AS Title 1, Chapter 10: Laws and Statutes

Chapter 10. Laws and Statutes. Article 1. Common Law. Sec. 01.10.010. Applicability of common law. So much of the common law not inconsistent with the Constitution of the State of Alaska or the Constitution of the United States or with any law passed by the legislature of the State of Alaska is the rule of decision in this state. Article 2. General Definitions, Residency, and Rules of Statutory Construction. Sec. 01.10.020. Applicability of AS 01.10.040 — 01.10.090. The provisions of AS 01.10.040 — 01.10.090 shall be observed in the construction of the laws of the state unless the construction would be inconsistent with the manifest intent of the legislature. Sec. 01.10.030. Severability. Any law heretofore or hereafter enacted by the Alaska legislature which lacks a severability clause shall be construed as though it contained the clause in the following language: “If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of this Act and the application to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.” Sec. 01.10.040. Words and phrases; meaning of “including”. (a) Words and phrases shall be construed according to the rules of grammar and according to their common and approved usage. Technical words and phrases and those that have acquired a peculiar and appropriate meaning, whether by legislative definition or otherwise, shall be construed according to the peculiar and appropriate meaning. (b) When the words “includes” or “including” are used in a law, they shall be construed as though followed by the phrase “but not limited to.” Sec. 01.10.050. Tense, number, and gender. (a) Words in the present tense include the past and future tenses, and words in the future tense include the present tense. (b) Words in the singular number include the plural, and words in the plural number include the singular. (c) Words of any gender may, when the sense so indicates, refer to any other gender. Sec. 01.10.055. Residency. (a) A person establishes residency in the state by being physically present in the state with the intent to remain in the state indefinitely and to make a home in the state. (b) A person demonstrates the intent required under (a) of this section (1) by maintaining a principal place of abode in the state for at least 30 days or for a longer period if a longer period is required by law or regulation; and (2) by providing other proof of intent as may be required by law or regulation, which may include proof that the person is not claiming residency outside the state or obtaining benefits under a claim of residency outside the state. (c) A person who establishes residency in the state remains a resident during an absence from the state unless during the absence the person establishes or claims residency in another state, territory, or country, or performs other acts or is absent under circumstances that are inconsistent with the intent required under (a) of this section to remain a resident of this state. Sec. 01.10.060. Definitions. (a) In the laws of the state, unless the context otherwise requires, (1) “action” includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal; (2) “daytime” means the period between sunrise and sunset; (3) “month” means a calendar month unless otherwise expressed; (4) “municipality” means a political subdivision incorporated under the laws of the state that is a home rule or general law city, a home rule or general law borough, or a unified municipality; (5) “nighttime” means the period between sunset and sunrise; (6) “oath” includes affirmation or declaration; (7) “peace officer” means (A) an officer of the state troopers; (B) a member of the police force of a municipality; (C) a village public safety officer; (D) a regional public safety officer; (E) a United States marshal or deputy marshal; and (F) an officer whose duty it is to enforce and preserve the public peace; (8) “person” includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, organization, business trust, or society, as well as a natural person; (9) “personal property” includes money, goods, chattels, things in action, and evidences of debt; (10) “property” includes real and personal property; (11) “real property” is coextensive with land, tenements, and hereditaments; (12) “signature” or “subscription” includes the mark of a person who cannot write, with the name of that person written near the mark by a witness who writes the witness's own name near the name of the person who cannot write; but a signature or subscription by mark can be acknowledged or can serve as a signature or subscription to a sworn statement only when two witnesses so sign their own names to the sworn statement; (13) “state” means the State of Alaska unless applied to the different parts of the United States and in the latter case it includes the District of Columbia and the territories; (14) “writing” includes printing. (b) In the laws of the state, “lewd conduct,” “lewd touching,” “immoral conduct,” “indecent conduct,” and similar terms do not include the act of a woman breast-feeding a child in a public or private location where the woman and child are otherwise authorized to be. Nothing in this subsection may be construed to authorize an act that is an offense under AS 11.61.123 . Sec. 01.10.065. Registered mail, certified mail. When the use of registered mail is authorized or required by the laws of the state, certified mail, with return receipt requested, may be used. Article 3. Effect and Effective Date of Statutes. Sec. 01.10.070. Time statutes become law and take effect. (a) All bills passed by the legislature become law upon the governor's signature or upon the governor's veto being overridden or, when the governor allows a bill to become law without signature, on the day after expiration of the period allowed for gubernatorial action by art. II, sec. 17, Constitution of the State of Alaska. Acts become effective 90 days after becoming law, unless the legislature, by concurrence of two-thirds of the membership of each house, provides for another effective date. (b) The actual effective date of an Act having no effective-date provision is determined by starting with the day after it is signed by the governor or the day after the governor's veto is overridden or the day after expiration of the period allowed for gubernatorial action by art. II, sec. 17, Constitution of the State of Alaska, and counting 90 calendar days, the Act becoming effective at 12:01 a.m., Alaska Standard Time on the 90th day. (c) The actual effective date and time of an Act having an immediate-effective-date provision is 12:01 a.m., Alaska Standard Time, on the day after it is signed by the governor or on the day after the governor's veto is overridden or on the day after expiration of the period allowed for gubernatorial action by art. II, sec. 17, Constitution of the State of Alaska. (d) An Act that specifies a definite effective date becomes effective at 12:01 a.m., Alaska Standard Time, on the date specified. However, if the specified definite effective date is on or before the day the governor signs the Act, the day the governor's veto is overridden, or the last day of the period allowed for gubernatorial action by art. II, sec. 17, Constitution of the State of Alaska, as applicable, the Act becomes effective at 12:01 a.m., Alaska Standard Time, on the day after the governor signs the Act, the governor's veto is overridden, or the period allowed for gubernatorial action by art. II, sec. 17, Constitution of the State of Alaska, expires, as applicable. (e) When the governor allows a bill to become law without signature, the governor shall give written notice of that fact to the legislature. The date of this notice does not affect the date the bill becomes law or the date the Act takes effect. (f) In this section, (1) “Act” means a bill which has become law; (2) “becomes effective” means becomes applicable; “effective date” does not mean date of enactment (or date of becoming law), although the two will coincide when a bill which has an immediate-effective-date provision is allowed to become law without the governor's signature; (3) “becomes law” means is enacted; “enactment” occurs when any one of the following takes place: (A) a bill which is passed by the legislature is signed by the governor; (B) the period specified in art. II, sec. 17, Constitution of the State of Alaska expires without gubernatorial action; (C) the legislature overrides the governor's veto of a bill; (4) “bill” means a legislative document proposing an Act; (5) “passed by the legislature” means that the required majority of each house of the legislature has taken final action in approving the same version of a bill. Sec. 01.10.080. Computation of time. The time in which an act provided by law is required to be done is computed by excluding the first day and including the last, unless the last day is a holiday, and then it is also excluded. Sec. 01.10.090. Retrospective statutes. No statute is retrospective unless expressly declared therein. Sec. 01.10.100. Effect of repeals or amendments. (a) The repeal or amendment of a law does not release or extinguish any penalty, forfeiture, or liability incurred or right accruing or accrued under that law, unless the repealing or amending act so provides expressly. The law shall be treated as remaining in force for the purpose of sustaining any proper action or prosecution for the enforcement of the right, penalty, forfeiture, or liability. (b) The expiration of a temporary law does not release or extinguish a penalty, forfeiture, or liability incurred or right accruing or accrued under that law unless the temporary law so provides expressly, and that law shall be treated as still remaining in force for the purpose of sustaining any proper action or prosecution for the enforcement of the penalty, forfeiture, or liability or right accruing or accrued. (c) When an act repealing a former act, section, or provision is itself repealed, that repeal does not revive the former act, section, or provision, unless it is expressly so provided. Article 4. The Statehood Act. Sec. 01.10.110. Effect of amendments to Statehood Act. No amendment (enacted after September 16, 1976) that affects an interest of the state under the Alaska Statehood Act (72 Stat. 339) is effective as to the state unless approved by law enacted by the legislature or the people of the state.