Last weekend, the legislature made history by doing what's right for Alaska and standing strong as an independent branch of government.

While the governor called the special session to address education reform and to create a Department of Agriculture, Article II Section 16 of the State Constitution states the legislature shall consider governor's vetoes during a special session, if one is called.

The House and Senate agreed to take up two of Governor Dunleavy's vetoes: SB 183 and the line item budget veto of $50 million for education funding that became law in HB 57. Both overrides were successful. More details on these historic votes are below, along with what's next.

45 votes were needed to override the Governor's line-item veto of education funding. The final vote was 45-14.

In May, I chaired the Senate Rules Committee hearing on SB 183 - Oil Tax Transparency.

SB 183: Government Transparency

As Senate Rules Chair, I introduced SB 183 by request of the Legislative Budget & Audit Committee Chair, Sen. Gray-Jackson. This bill will require the governor to provide information to the State Auditor in a usable format. This bill became necessary because of the Dunleavy administration's refusal to provide usable data to the state auditor concerning oil and gas tax audits.

The independent State Auditor position is created by the Alaska Constitution and serves an important role to hold the government accountable.

Every year the Department of Revenue reviews oil and gas payments to ensure Alaska is collecting the correct amounts of oil and gas taxes and royalties. And every year the oil industry ends up owing the state tens or even hundreds of millions because of underpayments. The State Auditor is responsible for reviewing these settlements.

Under the Dunleavy Administration, these settlements have dropped from $213.3 million in 2020 to $250,000 - triggering what our independent State Auditor called “red flags.” A former Dunleavy Revenue official has also publicly stated that he was told “point blank” that he was expected “to violate statute to enrich oil companies on public money."

Every governor in state history has voluntarily provided this information - except Governor Dunleavy. The State Auditor has been requesting this information for 5 years. It never should have come to this - all Alaskans should expect our leaders to follow our constitutional mandate to get the maximum benefit for our oil resources. This law now makes that expectation perfectly clear.

The override vote was successful, with a tally of 43 to 16 (40 votes were required). I recently was a guest on Rep. Andrew Gray's podcast to speak about this bill, you can listen here.

Passing SB 183 into law by override will not fix the problem overnight. With the upcoming departure of Revenue Commissioner Adam Crum, and the Deputy Commissioner and Tax Division positions vacant, I am concerned about the department's management. The issue is in the hands of the State Auditor, and I'll be monitoring closely when updates become available.

The House and Senate host a joint press conference after the successful joint special session to override two of the Governor's vetoes.

Legislature Restores Education Funding

Despite years of the governor declaring he wouldn't underfund statutory formulas, he did just that when he vetoed education funding $51 million below what was passed into law under HB 57. This bill was a comprehensive bipartisan education policy bill that became law when the Legislature overrode Dunleavy's veto HB 57 in May.

This budget veto left school districts across the state scrambling to adjust their budgets, some forced to consider eliminating programs, positions, and even closing schools.

Legislators from across the state stood firm in overriding this veto, with a vote tally of 45-14. Because of this being a budget item, the constitution states this override required 45 votes. The legislature has now overridden the governor twice this year on education: first on policy, then on funding the policy.

A big thanks to the many Alaskans who voiced their support of this override by contacting legislators.

In July, I joined Rep. Mears and Rep. Eischeid in Chanshtnu Park to chat with neighbors and provide updates on the special session.

First Special Session is in Recess

While the governor's proclamation addresses education reform and the Dept of Agriculture, his call for a special session felt more like an attempt to make it more difficult to achieve successful overrides. Legislators changed their plans and traveled from all over the world to be in Juneau, including Senator Dunbar, who worked with his National Guard commanders to get permission to fly from Poland to Juneau to participate.

While Dunleavy also submitted an executive order to create a Department of Agriculture, which was substantially identical to the executive order that was defeated earlier this year, our attorneys advised us that this order was unconstitutional. The Legislature will revisit the issue in the next regular session via the bill process.

Now the legislature is in recess. At minimal expense, this allows the special session to stay alive through August 31 (day 30) in case other business comes up to make it easier to convene again.

Dunleavy introduced three education bills for special session, much of which we have already considered in previous bills and budget items, or the governor has already vetoed at least once before. Some proposals simply do not have the legislative support. I recently joined House Education Co-Chair Rep. Himschoot to speak about our concerns with the governor's proposal for statewide "open enrollment" on another episode of Rep. Gray's podcast - you can listen here.

Chaired by Sen. Tobin and Rep. Himschoot, the Joint Task Force on Education Funding (created by HB 57 last spring) is scheduled to begin meeting on August 25. Read more about the work ahead of them here.

The Alaska Beacon provided a great recap of the special session and what's next in this article.

Community Events

Northeast Community Council resumes on Thursday, August 21. Attend online or in person - more details are found here.

Hmong Harvest Festival celebrates the Hmong New Year. Stop by the Delaney Park Strip Sat-Sun, August 23-24, 9:00AM to 5:00PM. More details here.

Muldoon Farmers Market continues on Saturdays from 9:30AM to 3:00PM at Chanshtnu Park through Sept. 27.

As always, please feel free to drop me a line via email, Facebook, phone (269-0120), or stop by the Anchorage Legislative Information Office at 1500 W. Benson. My staff and I are happy to hear from you.

Warmly,