The Alaska House of Representatives advanced a bill Wednesday designating the fourth Saturday of every July as "Ted Stevens Day."
The measure (HB 101) passed with all 38 members present voting in favor.
“One thing you can be assured of is he worked for all of us,” said bill sponsor Rep. Craig Johnson (R-Anchorage), who called Stevens “Mr. Alaska.”
“He did more to shape modern Alaska than any other person in the state,” said Rep. Mike Doogan (D-Anchorage).
Stevens was revered in Alaska for bringing home projects and federal aid to help build up the state. He spent 40 years in the U.S. Senate before a corruption trial ended his political career in 2008. A federal judge later tossed his conviction on counts of lying on financial disclosure forms, finding that prosecutors had withheld evidence at trial.
Stevens died last August in a plane crash.
The bill initially proposed Nov. 18, Stevens' birthday, as Ted Stevens Day; but the Stevens' family asked the day be changed to summer so Alaskans can honor his memory outdoors.
HB 101 now goes to the Senate.
