The 33rd state legislature is in session in Juneau and decisions are being made that affect Alaskans across the state. For some more rural residents, those decisions can seem like they are happening a world away behind closed doors.
April Gass is the information officer at Ketchikan’s Legislative Information Office. Her job is to give people a glimpse behind the scenes, by connecting them with their state representatives. She also provides information about bills working their way through the House and Senate.
KRBD’s Jack Darrell stopped by Gass’s office and spoke with her about how citizens can get involved – and why it matters.
So… what is the legislative information office?
The legislative information office is run by the Legislative Affairs Agency. We’re a nonpartisan office all over the state and we are basically here to help people connect with their elected officials. Our job is – if we don’t have information that you’re looking for, we’ll try to help you find it. I think sometimes people think that the legislative information offices are political offices. We are not, we are nonpartisan. Our job is just to help you, as the community, connect with the legislature.
The legislative session just started in Juneau. Can you explain what that means?
So, most of the year, the legislators are in their own communities. But from January 16 of this year until the middle of May, they will be meeting in Juneau, working on legislation and listening to the people of Alaska. While they’re doing that, you can watch meetings, you can testify, you can submit written testimony, or you can actually testify to the committees themselves.
And what does that mean – “testifying?”
So if you want to make a statement about a particular bill – for instance, on Saturday, there was a bill about education – you can come to the legislative information office. We have a teleconference system and you can testify before the committee or you can submit written testimony. It just means that you’re able to communicate to the committees how you feel about a certain piece of legislation.
I think there’s this belief that trying to engage with the legislature and push your issues as a citizen doesn’t go anywhere – that if you send your senator an email, it’s going to end up in a spam box somewhere. How do representatives use testimony? And does it make a difference?
I absolutely think it makes a difference. Personally, I’ve emailed our senator, our representative, and always gotten a response, whether it was something I agreed with or disagreed with. They do want to hear from our communities, they represent us and they are part of our communities. My personal thought is if we’re not participating, then they’re representing a much smaller portion of our communities. So the more people that participate, the more voices get heard and the more equal representation we have.
Especially in this community, I think we’re very well represented. And I think that our senator and our representative, are very in touch with what’s going on in the community. And they do appreciate hearing from folks.
If you’re interested in specific bills, you can go to the state of Alaska legislative website, and there’s a phone number there and you can sign up to get texts about specific bills that you’re interested in and movement on those bills.
And are there other ways that the LIO offers to engage with the legislature?
Yes. You can submit what we call a public opinion message. You can do that through the legislature’s website, which is a fantastic website. There’s a way to do it there or you can come to the legislative information office, and we can submit that for you. It’s basically a bit shorter of a way to testify. Representative Ortiz and Senator Steadman welcome that.
Calling during session may not be as profitable because they’re very busy. But there are a lot of ways to be involved. That’s part of the beauty of our small state is we have access to all of the senators and representatives.
Gotcha. And if you want to testify or get in contact with people through the LIO, what are the steps when someone comes in and has an issue they want to speak about?
So, if there is a committee meeting, and they’re hearing a bill that has public testimony, you can just come to the LIO. We have a teleconference system and we’ll call in for you and just you give your testimony regarding that specific piece of legislation, but it definitely is appreciated and that information is used.
You know, you may not change somebody’s opinion. But certainly if enough people testify, I think that can happen. Not everybody wants to be in an elected office, but everybody has a voice and everyone can participate through the LIO and we can help people do that.
We’re here. So if you have an interest in in what’s going on in the legislature, we can help you navigate that.
The Ketchikan legislative information office is in the White Cliff Building and is open everyday. You can also call for information at 907-225-9675 or email at LIO.Ketchikan@akleg.gov.
