House passes emergency declaration bill

The House of Representatives passed a bill that would retroactively extend the state’s disaster declaration for the COVID-19 pandemic, but Gov. Mike Dunleavy has said he believes the move to be unnecessary.

The House Coalition made of mostly Democrats, independents and led by Speaker Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, argued the declaration would provide the governor legal tools to combat the pandemic now and should the situation change in the future.

“It’s been a rocky year, but we can finally see the shoreline and a clear path to return to life as normal,” Stutes said in a news release. “(The bill) is unequivocally good policy because it simply gives the state flexibility in case we get another surprise during the home stretch.”

The governor and many Republican lawmakers said the state needs to move away from an emergency response footing and more toward reopening the state’s economy. Republicans tried to remove the declaration language in a floor session Thursday, leading to an hourslong debate over the direction of the state in managing ongoing health and economic crises. House Republicans Kelley Merrick, R-Eagle River; Sara Rasmussen, R-Anchorage; and Bart LeBon, R-Fairbanks; voted for the bill.

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