Juneau, Alaska – The Alaska House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill Wednesday to give the Alaska National Guard the ability to restore trust and order following a year’s work bringing all sides of the political and government spectrums together. The bill, House Bill 126 by the House Judiciary Committee, modernizes the outdated Alaska Code of Military Justice.
“The Guard came forward with a clear need, following the problems with misconduct that were brought to light,” said Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, R-Anchorage, and the Judiciary Chair. “Command simply has no way to punish people similar to active duty servicemen and women. Our committee’s bill will allow them to maintain good order and discipline.”
HB126’s sections contain the framework for a usable and robust Code of Military Justice. The current code lacks the tools and procedures to help the Guard enforce order and hold guardsmen and women accountable.
“I’m so thankful to my friends in the House. Alaskans, throughout this bill’s journey, have been shown good government. This is the way we’re supposed to work: with the administration, the court system, the Guard, republicans, democrats, everyone,” said LeDoux. “This is a very complex and important bill and many people worked hard to iron out our differences and find this broad consensus. Their work, and those of the staff to the committee and agencies deserve a lot of credit for stepping up.”
HB126 now moves to the Alaska Senate for consideration. The bill is a priority of the Alaska National Guard.[xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]
