Alaska Capitol won’t have a TSA-style security checkpoint, for now

The Alaska State Capitol won’t have an airport-style security checkpoint, for now, after legislators tabled the contentious plans Thursday.

The Legislative Council — a committee that represents the Alaska Legislature as a whole — could take the issue up again when the Legislature convenes in January, lawmakers said Thursday.

The proposed security measures meant visitors would have passed through a metal detector or gotten a pat-down screening to enter the state Capitol. Bags, packages and personal items were set to be screened through X-ray machines.

The checkpoint would have ended decades of open public access to the state Capitol.

For security reasons, legislators debated the proposed changes in executive session. The closed-door discussion took almost three hours on Thursday.

Sen. Jesse Kiehl, a Juneau Democrat, opposed the planned security checkpoint. He said the measures would have overly burdened visitors, and left them standing in sleet and snow, waiting to speak to lawmakers.

Kiehl said some new security measures could be implemented in the Capitol, but he thought the tabled proposals went too far.

“I think there are some worthwhile things we can do to improve security,” he said about threats to lawmakers. “No one is putting their fingers in their ears and saying it can’t happen here.”

According to the National Council of State Legislatures, seven state capitols had no form of security screening as of February.

Kodiak Republican Senate President Gary Stevens said he hoped the security measures would be considered again. Stevens said there seemed to be a perception that Alaska was unique, and somehow immune from mass shootings.

“I think that we are much like the rest of the world, and that we need to be protective of ourselves and of our staff,” he said.

Some opponents of the security plans said the Capitol was already difficult to access for visitors to Juneau, and that a TSA-style checkpoint would make it less accessible.

Stevens disagreed with that argument, and noted that “people have to go through a metal detector to come on the airplane.”

The Legislative Council also tabled a plan Thursday that required color-coded passes to be worn in the Capitol by visitors, legislative staff, lobbyists and members of the media to “enhance security” and “maintain a professional environment.”

However, the committee on Thursday did approve relocating the Capitol mailroom off-site with the intention of improving security. The estimated cost of the move was $617,500.

JC Kestel, procurement manager at the state Capitol, said Thursday the new mailroom site would include added security screening measures for explosives and biological agents.

In 2021, a deactivated grenade and rifle round was mailed to the Capitol. Although benign, the package did prompt security concerns.

Jessica Geary, director of the Legislative Affairs Agency, said a recent assessment determined that relocating the mailroom offsite would be “a critical step” in addressing existing security vulnerabilities.

Legislative Council on Thursday also approved a three-year contract with a firm to improve state cybersecurity. The contract was set to cost $180,000 for the first year.