JUNEAU — A committee of Alaska legislative leaders Wednesday unanimously approved a $400,000 computer upgrade for lawmakers and staff — a step that could ultimately save $150,000 on annual moving costs.
The "workstation mobility" project will pay for new monitors, color printers and docking stations in Juneau and legislators' home districts that will plug into a laptop or small computer that can be easily carried between the two offices.
Currently, the state pays for lawmakers to move desktop computers and other equipment between Juneau and Anchorage — a process that takes weeks and involves hundreds of boxes.
At a Wednesday morning meeting of the Legislative Council — the bipartisan House-Senate committee filled with legislative leaders that approves lawmakers' own expenses — members approved the upgrade without objection from even its most conservative members.
"They're pitching it as saving money," said Wasilla Republican Rep. David Eastman, a committee member, referring to legislative support staff. "I think it's unique to the Legislature going to Juneau and going somewhere else."
The project, which comes amid a state budget crisis, is estimated to cost about $2,500 for each lawmaker and staff.
The package was developed after testing by a legislative focus group. It will be paid for with money left over from the Legislature's 2012 capital budget.