Lawmakers adjourned the regular session on Wednesday in a largely uneventful final day, at least compared to the mayhem of Monday's attempt to force through a multibillion-dollar subsidy in the form of state and local tax cuts.
The 33-27 vote fell short of the 40 votes needed to enact House Bill 78, which would have given public-sector employees the option to opt into a pension system.
Legislators have sparred with Gov. Mike Dunleavy throughout his time in office, especially when it comes to his picks for the state’s boards and commissions.
On Monday, the Alaska Legislature appointed the conference committee on the operating budget, kicking off the 24-hour period that allows meetings to be noticed a day in advance and starting the final mad dash to adjournment on May 20.
A bill to restore pensions for Alaska’s public workers cleared the Legislature for the first time in nearly two decades, despite opposition from some lawmakers who have benefited from pensions themselves.
Alaska Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy today vetoed the bipartisan elections bill legislators approved in March amid an intense conservative pressure campaign driven by fear that it would empower Alaska Native voters.
On a 12-8 vote, the Senate on Tuesday approved legislation to reinstate a pension system for the state's public-sector employees, a move that backers say is a key fix to some 20 years of chronic vacancies and experience issues across the state.