Five legislators travel to Juneau, spend two minutes in a special session, and adjourn until Aug. 31
- Mark Sabbatini
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
House and Senate leaders say they have no plan to consider education policy goals of governor, who called the 30-day special legislative session
Three legislators in the House chamber gavelled in for 27 seconds and two lawmakers on the Senate floor for 94 seconds before calling it a day.
Tuesday was their second short day at work since the beginning of a special session that began Aug. 2. A third and final day scheduled at the end of the 30-day session on Aug. 31 is expected to be much like Tuesday’s technical floor sessions, with no official business conducted.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy called the special session to address his education policy goals and attempt to form a state Department of Agriculture, both of which were rejected by the Alaska Legislature during the regular session this year.
House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, and Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, said after Tuesday’s floor sessions they don’t intend to do any further work on those issues at the Alaska State Capitol until the regular session resumes in January.
"We want to make sure that we get through the full 30 days and the hope is that the governor doesn't, in turn, call us back for the month of September," Edgmon said. "And (we’re) happy to have any conversations, obviously, and talk about what next session might offer. If we're going to take up any sort of measures that require public input, and committees to meet and things like that, let's do it during the regular session."
Dunleavy can call another special session immediately after the current one ends, but Edgmon said, "if he calls us back in, the results are going to likely be the same as where we're at now."
Jeff Turner, a spokesperson for Dunleavy, stated in an email after Tuesday’s floor sessions, that "it's disappointing that the legislature is choosing (to) kick the can down the road."
"There is no need for the legislature to start from scratch," Turner wrote. "The Governor's education reform proposals continue work that began nearly a decade ago with substantial public engagement in what culminated as Alaska's Education Challenge. The longer the legislature waits to pass meaningful education reform, the more Alaskan children will pass through an education system in which too many Alaskan students are not learning the skills necessary for future success in school and life beyond the classroom."
Edgmon noted an education task force is scheduled to begin meeting Aug. 25, with an agenda that includes policy issues of concern to the governor.
Legislators did on the first day of the special session override two vetoes by Dunleavy. His line-item budget veto of $200 of a $700 increase to the $5,960 Base Student Allocation for public schools was negated by a 45-14 vote. A bill requiring the state Department of Revenue to provide data to lawmakers about oil tax settlements, which arose from concerns the state is settling such disputes for much less than their stated value, was overridden 43-16.
Edgmon and Stevens also issued a letter that day to Dunleavy rejecting his renewed attempt to establish a Department of Agriculture by executive order.
But while 59 of 60 legislators showed up for the Aug. 2 floor sessions, only five were present on Tuesday: Edgmon and Stevens presiding over their respective chambers; Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, serving as the acting majority leader for parliamentary purposes; House Majority Leader Chuck Kopp, R-Anchorage, and House Minority Leader Cathy Tilton, R-Wasilla.
Edgmon and Stevens both arrived in Juneau on the same mid-morning flight from Anchorage and departed on an early afternoon flight. Both leaders said they have not engaged in negotiations with Dunleavy about education policy issues during the special session and don’t expect to during its closing days.
"What we've done is when we did meet we overturned the two issues — agriculture and education funding — and so those are really the two big issues," Stevens said. "The others are things that can wait."
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
