Election reform, transgender athlete ban, age-verification for apps:

Jan. 18—JUNEAU — Alaska legislators on Friday unveiled a second batch of measures that were prefiled ahead of Tuesday’s start to the legislative session.

Eighty-one measures were announced last week. A further 20 bills were unveiled Friday — 10 are set to be introduced in the state Senate and 10 in the House.

Reforming Alaska’s election system is expected to be a major topic of discussion this session.

Rep. Calvin Schrage, an Anchorage independent who is part of the incoming Democrat-dominated House majority, has a measure that would make sweeping changes to how Alaskans vote.

According to data from the Alaska Division of Elections, 1,303 absentee ballots were rejected in the Nov. 5 election. In many cases, those votes weren’t counted because of a missing witness signature on the ballot envelope.

Schrage’s bill would allow voters to correct errors with their absentee ballots — a process known as ballot curing — that is allowed in Anchorage municipal elections.

Additionally, Schrage’s bill would see the state pay for postage for absentee ballots; early voting would start 30 days before an election, instead of 15 days as exists in current law, and Alaskans could now register to vote within 30 days of Election Day.

[Earlier: No cellphones in schools, free meals for children, a state flood authority: Here are some of lawmakers’ first ideas ahead of the legislative session]

Several measures announced Friday would change Alaska’s criminal code.

In August, a U.S. Army soldier in Alaska was arrested for possessing child pornography that was generated using artificial intelligence. The case is believed to be the first federal prosecution involving purely AI-generated imagery, NPR reported.

Rep. Sarah Vance, a Homer Republican, introduced a bill that would criminalize AI-generated child sex abuse material in state law.

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Vance, who is set to serve in the incoming Republican House minority, also proposed a measure requiring an age verification process to download apps. The goal behind the measure is to protect children from inappropriate or addictive content, she said through a prepared statement.

Sen. Matt Claman, a Democrat who is set to again chair the Senate Judiciary Committee, prefiled three bills Friday.

One of his measures would reform how children are kept in psychiatric hospitals, and require more state oversight when they are secluded and restrained. He had similar legislation last year that failed to pass.

Some of Friday’s prefiled bills were introduced before previous legislatures, but failed to pass.

Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson, D-Anchorage, again introduced a measure that would amend the curriculum used by public schools to include mental health education.

She also has legislation that would require law enforcement agencies to maintain a database that details when force is used, alongside a measure establishing a “hispanic heritage month” and another making March “Women’s History Month.”

In the final days of last year’s legislative session, the Republican-led state House passed legislation to ban transgender girls from competing in girls sports. But it was not heard by the Senate.

The U.S. House earlier in the week passed similar legislation with support from Republican Alaska U.S. Rep. Nick Begich.

Eagle River Republican Rep. Jamie Allard has been vocal on social media about wanting to create a “fair playing field” for girls. She has a measure that would ban transgender girls from competing in girls’ sports at public and private schools and colleges.

Allard has also proposed eliminating daylight saving time. In December, President-elect Donald Trump called the twice-annual time change “inconvenient” and said the Republican Party would try to eliminate it.

The 34th Alaska Legislature is set to convene its first regular session on Tuesday. The session is constitutionally limited to last 121 days.

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