The Alaska Legislative Council is a standing committee of 14 members of the Alaska Legislature

Alaska Legislature

The Alaska Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a bicameral institution, consisting of the lower Alaska House of Representatives, with 40 members, and the upper house Alaska Senate, with 20 members...

, that meets to conduct the business of the Legislature when it is not in session.

Composition and authority

The Council is, per statute, a "permanent interim committee and service agency of the legislature." It is made up of the President

President of the Senate

The President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate, and is the speaker of other assemblies.The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for example, the President of the Senate of Nigeria is second in line...

 of the Alaska Senate

Alaska Senate

The Alaska Senate is the upper house in the Alaska Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. The Senate consists of twenty members, each of whom represents an equal amount of districts with populations of about 31,347 people . Senators serve four-year terms, without term...

, six Senators appointed by the President, the Speaker

Speaker (politics)

The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...

 of the Alaska House of Representatives

Alaska House of Representatives

The Alaska House of Representatives is the lower house in the Alaska Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. The House is composed of 40 members, each of whom represents a district of about 15,673 people . Members serve two-year terms without term limits...

, and six House members appointed by the Speaker.

Among the powers and duties of the Council are preparing recommendations for the Legislature, an annual review of statutes, conducting hearings and investigations, to manage Legislature operations when the Legislature is not in session, to manage an internship program for the Legislature, and to undertake any special projects assigned it by the Legislature.

Notable events

In 1998 the Council sued the Federal Government over plans by the United States to take over Alaska's subsistence fishing

Subsistence economy

A subsistence economy is an economy which refers simply to the gathering or amassment of objects of value; the increase in wealth; or the creation of wealth. Capital can be generally defined as assets invested with the expectation that their value will increase, usually because there is the...

 program under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act

Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act

The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act was a United States federal law passed in 1980 by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Jimmy Carter on December 2 of that year....

, claiming the proposal would violate the Alaska Statehood Compact, which gave Alaska the right to manage its own fish and game

Game (food)

Game is any animal hunted for food or not normally domesticated. Game animals are also hunted for sport.The type and range of animals hunted for food varies in different parts of the world. This will be influenced by climate, animal diversity, local taste and locally accepted view about what can or...

 resources. At issue was a conflict between the Alaska Constitution, which guaranteed equal access to all Alaskans, the Governor and Legislature, who wished to give rural residents priority, and the Federal government, which wished to provide for Native Alaskans.