JUNEAU -- The Capitol was quiet Tuesday, transitioning from a Senate Finance Committee meeting in Juneau on Monday to a House Finance Committee meeting in Anchorage on Wednesday while most legislators took a break.
Officially in a special session called by Gov. Bill Walker after they were unable to adopt a fully funded state budget, leaders of the Republican-controlled House and Senate majority caucuses called a "recess" when Walker denied their request for a vacation.
It is not clear how much work will get done. The House Finance Committee scheduled its meetings in Anchorage after legislators said they doubted the veracity of the public comments they were getting on issues such as Medicaid expansion, school funding and other topics.
But the committee is scheduled to hear a presentation from Walker administration budget director Pat Pitney and its own budget experts and has no public testimony scheduled in Anchorage.
And it is not clear whether the Senate Finance Committee will meet again during the recess.
Sen. Pete Kelly, R-Fairbanks, co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee, ended Monday's meeting with Pitney saying he was unsure whether they'd meet Tuesday. But he then decided that they couldn't.
"I think we were going to meet with the administration, and both your people are in transit," Kelly said to Pitney on Monday. "So, no meeting tomorrow."
Four hours later, Kelly and other finance committee members were on a plane out of Juneau, and most are now in Anchorage or elsewhere.
No further Senate Finance Committee meetings had been scheduled as of Tuesday evening.
And one further indication of nothing happening in Juneau: The legislative lounge is closed until May 12.