Scenes from the first day of the 31st session of the Alaska Legislature on Tuesday, Jan. 15.
Read our full coverage:
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Juneau’s new state senator gets committee assignments
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• Contact staff photographer Michael Penn at 523-2262 and mpenn@juneauempire.com. Follow our Instagram at @Juneau.Life.
Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau, receives a kiss from his daughter, Adara, before Kiehl is sworn in on the first day of the 31st Session of the Alaska Legislature on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Sen. Mia Costello, R-Anchorage, right, and Senate President Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage, speak during a Senate Majority press conference on the opening day of the 31st Session of the Alaska Legislature on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Senate President reacts to the opening bells played by pages on the first day of the 31st Session of the Alaska Legislature on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Boys Scouts wait to present the colors on the opening day of the 31st Session of the Alaska Legislature on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Alyssa Fischer sings in the Senate on the opening day of the 31st Session of the Alaska Legislature on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Rep. Geran Tarr, D-Anchorage, right, pins a flower for Rep. Matt Claman, D-Anchorage, on the opening day of the 31st Session of the Alaska Legislature on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
House Republicians huddle for a decision on the opening day of the 31st Session of the Alaska Legislature on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Sen. Tom Begich, D-Anchorage, left, pins a flower on incoming Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau, on the opening day of the 31st Session of the Alaska Legislature on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Boy Scout Orion Swanson leads the Pledge of Allegiance of the United States on the opening day of the 31st Session of the Alaska Legislature on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Sen. Jesse Kiehl is congratulated after being sworn in on the opening day of the 31st Session of the Alaska Legislature on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Senate President Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage, gavels in on the opening day of the 31st Session of the Alaska Legislature on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Sen. Lora Reinbold, R-Eagle River, left, Sen. President Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage, center, and Majority Leader Sen. Mia Costello, R-Anchorage, study their play book on the opening day of the 31st Session of the Alaska Legislature on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Senate President Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage, and Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, speak during a Senate Majority press conference on the opening day of the 31st Session of the Alaska Legislature on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, left, congratulates Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer, Rep. Gary Knopp, R-Kenai, and Rep. Ben Carpenter, R-Nikiski, right, after being sworn in on the opening day of the 31st Session of the Alaska Legislature on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Rep. Dan Ortiz, I-Ketchikan, left, Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, D-Sitka, Rep. Andi Story, D-Juneau, and Rep. Sara Hannan, D-Juneau, take the oath of office on the opening day of the 31st Session of the Alaska Legislature on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Republican Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer, seated at the Speaker of the House chair, and Democratic legislators argue over what he can do on the first day of the 31st session of the Alaska Legislature on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Democratic legislators huddle on the opening day of the 31st Session of the Alaska Legislature on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Rep. George Rauscher, R-Sutton, left, speaks with Sharon Jackson on the opening day of the 31st Session of the Alaska Legislature on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019. Jackson is Gov. Michael J. Dunleavy’s pick to replace Nancy Dahlstrom’s House District 13 seat for Chugiak. That position was left vacant in December after Dunleavy appointed Dahlstrom to be Department of Corrections commissioner. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, D-Sitka, steps out of the House chambers to use his cell phone on the opening day of the 31st Session of the Alaska Legislature on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Sen. Mike Shower, R-Wasilla, left, and Sen. Shelley Hughes, R-Palmer, relay a message to Gov. Michael J. Dunleavy in his Capitol office that the Senate is open and ready for business on the first day of the 31st Session of the Alaska Legislature on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
