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Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Alaska's Legislature was in session for four months: Here's what they did with their time.
On Friday, May 16, 2025, Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, gets a chit sheet signature from Rep. Donna Mears, D-Anchorage, for an upcoming bill. To bring a bill to a vote, a lawmaker has to get a majority of lawmakers to sign a sheet signifying that there is enough support for the bill to pass the body. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon) Before adjourning their regular session for the year, Alaska legislators passed 33 bills through both the House and Senate. Two were vetoed before lawmakers left the Capitol. One of those became the subject of the first successful veto override since 2009. Here's a look at what's passed and is headed to Gov. Mike Dunleavy for final approval or rejection. Except for the budget, no subject took more of the Legislature's attention than education. In April, lawmakers passed House Bill 69, which would have increased the base student allocation — core of the state's per-student funding formula for public schools — by $1,000 per student. Dunleavy vetoed that bill days later, which caused legislators to switch their attention to House Bill 57, an alternative proposal that had a $700 BSA increase and some policy measures proposed by the governor. The House and Senate passed that in late April, but Dunleavy vetoed that bill, too. On Monday, legislators overrode that veto by six votes, marking the first time since 2009 that the Legislature has overridden a governor's veto and the first time since 2002 that it did so to a sitting governor. Legislators also passed Senate Bill 95 and Senate Bill 96, which would create a tax credit program that rewards companies that invest in child care programs for their workers. It also offers a new grant program for child care and expands the number of families eligible for child care assistance from the state. The Legislature passed both of those bills last year but had to redo them this year because of a legal challenge. These new versions have yet to be considered by the governor. The veto override for HB 57 likely won't be the last word on education. The new education formula in HB 57 is subject to funding through the state operating budget, House Bill 53. Dunleavy has the ability to veto line items from the budget, and overriding his decisions on that document would take 45 votes, not the 40 it took to override him on HB 57. In addition, a part of the education bill is contingent upon the enactment of Senate Bill 113, which changes the way the state handles corporate income taxes assessed on internet businesses. It doesn't increase taxes, but it does divert revenue from other states to Alaska's treasury, and Dunleavy implied on Monday that he would veto that bill because he doesn't view it as a stable way to pay for part of the education bill. In addition to HB 53, the operating budget, lawmakers also passed House Bill 55, the state's comprehensive mental health budget, and Senate Bill 57, the state's capital budget, which is used to pay for construction and renovation projects across the state. Because of low oil prices and the Legislature's reluctance to pass new revenue measures, all three budget bills were smaller this year than last year. Few services will see budget increases, and this year's Permanent Fund dividend is $1,000, down from $1,403 last year. Alaskans received another $298 last year as a one-time bonus atop the regular dividend. Early in the legislative session, lawmakers approved a bill that allows the state-owned Alaska Railroad to borrow money for a new cruise ship dock in Seward. The Legislature passed an identical bill last year, but it was one of five that Dunleavy vetoed, citing the fact that the House voted on it after the legal end of the legislative session. This time around, the governor had no problem signing the bill into law. The governor also signed SB 15, another after-midnight bill that was redone by the Legislature. That law allows teens as young as 18 to serve alcohol in restaurants, breweries and distilleries, but not package stores or bars. Teens as young as 16 may work in those places but not serve alcohol. The measure was intended to increase the labor force during the summer tourism season. Legislators also cleared up a long-running tax dispute involving the car-sharing company Turo by passing a bill that requires Turo to collect and remit the state's car rental tax. Turo rentals are a common feature of the summer tourist season. Previously, individual car owners who rented out their cars through Turo were required to independently account for and send in their taxes. State records show few people followed that procedure. The Legislature passed a different version of the bill last year, and Dunleavy vetoed it. The new version cuts the state's car rental tax and institutes an even lower tax for Turo users. This version has not yet been examined by the governor. Following some of the recommendations of the state's seafood task force, legislators passed three bills dealing with commercial fishing. Commercial fishers who form cooperatives to collectively pay liability and damage claims would see these payments be exempted from being regulated as insurance if House Bill 116 becomes law. At least three co-ops are already operating in the state, but under Washington state law. House Bill 31 would exempt many commercial fishing boats from the requirement that they register with the state Division of Motor Vehicles. The exemption applies only to Coast Guard-documented boats with a current license from the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission. Alaska's Commercial Fishing and Agriculture Bank would receive a small grant from a defunct state loan fund, allowing the bank to issue low-interest loans to fishers. The Legislature passed the change, recommended by the seafood task force, in Senate Bill 156. All three bills have yet to cross the governor's desk for final review. Alaska is one of the last states to forbid prison inmates from regularly using tablet computers. House Bill 35, passed by the Legislature, would change that by instituting rules for tablet use. The bill was encouraged as a means of rehabilitation and education for people in Alaska's prisons but the 33rd Legislature failed to pass it. Reintroduced this year, the idea moved quickly. After failing to pass a ban on high-interest, short-term loans during the 33rd Legislature, lawmakers in the first year of the 34th Legislature rapidly passed and advanced Senate Bill 39, which eliminates an exemption from the state's normal lending laws. If enacted, SB 39 would restrict loans to a maximum 36% annual percentage rate. Many payday loans have annual interest rates that amount to several hundred percent. The bill has not yet been sent to the governor. Alaska's insurance laws are in line to receive significant updates under two bills that the House and Senate passed this year. Senate Bill 133 regulates the prior authorization process used by doctors and other medical specialists when getting permission from an insurance company before undertaking a procedure on a patient. If enacted, it's designed to speed up the medical treatment process, and the state's division of insurance is required to keep statistics on how well the changes are working. The House and Senate also passed a broader insurance bill, Senate Bill 132, that includes a series of minor changes to the state's insurance laws. It was amended late in the process to include components of a separate bill regulating pharmacy benefit managers. Accountants also got some attention from the Legislature this year with the passage of House Bill 121, which eases the work requirements for new accountants to become certified to work in Alaska. None of the three bills have yet been considered by the governor. The Legislature voted to encourage local governments to make long-term housing plans by passing Senate Bill 50, which amends state law to say that boroughs' comprehensive plans may include housing development. Comprehensive plans are long-term planning documents that set expectations for a borough's growth and future. The bill hasn't yet reached the governor's desk. After more than a decade of work, the Alaska Legislature passed Senate Bill 97, which changes the way the state regulates big game hunting guides. If enacted, SB 97 would permit the state to limit the number of hunting guides in a specific area by selling hunting concessions, much like the federal government already does on federal land in Alaska. SB 97 was the result of a yearlong process in 2023 by the state's Big Game Commercial Services Board, which formed a task force to make recommendations and conclusions. The bill has not yet been sent to the governor for final approval. Amid a long-running dispute with the executive branch, the Alaska Legislature passed Senate Bill 183, which would require state officials to turn over data in the format requested by the legislative auditor. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Legislators say that since 2019, they have been unable to properly audit the part of the Alaska Department of Revenue that audits tax payments by oil and gas companies. The executive branch, legislators and audit officials say, has refused to compile reports that it previously provided without difficulty. As a result, legislators don't know whether the Department of Revenue is cheaply settling tax disputes with oil companies. Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, and Speaker of the House Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, each sent a letter to Dunleavy, asking him to not veto the bill because of its importance. The governor has yet to take final action. Early in the session, the Legislature voted unanimously to reject a recommendation that the pay of legislators and other top state officials be automatically adjusted for inflation each year. Dunleavy signed that bill into law on March 6. The House and Senate passed a handful of bills that make relatively small changes to state laws. In each case, these changes were requested by Alaskans who ran into trouble and asked for help from their legislators. House Bill 70, for example, would allow ambulance crews to help some police and rescue dogs who are injured on the job and need to be taken to a veterinarian. Existing law allows bystanders to help, but not certified medical technicians. Some laws pertaining to the Permanent Fund dividend division, which handles the annual distribution of PFDs, would be updated if House Bill 75 becomes law. The state's rural school fund would be able to pay for teacher housing and Mount Edgecumbe High School in Sitka if House Bill 174 becomes law. Currently, MEHS isn't eligible for grants from the rural school fund under the process used by other rural schools. Senate Bill 47 clears the way for the Municipality of Anchorage to use local money to pay for pothole repairs on Canyon Road, within Chugach State Park. Those repairs are currently blocked by state law. All four bills have yet to receive consideration by Dunleavy, who may veto them, allow them to become law without his signature, or sign them into law. Alaska has dozens of boards and commissions that regulate various professions and industries, and each of those boards needs to be regularly reauthorized by the Legislature. This year, because of a lawsuit filed by a former legislator, the House and Senate had to redo a boards bill that passed through the Capitol last year, as well as pass their regular bill. In addition to those two bills, legislators passed a bill that would allow the regulation of some interior designers, affecting the Board of Architects, Engineers and Land Surveyors. All three bills have yet to be considered by the governor. Every year the Capitol sees at least one bill ceremonially renaming a state-owned landmark or establishing a ceremonial holiday. This year was no different. Legislators voted to rename the airport in Ruby after Harold Esmailka, a well-known Interior pilot who operated air services, including medevac service, for decades. They also added two ceremonial marks on the calendar, passing bills that made May 12 the Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Day of Recognition and March as Women's History Month. Dunleavy signed Women's History Month into law in April; he has not considered the other two bills yet. In addition to the bills they passed, the House and Senate also approved 15 resolutions — official letters from the House and Senate that stated their positions on specific issues. Among the approved resolutions were ones opposing cuts to Medicaid, praising the sovereignty of Canada and Taiwan, asking for more international immigration for teachers and Afghans, and celebrating the U.S. Marine Corps' 250th birthday. In addition to those 15 joint resolutions, the Alaska Senate passed a unilateral resolution asking Congress to allow people from American Samoa to vote in federal elections and serve as officers in the U.S. military. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alaska Legislature overrides Gov. Dunleavy's veto of public school funding bill
Rep. Neal Foster, D-Nome, votes in favor of overriding Gov. Mike Dunleavy's veto of House Bill 57 on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon) For the first time since 2002, the Alaska Legislature has overridden the veto of a sitting governor. With a 46-14 vote, lawmakers enacted a significant increase to Alaska's per-student public funding formula, overriding Gov. Mike Dunleavy's decision to reject House Bill 57. Forty votes were needed for an override. It was the third time in two years that the governor vetoed a significant education funding bill; lawmakers failed by a single vote to override the governor last year. A second veto earlier this year was sustained by a larger margin. Tuesday's vote may be the first chapter in a longer struggle between the governor and the Legislature. HB 57 prescribes an increase to the state's public school funding formula, but that formula is subject to appropriations in the annual state budget. To use an analogy: If the formula is a bucket, the budget fills that bucket. Dunleavy has previously said he may veto some education money from the state budget, leaving the formula only partially funded. In addition, parts of HB 57 are contingent upon the enactment of Senate Bill 113, a bill adjusting the state's corporate income taxes. On Monday, Dunleavy implied that he will veto SB 113. Overriding either a funding veto or a veto of SB 113 would require 45 votes. Some legislators who voted to override the governor on Monday declined to confirm that they would override vetoes on the two funding mechanisms. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Dunleavy Decline: a legacy that's left Alaska's students behind
An empty classroom at Juneau-Douglas High School: Kalé in Juneau, Alaska (Photo by Lisa Phu/Alaska Beacon) Gov. Mike Dunleavy's veto of the latest education funding bill, House Bill 57, following his recent veto of House Bill 69, cements the decline of Alaska's public education system as the hallmark of his administration. Dunleavy has been notably absent from debates and legislative negotiations on education. Even Sen. James Kaufman criticized his failure to advocate for his own education policy priorities. All we're left with is his record to sort though — and it speaks volumes. For more than a decade, Dunleavy has worked to undermine the foundation of our schools. Brick by brick, budget by budget, he has led a systematic campaign to weaken public education in our state. Two key inflection points brought us here: 2014: The Legislature passed legislation by then-Sen. Dunleavy allowing correspondence school funds to be used for private school tuition. This opened the door to a steady redirection of public money toward private benefit, and the shunting of millions of dollars from our public schools. 2018-2025: As governor, Dunleavy froze the base student allocation and has kept it virtually flat through threats and vetoes, effectively starving education budgets year after year as costs rose. This has placed schools under incredible financial strain, compounded by the diversion of public dollars away from public schools. The results of these policy choices are staggering: From 2014 to 2024, over $580 million in public funds were diverted from neighborhood schools through correspondence allotments. The graph below shows Alaska's annual correspondence program spending over the past two decades, charting both our estimate of the average as well as maximum per-student allotments. A sharp increase in this spending began in 2018, the same year Gov. Dunleavy started flat-funding public education. While many families choose correspondence programs to homeschool their children — a valuable option for some — the lack of oversight has allowed public funds to serve as de facto vouchers for private and religious schools. Though this practice is now under legal challenge, the data shown here reflects the decade it was permitted. Further, it is unclear what results we are getting for this investment, because only about 12% of correspondence students take standardized tests. In the graph, the blue line estimates annual state spending on correspondence allotments assuming each enrolled student received the estimated average allotment. The orange line assumes the maximum allotment per student. Together, they illustrate the range of public dollars funneled into the correspondence program with little accountability for their use. Since the 2014 policy change expanding allowable uses of correspondence allotments, fourth and eighth grade reading and math scores in Alaska's public schools have dropped, with sharper declines after Dunleavy began flat-funding public education. While many factors influence academic outcomes, this pattern raises serious concerns about the long-term impact of diverting public resources away from neighborhood schools, coupled with the erosion of buying power due to years of flat-funding education. While Dunleavy proclaims himself an education advocate, his record is one of destruction. He has bled our schools dry, then blamed the consequences — teacher shortages, ballooning class sizes, gutted programs, declining scores — on the very system he eroded. Real accountability means more than empty rhetoric — it means fulfilling your constitutional obligation to 'establish and maintain a system of public schools open to all children of the state.' It means making good on your own policy promises — like funding the Alaska Reads Act — and giving educators the tools they need to do their jobs effectively. It means compensating teachers with the wages and benefits they need to support themselves and their families. Flat funding isn't accountability. It's abandonment. After weeks of contentious debate, the Legislature passed the first education funding bill, HB 69, with 32 of 60 legislators voting in favor. Gov. Dunleavy swiftly vetoed it. After a failed override attempt, legislators then advanced HB 57, a revised education funding bill that incorporated many of the governor's own stated priorities. It passed with 48 votes. Despite its bipartisan backing and clear compromises, the governor has vetoed yet another bill and threatened an additional line-item veto in the budget, relying on the same attacks he used to justify his previous education funding vetoes both this year and last. To override the governor's veto of HB 57, it would take 40 legislators to stand with Alaska's students, educators, and communities. Blocking a line-item veto in the budget will take 45. Alaska is in crisis: underfunded schools, frozen federal support, rising costs, layoffs, and an economy driving families and young professionals out. Without sensible leadership, the exodus will only accelerate. We cannot solve this with half-measures or hollow sound bites. HB 57 adds just $700 in per-student funding to the education budget, still far behind the inflation increases districts face. In our view, we can't afford not to make this investment. To the lawmakers weighing whether to stand with the governor or with Alaska's families — this is your moment of truth. You've seen the data. You've heard from your constituents. If you continue to support the Dunleavy Decline, it will be your legacy too. If you believe in funding public education, you would vote for it, fight for it, build the coalition, and be on the right side of history. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gov. Dunleavy vetoes bipartisan education bill as lawmakers say override possible
May 19—Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Monday vetoed a bipartisan education package in a step against permanently increasing the education budget, which has largely stagnated during his tenure. Lawmakers convened earlier this year under a shared commitment to significantly increase the education budget for the first time in nearly a decade. Dunleavy also said he would support an increase to education spending, but stipulated his support on the passage of policy demands that lawmakers said were untenable. Educators have said that Alaska's public education system is in crisis due to years of virtually flat funding. Multiple school districts had planned steep cuts to programs, staff and more. But the Anchorage School District recently reversed many of those cuts on the assumption a funding boost would be approved this year. Dunleavy already vetoed one education bill passed by lawmakers earlier this year. Legislators returned to the drawing table and passed House Bill 57, which would raise the $5,960 Base Student Allocation — the state's per-student funding formula — by $700. That would translate to a roughly $180 million increase to the state's $1.2 billion education budget. The sweeping measure also has policies intended to improve student outcomes, including by limiting cellphone use in schools and creating a new task force to study some of Dunleavy's policy demands. Lawmakers and the governor last year agreed to a one-time increase in the education budget by an amount equivalent to a $680 BSA increase. The year before that, lawmakers also approved a one-time $680 increase, half of which was vetoed by the governor. "There is no evidence that a permanent increase in the Base Student Allocation will improve educational outcomes. Therefore, this bill in its current form does not serve the best interest of Alaskans," Dunleavy wrote in a letter delivered to the House and Senate on Monday afternoon. Lawmakers and education advocates have countered that an increase in education funding would allow districts to retain qualified and experienced teachers, and keep class sizes smaller — policies they say correlate to improved educational outcomes. House Bill 57 passed the Legislature on April 30 in a combined 48-11 vote. Opposition came from Republican lawmakers in minority caucuses. Since then, Dunleavy told school superintendents that he would veto the measure unless his preferred education policies were approved by the Legislature. Superintendents said Dunleavy also told them he was prepared to veto a school funding increase from the budget. House Minority Leader Mia Costello, an Anchorage Republican, on Monday declined to comment about the veto. But majority members say that the Legislature may be able to muster the 40 votes needed to override the governor. Legislators have thrice failed to override Dunleavy's vetoes of education funding. Rep. Justin Ruffridge, a Soldotna Republican, said Monday that over the past several days, he and other House members had spoken to members of Dunleavy's staff about the education bill in an effort to find common ground that would stave off a veto. But majority lawmakers also said they were not willing to consider Dunleavy's policy demands. "The message is: We have to find a way to get wins, and I think going to war with both each other and our school system isn't a good plan," said Ruffridge. Dunleavy's policy demands include a provision to allow students across the state to enroll in the public school of their choice, regardless of where they live. Legislators have said that the open enrollment plan Dunleavy is seeking has been described as unworkable by educators. Lawmakers are planning to hold a veto override session on Tuesday. The regular legislative session must end by midnight on Wednesday. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alaska Gov. Dunleavy vetoes education funding bill, prompting second legislative override vote
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks to reporters on Thursday, April 17, 2025, with Deena Bishop, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, looking on in the background. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon) Gov. Mike Dunleavy has again vetoed a bill proposing to increase Alaska's per-student public school funding formula for K-12 schools. House Bill 57, which the House and Senate passed in April, would increase the base student allocation, core of the funding formula, by $700 per student, providing a slight year-over-year increase in public school funding. In a brief message with the veto announcement on Monday, the governor said that there was 'no evidence that a permanent increase in the Base Student Allocation will improve educational outcomes. Therefore, this bill in its current form does not serve the best interest of Alaskans.' The governor was scheduled to hold a news conference at 3 p.m. Monday, and will be broadcast live. The House and Senate are scheduled to meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday to consider overriding the governor's veto. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
