There are just three days left until the end of the 121-day session! By all accounts, it looks like they may actually finish up a day sooner this year. The conference committee finished its work on the operating budget today, meaning it should be on members’ desks tomorrow. The Legislature met in a joint session this week to vote on Governor Mike Dunleavy’s (R – Alaska) nominees to boards and commissions. One vote was extremely loose. Some key bills were on this move this week, while others were stopped for a variety of partisan reasons. The clock on House Bill 57, the education bill, expires tomorrow at midnight. Governor Dunleavy is expected to veto the bill. And a few more people filed to run for office this week. 

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Conference committee is done, capital budget on way to Dunleavy

After a week of negotiations and meetings, the conference committee finished its work today on the operating budget. The Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) is set at $1,000 per person – the amount in the Senate’s budget. That alone comes at a cost of around $640 million. 

In a creative move, the conference committee put in an interesting contingency. If the Legislature fails to get the three-quarters vote to draw from the Constitutional Budget Reserve (CBR) to cover the $200 million deficit for the FY2025 supplemental budget, the money would be drawn from the balances of the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) and the Higher Education Investment Fund (HEIF). (The FY2025 supplemental budget was rolled into the FY2026 operating budget.)

The Senate is not the issue. They will easily get the required 15 votes as their majority has 14, meaning they just need one minority member. The House is the issue. Their majority only has 21, meaning they need nine of the 19 Republicans to get the 30 required votes to draw from the CBR. To be clear, this is to cover an existing deficit in the current year’s budget. It has to be paid for. The Republicans were in charge of the House last year, so it’s half their budget. It would be super loose if they failed to get the votes to pay for money that has already been spent. 

The budget should be laid on members’ desks tomorrow. It has to sit for a day before they can vote on it. A conference committee bill is a simple up or down vote in each body. No amendments are allowed. Debate will take a while, especially in the House, but they seem teed up to pass the budget on Tuesday, a day before the last day of session. 

On Tuesday (5/13/2025) the House passed Senate Bill 57, the capital budget. Their version made small changes to the version that had previously passed the Senate. One amendment was made on the floor to add a reappropriation allowing the Alaska Energy Authority to use $234,000 of unspent money from energy efficiency programs to address electrical emergencies. The Senate concurred with the House changes on Friday (5/16/2025). The bill is awaiting transmittal to Governor Dunleavy. 

Other Happenings 

The clock on the education bill runs out tomorrow at midnight. Unless Dunleavy decides to raise a white flag in surrender and let the bill go into law, he will veto it tomorrow. The Legislature will then likely meet to on Tuesday to override him. The needed 40 votes are there. However, if he vetoes down the $700 increase of the Base Student Allocation (BSA), it would take 45 votes to override an appropriation veto. And unless there is a special session, which is not likely, they would not even be able to attempt that until next January. 

The Senate’s attempt at an omnibus elections bill, Senate Bill 64, has stalled in the House Finance Committee. The bill does several things like allowing for a semi-permanent absentee voting option, enhanced ballot tracking, allowing for ballot curing, and cleaning up the voter rolls. But Republicans have criticized the bill for things like eliminating the witness signature requirement for absentee ballots. They were able to stop the bill from even getting out of the House Finance Committee by having dozens of people testify and threatening to offer nearly 100 amendments. There is a chance the Senate tries to stuff the bill in House Bill 18, a campaign donation limits bill that is on the Senate floor tomorrow. The Senate could do that and send it back to the House for a concurrence vote. It would be a long shot but is possible. They need to pass an elections bill this session as doing it next year would be too close to the 2026 election to properly implement.   

House Bill 78, a House Finance Committee bill that aims to bring back a defined benefit pension for state employees, passed the House this week 21-19 on caucus lines. Since February, the bill was heard ten times in the finance committee. It is now in the Senate. With limited time left in session, the Senate won’t take up this the bill until next year’s session. 

Dale Yancey, the state tax director resigned this week. The Department of Revenue is having some real problems. There’s been a lot of chatter that Revenue Commissioner Adam Crum may be on his way out. 

Legislative staffer Ryan Sheldon, who works for Representative Julie Coulombe (R – Anchorage), is a legit Loose Unit. Maybe don’t be featured in an ADN article about your supplement business if you don’t want to get caught sneaking away to Los Angeles during the legislative session. 

I would love to see Attorney General Treg Taylor’s mileage account. 

Former Democratic Representative Cliff Groh is trying to make a comeback! With next year being a non-presidential election year, Groh is favored to win in a district that includes JBER. The military vote will be much lower next year. Groh beat the top of the ticket by nearly ten points last year, which is a huge accomplishment. Representative David Nelson (R – Anchorage) won by just 18 votes. 

Republican Bernadette Wilson has entered the race for governor. She joins former Republican Senator Click Bishop and Lieutenant Governor Nancy Dahlstrom (R – Alaska). Wilson is good at getting the headlines but this stunt in front of the Capitol this week was cringy. 

This Week’s Loose Unit

Ryan Sheldon was definitely in the running but this week’s designee did something I am fairly sure no person in Alaska has ever done before. This week’s Loose Unit is Samantha Smith. Smith, a physician assistant, was nominated by Governor Dunleavy to serve on the state medical board. She was rejected by a vote of zero to 60! Yes, you read that right. She did not get a single vote. That is about as loose as it gets. Think about all 60 of these people voting against someone. After the vote, Senate President Gary Stevens (R – Kodiak) called the vote “remarkable.” 

I don’t know Smith but she sounds like a quintessential Loose Unit. Check out this letter from the Board of the Alaska Academy of Physician Assistants. What is even more puzzling is why Governor Dunleavy did not pull her name when it was obvious she was not going to get confirmed? Maximum loose. 

If you have a nomination for this week’s Loose Unit, or if you have any political news, stories or gossip (or any old pics of politicians or public officials) please email me at jeff@alaskalandmine.com.