State Republicans are celebrating a victory today following a successful gubernatorial election.

Mike Dunleavy, a former state senator from Wasilla, was elected governor, defeating Democratic candidate Mark Begich and current governor Bill Walker, whose name remained on the ballot despite a late withdrawal from the race.

With 98 percent of the precincts reporting, Dunleavy triumphed over opponent Begich with about 52 percent of the vote.

After four years of having an Independent in office, this is a win for the Alaska Republican Party. The last Republican governor of Alaska was Sean Parnell, who was elected in 2010.

Gov. Bill Walker dropped out of his race for re-election on October 19, just days after his lieutenant governor resigned for making “inappropriate” comments.

Public and private polling showed him trailing in third place, behind Republican Mike Dunleavy and Democrat Mark Begich.

While dropping out, Gov. Walker said, “Alaskans deserve a competitive race,” and then endorsed Begich to replace him.

Due to the timing of the announcement, Walker’s name will still appear on the ballot.

Alaska Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott resigned October 16 after making comments that were called “inappropriate” by Gov. Bill Walker.

His replacement is Valerie Nurr’araaluk Davidson, who was once a commissioner for the Department of Health and Social Services.

According to Gov. Walker, it is too late to remove Mallott’s name from the ballot, but Mallott will not accept the position of lieutenant governor if he is elected next month.

On October 9, the Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC) ruled that two independent expenditure groups violated state campaign finance laws.

The groups, Republican Governors Association and Families for Alaska’s Future – Dunleavy, reserved ad time to influence the gubernatorial election without registering as independent expenditure groups.

APOC determined the reservation of ad time is a promise or agreement to transfer value between parties.  Therefore, the reservation qualifies as an expenditure under state law.

On October 4, 2018, the Anchorage Superior Court heard witnesses in the formal appeal of an Alaska Public Office Commission (APOC) decision allowing unlimited contributions to independent expenditure groups.

Several citizens, represented by the nonprofit group Equal Citizens, claim the contributions are pursuant to a 2006 Alaska State law.

APOC relied on the application of Citizens United when it rejected the original claim.

Gov. Bill Walker signed significant legislative ethics reforms into law on July 19.

House Bill 44 prohibits lobbyists from buying meals or alcoholic drinks for legislators, requires legislators to receive prior approval for travel abroad that is paid for by the state, and mandates legislators to disclose conflicts of interest on which they are voting when there is something financial at stake for themselves or immediate family members.

The legislative ethics reform ballot initiative has been taken off the fall ballot because the bill and initiative have been deemed substantially similar.

The bill went into effect immediately.

The Alaska Legislature passed House Bill 44, a bill with the potential to remove an initiative measure known as the Government Accountability Act from the November ballot.

Under the Alaska Constitution, if a bill is deemed to be substantially similar to an initiative, the initiative could be removed from the ballot.

Similar to the initiative measure, House Bill 44 prohibits lobbyists from purchasing alcoholic beverages for a legislator, implements a stricter policy on foreign travel, eliminates a per diem for legislators after 121 days if the budget has not been passed, and bans foreign corporations and nationals from making political contributions.

The governor has 20 days to sign, veto, or allow the bill to become law without his signature.

The 30th Alaska Legislature adjourned sine die in the early hours of May 13.

The legislative session was extended with lawmakers working past the 90-day, voter-approved session limit in mid-April, but finishing within the constitutional time limit of up to 121 days.

Alaska state Sen. Mike Dunleavy announced he will resign his Senate E seat to focus on a campaign for governor.

Had Dunleavy remained in office, he would have been prohibited from campaigning or raising money during the legislative session, which starts January 16. His resignation is effective January 15.

To select Dunleavy’s replacement, the Alaska Republican Party will send 3 names to Governor Bill Walker to choose.

Walker’s choice must then be confirmed by a majority of Republicans in the Alaska Senate.

Alaska’s fourth special session adjourned on November 21 after reaching the 30-day limit set by the state’s constitution.

Since November 10, lawmakers were in a technical session after the Senate attempted to adjourn the special session after passing a criminal justice reform bill. In Alaska one body cannot adjourn without the other.

No committee hearings are held in a technical session, and no formal legislative business is done.

The Alaska Senate adjourned the fourth special session on November 10.

However, on November 13 the House majority coalition announced plans to hold technical sessions until the special session ends November 21.

A technical session will force the Senate to hold similar sessions because one body cannot adjourn without the other.

Lawmakers passed a criminal justice reform bill despite warnings from the Alaska Department of Law and ACLU that the measures are unconstitutional.

Gov. Bill Walker issued a proclamation to convene the Legislature’s fourth special session on October 23 to address revenue and public safety issues.

The governor has proposed a payroll tax of 1.5 percent that is expected to generate between $300 million and $325 million. Under this proposal, Alaskans would pay the lowest taxes in the country.

Senate Bill 54, which addresses Class-C felonies, will also be under consideration.

Alaska Governor Bill Walker asked his legislative director to notify legislators he will be calling a special session to convene on October 23.

The focus of this special session will be on finding alternative forms of revenue that are vital in stabilizing the state’s economy, but the exact bills to be discussed will be announced in the official special session proclamation issued on or before September 22.

An Alaska ballot initiative has been proposed to limit perks received by lawmakers.

The proposed Alaska Government Accountability Act would limit lawmakers and aides from accepting meals or drinks purchased by lobbyists by restricting the acceptance of food and drink from a lobbyist to de minimis and non-alcoholic items for immediate consumption. It would also ban corporations with five percent or more non-U.S. ownership from spending money on campaigns that target individual candidates.

The initiative sponsors are aiming for the proposal to appear on the 2018 ballot and are still in the process of collecting the necessary signatures.