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Efforts to move the state capital to Anchorage have ramped up this week, with proposals to hold all special sessions outside Juneau and build a new legislative hall in the Anchorage area.

Rep. Andrea Doll, D-Juneau, said she didn't know what was prompting the sudden flurry of hearings on capital issues.

"I guess they were waiting for the stars to align," she said. "They seem to be aligning at this moment."

The special session issue arose last summer when Gov. Sarah Palin called one to discuss oil taxes and suggested it be held "on the road system."

That session was eventually held in Juneau, but now Rep. Carl Gatto, R-Palmer, has introduced House Bill 318 to require future special sessions to be held "on the interconnected road system."

To Gatto, that means not in Juneau, despite the existence of the Alaska Marine Highway.

"Clearly you are not on the road system if you've got to take a ferry," he said.

Another special session last year marked the first time since statehood that a legislative session was held outside the capital. The session's business was concluded in a single day, a result Gatto called "extraordinary." Juneau representatives, however, said it was a problem the session couldn't be viewed on Gavel to Gavel.

The session location was more convenient for legislators who lived in Southcentral Alaska, but harder for the public to observe, Win Gruening, chairman of the Alaska Committee, told the House State Affairs Committee on Tuesday. The Alaska Committee is a group that works to maintain the capital in Juneau.

Gruening said the existence of the Gavel to Gavel television network in Juneau was a key reason why sessions are better held in the capital, and the June special session showed what was wrong with sessions elsewhere.

"You've increased access for several dozen people who may attend, but taken it away from thousands," he said.

The Gavel to Gavel network, Gruening said, has spent millions in designing and constructing a system, as well as training personnel, creating archives and backups. All that was done at no cost to the state, he said.

Rep. Craig Johnson, R-Anchorage, said there were mobile TV cameras available in the Anchorage area that now go to hockey games and could cover the Legislature.

"The Gavel to Gavel issue, while it is an issue, is not a deal killer," he said.

Gruening said the June special session showed that the Legislature could already hold sessions outside Juneau if it chose.

"The fact that a special session was held outside the capital proves only that this bill is unnecessary," he said.

After Palin suggested holding last fall's oil tax session outside Juneau, legislators voted for Juneau instead, most citing the availability of the infrastructure they needed, including offices, telephones, meeting rooms and staff.

Gatto said fears that his bill would mean an eventual capital move were overblown.

"House Bill 318 does not propose moving the capital - only the location the Legislature convenes during special session," he said.

Gatto said having cranky legislators who don't want to be in Juneau won't be good for the city anyway.

"If you really want to save the capital, you need to kick us out for the special sessions," he said.

Rep. Mark Neuman, R-Wasilla, introduced a bill to build a new legislative hall when the legislative session began in 2007. The bill will get its first hearing Thursday.

That legislation would let communities from around the state compete to offer to build the state a new capital.

Doll said she hoped the shortened legislative session would mean capital move issues will soon take a back seat to issues with more statewide importance.

"It seems to me that the real tension is going to be budget items, and that's going to happen real soon," she said. "Whether any of these things survive when full attention is given to the budget, I don't know."

• Contact reporter Pat Forgey at586-4816 or e-mail patrick.forgey@juneauempire.com.