Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Judicial Appeal topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Legislative Council votes 11-1 to appeal Superior Court ruling, boosts outside counsel contract to $230,000
Summary
The Alaska Legislative Council authorized an appeal of an Anchorage Superior Court decision and approved a $120,000 increase to an outside counsel contract with Stoll Reeves, bringing the total not to exceed $230,000.
The Alaska Legislative Council voted 11-1 on March 12 to authorize an appeal of an Anchorage Superior Court decision and to increase an outside legal-services contract with Stoll Reeves by $120,000, for a total not to exceed $230,000.
Vice Chair Senator Stevens moved the measure on the council floor, saying, “I move that legislative council authorize the appeal of superior court's decision in legislative counsel versus Taylor et al. Case number 3AN-204-04218 CI and approve an amendment to the existing contract with Stoll Reeves dated 08/22/2024 and amended 02/14/2025 to increase the contract amount by $120,000 for a total amount not to exceed $230,000 for legal services, litigation, and appeal costs.”
The motion followed a briefing in executive session; on the public record, Megan Wallace, chief counsel for legal services, summarized the case and the court ruling. “The Alaska legislative counsel versus attorney general, the Tregg Taylor case relates to appropriations that the legislature made in FY21 and FY22 regarding legal contracts relating to the interpretation of Janice versus ASME decision,” Wallace said. “On 02/18/2025, we received a decision from the Anchorage Superior Court concluding that the lawsuit was moot, and granting the attorney general's motion for summary judgment, which will result in dismissal of the case.”
Council members then requested a roll-call vote. The roll call recorded 11 yeas and 1 nay; Representative Kopp cast the lone no vote. The members recorded voting yes were Representative Kerrick; Speaker Edgmon; Representative Prox; Representative Shroggy; Representative Stutes; Senator Klayman; Senator Giesel; Senator Grama Jackson; Senator Kiel; Senator Stedman; Vice Chair Stevens; and Chair Hannon. With that tally, the council adopted the motion to authorize the appeal and to increase the contract amount.
The motion amends an existing contract dated Aug. 22, 2024, and previously amended Feb. 14, 2025. The council did not record a separate public vote on the contract amendment; the action was bundled with the authorization to appeal and approved by roll call. Wallace described the anticipated use of the funds as covering “legal services, litigation, and appeal costs.”
The council met in executive session for a briefing on the matter; staff and outside counsel listed as remaining for that session included Whitney Brown, Jessica Geary, Sante Lesh, Megan Wallace, Emily Nauman and Ian Walsh. Senator Kaufman also joined during the executive session; he is not a council member but attended as a member of the legislature.
Other routine items cleared during the March 12 meeting included unanimous-consent approvals of the meeting agenda and the Feb. 12, 2025, minutes, and the chair's sanctioning of three charitable events (Kenai River Classic, and Kenai River Women's Classic among them) per the statutory citation offered on the record. The council recessed and returned from executive session and adjourned at 6:13 p.m.
The appeal authorization means the council will pursue review in the Alaska Supreme Court; the transcript does not record whether the Supreme Court has agreed to accept the case or a timetable for filing.
