Alaska: Contents Page Treaty of Cessation Territorial Organic Act Statehood Act Constitution
Territorial Organic Act
§ 1. Territory of Alaska organized. That the Territory ceded to the United States by Russia by the treaty of March thirtieth, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and known as Alaska, shall be and constitute the Territory of Alaska under the laws of the United States, the government of which shall be organized and administered as provided by said laws.
§
2. Capital and seat of government. That the capital of the Territory of Alaska shall be
at the city of Juneau, Alaska, and the seat of government shall be maintained
there.
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3. Constitution and laws of the United States extended; limitation on
legislative powers. That the Constitution of the United States, and all the laws thereof
which are not locally inapplicable, shall have the same force and effect
within the said Territory as elsewhere in the United States; that all the laws
of the United States heretofore passed establishing the executive and judicial
departments in Alaska shall continue in full force and effect until amended or
repealed by Act of Congress; that except as herein provided all laws now in
force in Alaska shall continue in full force and effect until altered,
amended, or repealed by Congress or by the Legislature: Provided, That
the authority herein granted to the Legislature to alter, amend, modify, and
repeal laws in force in Alaska shall not extend to the customs, internal
revenue, postal or other general laws of the United States or to the game,
fish and fur-seal laws and laws relating to fur-bearing animals of the United
States applicable to Alaska, or to the laws of the United States providing for
taxes on business and trade, or to the Act Entitled "An Act to provide
for
the construction and maintenance of roads, the establishment and maintenance
of schools, and the care and support of insane persons in the District of
Alaska, and for other purposes, " approved January twenty-seven, nineteen
hundred and five, and the several Acts amendatory thereof: Provided, further,
That the provision shall not operate to prevent the Legislature from imposing
other and additional taxes or licenses. And the legislature shall pass no law
depriving the judges and officers of the district court of any authority,
jurisdiction, or function exercised by like judges or officers of district
courts of the United States.
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4. The legislature, (a) The legislative power and authority of the Territory shall be vested
in a legislature, which shall consist of a senate and a house of
representatives. The senate shall consist of sixteen members, four from each
of the four judicial divisions into which Alaska is now divided by Act of
Congress, each of whom shall have at the tune of his election the
qualifications of an elector in Alaska, and shall have been a resident and an
inhabitant in the division from which he is elected for at least two years
prior to the time of his election. The term of office of each member of the
senate shall be four years, except that at the general election in Alaska in
1944 one member for each division, other than a member elected to fill the
unexpired term of a senator previously elected, shall be elected for a term of
two years.
(b)
The house of representatives shall consist of twenty-four members elected from
the four judicial divisions into which Alaska is now divided by Act of
Congress. Each such division shall be entitled in the seventeenth to the
twentieth legislatures, inclusive, to the following number of representatives:
First
judicial division, eight representatives;
Second
judicial division, four representatives;
Third
judicial division, seven representatives; and
Fourth
judicial division, five representatives.
The
United States Director of the Census shall, with[in] one week after the first
meeting of the twentieth legislature and of each fifth legislature thereafter,
certify to such legislature, and to the Secretary of Alaska, the number of
representatives to which each judicial division is entitled under an
apportionment, according to the method of equal proportions, of the total
number of representatives among the various divisions on the basis of the
total population (exclusive of members of the military or naval forces of the
United States and members of their families not actual and bona fide residents
of Alaska) of each division, as determined under the latest United States
Decennial Census. Each judicial division shall in the five legislatures
succeeding the legislature to which such certification is made be entitled to
the number of representatives so certified. The term of office of each
representative shall be two years, and each representative shall possess the
same qualifications as are prescribed for members of the senate.
(c)
(1) The legislature is authorized to establish, and to adjust from time to
time, legislative districts within the several judicial divisions for the
election of the members of the senate and house of representatives for such
divisions. Districts separate from those established for the election of
members of the house of representatives may be established for the election of
members of the senate. All districts in any division for the election of
members of the same body shall be as nearly equal in population and shall be
established with as great a degree of geographical unity and cohesiveness, as
is reasonable and practicable, and shall elect the same number of members,
unless it shall be found desirable to provide districts around municipalities
of a multiple size in which case proportionate representation shall be
provided.
(2)
Whenever the representation of any division shall increase or decrease by
reason of a reapportionment under subsection (b), the legislature shall cause
such division to be redistricted in accordance with the provisions of
subdivision (1) of this subsection. If the legislature to which such
certification of reapportionment is made fails to so redistrict, the
representatives of such division shall be elected at large from such division
in the manner provided in subsection (d) for the election of representatives
prior to the establishment of legislative districts, until such time as such
division is so redistricted. (3) Whenever the legislature shall have
established legislative districts for the election of members of the senate,
the terms of office of all members of the senate in the legislature
immediately preceding the legislature to which the members of the senate are
first to be elected by district shall, regardless of the term for which such
members were elected, expire with the expiration of such preceding
legislature. As soon as the members of the senate shall have assembled as a
consequence of such first election they shall, by lot or drawing, be divided
in each division into two classes. The seats of the members of the first class
shall be vacated at the end of two years, and the seats of members of the
second class shall be vacated at the end of four years, so that two members of
the senate from each division shall, after such first election, be elected
biennially at the regular election.
(d)
In any election held prior to the establishment of legislative districts
pursuant to subsection (c) the electors in each judicial division shall be
entitled to vote for as many senators and representatives as are to be elected
to such office from such division. The candidates for each such office in the
number to be so elected receiving the highest number of votes for such office
shall be elected. In any election for senator or representative held after
the establishment of legislative districts pursuant to subsection (c) the
candidates in the number to be elected from each district for such office,
receiving the highest number of votes of the electors of such district for
such office, shall be elected. In case of a tie vote in any election for
senator or representative, the candidates affected shall settle the question
by lot.
(e)
In case of a vacancy in either branch of the legislature the Governor shall
order an election to fill such vacancy, giving due and proper notice thereof.
(f)
Each member of the legislature shall be paid by the United States the sum of
$15 per day for each day's attendance while the legislature is in session, at
each regular biennial session thereof, and mileage, in addition, for each such
session, at the rate of 15 cents per mile for each mile from his home to the
capital and return by the nearest traveled route. All other legislative
expenses, including salaries and mileage of the members at other than regular
biennial sessions, shall be paid by the Territory. (Amended November 13, 1942,
56 Stat. 1016)
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5. Election of members of the legislature. That the first election for members of the
Legislature of Alaska shall be on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in
November, nineteen hundred and twelve, and all subsequent elections for the
election of such members shall be held on the Tuesday next after the first
Monday in November biennially thereafter; that the qualifications of electors,
the regulations governing the creation of voting precincts, the appointment
and qualifications of election officers, the supervision of elections, the
giving of notices thereof, the forms of ballots, the register of votes, the
challenging of voters, and the returns and the canvass of the returns of the
results of all such elections for members of the legislature shall be the same
as those prescribed in the Act of Congress entitled "An Act providing for
the election of a Delegate, to the House of Representatives from the Territory
of Alaska, " approved May seventh, nineteen hundred and six, and all the
provisions of said Act which are applicable are extended to said elections for
members of the legislature, and shall govern the same, and the canvassing
board created by said Act shall canvass the returns of such elections and
issue certificates of election to each member elected to the said legislature;
and all the penal provisions contained in section fifteen of the said Act
shall apply to elections for members of the legislature as fully as they now
apply to elections for Delegate from Alaska to the House of Representatives.
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6. Convening of legislature; sessions. The Legislature of Alaska shall convene at the
capitol at the city of Juneau, Alaska, on the fourth Monday in January in the
year 1941 and on the fourth Monday in January every two years thereafter; but
the said legislature shall not continue in session longer than sixty days in
any two years unless again convened in extraordinary session by a proclamation
of the Governor, which shall set forth the object thereof and give at least
fifteen days' notice in writing or by telegram or radiogram to each member of
said legislature, and in such case shall not continue in session longer than
thirty days. The Governor of Alaska is hereby authorized to convene the
legislature in extraordinary session for a period not exceeding thirty days
when requested to do so by the President of the United States, or when any
public danger or necessity may require it. (Amended April 18, 1940, 54 Stat.
Ill)
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7. Organization of legislature. That when the legislature shall convene under the
law, the senate and house of representatives shall each organize by the
election of one of their number as presiding officer, who shall be designated
in the case of the senate as "president of the senate" and in the
case of the house of representatives as "speaker of the house of
representatives, " and by the election by each body of the subordinate
officers provided for in section "eighteen hundred and sixty-one of the
United States Revised Statutes of eighteen hundred and seventy-eight, "
and each of said subordinate officers shall receive the compensation provided
in that section, which shall be paid by the Territory. (Amended November 13,
1942, 56 Stat. 1018)
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8. Enacting clause; title and subject of act. That
the enacting clause of all laws passed by the legislature shall be "Be it
enacted by the Legislature of the Territory of Alaska. " No law shall
embrace more than one subject, which shall be expressed in its title.
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9. Legislative power; limitations. The legislative power of the Territory shall extend
to all rightful subjects of legislation not inconsistent with the Constitution
and laws of the United States, but no law shall be passed interfering with the
primary disposal of the soil; no tax shall be imposed upon the property of the
United States; nor shall the lands or other property of nonresidents be taxed
higher than the lands or other property of residents, nor shall the
legislature grant to any corporation, association, or individual any special
or exclusive privilege, immunity, or franchise without the affirmative
approval of Congress; nor shall the legislature pass local or special laws in
any of the cases enumerated in the Act of July thirtieth, eighteen hundred and
eighty-six [48 U. S. C. § 1471]; nor shall it grant private charges or
special privileges, but it may, by general act, permit persons to associate
themselves together as bodies corporate for manufacturing, mining,
agriculture, and other industrial pursuits, and for the conduct of business of
insurance, savings banks, banks of discount and deposit (but not of issue),
loans, trust, and guaranty associations, for the establishment and conduct of
cemeteries, and for the construction and operation of railroads, wagon roads,
vessels, and irrigating ditches, and the colonization and improvement of lands
in connection therewith, or for colleges, seminaries, churches, libraries, or
any other benevolent, charitable, or scientific association, but the
authority embraced in this section shall only permit the organization of
corporations and associations whose chief business shall be in the Territory
of Alaska; no divorce shall be granted by the legislature nor shall any
divorce be granted by the courts of the Territory unless the applicant
therefor shall have resided in the Territory for two years next preceding the
application, which residence and all causes for divorce shall be determined by
the court upon evidence adduced in open court; nor shall any lottery or the
sale of lottery tickets be allowed; nor shall the legislature or any
municipality interfere with or attempt in any wise to limit the Acts of
Congress to prevent and punish gambling, and all gambling implements shall be
seized by the United States marshal or any of his deputies, or any constable
or police officer, and destroyed; nor shall any public money be appropriated
by the Territory or any municipal corporation therein for the support or
benefit of any sectarian, denominational, or private school, or any school not
under the exclusive control of the government; nor shall the Government of the
Territory of Alaska or any political or municipal corporation or subdivision
of the Territory make any subscription to the capital stock of any
incorporated company, or in any manner lend its credit for the use thereof;
nor shall the Territory, or any municipal corporation therein, have power or
authority to create or assume any bonded indebtedness whatever; nor to borrow
money in the name of the Territory or of any municipal division thereof; nor
to pledge the faith of the people of the same for any loan whatever, either
directly or indirectly; nor to create, nor to assume, any indebtedness, except
for the actual running expenses thereof, and no such indebtedness for actual
running expenses shall be created or assumed in excess of the actual income of
the Territory or municipality for that year including as a part of such income
appropriations then made by Congress, and taxes levied and payable and
applicable to the payment of such indebtedness and cash and other money
credits on hand and applicable and not already pledged for prior
indebtedness; Provided, That all authorized indebtedness shall be
paid in the order of its creation; all taxes shall be uniform upon the same
class of subjects and shall be levied and collected under general laws, and
the assessments shall be according to the true and full value thereof, except
that unpatented mining claims and nonproducing patented mining claims, which
are also unimproved, may be valued at the price paid the United States
therefor, or at a flat rate fixed by the legislature, but if the surface
ground is used for other than mining purposes, and has a separate and
independent value for such other purposes, or if there are improvements or
machinery or other property thereon of such a character as to be deemed a part
of the realty, then the same shall be taxed according to the true and full
value thereof. No tax shall be levied for Territorial purposes in excess of 2
per centum upon the assessed valuation of the property therein in any one
year; nor shall any incorporated town or municipality levy any tax, for any
purpose, in excess of 3 per centum of the assessed valuation of property
within the town in any one year; Provided, That the Congress reserves
the exclusive power for five years from the date of the approval of this Act
to fix and impose any tax or taxes upon railways or railway property in
Alaska, and no acts or laws passed by the Legislature of Alaska providing for
a county form of government therein shall have any force or effect until it
shall be submitted to and approved by the affirmative action of Congress; and
all laws passed, or attempted to be passed, by such legislature in said
Territory inconsistent with the provisions of this section shall be null and
void; Provided, further, That nothing herein contained shall be held to
abridge the right of the legislature to modify the qualifications of electors
by extending the elective franchise to women. (Amended June 3, 1948, 62 Stat.
302)
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10. Selection of officers of legislature; rules; journal; quorum;
adjournments; compelling attendance of members. That the Senate and House of Representatives shall
each choose its own officers, determine the rules of its own proceedings not
inconsistent with this Act, and keep a journal of its proceedings; that the
ayes and noes of the members of either house on any question shall, at the
request of one-fifth of the members present, be entered upon the journal; that
a majority of the members to which each house is entitled shall constitute a
quorum of such house for the conduct of business, of which quorum a majority
vote shall suffice; that a smaller number than a quorum may adjourn from day to day and compel
the attendance of absent members, in such manner and under such penalties as
each house may provide; that for the purpose of ascertaining whether there is
a quorum present the presiding officer shall count and report the actual
number of members present.
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11. Legislators holding other office; persons commissioned or appointed under
United States. That no member of the legislature shall hold or be appointed to any
office which has been created, or the salary or emoluments of which have been
increased, while he was a member, during the term for which he was elected and
for one year after the expiration of such term; and no person holding a
commission or appointment under the United States shall be a member of the
legislature or shall hold any office under the government of said territory.
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12. Privileges of legislators. That no member of the legislature shall be held to
answer before any other tribunal for any words uttered in the exercise of his
legislative functions. That the members of the legislature shall, in all cases
except treason, felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest
during their attendance upon the sessions of the respective houses, and in
going to and returning from the same; Provided, That such privilege as
to going and returning shall not cover a period of more than ten days each
way, except in the second division, where it shall extend to twenty days each
way, and the fourth division to fifteen days each way.
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13. Passage of bills. That a bill in order to become a law shall have three separate readings
in each house, the final passage of which in each house shall be by majority
vote of all members to which such house is entitled, taken by ayes and noes,
and entered upon its journal. That every bill, when passed by the house in
which it originated or in which amendments thereto shall have originated,
shall immediately be enrolled and certified by the presiding officer and the
clerk and sent to the other house for consideration.
§
14. Approval or veto of bills by Governor; reconsideration after veto;
effective date of act. That, except as herein provided, all bills passed by the legislature
shall, in order to be valid, be signed by the Governor. That every bill which
shall have passed the legislature shall be certified by the presiding officers
and clerks of both houses, and shall thereupon be presented to the Governor.
If he approves it, he shall sign it and it shall become a law at the
expiration of ninety days thereafter, unless sooner given effect by a
two-thirds vote of said legislature. If the Governor does not approve such
bill, he may return it, with his objections, to the legislature. He may veto
any specific item or items in any bill which appropriates money for specific
purposes, but shall veto other bills, if at all, only as a whole. That upon
the receipt of a veto message from the Governor each house of the legislature
shall enter the same at large upon its journal and proceed to reconsider such
bill, or part of a bill, and again vote upon it by ayes and noes, which shall
be entered upon its journal. If, after such reconsideration, such bill or part
of a bill shall be approved by a two-thirds vote of all the members to which
each house is entitled, it shall thereby become a law. That if the Governor
neither signs nor vetoes a bill within three days (Sundays excepted) after it
is delivered to him, it shall become a law without his signature, unless the
legislature adjourns sine die prior to the expiration of such three days. If
any bill shall not be returned by the Governor within three days (Sundays
excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law
in a like manner
as if he had signed it, unless the legislature, by its adjournment, prevents
the return of the bill, in which case it shall not be a law.
§
15. Legislative expenses. There shall be annually appropriated by Congress a sum sufficient to pay
the salaries and mileage of members of the legislature for each regular
biennial session. All other legislative expenses, including the salaries and
mileage of the members of the legislature for other than the regular biennial
sessions, the salaries of the employees of the legislature, the printing of
the laws, and all other incidental expenses of the legislature, shall be
appropriated and paid by the Territory. All of the sums so appropriated by
Congress shall be disbursed by the Governor of Alaska, under sole instructions
of the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Governor shall report quarterly to
the Secretary of the Treasury for the manner in which said funds have been
expended. No expenditure, to be paid out of money to be appropriated by
Congress, shall be made by the Governor or by the legislature for objects not
authorized by the acts of Congress making appropriations nor beyond the sum
thus appropriated for such objects. (Amended November 13, 1942, 56 Stat. 1018)
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16. Transmitting laws and resolutions to President and Secretary of State;
printing. That
the Governor of Alaska shall, within ninety days after the close of each
session of the Legislature of the Territory of Alaska, transmit a correct copy
of all the laws and resolutions passed by the said legislature, certified to
by the Secretary of the Territory, with the seal of the Territory attached;
one copy to the President of the United States, and one to the Secretary of
State of the United States; and the legislature shall make provisions for
printing the session laws and resolutions within ninety days after the close
of each session and for their distribution to public officials and sale to the
people of the Territory.
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17. Election of delegates. That after the year nineteen hundred and twelve the election for
Delegate from the Territory of Alaska, provided by "An Act providing for
the election of a Delegate to the House of Representatives from the Territory
of Alaska, " approved May seventh, nineteen hundred and six, shall be
held on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November in the year
nineteen hundred and fourteen, and every second year thereafter on the said
Tuesday next after the first Monday in November and all of the provisions of
the aforesaid Act shall continue to be in full force and effect and shall
apply to the said election in every respect as is now provided for the
election to be held in the month of August therein; Provided, That the
time for holding an election in said Territory for Delegate in Alaska to the
House of Representatives to fill a vacancy, whether such vacancy is caused by
failure to elect at the time prescribed by law, or by the death, resignation,
or incapacity of a person elected, may be prescribed by an act passed by the
legislature of the Territory of Alaska; Provided: further, That when
such election is held it shall be governed in every respect by the laws passed
by Congress governing such election.
§
18. Commission to examine transportation question. That
an officer of the Engineer Corps of the United States Army, a geologist in
charge of Alaska surveys, an officer in the Engineer Corps of the United
States Navy, and a civil engineer who has had practical experience in railroad
construction and has not been connected with any railroad enterprise in said
Territory be appointed by the President as a commission hereby authorized and
instructed to conduct an examination into the transportation question in the
Territory of Alaska; to examine railroad routes from the seaboard to the coal
fields and to the interior and navigable waters; to secure surveys and other
information with respect to railroads, including cost of construction and
operation; to
obtain
information in respect to the coal fields and their proximity to railroad
routes; and to make a report of the facts to Congress on or before the first
day of December, nineteen hundred and twelve, or as soon thereafter as may be
practicable, together with the conclusions and recommendations in respect to
the best and most available routes for railroads in Alaska which will develop
the country and the resources thereof for the use of the people of the United
States; Provided,
further, That
the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be
necessary, is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not
otherwise appropriated to defray the expenses of said commission.
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19. Codifying United States laws applicable to Alaska. That
the Committee on Territories of the Senate and the Committee on Territories of
the House of Representatives are hereby authorized, empowered, and directed
to jointly codify, compile, publish, and annotate all the laws of the United
States applicable to the Territory of Alaska, and said committees are jointly
authorized to employ such assistance as may be necessary for that purpose; and
the sum of five thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is
hereby appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise
appropriated, to cover the expenses of said work, which shall be paid upon
vouchers properly signed and approved by the chairman of said committees.
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20. Laws to be submitted to Congress for approval. That
all laws passed by the Legislature of the Territory of Alaska shall be
submitted to the Congress by the President of the United States, and, if
disapproved by Congress, they shall be null and of no effect.
Amendment
to Organic Act
an act to
amend an Act entitled "An Act creating a legislative assembly in the
Territory of Alaska and conferring legislative powers thereon, and for other
purposes, " approved August twenty-fourth, nineteen hundred and twelve.
That
nothing in that Act of Congress entitled "An Act creating a legislative
assembly in the Territory of Alaska and conferring legislative power thereon,
and for other purposes, " approved August twenty-fourth, nineteen hundred
and twelve, shall be so construed as to prevent the courts now existing or
that may be hereafter created in said Territory from enforcing within their
respective jurisdictions all laws passed by the legislature within the power
conferred upon it, the same as if such laws were passed by Congress, nor to
prevent the legislature passing laws imposing additional duties, not
inconsistent with the present duties of their respective offices, upon the
governor, marshals, deputy marshals, clerks of the district courts, and United
States Commissioners acting as justices of the peace, judges of probate
courts, recorders, and coroners, and providing the necessary expenses of
performing such duties, and in the prosecuting of all crimes denounced by
Territorial laws the cost shall be paid the same as is now or may hereafter be
provided by Act of Congress providing for the prosecutions of criminal
offenses in said Territory, except that in prosecutions growing out of any
revenue law passed by the legislature the costs shall be paid as in civil
actions and such prosecutions shall be in the name of the Territory. (August
29, 1914, 38 Stat. 710)
Amendment
to Organic Act
Schools.
That the
Legislature of Alaska is hereby empowered to establish and maintain schools
for white and colored children and children of mixed blood who lead a
civilized life in said Territory and to make appropriations of Territorial
funds for that purpose; and all laws or parts of laws in conflict with this
Act are to that extent repealed. (March 3, 1917, 39 Stat. 1131)
Amendment
to Organic Act
An act fixing the date for holding elections of a
Delegate from Alaska to the House of Representatives and of members of the
Legislature of Alaska; fixing the date on which the Legislature of Alaska
shall hereafter meet; prescribing the personnel of the territorial canvassing
board, defining its duties, and for other purposes.
§
1. Date for election of delegate. That the election of a Delegate from the Territory of
Alaska to the House of Representatives provided for by the Act of Congress
entitled "An Act providing for the election of a Delegate to the House of
Representatives from the Territory of Alaska", approved May 7, 1906, as
amended, and the election of the members of the Legislature of the Territory
of Alaska, provided for by the Act of Congress entitled, "An Act to
create a legislative assembly in the Territory of Alaska, to confer
legislative powers thereon, and for other purposes", approved August 24,
1912, shall hereafter be held on the second Tuesday in September in the year
1934, and every second year thereafter on the said second Tuesday in
September. (March 26, 1934, 48 Stat. 465)
§
2. Sessions of legislature. (March 26, 1934, 48 Stat. 465; Repealed April 18,
1940, 54 Stat. Ill)
§
3. Territorial canvassing board. That the canvassing board for the Territory of Alaska
created by the Act of Congress entitled, "An Act providing for the
election of a Delegate to the House of Representatives from the Territory of
Alaska", approved May 7, 1906, shall hereafter consist of the Governor,
the secretary of the Territory, and the collector of customs for Alaska. It
shall be the duty of the said canvassing board to canvass and compile in
writing the vote specified in the certificates of election returned to the
Governor from the several election precincts in the Territory and to keep an
accurate record of each voting precinct in the Territory and the date of its
creation.
The
said canvassing board shall commence the performance of its duties at the
office of the Governor within ten days after the second Tuesday in October in
each year in which an election is held as hereinabove provided, and shall
continue with such work from day to day until the same is completed. No
packages containing election returns shall be opened until the canvass
commences, at which time they shall be opened in public and in such manner and
under such conditions, as nearly as possible, as to give all parties
interested an opportunity to see the returns. In case it shall appear to the
board that no election return, as herein prescribed, has been received by the
Governor from any precinct in which an election has been held, the said board
may accept in place thereof the certified copy of the certificate of election
for such precinct received from the clerk of the court, and may canvass and
compile the same with the other election returns. The canvassing board shall
terminate the canvass and issue the certificates of election as soon as it is
satisfied that no missing return would, if received, change the result of a
canvass based upon the returns at hand, but when the board has information
that an election was held at any precinct from which no return has been
received and which return, if received, the board has reason to believe will
affect the result of the election, it shall be the duty of the board to await
the arrival of such return until 4 o'clock post-meridian on the 10th day of
December in the year during which the election is held, but no longer, and any
return received after that time shall not be counted by the board.
Upon
the completion of the said canvass as herein provided, the said board shall
declare the person who has received the greatest number of votes for the
office for which he is a candidate elected to such office for the term for
which he is elected and shall issue and deliver to him in writing, under their
hands and seals, a certificate of his election. It shall be the duty of the
Governor to preserve all election returns carefully and inviolate, and, after
the certificates of result have been canvassed, to replace the returns into
the packages from which they were taken and carefully seal the same and
preserve all such returns inviolate for at least two years thereafter, unless
sooner called upon by the House of Representatives of Congress or some court
or tribunal of competent jurisdiction to produce the same for inspection. It
shall also be the duty of the Governor to notify each successful candidate of
his election, and to do so by the speediest means of communication. (March
26, 1934, 48 Stat. 465)
§
4. Effect of existing laws; authority of Territorial Legislature. Except
as herein otherwise provided, all of the provisions of the Acts of May 7,
1906, and of August 24, 1912, hereinabove referred to, shall continue in full
force and effect until altered, amended, or repealed by Congress. And any and
all laws enacted by the Legislature of the Territory of Alaska pertaining to
elections in said Territory shall remain in full force and effect until
altered, amended, or repealed by the said Legislature or by Congress. That the
Legislature of the Territory of Alaska shall have the power from time to time
as the need therefor may arise, to change the date of general elections in the
said Territory, including the date of election of a Delegate from the
Territory of Alaska to the House of Representatives and of the members of the
territorial legislature; and that the Legislature of the Territory of Alaska
shall also have the power by law to change from time to time the personnel of
the canvassing board, the dates of its meetings, and may prescribe its duties.
(March 26, 1934, 48 Stat. 466)
Amendment
to Organic Act
an act to
repeal an Act of Congress entitled "An Act to prohibit the manufacture or
sale of alcoholic liquors in the Territory of Alaska, and for other purposes,
" approved February 14, 1917, and for other purposes.
§
1. Repeal. That
the Act of Congress entitled "An Act to prohibit the manufacture or sale
of alcoholic liquors in the Territory of Alaska, and for other purposes",
approved February 14, 1917, contained in United States Statutes at Large,
volume 39, Public Laws, pages 903 to 909, is repealed. Title II of the
National Prohibition Act, as amended and supplemented, and the Act entitled
"An Act to provide revenue by the taxation of certain nonintoxicating
liquor, and for other purposes", approved March 22, 1933, except such
provisions of such title and of such Act of March 22, 1933, as shall be
retained in force and effect in the States, are repealed to the extent such
title and such Act of March 22, 1933, are in force and effect in the Territory
of Alaska. (April 13, 1934, 48 Stat. 583)
§
2. Legislation as to intoxicating liquors authorized. That
notwithstanding the repeal of the said Act no spirituous or intoxicating
liquors shall be manufactured or sold in the Territory of Alaska, except under
such regulations and restrictions as the Territorial Legislature shall
prescribe, and the legislative power and authority conferred upon the
Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Alaska by the Act of Congress
entitled "An Act to create a legislative assembly in the Territory of
Alaska, to confer legislative power thereon, and for other purposes",
approved August 24, 1912, shall be, and hereby is, extended to include any
legislation pertaining to the manufacture or sale of spirituous or
intoxicating liquor within the said Territory, and any provision contained in
the said Act of August 24, 1912, in conflict herewith, is hereby expressly
repealed: Provided, however, That the Legislature of the Territory of
Alaska shall have full power and authority to delegate the powers hereby
conferred to any board or commission designated or created by the legislature
for such purpose, which powers shall include the power to make rules and
regulations governing the manufacture, barter, sale, or possession of
spirituous or intoxicating liquors in the Territory of Alaska, to prescribe
the qualifications of those who are to engage in the manufacture, barter,
sale, or possession of intoxicating liquors in the said Territory, and to
prescribe license fees and excise taxes therefor: Provided, That
nothing in this Act shall in any way repeal, conflict, or interfere with the
public general laws of the United States imposing taxes on the manufacture and
sale of intoxicating liquors for the purpose of revenue and known as the
"internal revenue laws. " (April 13, 1934, 48 Stat. 583)
§
3. Liquor control board. That the act of the Territorial Legislature of Alaska entitled "An
Act to create the board of liquor control and prescribe its powers and
duties", approved May 4, 1933, contained in the Session Laws of Alaska,
1933, being Chapter 109 thereof at pages 193—194 be, and the same hereby is,
ratified and approved, and the board thereby created shall have the powers and
the authority conferred upon it by the said Act. And any person, firm, or
corporation, who shall violate any of the rules or regulations prescribed by
the said board governing the manufacture, sale, barter, and possession of
intoxicating liquors in the Territory of Alaska, or the qualifications of
those engaging in the manufacture, sale, barter, and possession of such
liquors in the said Territory, or the payment of license fees and excise taxes
therefor, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof
shall be punished as provided in section 2072 of the Compiled Laws of Alaska.
(April 13, 1934, 48 Stat. 584)
§
4. Repeal. That
sections 462 to 478, both inclusive, of Act of Congress entitled "An Act
to define and punish crime in the District of Alaska and to provide a code of
criminal procedure for said district", approved March 3, 1899 (30 Stat L
1337—1341), as amended by the Act of June 6, 1900 (31 Stat L 332), and by
the Act of February 6, 1909 (35 Stat L 601—603), be and the same hereby are,
repealed. (April 18, 1934, 48 Stat. 584)
§
5. Nonapplication of 1 USC § 29. Section 13 of the Revised Statutes (USC, title 1, sec 29)
shall not apply with respect to any penalty, forfeiture or liability incurred
under any provision repealed by this Act. (April 18, 1934, 48 Stat. 584)
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