JUNEAU — State lawmakers are pushing to block legislators from fundraising for congressional campaigns while the Legislature is in session, but they may not have the right to do so.
In legal opinions released last week, a lawyer working for the Legislature argued that any state law restricting campaigns for federal office would be preempted by federal law.
The issue came to a head earlier this month when House Speaker John Harris, R-Valdez, publicly criticized Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, R-Kodiak, for continuing to fundraise for her congressional campaign during the legislative session.
LeDoux announced last week that she would hold off on fundraising for the rest of the session, writing in a statement that she would do “what is right” even if it made her run for office harder.
She said Tuesday that the legal opinions, one of which she requested, would not change her decision to stop fundraising.
But she did question whether lawmakers should support the bill.
“I don’t feel that we should be passing laws that are illegal,” she said.
The legislative lawyer, Alpheus Bullard, took some credit for the mix-up in a legal opinion provided to Rep. Kevin Meyer, R-Anchorage, who is sponsoring the bill.
Bullard wrote that when he drafted the bill for Meyer, he thought the state had the authority to restrict the activity of lawmakers — including campaign activities — even if it couldn’t restrict the activities of candidates for federal office.
“My understanding was in error,” he wrote.
Meyer said Tuesday he’d just as soon push ahead with the bill.
A separate analysis done by legislative researchers and given to Meyer found that three states “appear to ban” fundraising by lawmakers running for federal office, although similar laws in two other states were found to be pre-empted by federal law.
“It’s just one of things that you don’t know (if it’s legal) until it’s challenged,” Meyer said.
The bill was passed out of the House State Affairs Committee last week and sent to the Rules Committee to be scheduled for a floor vote. Committee chair Rep. John Coghill, R-North Pole, said the committee will hear the bill on Monday to consider the legal issue and any proposals to amend the bill.
LeDoux said she shared the legal opinion she got with members of the committee, but she didn’t weigh in herself on making changes to the bill.
Current law prohibits lawmakers from fundraising for campaigns for re-election to the Legislature.
The bill, HB 305, also applies to legislative staff members and to campaigns for municipal office.
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