01/20/2026 03:30 PM Senate STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SJR2 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SJR 2 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SJR 13 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE STATE AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE
JANUARY 20, 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.
- HEARD & HELD
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 13
Proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State of Alaska
relating to the appointment of state judges by the governor.
- SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD
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
CARLY DENNIS, Staff
Senator Matt Claman
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided the sectional analysis for SJR 2.
LAURA CAPELLE, President
NEA-Alaska
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified by invitation on SJR 2.
CAROLINE STORM, representing self
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SJR 2.
THERESA NANGLE OBERMEYER, representing self
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SJR 2.
THERESE LEWANDOWSKI, representing self
Homer, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SJR 2.
ACTION NARRATIVE
3:30:44 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 Bjorkman, Wielechowski, Gray-Jackson, Tilton
and Chair Kawasaki.
SJR 2-CONST. AM: VOTES NEEDED FOR VETO OVERRIDE
3:31:48 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.
3:32:14 PM
SENATOR MATT CLAMAN, District H, Alaska State Legislature,
Juneau, Alaska, sponsor of SJR 2 introduced the following
legislation:
[Original punctuation provided.]
Senate Joint Resolution 2 makes an important change to
our state Constitution to improve our public's ability
to influence executive and legislative decisions on
revenue and appropriations matters. It would amend
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.
Alaska has the highest requirements for overriding a
revenue or appropriations veto of any state. Only one
other state - Arizona - comes close to this high
override standard. Arizona shares the three-quarters
override vote requirement for a vetoed revenue bill,
but Arizona requires only two-thirds of the
legislators to override an appropriations item.
3:33:11 PM
SENATOR CLAMAN continued with the introduction of SJR 2:
The other 48 states all have lower override
requirements for revenue and appropriation bills. Most
states require a two-thirds vote from both legislative
chambers to override a gubernatorial veto. Seven
states require a three-fifths vote, and six states
only require a simple majority. Few states
differentiate between vetoed revenue and
appropriations items and typical policy bills.
The three-quarters vote requirement makes it extremely
difficult for the Legislature to override a revenue or
appropriations veto. In the past two decades, the
Legislature has only twice overrode an appropriations
veto. And many legislators are familiar with the
public's frustration over the protracted efforts to
override the Governor's vetoes of public education
funding. This summer, Data for Progress conducted a
poll of Alaskans that showed strong support for this
amendment.
The three-quarters requirement also creates a
difficult double-standard for revenue and
appropriations legislation to pass the Governor. A
typical policy bill, although it might contain a
fiscal note, requires a 2/3 vote to override if it
receives a governor's veto. If that override vote
succeeds, the Governor may then use his line-item veto
to remove funding for the bill from the budget. That
line-item veto then requires a ¾ vote to pass. We saw
this dynamic unfold when the Governor vetoed House
Bill 57 last May. The Legislature overrode that veto.
And then the Governor vetoed the HB 57 education
funding from the budget. Lowering the revenue and
appropriations requirement to two-thirds will align
the requirements for all vetoed legislation and
eliminate this loophole.
In crafting our constitution, Alaska's framers
established a strong governor form of government. This
structure is evident when looking at the three-
quarters legislative vote requirement to override
fiscal legislation. When Alaska was a young state, the
idea of a strong governor made sense. Today, we are no
longer a young state, our economy has grown, and
public participation in the political process has
increased. This amendment returns more power to all
Alaskans and their elected representatives and
senators.
If two-thirds of the House and Senate both approve SJR
2, it will appear on the general election ballot for
voters in November. It is not subject to a governor's
veto.
3:35:52 PM
CARLY DENNIS, Staff, Senator Matt Claman, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, provided the sectional analysis for
SJR 2.
[Original punctuation provided.]
Section 1
The Constitution of the State of Alaska. Article II,
Section 16. Deletes the three-fourth vote requirement
for the legislature to override vetoes for revenue and
appropriation bills or items. Changes the vote
requirement for the legislature to override vetoes for
revenue and appropriation bills or items to a two-
third vote.
Section 2
The Constitution of the State of Alaska. Conforms with
Article XIII, Section 1 of the Alaska Constitution and
the state election laws to put the amendment proposed
by this resolution before registered voters in the
State of Alaska at the next general election.
3:36:20 PM
CHAIR KAWASAKI asked what election would SJR 2 first apply to if
passed.
3:36:28 PM
SENATOR CLAMAN replied it would apply to the November 6, 2026
election.
3:36:32 PM
CHAIR KAWASAKI stated that is the general election.
3:36:52 PM
CHAIR KAWASAKI announced invited testimony on SJR 2.
3:37:58 PM
LAURA CAPELLE, President, NEA-Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska,
testified by invitation on SJR 2. She argued that the three-
quarters vote required to override a gubernatorial budget veto
is unreasonably high, weakens representative democracy, and
gives excessive power to the executive branch. This threshold
has caused repeated instability in Alaska's public education
system, creating ongoing uncertainty for school districts,
educators, families, and students. She pointed to years of
"budgetary whiplash," including the unprecedented 2025 veto of
the Base Student Allocation, which nearly resulted in a $51
million shortfall and was reversed only by an extraordinary,
narrow override vote. She said SJR 2 is presented as a necessary
correction to align the override threshold with the two-thirds
standard used for other legislation, restore balance among
branches of government, and provide stable, reliable funding for
public education. She suggested stronger safeguards in the
budget process to protect education and other essential funding
from questionable gubernatorial vetoes and to preserve Alaska's
quality of life.
3:43:33 PM
CHAIR KAWASAKI noted that the veto occurred in late August. He
asked how the school boards adjusted their plans given that the
budget cycle usually takes place in March or April.
3:43:56 PM
MS. CAPELLE replied that the decision depended on the school
board. She said the school boards were forced to guess whether
the governor would veto the budget and by how much, leading some
districts to preemptively cut positions and issue layoffs,
creating wide-ranging uncertainty across districts.
3:45:02 PM
CHAIR KAWASAKI opened public testimony on SJR 2.
3:45:32 PM
CAROLINE STORM, representing self, Anchorage, Alaska, testified
in support of SJR 2. She noted that Alaska's high override
threshold limits representative democracy, and emphasized that,
despite Alaska having a strong state constitution, this issue
reduces its effectiveness.
3:46:52 PM
THERESA NANGLE OBERMEYER, representing self, Anchorage, Alaska,
testified in support of SJR 2. She sought verification that her
written testimony was received.
CHAIR KAWASAKI replied that the committee received her letters.
3:51:59 PM
THERESE LEWANDOWSKI, representing self, Homer, Alaska, testified
in support of SJR 2. She stated her belief that the resolution
should go to voters as a constitutional amendment. She noted
widespread concern about excessive executive power.
3:52:59 PM
CHAIR KAWASAKI closed public testimony on SJR 2.
3:53:23 PM
CHAIR KAWASAKI held SJR 2 in committee.
3:53:29 PM
At ease.
3:54:53 PM
CHAIR KAWASAKI reconvened the meeting.
3:58:22 PM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Kawasaki adjourned the Senate State Affairs Standing
Committee meeting at 3:58 p.m.