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HB175 • 2026

RCA: CHAIR TERM, MEMBER QUALIFICATIONS

An Act relating to the term of the chair of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska; and relating to the qualifications of members of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska.

Education
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
REPRESENTATIVE BURKE
Last action
2025-05-16
Official status
(H) L&C
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The effective date is not provided in the source material.

Changes to Chair Terms and Member Qualifications for the Regulatory Commission of Alaska

This bill sets a one-year term limit with a three-term cap for the commission chair and adds specific education or experience requirements for new commissioners.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires the commission to elect one member as chair each year for the following fiscal year.
  • Limits any person to serving no more than three consecutive terms as chair.
  • Stops a commissioner from staying in the role of chair after their main term on the board ends, even if they stay on the board until a successor is appointed.
  • Allows a former chair to run again only after not serving as chair for one year.
  • Sets new rules that commissioners must be lawyers with five years of experience, registered professional engineers, or hold specific degrees in finance, economics, accounting, business administration, or public administration with at least five years of related experience.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Members currently serving on the Regulatory Commission of Alaska
  • The Governor when appointing new commissioners to fill vacancies occurring after the effective date

Terms To Know

Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA)
A state agency made up of five members appointed by the governor and confirmed by the legislature.
Power cost equalization
A program mentioned in the bill where some rural electric utilities receive special funding, requiring at least one commissioner to live in a community served by such an utility.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The official text does not state when this law will officially take effect.
  • Current commissioners can stay on the board until their terms end even if they do not meet the new education or experience requirements, but these rules apply to all future appointments.

Bill History

  1. 2025-05-16 Text

    (H) <Bill Hearing Canceled> -- Delayed to 4:30 pm --

  2. 2025-05-16 Text

    (H) LABOR & COMMERCE at 03:15 PM BARNES 124

  3. 2025-04-09 642

    (H) REFERRED TO LABOR & COMMERCE

  4. 2025-04-09 642

    (H) L&C, RES

  5. 2025-04-09 642

    (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS

Official Summary Text

RCA: CHAIR TERM, MEMBER QUALIFICATIONS
An Act relating to the term of the chair of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska; and relating to the qualifications of members of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HB0175a -1- HB 175
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

34-LS0791\N

HOUSE BILL NO. 175

IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA

THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION

BY REPRESENTATIVE BURKE

Introduced: 4/9/25
Referred: Labor and Commerce, Resources

A BILL

FOR AN ACT ENTITLED

"An Act relating to the term of the chair of the Regulatory Com mission of Alaska; and 1
relating to the qualifications of members of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska." 2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 3
* Section 1. AS 42.04.010(b) is amended to read: 4
(b) The commission shall annually elect one of its members to serve as chair 5
for the following fiscal year. When a vacancy occurs in the off ice of chair, the 6
commission shall elect one of its members to serve the remainin g term as chair. The 7
term as chair is one year. A member of the commission may not continue to serve 8
as chair after the member's term of office as a commissioner ex pires, even if the 9
member continues to hold office under AS 42.04.020(b) until a s uccessor is 10
appointed and qualified. The chair may be elected to not more than three successive 11
terms as chair. After a year of not serving as chair, the commi ssioner is eligible for 12
election as chair again. 13
* Sec. 2. AS 42.04.020(a) is amended to read: 14
34-LS0791\N
HB 175 -2- HB0175a
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

(a) The commission consists of five commissioners appointed by the governor 1
and confirmed by the leg islature in joint session. A t l e a s t o n e m e m b e r o f t h e 2
commission must, at the time of appointment, reside in a rural community served 3
by an electric utility that receives power cost equalization un der AS 42.45.100 - 4
42.45.150. To qualify for appointment as a commissioner, a person must 5
(1) be a member in good standing of the Alaska Bar Association with 6
at least five years of actual experience in the practice of law; 7
(2) be a professional engineer registered under AS 08.48; or 8
(3) have a degree from an accredited college or university with a major 9
in finance, economics, accounting, business administration, or public administration 10
and at least five years of actual experience in the field associated with the degree. 11
* Sec. 3. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 12
read: 13
TRANSITION: REGULATORY COMMISSION OF ALASKA MEMBERS. An 14
individual who is a member of the Regulatory Commission of Alas ka on the day before the 15
effective date of this Act continues to serve on the Regulatory Commission of Alaska until the 16
member's term expires and a successor is appointed and qualifie d. The governor shall make 17
appointments for vacancies that occur on or after the effective date of this Act in accordance 18
with AS 42.04.020(a), as amended by sec. 2 of this Act. 19