The Alaska Legislature may not set multi-year budgets for public education and other state agencies unless it provides up-front funding, the state Supreme Court ruled Friday. The decision settles a 3-year dispute between the Legislature and Gov. Dunleavy.
The Boney Courthouse in downtown Anchorage, across the street from the larger Nesbett Courthouse, holds the Alaska Supreme Court chambers.
“We conclude that a requirement that funds be appropriated annually is implied in the Alaska Constitution’s text and was intended by the framers,” wrote Justice Peter Maassen on behalf of the court, which ruled unanimously.that upheld the ability of a governor and legislature to set the amount of the annual Permanent Fund dividend annually, regardless of a formula in state law.
“The Alaska Supreme Court is upholding the Alaska Constitution with this opinion,” said Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor in a prepared statement after the ruling. “The ruling says the legislature is always okay to spend money they have in this year or future years. What’s not okay is to spend money they don’t yet have, because that takes away the funding prerogative from future legislatures.”
The new governor proposed cutting spending for K-12 schools in fiscal year 2020 as part of a plan to pay for a larger Permanent Fund dividend. Lawmakers rejected the idea and didn’t include K-12 school funding in that year’s budget, saying the amount had been set the prior year. As the legal proceedings commenced, the Legislature and governor negotiated an agreement that allowed continued funding, and in November 2019, Superior Court Judge Daniel SchallyThe executive branch appealed that decision to the Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments in March 2021.
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