01/22/2026 03:30 PM Senate STATE AFFAIRS

Senate STA 01/22/2026 15:30

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Audio	Topic
03:30:24 PM	Start
03:30:58 PM	SJR2
03:38:01 PM	Adjourn

* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled

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		Bills Previously Heard/Scheduled:
+=	SJR 2	CONST. AM: VOTES NEEDED FOR VETO OVERRIDE	TELECONFERENCED
		Moved SJR 2 Out of Committee
		Streamed live on AKL.tv

pdf txt

ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE SENATE STATE AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE JANUARY 22, 2026 3:30 P.M. MEMBERS PRESENT Senator Scott Kawasaki, Chair Senator Jesse Bjorkman, Vice Chair Senator Bill Wielechowski Senator Elvi Gray-Jackson Senator Cathy Tilton MEMBERS ABSENT All members present COMMITTEE CALENDAR SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 2 Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Alaska relating to actions upon veto. - MOVED SJR 2 OUT OF COMMITTEE PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION BILL: SJR 2 SHORT TITLE: CONST. AM: VOTES NEEDED FOR VETO OVERRIDE SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) CLAMAN 01/22/25 (S) PREFILE RELEASED 1/10/25

01/22/25 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS

01/22/25 (S) STA, FIN

01/20/26 (S) STA AT 3:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg) WITNESS REGISTER SENATOR MATT CLAMAN, District H Alaska State Legislature Juneau, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Sponsor of SJR 2. ACTION NARRATIVE 3:30:24 PM CHAIR KAWASAKI called the Senate State Affairs Standing Committee meeting to order at 3:30 p.m. Present at the call to order were Senators Wielechowski, Gray-Jackson, Tilton and Chair Kawasaki. Senator Bjorkman arrived shortly thereafter. SJR 2-CONST. AM: VOTES NEEDED FOR VETO OVERRIDE 3:30:58 PM CHAIR KAWASAKI announced the consideration of SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 2. Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Alaska relating to actions upon veto. 3:31:21 PM SENATOR MATT CLAMAN, District H, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, sponsor of SJR 2, paraphrased the following summary and commented that, [as seen in Joint Session today] even getting to a two-thirds veto is difficult. [Original punctuation provided.] Senate Joint Resolution 2 amends Article II, Section 16 of our Constitution to lower the override requirements for revenue and appropriations vetoes from three-fourths of the legislature sitting in Joint Session, or 45 votes, to two-thirds, or 40 votes. It corrects an imbalance between the legislative and executive branches. It will make the veto override requirement the same for all legislation and eliminate ambiguities between fiscal bills and typical policy bills. And it will allow the voters of Alaska to decide what kind of accountability they want in their government. SENATOR CLAMAN opined that a lower threshold would encourage engagement between the executive branch and the legislature. 3:32:27 PM SENATOR BJORKMAN joined the meeting. 3:32:33 PM CHAIR KAWASAKI stated it is difficult to reach a supermajority threshold and even harder to achieve a "super-duper" majority threshold of 45 votes. He noted that this threshold makes practical sense and is consistent with constitutional principles of a republic, ensuring appropriate checks and balances. 3:33:02 PM SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked whether other states use lower vote thresholds, whether a supermajority is typical, and whether any states allow an override by simple majority. 3:33:28 PM SENATOR CLAMAN replied that most states require a two-thirds vote to override a veto for most legislation. A few states have higher thresholds for specific situations. He said Arizona requires a three-quarters vote for revenue measures, and another state requires three-quarters for emergency legislation. He said only Alaska, Arizona, and one other state have override thresholds higher than two-thirds. By contrast, about six or seven states allow veto overrides by a simple majority, and roughly seven or eight states require a three-fifths vote, which is lower than two-thirds. 3:34:32 PM SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked whether this threshold would keep Alaska generally in line with most states while still placing us on the higher end near Arizona. 3:34:46 PM SENATOR CLAMAN replied in the affirmative. 3:35:46 PM SENATOR CLAMAN noted that two-thirds vote appears in the federal Constitution, to pass amendments in both the House and Senate, whereas a three-quarters requirement does not appear. 3:36:05 PM SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked for confirmation that in Alaska it takes only two-thirds vote to propose a constitutional amendment, which is actually a lower threshold than what's required to override certain bills. 3:36:25 PM SENATOR CLAMAN replied yes. 3:36:30 PM CHAIR KAWASAKI solicited the will of the committee. 3:36:32 PM SENATOR BJORKMAN moved to report [SJR] 2, work order 34- LS0175\A, from committee with individual recommendations and attached fiscal note(s). 3:36:54 PM At ease. 3:37:11 PM CHAIR KAWASAKI reconvened the meeting on SJR 2. 3:37:21 PM CHAIR KAWASAKI asked if there was any objection reporting SJR from committee. He found no objection and [SJR] 2 was reported from the Senate State Affairs Standing Committee. 3:38:01 PM There being no further business to come before the committee, Chair Kawasaki adjourned the Senate State Affairs Standing Committee meeting at 3:38 p.m.

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