Yes. Senator Dunbar.

No. Senator Giesel. Yes. President Stevens. Yes.

Do any senators wish to change their vote? The secretary will please lock the roll and announce the vote. 18 Yeas, 2 nays. Thank you, Madam Secretary. Please announce the combined vote.

58 Yeas, 2 nays. Thank you. And so by a vote of 58 yeas and 2 nays, Mike Miller has been confirmed to the Alaska Judicial Council. Madam Majority Leader. Mr. President, we are now on page 7.

Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, I move the appointment of Hannah Milkey to the State Medical Board be confirmed. Thank you. Is there discussion?

So, Representative Nelson. Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Uh, there was an objection made to this young lady. I don't know what the reasons were because they weren't addressed early, but the State Medical Board in statute says that there will be 5 physicians licensed to the state, and then there's a physician's assistant and two persons with no direct financial interest in the healthcare industry. I've known this individual for a long time and can say that she has excellent character and exemplary intelligence.

She's a young woman looking for an opportunity, and she absolutely is appropriate and completely satisfies the requirements in statute and before us today. So She's an incredible individual, and I would urge your support for Hannah in this particular role. Thank you. Thank you, Representative Nelson. Representative Ballard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm going to speak, Mr. President. I'm sorry about that, because I don't want the public to get this wrong. I think Hannah Milkey is an outstanding individual. She is an 18-year-old young woman that has a lot and a big future ahead of her.

She's accomplished so much already. I just don't think she's ready to be on the medical board. So That's where I stand on that. And I just want the public to know we support her. I support her.

I just don't think this is the right time for her. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Representative Ballard. Senator Tobin. Thank you, Mr. President.

Well, I do rise in opposition to this compromise, and I think there's something that's really important that I'd like to elevate for my colleagues here on the floor. Our state medical board members are asked to evaluate licenses, applications, revocations, sanctions, and other such cases dealing with the profession, profession of medical practice here in the state of Alaska. Those members are then asked to develop consent agreements and include things like probationary terms, continuing education, fines, and sometimes appropriate interventions when it is warranted. I strongly believe that qualified public members should have the breadth of experience for careful deliberation to deal with complex issues, engage in investigations, and of course provide that inquiry to ensure that they are protecting the public's health. Now this is why I find this particular company so concerning.

Ms. Milkey will be the sole woman on our State Medical Board. And in committee, when I ask questions related to the defense of women's healthcare and women's issues, Ms. Milkie did not share any previous experience or understanding about the concerns that may arise, again, being the sole woman on the State Medical Board. Now, I think many of us here remember a recent case where where a doctor was complicit in overprescribing opioids for personal gain and unfortunately led to the death of many Alaskans. That case clearly required deliberation. They're— how critical getting that determination right might be.

I urge members to join me in voting no on this particular confernee, not because I think they do not have incredible potential to do wonderful things for the state of Alaska. But when it comes to this level of public service, service on our State Medical Board, which is there to protect the health of Alaskans, I am concerned that this particular confernee just does not have the right experience, the breadth of experience that is so needed to have fair representation and fair deliberation on our State Medical Board. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Senator Tobin. Representative Prax.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of Ms. Milkkeet's appointment to the Medical Board. There's some concern expressed about experience. Frankly, I think a fresh perspective would be good. You know, it doesn't really matter if you're 20 or 69, soon to be 70.

If you haven't had experience on a particular board, you're still qualified as a public member. And that's the whole purpose of having a public member, is you don't have a prejudice one way or the other. And they have to be connected to the medical industry, well, that kind of defeats it. I think it'll be valuable to have a fresh perspective on the board. So I would encourage people to support this appointment.

Thank you, Representative McPrax. Representative McCabe. Thank you, Mr. President and Mr. Speaker. We speak all the time in this body, in both bodies, about diversity, diversity of experience, diversity of culture, diversity of any number of things. So here we have one young woman.

Now remember, young people go to doctors too, right? So we have public members on this board that aren't just curmudgeonly crusty old doctors. I can say old 'cause I am. But they are public members and they bring a perspective that maybe the rest of the board does not have. And I think that this is a perfect, example of when we should be supporting diversity on a board like this.

Is she young? Sure. But she also brings a young perspective that they might not be considering in certain things. So I would 100% throw my support behind this young lady. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you, Regent McCabe. Is there further discussion?

I'm sorry, Representative Vance. In the corner, it's really hard to see you guys, but please go ahead, Representative Vance. We should put a little flag on my head. Yes. I too have had reservations about the age and lack of experience of this appointee.

However, I reflect on myself as a young woman and how people made assumptions and limited my capacity simply because of my age.

She is obviously qualified based upon age, residency, other, other, other things that this body has determined make her qualified. 18-Year-olds are eligible to vote. They're eligible to serve on jury duty, make decisions about whether people are going to be serving life imprisonment.

And also, this body has determined the age qualification and qualifications for people to serve on boards and commissions.

I like to hear that this young woman will be the only female perspective on a medical board because I think that it might be appropriate to hear from women of this generation. I think that there's a lot of examples that each one of us as women could provide where we felt like our voices were not heard as young women.

And I certainly hope that that's not going to be the case today. So I will support her confirmation. Thank you, Representative Vance. Is there further discussion? Representative Sadler.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise to express my reasons for voting against confirmation of this appointee. I find the questions of gender identity troubling. This is not a matter that really deals with gender. I don't care what, what sex or gender somebody is who serves the Medical Board.

I want somebody who's got some experience, some perspective, has had their heart broken and their brain expanded. Yes, 18-year-olds can do a lot of things, but the State Medical Board sets policies that deal with life and death issues in Alaska. I'm reminded of when Mark Twain said, when I left home at 18, my father was an idiot. When I came back at 25, I was amazed how much the old man had learned in those years. So there's a certain perspective that age, time in the saddle, time in the trenches gives you.

So I would say that Having reviewed the resume and qualifications of this young woman, she sounds like an earnest, ambitious, spiritual person, and this may not be the time. There's a time to reap, a time to sow, a time to serve, and a time to go out and get more experience and come back later, I hope. So with some regret and some reluctance, I do have to oppose this nomination. Thank you, Representative Sander. Representative Mena.

Thank you, Mr. President. I rise in respectful opposition to Ms. Melchi, and I just felt compelled to say something as the youngest woman in this body. I have absolutely been in that position where where you are the only woman in the room, you're the youngest person, you're trying to provide that perspective, and it shouldn't be a disqualifier at all. But there's a difference between an individual meeting the requirements of serving on a board versus being able to be qualified to do the job. And I just want to align myself with many different comments about the State Medical Board.

You are truly dealing with life and death, death and life and death decisions about providing care to people through our physicians, through our physician assistants. You're talking about licensure. You're talking about whether people are, are qualified. These are very, very serious decisions. And I love to support young women in particular being able to thrive in, in their careers and being and having these different opportunities.

But being a public member on the State Medical Board is just such a different situation. And so before we consider all these other different aspects of diversity bringing different perspectives, we have to not ignore the fact that they should be qualified to be able to make very serious decisions and to ensure the safety of Alaska's public health. Thank you, Representative Mena. Is there further discussion?

Seeing none, are you ready for the question? The question being, shall the appointment of Hannah Mielke to the State Medical Board be confirmed. Begin with the Senate. Madam Secretary. Senator Hoffman.

No. Senator Kaufman. No. Senator Kawasaki. No.

Senator Keele. No. Senator Merrick. No. Senator Myers.

No. Senator Olson. No. Senator Rauscher. Yes.

Senator Steadman. No. Senator Tilton. Yes. Senator Tobin.

No. Senator Wilkowski. No. Senator Yunt. No.

Senator Bjorkman. No. Senator Clayman. No. Senator Cronk.

No. Senator Dunbar. No. Senator Giesel. No.

Senator Gray Jackson. No. President Stevens. No. Do any senators wish to change their vote?

The secretary will please lock the roll and the secretary will please announce the vote. 2 Yeas, 18 nays. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Members may proceed to vote.

Will the clerk please lock the roll? Does any member wish to change his or her vote? Will the clerk please announce the vote? 11 Yeas, 29 nays. Thank you, Madam Secretary.

Please announce the combined vote.

13 Yeas, 47 nays.

Thank you. And so by a vote of 13 yeas and 47 nays, Hannah Mielke has failed to be confirmed to the State Medical Board. Madam Majority Leader. Mr. President, continuing on page 7, I move the appointment of Norman Walker to the State Medical Board be confirmed. Thank you.

Is there discussion? Representative Fields. Mr. President, I remove my objection. Objection has been removed. Hearing that and no other objections appear, Norman Walker has been confirmed to the State Medical Board.

Madam Majority Leader. Mr. President, I'm on page 9. Now, I think it's page 7 with Tom McKay. Pardon me. I appreciate the correction.

Thank you, Mr. President. I am on page 7. Mr. President, I move the appointment of Tom McKay to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission be approved. Thank you. Is there discussion?

Representative Costello. Thank you. I rise in strong support of Tom McKay to the confirmation of the Alaska Oil and Gas Commission. Tom brings more than 4 decades of direct oil and gas experience, including drilling, completion, workover, and well abandonment operations in Alaska's most challenging environments. He is not just familiar with the industry at a high level, he has done the technical work himself.

His background reflects hands-on engineering and supervisory work in the North Slope, in Cook Inlet, in the Beaufort Sea, in NPRA, and on complex offshore and Arctic projects. He's also worked in Norway and Indonesia. Tom has a direct experience with the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission process. He has prepared drilling permit work and detailed well plans that required approval throughout the commission process, which means he understands both the engineering side and the regulatory side of the job. Um, he also brings strong professional credentials.

He holds a degree in petroleum engineering, an MBA, a master's degree in environmental engineering, and he is a registered professional engineer in Alaska. His training and certifications show a sustained focus on technical competence, well control, and safe operations. I cannot support Tom enough for this position and encourage everyone to vote yes. Thank you, Representative Costello. Senator Kaufman.

Thank you, Mr. President. I won't repeat all of that, but if you're in any way swayed by technical competence for these appointments, this is a great one. So let's go for Tom. Thank you. Thank you, Senator Kaufman.

Senator Cronk. Thank you, Mr. President. You know, I've been doing this for 6 years, and rarely is there someone that, you know, you really truly know. Most of these people you might know. But if there's one vote that I can cast and say this guy is more than qualified for this position for Alaska, Tom McKay is it.

Thank you.

Thank you, Senator Croc. Representative Nelson.

Thank you, Mr. President. I won't go on with my extensive history with Mr. McKay. Anyone could talk about the decades of experience that he has, but if you get him in a room for 5 minutes, he's probably already told you about 2 or 3 stories about him somewhere on a drill site or somehow working with gas and oil into the conversation. He is an extremely qualified personnel for this role, and I will be supporting yes for him. Thank you.

Thank you, Representative Nelson. Representative Stapp.

Yeah, thank you, Mr. President. I'm actually a little shocked that there's an objection to this nominee. I think most of us in this room know Mr. McKay fairly well, and I would say this is probably the most qualified nominee for this position that I've had the ability to vote on in my time in legislature. So just ask the members to vote yes. Thank you, Representative Sapp.

Representative Sadler. Thank you, Mr. President. I'll join the chorus here. I've had the pleasure of working for Tom McKay, working with Tom McKay as the Resource Committee in this body. I'm encouraged and excited to have a man of such broad experience and dedication serving at the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

Tom knows the oil patch in Alaska and around the world. He knows the geology. He knows the laws. He knows the regulation. He's pretty familiar with the politics too.

He's already been studying up on the AOGC's responsibilities. He takes the job very seriously. I think he will serve the state very well, and I'm pleased to have him before us and look forward to as close to universal approval as we can make it. Thank you, Representative Sadler. Representative Elam.

Thank you, Mr. President and Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of Mr. McKay. You know, freshman year on House Resources, one of the first people to reach out to offer assistance and kind of bring up the issues and just really share a wealth of knowledge was actually Tom. And so I have to rise in support of him.

Just thank him for everything he's done for our state and for both of our bodies here. So thanks, Tom, and you definitely have my support. Thank you, Representative. Representative McCain. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and Mr. President.

Sorry, everybody else is talking about our friend Tom, so I feel I have to. He became a good friend in the years that we served together here. He is one of, I think, 6 full-blown petroleum engineers in the state. There are not many of them, and he is eminently qualified to do this. But more than that, He is still in contact with many of us.

I call him, you know, every once in a while when I have an oil question, or if I have a question about process or about a drilling rig or about what a certain term means, and he is more than willing to talk to any of us. And besides that, he ran a pretty tight Resources Committee. I just have to relay a little bit of a story. He was— had somebody in front of him that was wandering a little bit astray, as we sometimes do, and didn't say through the chair and was not being very respectful. Tom said, "It's through the chair and it's not yah." It's through the chair.

I just wanted to relay that because we struggle with that all the time and Tom kind of had a funny way of bringing the testifier back to the fold. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Representative McCabe. Senator Rauscher.

Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, I too want to support confirmation of Tom McKay. I sat next to him as Vice Chair on Resources while he was Chair on Resources. I sat with him through many meetings. He's a very intelligent man.

He's probably the most qualified man for this job. I think he was a great choice by the Governor and I urge everybody to yes vote. Thank you, Senator Rauscher. Is there further discussion? If you are ready for the question— oh, Representative Prax.

Thank you, Mr. President. I guess I should add to the conversation.

Tom McKay is just a good find. I don't know if you'd find anybody to serve on that commission that would come in with that much experience, and he should serve Alaska well. Thank you. Thank you, Representative Prax. Is there further discussion?

Seeing none, if you are ready for the question, the question being, shall the appointment of Tom McKay to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission be confirmed? Mr. Speaker, members may proceed to vote.

Will the clerk please lock the roll? Does any member wish to change his or her vote? Will the clerk please announce the vote? 39 Yeas, 1 nay. Thank you, Madam Secretary.

Please call the roll of the Senate. Senator Kaufman. Yes. Senator Kawasaki. Yes.

Senator Keele. Yes. Senator Merrick. Yes. Senator Myers.

Yes. Senator Olson. Yes. Senator Rauscher. Yes.

Senator Steadman. Yes. Senator Tilton. Yes. Senator Tobin.

Senator Wilkowski. Yes. Senator Yunt. Yes. Senator Bjorkman.

Yes. Senator Clayman. Yes. Senator Cronk. Yes.

Senator Dunbar. Yes. Senator Giesel. Yes. Senator Gray Jackson.

Yes. Senator Hoffman. Yes. President Stevens. Yes.

Do any senators wish to change their vote? The secretary will please lock the roll and the secretary will please announce the vote. 20 Yeas, 0 nays. Madam Secretary, please announce the combined vote. 59 Yeas, 1 nay.

And so by a vote of 59 yeas to 1 nay, Tom McKay has been confirmed to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. Madam Majority Leader. Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, on page 9, I move the appointment of Crystal Herring to the Board of Professional Counselors be approved. Thank you. Is there discussion?

Senator Tobin. Thank you, Mr. President. Well, I rise in opposition to Crystal Herring being appointed to the Board of Professional Counselors, and for those who are unfamiliar with this particular state board, They set the professional standards for folks who are providing mental health services to Alaskans. Now, one of the things I think is really important to note is Ms. Herring was appointed to a counselor seat, which means the expectation is she's actively practicing in that particular field.

However, in the Senate Health and Social Services Committee, we learned that Ms. Herring is currently providing mental health transport and has a transportation services amongst other things that her business does, not actively practicing, uh, the mental health profession. This gives me significant pause, as how is an individual going to be able to adequately provide regulatory oversight if they are not actually doing the service in which the seat they hold should have the expertise and experience to provide input and insight into that particular board? Additionally, we heard in the Senate Health and Social Services Committee that Ms. Herring had a history of providing full-throated support for particular individuals who had extensively fabricated their professional and educational experience.

And when we asked in the Senate Health and Social Services Committee about what did she learn from that particular experience, she expressed no lessons, that maybe she just needs to read the documents before she gives her full-throated endorsement of a particular candidate. Now, one of the things I think is very concerning to me is hearing and reading news articles about her COVID-era businesses. And one of the questions that I posed to her in the Senate Health and Social Services Committee was around the issue of where a free clinic that she had established actually ended up charging fees. To clients. And I asked her, where was the discrepancy?

What, what occurred here? And how could you potentially have mitigated or absolved the issues that were arisen? Well, she said one of the problems was that she provided disclosure to those vulnerable Alaskans in need, but maybe the print was too fine and they couldn't read it. And of course, they were in mental health distress, so she understood that there was concern that the information wasn't adequately provided. Personally, I find this very concerning.

As someone who holds a bachelor's degree in psychology, I know how critical it is that we have professionals who practice counseling who are held and hold themselves to the highest standards, not only of care but of ethics and of moral concern. What I learned in the Senate Health and Social Services Committee is that Ms. Herring does not hold herself to those standards, and I'm concerned she will not hold others. To those particular standards. I think it's very critical that we have folks who are going to protect vulnerable Alaskans, especially when they are in mental health distress.

This is why I will be voting no on this confirmation, and I encourage colleagues to join me. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Senator Tobin. Is there further discussion?

Seeing none, if you are ready for the question, question being, shall the appointment of Crystal Herring to the Board of Professional Counselors be confirmed. Begin with the Senate. Madam Secretary, please call the roll of the Senate. Senator Kawasaki. Yes.

Senator Keele. No. Senator Merrick. Yes. Senator Myers.

Yes. Senator Olson. No. Senator Rauscher. Yes.

Senator Steadman. No. Senator Tilton. Yes. Senator Tobin.

No. Senator Wilkowski. No. Senator Yunt. Yes.

Senator Bjorkman. No. Senator Clayman. No. Senator Cronk.

Yes. Senator Dunbar. No. Senator Giesel. No.

Senator Gray Jackson. No. Senator Hoffman. No. Senator Kaufman.

Yes.

President Stevens. No.

Do any senators wish to change their vote? The secretary will please, uh, A brief adieu.

Kawasaki then from a no to yes. No, the other way around. It's already been changed. Kawasaki said a no. A hell no.

Okay.

Do any further senators wish to change their vote? The secretary, please lock the roll. Do any— well, the secretary, please announce the vote. 7 Yeas, 13 nays. Thank you, Mr. Majority— Mr. Speaker.

Members may proceed to vote.

Will the clerk please lock the roll? Does any member wish to change his or her vote? Will the clerk please announce the vote? 21 Yeas, 19 nays.

Madam Secretary, please announce the combined vote.

28 Yeas, 32 nays. And so by a vote of 28 yeas to 32, is that right? To 32 nays, Crystal Herring has failed to be confirmed to the Board of Professional Counselors. I believe that's the last nominees.

Madam Majority Leader. Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, I move the joint session be adjourned. Without objection, the joint session is adjourned.

The House will stand at ease to allow the Senate to exit.

The house will stand at ease till approximately 4:30 PM.