On June 6, 1986, Gov. Bill Sheffield signed into law SB 391, a new ethics code outline for executive branch employees after Sheffield was heavily criticized by the Alaska Senate for his own actions the year before. Accused of using his position for his own interests, the Senate considered Sheffield’s impeachment during special session 1985. The law gives $62,000 to the Department of Law to investigate conflict of interest complaints and requires employees to report gifts worth $50 or more.
Sheffield also responded to communities with large alcohol abuse problems by signing into law a bill that allows individual communities to forbid the sale or import of alcohol, but not the consumption. The bill aims to help curb alcohol abuse, which many communities believe is a substantial problem in Alaska.
In Juneau, a new crisis hotline for late hours was put up by the Juneau Mental Health Clinic to address the growing need for crisis counseling among the town’s people.
The Juneau Cold Storage dock, an area owned by Sealaska Corporation and usually rented out by the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly, was being negotiated between the two bodies. Sealaska had offered to sell the area and the building, or else the municipality would have had to rent the dock for more than it did in the past.
