2026-05-21                     House Journal                      Page 3019
HB 26                                                                                                                         
The following letter was dated May 20 and received at 6:46 p.m.:                                                                
                                                                                                                                
"Dear Speaker Edgmon:                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
Under the authority vested in me by Article II, Section 15 of the                                                               
Alaska Constitution, I have vetoed the following bill:                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
     SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 26(TRA)                                                                                
     "An Act relating to the duties of the Department of Transportation                                                         
     and Public Facilities; and relating to a statewide public and                                                              
     community transit plan."                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Enacting this legislation would result in no substantive changes to                                                             
current transit planning and coordination, as all activities sought to be                                                       
codified by this bill are already actively being conducted by the State.                                                        
Furthermore, the bill’s language inappropriately seeks to elevate a                                                             
single mode of transportation above others within core state planning                                                           
powers and duties. This creates an unhelpful imbalance in existing                                                              
multi-modal planning activities.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
Beyond its redundancy, the bill establishes misleading public                                                                   
expectations that cannot be fulfilled by its text or by the statements of                                                       
its sponsor. It is being used as a pretext for additional funding that                                                          
would ultimately require federal appropriations to realize -                                                                    
appropriations that are neither secured nor guaranteed by this                                                                  
language.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
Finally, this measure is unnecessary, redundant, and it is in the best                                                          
interest of the State to maintain our current, efficient planning                                                               
processes rather than introducing duplicative and confusing statutory                                                           
mandates.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
For these reasons, I have vetoed this bill.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
Sincerely,                                                                                                                      
/s/                                                                                                                             
Mike Dunleavy                                                                                                                   
Governor"