Chapter 387. To create a legislative assembly in the Territory of Alaska, to confer legislative power thereon, and for other purposes
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CHAP. 387.— An Act To create a legislative assembly in the Territory of Alaska, to confer legislative power thereon, and for other purposes.August 24, 1912.[[H. R. 38](/us/bill/62/hr/38).][[Public, No. 334](/us/pl/62/334).] *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*,Alaska.Territorial organization for.Vol. 15, p. 534. Alaska Territory organized.— That the territory ceded, to the United States by Russia by the treaty of March thirtieth, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and known as Alaska, shall be and constitute the Territory of Alaska under the laws of the United States, the government of which shall be organized and administered as provided by said laws.
Sec. 2. Capital at Juneau. Capital at Juneau.— That the capital of the Territory of Alaska shall be at the city of Juneau, Alaska, and the seat of government shall be maintained there. Sec. 3. Constitution and laws extended. Constitution and laws of United States extended.— That the Constitution of the United States, and all the laws thereof which are not locally inapplicable, shall have the same force and effect within the said Territory as elsewhere in the United States; that all the laws of the United States heretofore passed establishing the executive and judicial departments in Alaska shall continue in full force and effect until amended or repealed by Act of Congress; that except as heroin provided all laws now in force in Alaska shall continue in full force and effect until altered, amended, or repealed *Provisos*.Restriction on altering, etc., specified laws in force.by Congress or by the legislature: *Provided*, That the authority herein granted to the legislature to alter, amend, modify, and repeal laws in force in Alaska shall not extend to the customs, internal-revenue, postal, or other general laws of the United States or to the game, fish, and fur-seal laws and laws relating to fur-bearing animals of the United States applicable to Alaska, or to the laws of the United States providing for taxes on business and trade, or to the Vol. 33, p. 616. 513Act entitled “ An Act to provide for the construction and maintenance of roads, the establishment and maintenance of schools, and the care and support of insane persons in the District of Alaska, and for other purposes,” approved January twenty-seventh, nineteen hun- dred and five, and the several Acts amendatory thereof: *Provided*Taxation. *further*, That this provision shall not operate to prevent the legislative from imposing other and additional taxes or licenses.
AndDistrict court officials. the legislature shall pass no law depriving the judges and officers of the district court of Alaska of any authority, jurisdiction, or function exercised by like judges or officers of district courts of the United States. Sec. 4. The legislature.— That the legislative power and authorityLegislature. of said Territory shall be vested in a legislature, which shall contest of a senate and a house of representatives. The senateSenate.Membership. shall consist of eight members, two from each of the four judicial divisions into which Alaska is now divided by Act of Congress, each of whom shall have at the time of his election the qualifications of an elector in Alaska, and shall have been a resident and an inhabitant in the division from which he is elected for at least two years prior to the date of his election.
The term of office of each member of theTerm, senate shall be four years: *Provided*, That immediately after they*Provisos*.Division in two classes. shall be assembled in consequence of the first election they shall, by lot or drawing, be divided in each division into two classes; the seats of the members of the first class shall be vacated at the end of two years and the seats of the members of the second class shall be vacated at the end of four years, so that one member of the senate shall, after the first election, be elected biennially at the regular election from each division.
The house of representatives shallHouse of representatives.Membership.Term. consist of sixteen members, four from each of the four judicial divisions into which Alaska is now divided by Act of Congress. The term of office of each representative shall be for two years and each representative shall possess the same qualifications as are prescribed for members of the senate and the persons receiving the highest number of legal votes in each judicial division cast in said election for senator or representative shall be deemed and declared elected to such office: *Provided*, That in the event of a tie vote the candidates thus affected shall settle the question by lot.
In case of aVacancies. vacancy in either branch of the legislature the governor shall order an election to fill such vacancy, giving due and proper notice thereof. That each member of the legislature shall be paid by the UnitedPay and mileage. States the sum of fifteen dollars per day for each day’s attendance while the legislature is in session, and mileage in addition, at the rate of fifteen cents per mile for each mile from his home to the capital and return by the nearest traveled route.
Sec. 5. Election of members of the legislature.— That theElections biennially. first election for members of the Legislature of Alaska shall be held on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November, nineteen hundred and twelve, and all subsequent elections for the election of such members shall be held on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November biennially thereafter; that the qualifications ofQualifications, etc. electors, the regulations governing the creation of voting precincts, the appointment and qualifications of election officers, the supervision of elections, the giving of notices thereof, the forms of ballots, the register of votes, the challenging of voters, and the returns and the canvass of the returns of the result of all such elections for members of the legislature shall be the same as those prescribed in the Act of Congress entitled “An Act providing for the election of aVol. 34, p. 169.
Delegate to the House of Representatives from the Territory of Alaska,” approved May seventh, nineteen hundred and six, and all the provisions of said Act which are applicable are extended to said elections for members of the legislature, and shall govern the same, and the canvassing board created by said Act shall canvass the returnsCanvassing returns. of such elections and issue certificates of election to each member elected to the said legislature; and all the penal provisions containedPenalties.Vol. 34, p. 174. in section fifteen of the said Act shall apply to elections for 514 members of the legislature as fully as they now apply to elections for Delegate from Alaska to the House of Representatives.
Sec. 6. Sessions of legislature every two yearn Convening and sessions of legislature.— That the legislature of Alaska shall convene at the capitol at the city of Juneau, Alaska, on the first Monday in March in the year nineteen hundred and thirteen, and on the first Monday in March every two ears Limitation.thereafter; but the said legislature shall not continue in session longer than sixty days in any two years unless again conversed in Extraordinary sessions.extraordinary session by a proclamation of the governor, which shall set forth the object thereof and give at least thirty days’ writen notice to each member of said legislature, and in such case shall not continue in session longer than fifteen days.
The governor of Alaska is hereby authorized to convene the legislature in extraordinary session for a period not exceeding fifteen days when requested to do so by the President of the United States, or when any public danger or necessity may require it. Sec. 7. Organization.Presiding officers. Organization of the legislature.— That when the legislature shall convene under the law, the senate and house of representatives shall each organize by the election of one of their number as presiding officer, who shall be designated in the case of the senate as “president of the senate” and in the case of the house of Subordinate officers.representatives as “speaker of the house of representatives,” and by the election by each body of the subordinate officers provided for in section [R.
S., sec. 1861, p. 329](/us/rs/s1861/p329).eighteen hundred and sixty-one of the United States Revised Statutes of eighteen hundred and seventy-eight, and each of said subordinate officers shall receive the compensation provided in that section: *Proviso*.Restriction.*Provided*, That no person shall be employed for whom salary, wages, or compensation is not provided in the appropriation made by Congress. Sec. 8. Form, etc., of laws. Enacting clause—Subject of act.— That the enacting clause of all laws passed by the legislature shall be “Be it enacted by the Legislature of the Territory of Alaska.
” No law shall embrace more than one subject, which shall be expressed in its title. Sec. 9. Limitations of legislative power. Legislative power—Limitations.— The legislative power of the Territory shall extend to all rightful subjects of legislation not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States, but no law shall be passed interfering with the primary disposal of Taxation.the soil; no tax shall be imposed upon the property of the United States; nor shall the lands or other property of nonresidents be Special privileges, etc.taxed higher than the lands or other property of residents; nor shall the legislature grant to any corporation, association, or individual any special or exclusive privilege, immunity, or franchise without the Specified local, etc., laws.affirmative approval of Congress; nor shall the legislature pass local or special laws in any of the cases enumerated in the Act of July thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-six; nor shall it grant General incorporation law permitted.Extent of.private charters or special privileges, but it may, by general act, permit persons to associate themselves together as bodies corporate for manufacturing, mining, agricultural, and other industrial pursuits, and for the conduct of business of insurance, savings banks, banks of discount and deposit (but not of issue), loans, trust, and guaranty associations, for the establishment and conduct of cemeteries, and for the construction and operation of railroads, wagon roads, vessels, and irrigating ditches, and the colonization and improvement of lands in connection therewith, or for colleges, seminaries, churches, libraries, or any other benevolent, charitable, or scientific association, Limited to the Territory.but the authority embraced in this section shall only permit the organization of corporations or associations whose chief business shall Divorce restrictions.be in the Territory of Alaska; no divorce shall be granted by the legislature, nor shall any divorce be granted by the courts of the Territory, unless the applicant therefor shall have resided in the 515 Territory for two years next preceding the application, which residence and all causes for divorce shall be determined by the court upon evidence adduced in open court; nor shall any lottery or theLottery, gambling, liquors, etc. sale of lottery tickets be allowed; nor shall the legislature or any municipality interfere with or attempt in anywise to limit the Acts of Congress to prevent and punish gambling, and all gambling implements shall be seized by the United States marshal or any of his deputies, or any constable or police officer, and destroyed; nor shall spirituous or intoxicating liquors be manufactured or sold, except under such regulations and restrictions as Congress shall provide; nor shall any public money be appropriated by the Territory or any municipal corporation therein for the support or benefit of any sectarian,Support of sectarian schools.Subscriptions to corporations. denominational, or private school, or any school not under the exclusive control of the Government; nor shall the Government of the Territory of Alaska or any political or municipal corporation or subdivision of the Territory make any subscription to the capital stock of any incorporated company, or in any manner lend its credit for the use thereof; nor shall the Territory, or any municipal corporation therein, have power or authority to create or assume anyBonded indebtedness. bonded indebtedness whatever; nor to borrow money in the name of the Territory or of any municipal division thereof; nor to pledge the faith of the people of the same for any loan whatever, either directly or indirectly; nor to create, nor to assume, any indebtedness, except for the actual running expenses thereof; and no such indebtedness for actual running expenses shall be created or assumed in excess ofIndebtedness for running expenses allowed. the actual income of the Territory or municipality for that year, including as a part of such income appropriations then made by Congress, and taxes levied and payable and applicable to the payment of such indebtedness and cash and other money credits on hand and applicable and not already pledged for prior indebtedness: *Provided*,*Provisos*.Payment.
That all authorized indebtedness shall be paid in the order of its creation; all taxes shall be uniform upon the same class of subjects and shall be levied and collected under general laws, and the assessments shall be according to the actual value thereof. No tax shallLimit on taxes. be levied for Territorial purposes in excess of one per centum upon the assessed valuation of property therein in any one year; nor shall any incorporated town or municipality levy any tax, for any purpose, in excess of two per centum of the assessed valuation of property within the town in any one year: *Provided*, That the Congress reservesTax on railroads reserved to Congress. the exclusive power for live years from the date of the approval of this Act to fix and impose any tax or taxes upon railways or rail-way property in Alaska, and no acts or laws passed by the Legislature of Alaska providing for a county form of government therein shall have any force or effect until it shall be submitted to and approved by the affirmative action of Congress; and all laws passed,Inconsistent acts, etc., void. or attempted to be passed, by such legislature in said Territory inconsistent with the provisions of this section shall be null and void: *Provided further*, That nothing herein contained shall be held toWomen suffrage permitted. abridge the right of the legislature to modify the qualifications of electors by extending the elective franchise to women.
Sec. 10. Rules, quorum, and majority.— That the senate andLegislative rules. house of representatives shall each choose its own officers, determine the rules of its own proceedings not inconsistent with tins Act, and keep a journal of its proceedings; that the ayes and noes of the members of either house on any question shall, at the request of one-fifth of the members present, be entered upon the journal; that a majority of the members to which each house is entitled shall constitute a quorum of such house for the conduct of business, of which quorum a majority vote shall suffice; that a smaller number than a quorum may adjourn from day to day and compel the attendance of 516 absent members, in such manner and under such penalties as each house may provide; that for the purpose of ascertaining whether there is a quorum present the presiding officer shall count and report the actual number of members present.
Sec. 11. Legislators. Legislator shall not hold other office.— That no Restriction on holding office.member of the legislature shall hold or be appointed to any office which has been created, or the salary or emoluments of which have been increased, while he was a member, during the term for which he Federal officials ineligible.was elected and for one year after the expiration of such term; and no person holding a commission or appointment under the United States shall be a member of the legislature or shall hold any office under the government of said Territory.
Sec. 12. Exemptions. Exemptions of legislators.— That no member of the legislature shall be held to answer before any other tribunal for any words uttered in the exercise of his legislative functions. That the members of the legislature shall, in all cases except treason, felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance upon the sessions of the respective houses, and in going to and *Proviso*.Period of.returning from the same: *Provided*, That such privilege as to going and returning shall not cover a period of more than ten days each way, except in the second division, when it shall extend to twenty days each way, and the fourth division to fifteen days each way.
Sec. 13. Passage of laws. Passage of laws.— That a bill in order to become a law shall have three separate readings in each house, the final passage of which in each house shall be by a majority vote of all the members to which such house is entitled, taken by ayes and noes, and entered Enrollment.upon its journal. That every bill, when passed by the house in which it originated or in which amendments thereto shall have originated, shall immediately be enrolled and certified by the presiding officer and the clerk and sent to the other house for consideration.
Sec. 14. Bills to be signed by governor. The veto power.— That, except as herein provided, all bills passed by the legislature shall, in order to be valid, be signed by the governor. That every bill which shall have passed the legislature shall be certified by the presiding officers and clerks of both houses, and shall thereupon be presented to the governor. If he approves it, he shall sign it and it shall become a law at the expiration of ninety days thereafter, unless sooner given effect by a two-thirds vote of said Veto power.legislature.
If the governor does not approve such bill, he may return it, with his objections, to the legislature. He may veto any specific item or items in any bill which appropriates money for specific Passage over veto by two-thirds vote.purposes, but shall veto other bills, if at all, only as a whole. That upon the receipt of a veto message from the governor each house of the legislature shall enter the same at large upon its journal and proceed to reconsider such bill, or part of a bill, and again vote upon it by ayes and noes, which shall be entered upon its journal.
If, after such reconsideration, such bill or part of a bill shall be approved by a two-thirds vote of all the members to which each house is entitled, it shall Laws in effect without signature.thereby become a law. That if the governor neither signs nor vetoes a bill within three days (Sundays excepted) after it is delivered to him, it shall become a law without his signature, unless the legislature adjourns sine die prior to the expiration of such three days. If any bill shall not be returned by the governor within three days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the legislature, by its adjournment, prevents the return of the bill, in which case it shall not be a law.
Sec. 15. Annual appropriation by Congress for legislative expenses. Payment of legislative expenses.— That there shall be annually appropriated by Congress a sum sufficient to pay the salaries of members and authorized employees of the Legislature of Alaska, the printing of the laws, and other incidental expenses thereof; the 517 said sums shall be disbursed by the governor of Alaska, under sole instructions from the Secretary of the Treasury, and he shall account quarterly to the Secretary for the manner in which the said funds shall have been expended; and no expenditure, to be paid out of money appropriated by Congress, shall be made by the governor or by the legislature for objects not authorized by the Acts of Congress making the appropriations, nor beyond the sums thus appropriated for such objects.
Sec. 16. Laws than shitted to President and printed.—Transmission of session laws. That the governor of Alaska shall, within ninety days after the close of each session of the Legislature of the Territory of Alaska, transmit a correct copy of all the laws and resolutions passed by the said legislature, certified to by the secretary of the Territory, with the seal of the Territory attached; one copy to the President of the United States, and one to the Secretary of State of the United States; and the legislature shall make provisions for printing the session laws and resolutions within ninety days after the close of each session and for their distribution to public officials and sale to the people of the Territory.
Sec. 17. Election of Delegates.— That after the year nineteenDelegates.Time changed for election of.Vol. 34, p. 170, amended. hundred and twelve the election for Delegate from the Territory of Alaska, provided by “An Act providing for the election of a Delegate to the House of Representatives from the Territory of Alaska,” approved May seventh, nineteen hundred and six, shall be held on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November in the year nineteen hundred and fourteen, and every second year thereafter on the said Tuesday next after the first Monday in November, and all of the provisions of the aforesaid Act shall continue to be in full force and effect and shall apply to the said election in every respect as is now provided for the election to be held in the month of August therein: *Provided*, That the time for holding an election in said Territory*Provisos*.Legislature may provide for filling vacancies. for Delegate in Alaska to the House of Representatives to fill a vacancy, whether such vacancy is caused by failure to elect at the time prescribed by law, or by the death, resignation, or incapacity of a person elected, may be prescribed by an act passed by the Legislature of the Territory of Alaska: *Provided further*, That when suchConduct of elections. election is held it shall be governed in every respect by the laws passed by Congress governing such election.
Sec. 18. Creating railroad commission.— That an officer of theRailroad commission created.Composition of. Engineer Corps of the United States Army, a geologist in charge of Alaska surveys, an officer in the Engineer Corps of the United States Navy, and a civil engineer who has had practical experience in rail-road construction and has not been connected with any railroad enterprise in said Territory be appointed by the President as a commission hereby authorized and instructed to conduct an examination into the transportation question in the Territory of Alaska; to examine rail-roadScope of investigations to be made by. routes from the seaboard to the coal fields and to the interior and navigable waterways; to secure surveys and other information with respect to railroads, including cost of construction and operation; to obtain information in respect to the coal fields and their proximity to railroad routes; and to make report of the facts to Congress on orReports and recommendations for developingresources. before the first day of December, nineteen hundred and twelve, or as soon thereafter as may be practicable, together with their conclusions and recommendations in respect to the best and most available routes for railroads in Alaska which will develop the country and the resources thereof for the use of the people of the United States: *Provided further*, That the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars, or so*Proviso*.Appropriation for expenses. much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated to defray the expenses of said commission. 518 Sec. 19.
Laws relating to Alaska.Compilation to be made of all. That the Committee on Territories of the Senate and the Committee on Territories of the House of Representatives are hereby authorized, empowered, and directed to jointly codify, compile, publish, and annotate all the laws of the United States applicable to the Territory of Alaska, and said committees are jointly authorized to Appropriation.employ such assistance as may be necessary for that purpose; and the sum of five thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to cover the expenses of said work, which shall be paid upon vouchers properly signed and approved by the chairmen of said committees.
Sec. 20. Territorial laws to be submitted to Congress.Void if disapproved. Laws shall be submitted to Congress.— That all laws passed by the Legislature of the Territory of Alaska shall be submitted to the Congress by the President of the United States, and, if disapproved by Congress, they shall be null and of no effect. Approved, August 24, 1912.