On February 24th, Representative Sara Rasmussen of Anchorage gave a floor speech. This speech needs to be heard by Alaskan men and male leaders especially:

“…I am excited to announce that the representative from east Anchorage and myself have restarted the Women’s Caucus. This is an incredible year for women leaders in Alaska.  In fact, we have a female minority leader as well as a female presiding officer, in our body.  By nature, women possess cooperativeness, compassion, empathy, humility, devotion, kindness, and being helpful, as personality traits.  Those are great characteristics to bring people on a wide spectrum together to benefit all around us. 

...When women find ways to work together, everyone wins. Our state faces serious challenges when it comes to sexual assault and domestic violence, among many other important issues.  And what better way to find a path forward to solving these challenges than a group of female policy-makers discussing how we can support each other and all women in Alaska?”  

You can find the rest of her floor speech on Gavel to Gavel.  Link to full speech here.

This powerful floor speech was followed by Rep. Fields reading an inappropriate and sexually offensive statement about Rep. Rasmussen that he said was intended as a joke. The impact of his words was harmful and traumatic. And it was followed by silence on the House floor. 

The silence over these moments, and related situations for years has created a culture in which it is not safe for women or other victims of sexual or other harassment to speak out. 

We appreciate the apology Rep. Fields made on social media after prompting from the public, and we would like to see him publicly acknowledge the impacts of his statements on the House Floor. We would also like to see more male legislators step up to hold one another accountable for these types of behaviors. 

In addition to speaking up when inappropriate behavior occurs, male legislators should support the emergent priorities of the newly forming Alaska Women’s Caucus. They can actively support policies like HB 5 - sponsored by Rep. Geran Tarr, which would increase the speed at which rape kit testing occurs, create further protections for underage victims of sexual abuse, and update the state’s decades-old sexual consent law; and HB 38 - sponsored by Rep. Zulkosky which would require the Department of Public Safety to employ two persons in the department to act as liaisons between law enforcement agencies and federally recognized tribes to investigate cases involving missing and murdered indigenous women. Male elected leaders can, and should, sponsor legislation that actively dismantles harm and trauma caused to women and vulnerable communities. 

Sincerely,

Louie Flora 

Bills/Hearings to Watch

Monday, March 1

9:00 a.m.
(S)FINANCEStanding Committee*
+- Alaska Industrial Development & Export
Authority(AIDEA) - Update on Projects,
Investments & Cash Flow
+- Alaska Energy Authority - Update on Assets,
Projects, Grants & Loans

1:00 p.m.
H)RESOURCESStanding Committee*
*+HB 10FUNTER BAY MARINE PARK: UNANGAN CEMETERY
-- Testimony <Invitation Only> --
*+HJR 12ENDORSING ANWR LEASING; RELATED ISSUES
-- Testimony <Invitation Only> --

1:30 p.m.
(S)JUDICIARYStanding Committee*
+SB 43ELECTIONS, VOTING, CAMPAIGN FINANCE
<Bill Hearing Canceled>
*+SB 82ELECTIONS; ELECTION INVESTIGATIONS
+Bills Previously Heard/Scheduled

3:30 p.m.
(S)RESOURCESStanding Committee*
-- Testimony <Invitation Only> --
+Presentation: Endangered Species Act and Other
Federal Concerns by the Department of Fish &
Game - Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang
**Streamed live on AKL.tv**
+Bills Previously Heard/Scheduled

5:45 p.m.
(H)LABOR & COMMERCEStanding Committee*
+Informational update on the status of Alaska's
construction industry
-- Testimony <Invitation Only> --

Tuesday, March 2

1:30 p.m.
(S)TRANSPORTATIONStanding Committee*
*+SB 74G.O. BONDS: STATE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS

3:30 p.m.
(S)STATE AFFAIRSStanding Committee*
*+SB 83ELECTIONS; VOTING; BALLOT REQS
*+SB 84LAND VOUCHERS; PFD
+=SJR 1CONST AM: GUARANTEE PERM FUND DIVIDEND
-- Testimony <Invitation Only> --
+Bills Previously Heard/Scheduled
**Streamed live on AKL.tv**

Wednesday, March 3

1:00 p.m.
(H)RESOURCESStanding Committee*
+=HJR 12ENDORSING ANWR LEASING; RELATED ISSUES
-- Public Testimony --
+Overview: Dept. of Environmental Conservation

1:30 p.m.
H)JUDICIARYStanding Committee*
+Presentation: Governor's Appointments & Alaska
Legislative Council vs. Dunleavy by
Megan Wallace, Legal Services Director

Thursday, March 4

8:00 a.m.
(H)TRIBAL AFFAIRSSpecial Committee*
+Presentation: Layers of Governance
-- Testimony <Invitation Only> -

10:00 a.m.
(H)FISH & GAMEFinance SubCommittee*
+Overview: Dept. of Fish & Game Budget
-- Testimony <Invitation Only> --
**Streamed live on AKL.tv**