The Alaska Senate on Monday approved a resolution backing construction of a road between King Cove and Cold Bay on the Alaska Peninsula.
House Joint Resolution 6 previously passed the House and is the first item of Legislative business to earn approval from both houses of the 30th Legislature.
The Senate voted 19-0 with Sen. Donny Olson, D-Nome, absent.
Nationally, the King Cove road has been a controversial subject. The single-lane gravel road would run between the two Alaska Peninsula towns, connecting King Cove with the long, all-weather runway in Cold Bay. The Alaska Legislature has always supported the project, but because the road would run through Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, the U.S. Department of the Interior under Barack Obama opposed it and denied permission for construction.
In the House on Monday, lawmakers voted 36-1 to approve House Bill 18, sponsored by Rep. Dan Ortiz, I-Ketchikan. The bill now goes to the Senate for approval, and if senators sign off, the Ketchikan Chamber of Commerce will be allowed to conduct a “race classic” gambling game.
In the “race classic,” participants will buy raffle tickets and guess the finishing time of the winning boat in the Race to Alaska between Port Townsend, Washington and Ketchikan.
“What this is is an unpowered boat race,” Ortiz said on the House floor before the vote.
“The Ketchikan Chamber of Commerce would like to be able to raise some funds to support the good work they do in the Ketchikan community,” Ortiz said.
The lone ‘no’ vote came from Rep. David Eastman, R-Wasilla.
Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, R-Anchorage; Rep. Charisse Millett, R-Anchorage; and Rep. Mark Neuman, R-Big Lake, were absent.
Contact Empire reporter James Brooks at james.k.brooks@juneauempire.com or 419-7732.
