Rep. Ortiz: Legislature will likely reconvene before May deadline

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Saturday, April 25, 2020 at 8:13 PM

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Rep. Dan Ortiz of Ketchikan.

Ketchikan, Alaska (KINY) - Rep. Dan Ortiz of Ketchikan held a virtual town hall meeting with constituents on Saturday.

During the event, which can found at Rep. Ortiz's Facebook page, he was asked about whether the Legislature will be reconvening before the session expires in mid-May.

"I think it's highly likely that we will reconvene," Ortiz said. "We have up until around May 19 to reconvene within the regular session confines. Right now we're in recess and anytime we can reconvene just by a simple vote of the majority of the two bodies."

If the regular session expires, however, the Legislature can still meet in special session, Ortiz says.

"We can come together again through a special session," Ortiz said. "We, in the Legislature, can call ourselves back into special session. I believe it requires a two-thirds vote to do that. And the governor can also call us back, and so I think it's highly likely that we will, in one way or another, reconvene."

Ortiz added that the use of modern technology might be a way for legislators to stay safe if they do decide to reconvene.

"There's talk about this reconvening through virtual means and rather than physically reconvening in Juneau," Ortiz said.

The Legislature would likely need to reconvene in Juneau to make, change or suspend any of its uniform rules relating to how sessions may be held electronically in the future.

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