Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

It’s been said many times over the years by Alaska’s voters — The capital should remain in Juneau. And that includes the Legislature.

Alaskans are being treated to yet another attempt by an Anchorage legislator to grab some or all of the state capital and plant it firmly in the state’s largest city, which is already home to a concentration of government and industrial might. The rest of the state shouldn’t sit quietly while Anchorage once again tries to secure even more influence over government affairs.

Anchorage Republican Rep. Kevin Meyer is the architect of the latest attempt, a bill to move the Legislature to Anchorage while leaving Juneau with some state offices and the office of the governor. The legislation, House Bill 293, is another in a continuing string of bills since statehood to move some or all of state government’s functions out of Juneau. A number of public votes have also been held, with the end result being that the public has said Juneau should remain the full and complete capital city.

Anchorage’s legislators seem to have a hearing problem. The message on moving the capital, or even a part of it, is this: “No means no.”

Rep. Meyer’s bill has a couple of obvious flaws.

For one, why separate the executive branch of government from the legislative branch? How does that increase efficiency, especially since the legislative session has been shortened to 90 days?

Also, it’s easy to say that moving the Legislature to Anchorage will increase public access to the House and Senate. But it’s unknown just how much of an increase would occur and whether any increased attention would remain after the novelty wears off.

Supporters have also suggested that moving the Legislature out of Juneau will increase public scrutiny of lawmakers. Rep. Meyer said the other day that citizens can see “what notes are being passed to who” when they attend a legislative floor session or committee meeting.

We have news for Rep. Meyer on that point: Lobbyists or representatives of a special interest who want to get word to a receptive lawmaker without being seen by too many people will find a way to do it whether a session or hearing is held in Juneau, Anchorage or even Fairbanks.

There’s also the question of economic impact. No one knows how Juneau’s economy would be affected. Rep. Meyer’s bill doesn’t bother with that; it calls for the Legislature to be housed in Anchorage and casts Juneau to the winds. That’s not right.

And where is Gov. Sarah Palin, the former mayor of Wasilla, located in a part of the state often seen as a place for a new capital city or as a legislative base?

The governor says she would not veto Rep. Meyer’s bill. She says it is up to the Legislature to decide where it wants to meet. That is an attempt by the governor to remain out of the fray. She shouldn’t be allowed to remain out of it, however. When a decision risks major upheaval to the economy of a region, in this case Juneau, the governor has a responsibility to be involved.

All of this argues for the capital, including the Legislature, to remain in Juneau.