The Alaska Legislature failed on Thursday to override Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of $87 million in bonus public school funding last year and likely set a precedent for the way future legislatures consider veto overrides.
Thursday’s vote was 33-26 and did not fall along party or caucus lines. Forty-five votes were needed to override.
The failed override capped days of legislative maneuvering and months of unsuccessful lobbying by public-education advocates. Attention now switches to a bill that would permanently increase the state’s funding formula for public schools.
Rep. Mike Cronk, R-Tok, is a former teacher and voted against the override.
“I’m not interested in one-time (funding) again,” he said. “In all of our conversations, we hear that we need a permanent increase. So as a teacher and a former school board member, I want to make sure that we have a permanent increase.”
The 40 members of the state House split 19-21, with the majority against the override. Twenty Republican members of the House majority and Rep. David Eastman, R-Wasilla, voted “no”.
Rep. Stanley Wright, R-Anchorage, represents a district with schools being considered for closure by the Anchorage School District under proposed budget cuts. He was among the “no” votes, and also said a permanent increase, not temporary funding, is needed.
“I think we need to stop putting a Band-Aid on education. It’s time for some meaningful action,” he said.
The 16 members of the House’s multipartisan minority caucus voted in favor of the override, as did three members of the majority — Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham; Neal Foster, D-Nome; and CJ McCormick, D-Bethel.
Several of those voting “yes” said that the temporary increase provided by the veto override would have been a helpful addition to any permanent increase approved by the Legislature.
“Unfortunately, students in Alaska lost out today with the failure of the vote to override, but we’re heartened that we at least were able to take the vote,” said House Minority Leader Calvin Schrage. “And as the House minority, we will continue fighting for education funding during this legislative session.”
Edgmon said he doesn’t believe that his split from the majority will hurt relations with his coworkers.
“My intention was clear from Day One: I’m here to get as much funding as we can to public schools,” he said.
Among the 20-person Senate, the vote was 14-5, with Sen. Mike Shower, R-Wasilla, excused absent.
All 14 “yes” votes came from members of the bipartisan Senate supermajority, including Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, and Majority Leader Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage.
Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage and another “yes” vote, said he hoped there would be enough votes for an override, “but we knew it was gonna be tough. It’s a very high threshold. It’s the highest threshold in the United States for a veto override.”
Partly because of that threshold, Alaska’s state Legislature hasn’t successfully overridden a veto on an appropriations bill since 2009, and that involved special stimulus legislation. An ordinary budget veto hasn’t been overridden since 1987.
While Alaska’s override hurdle is high by national standards, support for an override on Thursday was low enough that it would have failed in 43 other states, too. Only six states require a simple majority for an override.
Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, is a former teacher and was one of five senators — all Republicans — to vote “no”. He said the funding formula – known as the base student allocation – is the priority.
“One-time funding isn’t the solution,” he said. “You need to focus on a permanent BSA increase.”
Legislators in both House and Senate have focused on Senate Bill 140 for that permanent increase. Passed by the Senate last year, SB 140 was modified by the House — most recently on Wednesday — and is now scheduled for public testimony beginning Saturday morning.
“The override of the veto was for one-time funding money. And we have a plan for a long-term solution to education funding that is forthcoming,” said Rep. Ben Carpenter, R-Nikiski.
The current version of the bill contains a smaller increase than school districts have requested, but amendments could raise that amount before a final vote. All of the House’s changes will be subject to approval by the Senate.
Lawmakers did not consider overriding other budget vetoes signed by Dunleavy last year, and they did not consider overriding his veto of two policy bills last year.
In addition to affecting public schools across the state, Thursday’s action may have consequential effects on the way the Alaska Legislature considers veto overrides in the future.
On Tuesday, members of the House failed by a single vote to call a joint session of the House and Senate that is needed to vote on a veto override.
During the debate that preceded the vote, Rep. David Eastman, R-Wasilla, said that based on the language of the Alaska Constitution, a vote on a veto override is required, not just optional.
Article II, Section 16 of the Alaska Constitution states that the Legislature “shall” meet to reconsider vetoes.
On Thursday morning, Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage, rose in debate to make the same point and cited a new legal analysis by the Alaska Legislature’s own attorneys.
For decades, it has been the Legislature’s custom to vote on veto overrides only if there were enough votes to call a joint session. But on Thursday, after hours of closed-door debates, members of the House agreed that an override vote is mandatory under the Constitution, not optional.
Political writer Jeff Landfield of Anchorage, after hearing the debate and consulting a constitutional attorney, filed a lawsuit against the Legislature in an attempt to force an override vote. After the vote, he said he would withdraw the case as moot.
“This is precedent-setting, right here, right now,” said Wright.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
