This is a bit technical but hang tight with me. If you can track what happened technically, you can better understand what happened politically.
I offered two amendments on the Senate floor last week to a bill (SB 52) which had a title that began with the broad topic of education, the exact words: “An act relating to education”. In our Alaska statutes, Title 14 is dedicated to the broad and important topic of education.
My two amendments (Amendment #7 and Amendment #8) pertained to two sections of Title 14. They were ruled out of order by the Senate President – that they were not “germane” to the bill. The basis used for the ruling was Rule 402 of Mason’s Manual:
The problem with the ruling is that both amendments pertained to education and fell under Title 14.
The Rules Chair made the argument that the bill was about school funding, but my two amendments were not about school funding. The underlying bill, however, pertains to a variety of sections in Title 14, some which pertain to funding and some that have nothing to do with funding: 14.03, 14.07, 14.09, 14.17. Adding language regarding 14.18 (Amendment #7), 14.30, and 14.33 (Amendment #8) was as germane as other pieces of the bill that were added as amendments in the Education Committee. In fact, Amendment #8 proposed language regarding section 14.03 which was already in the bill.
While the bill did devote a few short sections to the amount of the base student allocation and pupil transportation funding, other sections pertained to the collection of data from districts, the reporting of information by the Department of Education and Early Development in a user-friendly dashboard, and the tracking of high school graduates with coordination with the Department of Labor.
The amendments I offered had to do with district policies and curriculum. Amendment #7 would have designated girls’ school sports for biological females (what I’ve referred to as “protect girls’ sports” policy). Amendment #8 would have shored up parental rights to access student records, to grant proactive consent for participation in certain activities, to prohibit sex education prior to 4th grade, and to designate school restrooms, locker rooms, showers by biological sex and provide single-occupancy options.
Our legislative legal division consistently informs us when what we request as an amendment is not germane and legal. The drafter informed me that a different amendment I had requested – to allow districts to opt into the state employee health insurance pool – would not be germane and legal because it reached into other titles and areas of law. The drafter did not inform that Amendments #7 and #8 were not germane.
Back to the ruling. When the presiding officer makes a ruling, the ruling is not debatable. Procedural rulings are not debatable according to Mason’s Rules because they are supposed to be only for mundane, routine things where debate is unnecessary. This is why procedural rulings should not be used for political purposes like they were in this case. Although I couldn’t debate the ruling, I could and did make a motion to object to it, which put the ruling to a vote.
The problem is that the binding Senate Majority Caucus requires members to uphold the ruling of the presiding officer. Even though some Majority members may have supported my amendments and disagreed with the ruling, when the vote was taken, my amendments were as good as dead.
As mentioned, I couldn’t speak when the vote on the ruling was taken, but I did discuss what happened at the end of the floor session under Special Orders. I made it clear to the public what the amendments were about and that the ruling was on shaky ground.
Rulings are to keep order and prevent chaos and should be based on actual rules. They should not be made for political purposes. They should not be made to avoid an uncomfortable vote. They should not be made because there’s disagreement with the policy in an amendment. They should not be made because it will extend the floor session a little longer. I believe that all of the above were in play on Amendments #7 and #8.
But here’s what really matters. These are policies that thousands of Alaskans believe are important. These are policies that Alaskans would like the legislature to take up and settle. These are policies Alaska believes are worth debating and deciding.
The vast majority of Alaskans want girls’ sports protected for fairness, safety, and equal-opportunity’s sake for our girls and young women. The vast majority of Alaskans want restrooms and showers designated by biological sex and don’t want sex education taught to first graders. The vast majority of Alaskans don’t want students bombarded with sexual and gender agendas; they want lines drawn in the sand on these issues and focus to return to academic learning.
What happened on the Senate floor last week deprived Alaskans from the opportunity for the process to move forward so that these matters can be settled in our schools.