A day after vetoing a major public education funding bill, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy told reporters he believes it's time for the Legislature to move away from education and move on to other topics. .
Lawmakers will have a chance to voice their objections during a joint session of the state House and Senate tentatively scheduled for Monday at 2:15 p.m., where they are expected to vote on overriding the veto.
It is unclear whether the vote will be successful.
At issue in this bill are items that span a range of education priorities. These include historic increases in the per-pupil system that funds schools, increased student transportation costs, increased maximum internet speeds available to local school districts, and the creation of a charter school coordinator. It included increased status within the state Department of Education, a new appeals mechanism for charter revocations, and increased funding for homeschooled students.
Successful invalidation does not end the problem. Dunleavy said he would likely veto some or all of the increased public school funding called for in his bill, Senate Bill 140, and could later fight it with state lawmakers. Stated.
“You can ignore this bill and pass it, but ultimately it's not guaranteed to be funded in the budget,” he said.
today's vote is uncertain
Under the Alaska Constitution, 40 out of 60 legislators need to override a veto on a policy bill.
As of Friday afternoon, “we're struggling to get 40 votes on veto override,” said Sen. Bill Wilechowski, D-Anchorage.
The House and Senate passed SB140 by a combined vote of 56-3, but some Republicans who voted for the bill said they intended to vote to uphold the governor's veto rather than override it. It states that.
Most of Alaska's 17-member bipartisan supermajority are expected to support repeal, as are the 16 members of the House's bipartisan minority caucus.
What's not clear is how many members of the 23-member Republican-controlled House of Representatives will vote in favor of overriding the bill.
Rep. Stanley Wright (R-Anchorage) is a majority member and served on Mr. Dunleavy's staff before being elected to Congress in 2022.
A large amount of public testimony has also come from his Anchorage area, urging people to vote in favor of annulment.
“I don't know yet. I'm still thinking about it,” he said Friday. “I think it's going to be a good long weekend to clear my head and figure things out.”
Rep. Justin Loughridge, R-Soldotna, is also a potential swing vote, but said Friday he didn't know if there would be enough votes to overturn it.
“I was actually pretty firmly in the position of trying to avoid (veto override). So I have to get my head around it,” he said.
Groups supporting and opposing the veto were planning an intense lobbying campaign over the weekend. Labor union Alaska AFL-CIO and education union NEA Alaska asked supporters to send letters, calls and texts in support of the annulment. The Alaska Council of School Administrators ran an Internet ad targeting a powerful swing lawmaker.
The Alaska chapter of Americans for Prosperity, a limited government group, applauded the veto and urged lawmakers to keep it in place. Republican activist Judy Elledge circulated a message asking his friends to swing potential Republican votes to preserve the veto.
If override is successful
If the 40 members of the House and Senate vote to override it, it would be the first time since Dunleavy became governor in 2018.
If SB 140 becomes law, it will permanently increase the Base Student Allocation Amount (BSA) from $5,960 to $6,640. The BSA is the basis of the state's per-pupil funding formula, and this change would provide $176 million in additional funding annually to the state's public school districts.
This increase is less than the inflation amount since 2008, when Congress overhauled the BSA. That year's BSA was $5,480. Adjusted for national inflation each year thereafter, it would be $7,964.
Other changes to the funding formula could increase funding for correspondence programs used by homeschoolers. Another aspect of the bill would increase the amount the state pays for student transportation.
Sen. Jesse Keel (D-Juneau) said the current per-pupil system underfunds schools and that no matter what Congress decides, the impact will be felt across communities and the economy. He said it would resonate.
“There's no question in my mind why the state continues to lose working-age families. Why is household creation in the state decreasing? Why is business creation decreasing in the state? , I have no doubt,” he said. “You wouldn't do that in a place where you're worried about the future of your children.”
All increases are subject to the state's annual budgeting process, where lawmakers can partially fund the program, fully fund it, or overfund it for a one-time increase. You can choose which. Governors can also choose to veto the item and reduce school funding below the amount required by the formula.
Dunleavy said Friday he intends to do so again this year if there is an increase in BSA.
“A lot of people who are following this issue may not be aware of it,” said Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage. “They think that if the Legislature overrides the veto…people in the education community may feel confident, but the real idea of the issue is not. Because as the governor has clearly stated, Because he still has the veto power.”
It would take 45 votes to override a budget veto, an even higher hurdle than the hurdle facing lawmakers on Monday.
Sen. Kelly Merrick, R-Eagle River, said, “If people vote to kill this bill, I hope they vote to override the veto on the spending line.'' Told. “Because when you say you support education, you can't just do one and not the other.”
The budget veto would last for one year. When lawmakers begin crafting a budget in 2025, they will start with the formula rewritten by SB 140.
If override fails
If the override fails, there will be no permanent increase in school funding, but lawmakers say they have no intention of abandoning a one-year increase similar to the one they approved last year.
This funding is also subject to the governor's veto. Last year, Mr. Dunleavy cut half of the additional funding approved by Congress, but Congress was unable to override that veto in a January vote.
Sen. Bart Stedman (R-Sitka, co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee) said he has already “written” a $680 increase to the BSA into the Senate operating budget bill, regardless of what happens on Monday. Ta.
“The budget will have at least $680 per student, at least in one-time funding,” said Sen. Loki Tobin, an Anchorage Democrat. “What (Dunleavy) does with it at that point is still his prerogative, but I know and believe that it is the result of the effort in this building.”
To reach this amount, both the House and Senate must agree on the budget before it can be sent to the governor.
In addition to including a one-time bonus in the budget, lawmakers could also start over with an entirely new version of SB 140 in a separate bill that Rep. Tom McKay (R-Anchorage) calls “Plan B.” Dew. At least three bills, including Tobin's, could be the vehicle for that bill.
Dunleavy said he supports a one-time increase in the state's per-pupil contribution this year, but did not give an exact number and said it would need to be discussed with lawmakers. . He also said he supports an increase to a smaller BSA than the current version of SB 140.
Several lawmakers suggested that invalid votes could affect other issues. The more time they spend on education, the less time they have to discuss other issues, such as the impending energy crisis in southcentral Alaska.
“When SB 140 passed, you could feel it. There was a sense of relief and people were so happy. It's like, 'Oh, this place passed us by.' You can move on and do other things. “And now we're here, and we're back again,'' Wierechowski said.
“I'm surprised that the governor has said so many times that we're going to move forward,” Loughridge said, referring to the governor's comments at Friday's press conference. “Because my sense is that there aren't many other people in this building who are ready to move on from that conversation.”
If lawmakers vote to uphold the veto, relations between them could be strained. A vote to overturn this could create a rift in the relationship between the Legislature and the governor.
“My experience is that the people in this building take things very personally,” Wierechowski said.
Wright said once tensions cool down on Capitol Hill, lawmakers will shift their focus to other pressing issues. “At the end of the day, we all know we have to manage our energy or Alaska is going to be in trouble,” he said.
