Memo questions Dunleavy authority to call Wasilla session

By BECKY BOHRER
Associated Press
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – A memo from the Alaska Legislature’s top legal adviser says a governor does not have the constitutional power to compel the Legislature to meet in a location other than the state capital.

Legislative Legal Services Director Megan Wallace was responding to House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, who requested the analysis.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy has called lawmakers into a special session, starting July 8, in Wasilla. But Edgmon and Senate President Cathy Giessel have said the Legislature instead will convene in Juneau and hold most meetings in Anchorage.

Edgmon and Giessel said the Legislature was one short of the votes needed to call its own special session. But they said a majority of legislators in both chambers consider it the Legislature’s right to determine the best location and venue to conduct business.