Alaska lawmakers return to a state Capitol locked down for COVID-19

Representative-elect David Nelson, R-Anchorage, talks to new House pages on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021 before a training session for new legislators and staff. (James Brooks / ADN)

JUNEAU — Even sculptures are wearing masks.

The 32nd Alaska State Legislature convenes on Tuesday, and legislators will be working under conditions unlike any faced by lawmakers before. Masks are mandated, and everyone in the building is taking two COVID-19 tests per week. Plexiglass divides the desks and the galleries in the House and Senate chambers.

A wooden sculpture of "Uhtred Permanentfundsen," defender of the Alaska Permanent Fund, wears a fabric mask outside the office of Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, on Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. Stedman represents the town of Petersburg, in Southeast Alaska, which has a rich Scandinavian heritage. (James Brooks / ADN)

The public has been banned from the building, spectators replaced by robotic cameras in every committee room. Once per day, everyone entering the building must have their temperature taken and answer a questionnaire asking whether they’ve been exposed to someone with COVID-19.

Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer, talks to a COVID-19 screener in the lobby of the Alaska State Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021. At background is Rep. David Eastman, R-Wasilla. (James Brooks / ADN)

The first legislators to reach Juneau were the newly elected. They have a week of orientation and training before their swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday. More experienced legislators are arriving as late as Sunday.

Neither the House nor Senate has selected a leader, and it isn’t certain whether either half of the Legislature will do so before Tuesday.

The office of the Senate President bore no nameplate on Monday, Jan. 11, 2021 as Senators had failed to name new leaders. (James Brooks / ADN)

The chambers of the Alaska Senate, seen Monday, Jan. 11, 2021 have been divided with plexiglass shields intended to prevent the spread of COVID-19. (James Brooks / ADN)

Representative-elect Christopher Kurka, R-Wasilla, reacts on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021 after being handed a face shield by the assistant Sergeant at Arms in the Alaska House of Representatives. Kurka, who entered the House chambers without a mask, was asked to wear the face shield during a training session for new legislators. (James Brooks / ADN)

Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau, acts as the presiding officer on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021 for a mock floor session in the state Capitol intended to train new Alaska legislators. (James Brooks / ADN)

Representative-elect David Nelson, R-Anchorage, returns the phone of Representative-elect Calvin Schrage, I-Anchorage, after taking his photo on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021 before a training session on the floor of the Alaska House of Representatives. (James Brooks / ADN)

Alaska lawmakers return to a state Capitol locked down for COVID-19

The legislative session starts Jan. 19 with no public allowed in the building and a lot of plexiglass.

James Brooks