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HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 2
IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION
BY REPRESENTATIVES MEARS, Ruffridge, Gray, Armstrong, Carrick, Coulombe, Dibert, Galvin, Groh,
Himschoot, McCormick, Mina, Stapp, Sumner, Tomaszewski, Story
Introduced: 5/8/23
Referred: Rules
A RESOLUTION
1 Proposing an amendment to the Uniform Rules of the Alaska State Legislature relating
2 to voting and abstention from voting.
3 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:
4 * Section 1. Rule 34(b), Uniform Rules of the Alaska State Legislature, is amended to read:
5 (b) Abstention. Except as provided in this subsection, every [EVERY]
6 member present in the house shall vote. A member may abstain from voting if
7 [UNLESS] the house, for special reasons, permits a member to abstain. A member
8 shall request to abstain from voting if the member reasonably believes that the
9 member's vote on a question would constitute a violation of AS 24.60 (Legislative
10 Ethics Act). All motions excusing a member from voting shall be made before the
11 house divides or before the call for the yeas and nays is commenced. A member
12 requesting to be excused from voting may make a brief oral statement of the reasons
13 for the request, including, if applicable, specific provisions of AS 24.60 that
14 support the member's request to abstain. The [AND THE] question of granting
15 permission to abstain shall be taken without further debate. A member may not
16 explain a vote, may not discuss the question while the yeas and nays are being called,
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1 and may not change a vote after the roll call result has been announced. Upon division
2 and count of the house of any question, a member who is not within the chamber may
3 not be counted. A member may not be permitted to abstain except upon a majority
4 vote [THE UNANIMOUS CONSENT] of the membership.
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