Kenai Peninsula State House members say Gov. Mike Dunleavy asked them not to attend the first five days of a special legislative session he scheduled for next month to avoid potential veto overrides. Multiple peninsula lawmakers say the move is unusual and took them by surprise. But not everyone disagrees with Dunleavy’s strategy.
Soldotna Republicans Justin Ruffridge and Bill Elam were on the Wednesday morning caucus call when Dunleavy asked them to skip the first five days of his August special session. But both say they’re going anyway.
“I signed up to be in the House of Representatives, that includes special sessions,” Elam said. “And so I'm going to do my job, and I'm going to be where I need to be for the work. So my plan right now would be to be down in Juneau.”
Ruffridge has similar thoughts.
“I think there's a compulsion to attend,” he said. “You know, this is the job that you signed up to do if the governor calls a session. And, you know, I think the expectation is that, even if you had other plans, that you as the representative for District 7 – that you change those plans and you attend.”
Dunleavy says he’s calling the special session so lawmakers can address education reforms and his failed effort to create a state Department of Agriculture. But the special session also forces lawmakers to take up the question of veto overrides sooner than some expected.
The Alaska Constitution says lawmakers must hold any veto override votes within five days of their next session. And the governor’s office says that’s why he wants some lawmakers to skip the start of it.
“Governor Dunleavy asked house minority members to not show up for the first five days of session because like any governor, he does not want his vetoes overturned.” said Jeff Turner, a spokesperson for Dunleavy, via email.
Last month, Dunleavy vetoed tens of millions of dollars in funding for K-12 schools approved by lawmakers. That was over the objection of school districts around the state, which have said mostly flat state funding is forcing them to cut operating budgets to the bone.
Nikiski Republican Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, a member of the Senate Majority, says he wasn’t surprised by Dunleavy's request of House Minority members.
“Unfortunately, I had a feeling something might happen like this,” he said. “It seems that the governor never misses a chance to exert his advantage to the disadvantage of others when it comes to these types of things.”
But not all peninsula lawmakers oppose Dunleavy’s strategy.
Homer Republican Sarah Vance plans to skip the first five days. She says she shares Dunleavy’s concerns that lawmakers will prioritize veto override votes after gaveling in.
“He knows that the strategy of the majority will be to simply focus on overriding the vetoes and to not address policy at all,” she said. “And our goal is to bring true education reform for what Alaskans really want.”
She pointed to better opportunities for charter schools and home-schools and statewide open enrollment as examples of Republican priorities that were not included in the education bill. She says that scheduling an August special session is unusual, but that it gets lawmakers back to Juneau ahead of fall hunting and winter holidays.
Bjorkman says Dunleavy’s trying to take advantage of what was already a thin margin. Earlier this year, lawmakers successfully overrode a gubernatorial veto of education legislation by just one vote.
“He's going to do what suits him to try to achieve his agenda by, kind of, whatever means necessary, whether they're constitutional or legal or otherwise,” Bjorkman said. “So you know, he's clearly worried about a veto override of education funding.”
Ruffridge and Bjorkman say they plan to stand by their existing votes in favor of the funding. Both supported the fully-funded education bill and voted to override Dunleavy’s first veto.
Vance voted against the bill and the initial override. She says that’s partially why she’s planning to skip the first five days of the special session.
“There would be no point in me attending because if I did, I would simply vote no to override,” she said.
Vance says she’ll change her mind about attending if her constituents say they want her to go.
Ruffridge suggested he’ll support an override, saying he supports the funding level approved by lawmakers.
“Once I support something … you’ve got to know that you support it all the way to the end and the reasons why you support it,” he said. “And I'm certainly happy to talk with folks about why I think this is a good piece of legislation, and why I think the funding element is correct and right.”
Elam also voted for the bill and to override, but says he’s concerned about how lawmakers paid for the state budget – including education funding – amid declining North Slope oil prices. He says he doesn’t know whether he’ll vote to override Dunleavy again.
“I'm not quite sure. I'm on the fence a little bit there,” he said.
Dunleavy didn’t just veto money for public schools, though. He also vetoed a bill limiting payday loans, one aimed at alleviating housing shortages for rural teachers and another strengthening legislative oversight of oil and gas tax revenue. All three vetoes could be taken up during a special session.
