Post by Logan on Jun 16, 2016 0:14:11 GMT -6
WASILLA — After about two years, Alaska Rep. Wes Keller (R) is still working to repay the state of Alaska for something he calls a stupid mistake.
In 2013, as reported in the then-Anchorage Daily News, Keller was traveling to Juneau for the legislative session and tried to send a magazine of handgun ammunition, an aerosol spray can of Static Guard and a cigarette lighter through Alaska Airlines air cargo. When he dropped off the luggage, Keller didn’t declare the items to the airline, and used the legislature’s shipping code. Ammunition, aerosol and flammable materials are prohibited from being shipped by federal law without a prior declaration.
As a result, the legislature was fined $7,000 by the Transportation Safety Administration, which the state argued down from $19,400. The news became public after a 2014 meeting of the state’s legislative council, according to the article.
Keller has owned the mistake since its disclosure, and vowed to repay the state the full amount. So far, he’s paid off exactly half via a combination of withheld pay and personal checks, said Jessica Geary, Finance Manager for the Legislative Affairs Agency. Keller contacted the office in January 2015 to begin repayment, Geary said. State policy does not require legislators to repay expenses of this nature, and the Legislative Council subsequently changed mailing policy to prevent the same thing from happening again, Geary wrote in an email to the Frontiersman.
Read more: www.frontiersman.com/news/keller-working-to-repay-shipping-fines/article_3492c62a-31e8-11e6-841f-331d9472bc0b.html
In 2013, as reported in the then-Anchorage Daily News, Keller was traveling to Juneau for the legislative session and tried to send a magazine of handgun ammunition, an aerosol spray can of Static Guard and a cigarette lighter through Alaska Airlines air cargo. When he dropped off the luggage, Keller didn’t declare the items to the airline, and used the legislature’s shipping code. Ammunition, aerosol and flammable materials are prohibited from being shipped by federal law without a prior declaration.
As a result, the legislature was fined $7,000 by the Transportation Safety Administration, which the state argued down from $19,400. The news became public after a 2014 meeting of the state’s legislative council, according to the article.
Keller has owned the mistake since its disclosure, and vowed to repay the state the full amount. So far, he’s paid off exactly half via a combination of withheld pay and personal checks, said Jessica Geary, Finance Manager for the Legislative Affairs Agency. Keller contacted the office in January 2015 to begin repayment, Geary said. State policy does not require legislators to repay expenses of this nature, and the Legislative Council subsequently changed mailing policy to prevent the same thing from happening again, Geary wrote in an email to the Frontiersman.
Read more: www.frontiersman.com/news/keller-working-to-repay-shipping-fines/article_3492c62a-31e8-11e6-841f-331d9472bc0b.html