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Alaska school districts join lawsuit over Trump administration freeze of billions for education

By: Corinne Smith, Alaska Beacon

Pearl Creek Elementary School is seen on June 3, 2025. The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District decided to close the school at the end of the academic year due to budget cuts. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Three Alaska school districts have joined a coalition from across the country — including school districts, teachers unions, parents and advocacy groups — suing the Trump administration for blocking $6.8 billion in congressionally approved education funding. 

The Anchorage, Fairbanks North Star Borough, and the Kuspuk school districts joined the lawsuit filed Monday in federal court. The suit challenges the withholding of funds as unlawful and unreasonable, as well as violating Congress’ authority and the separation of powers. 

“The lawless and last-minute withholding of federal education funds is not just a bureaucratic failure—it is a direct attack on our most vulnerable students. Less than a month before school starts, we’ve been forced to plan for cuts instead of preparing to serve children,” said Fairbanks Superintendent Luke Meinert in a statement announcing the lawsuit. 

The Trump administration has said it’s withholding the funds pending a review of the grant programs to ensure they align with the Republican president’s priorities, and to “prevent them from promoting a ‘left-wing’ agenda,” according to the lawsuit. 

For Alaska, an estimated $46.4 million was allocated across five grant programs, according to the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development. That includes funding to support migrant education, academic enrichment, English language learning, and other types of instruction, as well as teachers’ professional development. In addition, an estimated $1.1 million was withheld for adult education programs. 

According to the lawsuit, school districts nationwide are facing millions in budget shortfalls, and have had to “cancel orders for new curriculum, delay critical teacher training, pause contracts for services for English language learners, or take other actions to avoid incurring expenses that they cannot afford to pay without the money normally provided by the Formula Grant Programs.”

The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District serves more than 12,000 students across 33 schools, and has seen over $2.57 million frozen, according to the lawsuit.

“Without these Title program funds, nearly 200 education jobs are in jeopardy,” Meinert said. “Our classrooms will be less supported, and students will be left behind. This isn’t just fiscal irresponsibility—it’s a moral failure that jeopardizes the future of the very students federal law is meant to protect.”

The Kuspuk School District serves 320 students in nine schools across 12,000 square miles in Western Alaska — and has received national attention for its deteriorating school buildings and severe maintenance needs. It is facing over $180,000 in frozen funds.

 Students attend class in a Kuspuk elementary school. (Photo provided by the Kuspuk School District)

Among the grants frozen was funding to support teacher training, school supplies, enrichment programs and English language learning, including for over 130 staff. “Because English is not the first language for more than 60% of the district’s teaching staff, sustained … training has been critical to ensuring educators can effectively support English Learners across subjects and grade levels,” according to the lawsuit. 

Superintendent Madeline Aguillard said in a statement the programs are “not line items, they are lifelines” for students. 

“These are not extras. These are the programs that give our students a chance,” she said. “When funding is blocked, it does not just stall services. It dismantles the systems we have built to reach those most in need. When the federal government walks away from its obligation, it is not a delay. It is denial. Denial of access. Denial of progress. Denial of the futures our students have a right to pursue.” 

For Anchorage, the state’s largest district by population at more than 43,000 students in 94 schools, the frozen funds are estimated at $11.8 million.

In an interview last week on the district’s budget challenges ahead of the lawsuit, Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt said the funding freeze on July 1, at the start of the fiscal year was “severe,” particularly having just signed new contracts for teachers and staff. “If you offer somebody a role and no longer have the funds for it — it’s so unprecedented that the federal government would not essentially pay its bills on time because these monies were appropriated. This is not a budget reduction conversation. This is a executing the will of the Congress of conversation,” he said.

Anchorage Superintendent Jharrett Bryant (Photo provided by the Anchorage School District)
 Anchorage Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt (Photo provided by the Anchorage School District)

The freeze comes amid an ongoing state education funding debate with the Alaska State Legislature meeting for a special session on Aug. 2, as well as a dispute over local contributions to school funding. School officials said this combination of issues is devastating to public education in Alaska. Earlier this year, the Anchorage School District reported it had to lay off 42 staff positions, and cut more than $30 million in salaries, benefits and services.

Bryantt said the district had to immediately lay off five staff members following the funding freeze announcement, and transfer about a dozen more to alternate roles. “We can make sure that folks are employed. That’s my top priority, in addition to the continuity of our students’ learning,” he said, and recruiting and hiring teachers is an ongoing challenge. 

“Teachers are a national commodity,” he added. 

The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Rhode Island, names the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, its director Russ Vought, the U.S. Department of Education and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. It asks a judge to compel the department to release the funds.  

Alaska U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski joined nine other Republican senators in a letter to the Office of Management and Budget urging the department to release K-12 funds, as well as over $700 million for adult education programs.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Education announced it will release some of the withheld grants, an estimated $1.3 billion that goes to support after-school care and summer school programs, though it’s unclear when those funds will be received by districts. 

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Actuarial review finds State pension plan would improve retention despite higher initial cost

The Alaska State Capitol in downtown Juneau. (Photo by Greg Knight/News of the North)
The Alaska State Capitol in downtown Juneau. (Photo by Greg Knight/News of the North)
The Alaska State Capitol in downtown Juneau. (Photo by Greg Knight/News of the North)
The Alaska State Capitol in downtown Juneau. (Photo by Greg Knight/News of the North)

A recent actuarial analysis presented to the Alaska House Finance Committee has renewed focus on legislation to restore a defined benefit pension for public employees, the analysis shows the plan could help retain workers despite a higher upfront price tag.

For years, efforts to reinstate pensions for state workers have faced a hurdle in Alaska law, which requires an actuarial review of any retirement legislation before it can advance to a floor vote. These reviews are often expensive and time-consuming, delaying legislative progress.

But advocates argue these studies are critical to ensuring any proposed pension system is fiscally sound.

This year, the state’s actuary delivered its report on House Bill 78 to lawmakers, outlining costs and potential long-term benefits of shifting from a defined contribution system similar to a 401(k), back to a traditional pension plan. The analysis found that defined benefit pensions provide more value to employees and improve workforce retention, which in turn raises overall payroll and long-term staffing stability.

“The actuary said That’s going to, almost single-handedly solve your retention problem.” Said Juneau Senator Jessie Kiehl.

The fiscal note for HB 78 estimates the pension plan would cost the state about $40 million in the first year, with expenses growing as more vacant state jobs are filled and employees remain longer.

But Kiehl says the predicted $76 million annual savings and increased revenues for public employers far outweighs the price tag up front.

“In the end, we save money. ” Kiehl said. “The state of Alaska is actually going to come out ahead, not only by having better trained, more effective public workers, but by having a more efficient government.”

Kiehl also specifically noted Juneau Police Department, who face poaching from Washington State Patrol, “when police officers at JPD have a pension, they don’t get poached by Washington State Patrol who come up here just about every summer, take our JPD officers to dinner and say, Hey, come on down. We’ll hire you, bring your experience and all the training the taxpayers of Juneau paid for, and by the way, you can earn a Washington state pension.”

The legislature is expected to take up the measure during the 2026 legislative session.

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New federal law reshapes Medicaid rules, opens fund for rural health

 The offices of the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services are seen in Juneau on Friday, July 1, 2022. (Photo by Lisa Phu/Alaska Beacon)

A new federal law signed by President Donald Trump on July 4, 2025, enacts wide-ranging changes to public policy, including major revisions to Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and federal tax laws.

According to officials, Alaska’s Medicaid funding is more stable than other states because Alaska is not subject to some of the structural changes affecting others.

Medicaid is a joint federal and state public health insurance program for people with low incomes, including children, pregnant women, older adults, and individuals with disabilities. 1 in 3 Alaskans are enrolled in Medicaid. While not all enrollees use services every year, about 40% received care in FY25. Most Medicaid enrollees in Alaska are children or adults under the age of 65.

According to current information, the State cannot reliably say how many Alaskans will be affected.

According to the Department of Health, The One Big Beautiful Bill (the bill) establishes new community engagement requirements and requires states to check Medicaid eligibility twice a year for some Medicaid enrollees.

The requirements primarily apply to the Medicaid expansion population – able bodied adults ages 19 to 65 who qualify for Medicaid based on their income.

Many Alaskans will be exempted from the new requirements, making the full impact of the changes complicated to project, they say further analysis is underway.

The bill requires that most able-bodied adults ages 19–64 enrolled through Medicaid expansion must complete 80 hours per month of work or other qualifying activities to qualify for Medicaid coverage. These activities include job training, education, or volunteer service. Individuals must show they met the requirements at least one month before applying and must meet the same requirements when they renew. 

Advocates say individuals who use these programs already work, or are unable to do so, and adding qualifying work requirement paperwork could make it more difficult for recipients to apply.

According to the Department of Health, The bill includes mandatory exemptions for individuals who are:

  • Meet SNAP or TANF work requirements
  • Pregnant or within the postpartum coverage period
  • Alaska Native or American Indian 
  • Have a significant physical, intellectual, or developmental disability 
  • Are blind or disabled
  • Have a substance use disorder or disabling mental health condition
  • Have a serious or complex medical condition 
  • Veterans with a total disability rating
  • Enrolled in Medicare
  • A parents or caregiver for a child under 14 or someone with a disability
  • Recently incarcerated (within 90 days)
  • Under age 26 and formerly in foster care

The Department of Health also notes the creation of the Rural Health Transformation Fund, a $50 billion initiative aimed at improving health care in rural communities across the country.

Funds may be used for a wide variety of activities to improve rural health care, including technology modernization, workforce development, innovative care models, and prevention measures for chronic disease and substance use disorder. 

Officials say the state is “well-positioned” to secure a strong share of those dollars, helping improve access to health care and supporting long-term improvements to health outcomes in underserved areas.

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Alaska appeals to US Education Department after failing funding test, with $80.8 million at stake

By: Corinne Smith, Alaska Beacon

 Deena Bishop, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, at a news conference with Gov. Mike Dunleavy on education funding on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)

The state of Alaska has filed an appeal with the U.S. Department of Education after federal officials said the state failed a test measuring the differences in funding between school districts, which put more than $80.8 million in federal aid at risk.

Each year, the state receives federal funding called “impact aid” intended to compensate districts with federally owned lands, which reduce the tax base to support schools. The state can put that funding toward its own funding for schools — which the state has done in the past — but only if it can pass what’s known as a disparity test. 

Federal law requires there to be no more than a 25% gap between per-student revenue in districts near the highest in funding and districts near the lowest. The department found Alaska’s disparity to be 26.88%, given the state’s complex funding formula. 

But Alaska has rejected the finding, filing a formal appeal on July 14 and submitting districts’ finance data to argue their expenditures meet the standard. The test puts federal funding at stake, according to the state, which this year amounts to an estimated $80.8 million.

Deena Bishop, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, said in an interview last week that she feels good about the state’s accounting and a successful appeal.

“I’m confident that we did meet it,” Bishop said of the requirements. “If I base it off of the last appeal and how Alaska was able to share how transportation costs are truly that disparate, then I think we will do fine.”

The state failed the same disparity test in 2021, based on 2019 state data, and successfully appealed. This time, the state submitted 2024 data for evaluation. 

“So a little bit of it is a huge math problem at the beginning,” Bishop said of the appeal process. “We wrapped our arms around it and figured that out, and then made an argument on … why we did it that way, given the background of those costs in Alaska.” 

Bishop said Alaska sees high costs in rural school districts — especially for transportation, but also basic supplies and operating costs. 

“The cost to do business is highly diverse in Alaska. If you just took the cost of a head of lettuce or a gallon of milk, you know, in Anchorage, as compared to Teller, it’s not just three times (higher in Teller). It could be up to five times. And really building and construction materials, supplies, all of those are such a significant increase due to the way you can only get in by barge or plane. So it’s just … again, understanding why we pay such large differences in different places in Alaska.”

The U.S. Department of Education notified the state that it failed the test on May 16, as first reported by KTOO. Bishop said it will take time to resolve. The 2021 appeal was resolved at the end of that fiscal year, in 2022. 

“It is a long process, because I think they’re very careful at it,” she said. “You want to spend the time on it. They did spend the time to understand Alaska.”

In the meantime, the federal impact aid payments will continue to school districts.

DEED spokesperson Bryan Zadalis said by email those funds will continue through the appeal process. “School districts will continue to receive Impact Aid funding directly from US-ED through their regular processes of application approval and funding availability,” he said.

Added uncertainty for education funding

The results of the disparity tests add uncertainty for the state, and for Alaska schools.  

That’s based on the state’s complex funding formula for schools – which includes federal, state and local contributions. 

Alexei Painter, who directs the division of state government that analyzes the budget for the Legislature, said the Legislature passed a budget that funds whatever the state’s portion is in that funding formula. If the state passes the disparity test, it allows the state to deduct the federal impact aid dollars from the state school funding.

But if the state fails the test, Painter said, “that money doesn’t go away. It just goes directly to those districts.”

If the federal impact aid isn’t flowing through the state government, it no longer is distributed based on the state funding formula. That’s potentially a big problem for the state.

“If we fail, we can’t make that deduction,” Painter said in an interview Wednesday. “The result of that is that what the state would owe to pay the full formula would go up by $80 million.” 

That’s because the state would still be required to distribute the remaining state aid according to formula, but it would have less revenue to do it. 

Painter explained that the issue is further complicated by Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s budget veto of $50 million for the state’s education funding this year. 

Under the original budget bill passed by the Legislature, the state had an open-ended commitment to provide school funding according to the formula. But in issuing the veto, Dunleavy crossed out the language, replacing it with a dollar amount.

“The governor vetoed that appropriation from an open-ended one to a fixed dollar amount,” Painter said. That means that if the state fails the disparity test, “that cost goes up by $80 million, and now the veto impact is $130 million.”

The Legislature is set to take a vote on whether to override Dunleavy’s veto of school funding during a special session, scheduled for Aug. 2. 

Painter said that if the Legislature votes to override the veto, it would fund the education formula – including the $80.8 million. 

Depending on the override vote and the appeal, the impacts to school districts could vary widely across the state, he said. The division issued a memo in June on the potential impacts.

Some districts that receive the federal impact aid because they include federal lands, like the Lower Kuskokwim or Fairbanks school districts, could see millions more. But others, like the Matanuska-Susitna or Anchorage districts could see millions less, as the state would not have enough money to fully balance its part in the funding formula. 

“I would just assume the Legislature will address this in some way,” Painter said. A veto override would be one way to address it. Another way would be to provide more money for school districts after the Legislature reconvenes for its next regular session, in January, in a supplemental budget bill. 

If the state loses its appeal and the Legislature doesn’t act, it could be a problem for districts. 

“Otherwise there’s just a lot of uncertainty for districts,” Painter said. “Even if the department’s ultimately successful, in the meantime, it just adds uncertainty for districts.”

Sen. Löki Tobin, D-Anchorage and chair of the Senate Education Committee, said in a phone interview that she was glad the state has appealed. But she argued that the disparity is being driven by a lack of funding on the state’s part for public schools. 

“That is ultimately on the shoulders of our state and also of our local communities, and with a decade of flat funding, it is clear why our school districts’ budgets are getting tighter, the deficits are getting larger,” and the disparity is growing, Tobin said. 

Zadalis said no date has been set yet for a hearing on the appeal. 

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Alaska state senator, key vote on possible budget veto override, gets waiver from U.S. Army

Sen. Forrest Dunbar, D-Anchorage, speaks in favor of Senate Bill 39, the payday loans bill, on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Sen. Forrest Dunbar, D-Anchorage, speaks in favor of Senate Bill 39, the payday loans bill, on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

Anchorage Democratic Sen. Forrest Dunbar will be able to attend the Aug. 2 special session of the Alaska Legislature, he said late Tuesday in a post on Facebook.

Dunbar, a member of the National Guard, is deployed to Poland on active-duty service but received a federal waiver that will allow him to return to Alaska for legislative work.

Dunbar’s attendance is critical for lawmakers who hope to override Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s decision to veto millions of dollars in public school funding from this year’s state operating budget. Despite his attendance, the outcome remains uncertain, and Dunleavy has the option of canceling the session.

It takes 45 votes to override an Alaska governor’s budget veto, and Dunbar was one of 46 legislators who voted in May to reverse the governor’s decision to veto a bill increasing the state’s public school funding formula.

That formula is subject to the state’s annual budget process, and Dunleavy chose to only partially fund it, causing a wave of cuts to services at public schools across the state. Dunleavy had said he would not agree to the full funding increase without the Legislature adopting other policies he’s proposed.

Many legislators hoped to override that second veto in January, when the regular legislative session reconvenes, but Dunleavy called a special session for Aug. 2, forcing an early vote.

Writing on Facebook, Dunbar noted that he had previously requested to be excused from the Legislature during his National Guard service, “however, the Legislature obviously does not control the actions of the governor.”

Dunbar said he began seeking a formal waiver that would allow him to use his personal leave, pay for his own plane ticket, and return to the state for the special session.

“I am pleased to report that the commanding general to whom our unit now reports has indeed granted that request,” Dunbar wrote. “I plan to return to Alaska for the start of the special session, and I will be voting yes to override, so that our students have the funds they need to avoid catastrophic cuts to their schools.”

For weeks, it hadn’t been clear whether Dunbar would be able to obtain the rare dispensation needed to return to Alaska.

“In general, a service member on federal Title 10 mobilization orders is required to complete the full term of their deployment,” said Dana Rosso, a spokesperson for the Alaska National Guard, by email. “Any early release or temporary return would require approval through Department of Defense and U.S. Army channels and is only considered under exceptional circumstances — such as serious medical or family emergencies — while taking mission requirements and federal law into account.”

Rosso said there was no way for a state official — such as the governor or adjutant general — to issue the waiver.

“Any early release or temporary return would require approval through Department of Defense channels, typically at the Secretary of the Army or Secretary of Defense level,” he said. “These waivers are rare and only considered under extraordinary circumstances, such as serious medical issues, family emergencies, or extreme humanitarian situations.”

Dunbar’s chief of staff, Arielle Wiggin, said by email that it wasn’t clear until recently whether the commanding general of the U.S. Army’s V Corps — Lt. Gen. Charles Costanza — would grant the waiver.

Even with Dunbar’s attendance, it isn’t clear whether the governor’s budget veto will be overridden or sustained. 

In a closed-door meeting shortly after issuing a proclamation that called the session, Dunleavy asked members of the House’s Republican minority caucus to stay away from the first five days of the special session, the period when the Alaska Constitution requires any override vote to take place.

The date of the special session also coincides with the National Conference of State Legislatures, which several lawmakers were expected to attend.

Other legislators were scheduled to work or attend family events during the period.

Since the governor’s announcement, many have said they will be canceling their plans in order to attend the special session. Sen. James Kaufman, R-Anchorage, will return from a trip to Vietnam, he said, and vote in favor of the override.

Some Republicans aligned with Dunleavy on the issue, including Reps. Jamie Allard, R-Eagle River, and Kevin McCabe, R-Big Lake, have said they will follow his wishes and stay away.

Of the 46 legislators who voted this spring to override the governor’s veto of the education funding formula, all but a handful have committed to supporting a budget veto override as well.

Rep. Dan Saddler, R-Eagle River, said he will attend the special session but declined to say how he would vote on the budget issue. House Minority Leader Mia Costello, R-Anchorage, said she has not made up her mind. 

Republican Reps. Julie Coulombe and David Nelson of Anchorage, and Bill Elam of Nikiski, could not be reached by phone on Wednesday. 

The governor’s legislative director is keeping close track of the number of potential “yes” and “no” votes for a veto override, and it is possible that the governor could cancel the special session.

After Dunbar’s announcement, Alaska Democratic Party chair Eric Croft issued a statement calling the timing of the Dunleavy-called special session “one of Dunleavy’s many dirty tricks.”

“There is nothing Dunleavy won’t try to further his anti-education political agenda, including taking advantage of a legislator’s active commitment to the military. We’re grateful for Senator Dunbar’s service to our country’s security and Alaska. If not for his dedication to his constituency, we may have seen our persistent efforts to fund education fail yet again,” Croft said.

Asked about Croft’s comments, Dunleavy spokesperson Jeff Turner reiterated a statement that Dunleavy made on July 2, when he declared that the special session would be devoted to education reform and an executive order creating the new Alaska Department of Agriculture.

“Enacting a few necessary reforms to our public education system can elevate those children struggling in Alaska’s school system,” Dunleavy said at the time. “As elected officials we must do all we can to put the next generation on the path to a successful and prosperous future, and that starts with a solid public education.”

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Heavy plane, drag from antlers contributed to crash that killed ex-Rep Mary Peltola’s husband

U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, speaks on Jan. 4, 2024, at a town hall meeting on the possible Albertsons-Kroger grocery merger. The meeting was held at the Teamsters Local 959 headquarters in Anchorage. Peltola said on Tuesday she has not decided whether to support her party's likely candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, speaks on Jan. 4, 2024, at a town hall meeting on the possible Albertsons-Kroger grocery merger. The meeting was held at the Teamsters Local 959 headquarters in Anchorage. Peltola said on Tuesday she has not decided whether to support her party’s likely candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

AP- A small plane that crashed in 2023 while carrying moose meat for hunters in remote western Alaska, killing the husband of former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, was overweight for takeoff and encountered drag from a set of antlers mounted outside, federal investigators said in a report released Tuesday.

The National Transportation Safety Board, in its final report on the crash that killed Eugene Peltola Jr., who was the only person on board the aircraft, listed several factors among its probable cause findings. They included decisions by Peltola to fly the plane above its maximum takeoff weight and affix a set of moose antlers on the right wing strut that caused a drag, along with turbulent flight conditions in the area.

Downdrafts, “along with the overweight airplane and the added drag and lateral weight imbalance caused by the antlers on the right wing, would likely have resulted in the airplane having insufficient power and/or control authority to maneuver above terrain,” the report states.

The Piper PA-18-150 Super Cub crashed Sept. 12, 2023, northeast of the small western Alaska community of St. Mary’s. Peltola had days earlier taken five hunters, a guide and equipment from the community of Holy Cross to an airstrip at St. Mary’s. The group set up camp next to the runway, which was near hilly terrain and about 70 miles (113 kilometers) northwest of Holy Cross, the agency said.

The day before the crash, the group got a moose and made plans with Peltola, via satellite messaging devices, for him to transport the meat, the NTSB said. On the day of the crash, Peltola had already picked up a load of meat and had returned for another. He did not use scales to weigh the cargo, the agency said.

Two hunters were at the site when the crash occurred and provided aid to Peltola, the agency previously reported. Peltola died of his injuries within about two hours, the agency said.

“Given the remote location of the accident site, which was about 400 miles from a hospital, and accessible only by air, providing the pilot with prompt medical treatment following the accident was not possible,” Tuesday’s report states.

The agency said carrying antlers on the outside of a plane is a common practice in Alaska but requires formal approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, with a notation in the plane’s logbooks. “There was no evidence that such approval had been granted for the accident airplane,” the report states.

Peltola was a former Alaska regional director for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and worked for decades for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He had received his commercial pilot’s license in 2004, requiring him to use corrective lenses at all distances, according to an FAA database.

His death came almost exactly a year after Mary Peltola was sworn in as Alaska’s lone U.S. House member, following a special election for the seat. Mary Peltola, who is Yup’ik, was the first Alaska Native in Congress.

She won a full, two-year term in November 2022 but lost her reelection bid last November. She has kept a relatively low public profile since then.

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Former state legislator wins lawsuit that sought to enforce a clause of the Alaska Constitution

A copy of the Alaska Constitution is seen on Thursday, July 28, 2022. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

By: James Brooks, Alaska Beacon

A copy of the Alaska Constitution is seen on Thursday, July 28, 2022. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

Former state Rep. David Eastman has won his lawsuit against Gov. Mike Dunleavy and the state of Alaska, successfully challenging the governor’s decision to allow a bill to become law last year.

In the suit, Eastman — a Republican from Wasilla — challenged the constitutionality of Senate Bill 189, citing a clause of the Alaska Constitution that requires lawmakers to limit bills to a single subject.

In the final hours of the 2024 legislative session, lawmakers combined several other bills into SB 189. Dunleavy and the executive branch had no role in the crafting of the bill, but because the governor allowed the bill to become law without his signature, the suit named him as a defendant.

On Tuesday, Juneau Superior Court Judge Larry Woolford signed an order declaring that the bill “was passed by the 33rd Alaska Legislature in violation of Article II, Section 13 of the Alaska Constitution and is therefore void.”

Woolford’s order also awards Eastman $20,250 in costs and attorney fees. Eastman was represented in the suit by attorney Joe Geldhof.

The legal victory has limited immediate impact because lawmakers this year re-passed all the bills that were combined into Senate Bill 189. Woolford’s order “does not address and has no effect on subsequent legislation repealing and reenacting the provisions of SB 189.”

Its biggest impact may be to constrain current and future legislators, preventing them from repeating the kinds of legislative logrolling that have become commonplace in the final days of each two-year legislative cycle. 

Because bills die at the end of the legislative cycle and few bills pass both House and Senate, it has become common for lawmakers to make last-hours amendments that combine bills in an effort to speed them across the legislative finish line.

“We are pleased to have resolved the Eastman v. Dunleavy case, which challenged a bill on the grounds of violating the single subject rule,” Attorney General Treg Taylor said by email on Tuesday. 

“Following the filing of the lawsuit, the Department of Law sought to provide the Legislature with an opportunity to rectify this by breaking the bill into separate pieces of legislation. Fortunately, the Legislature successfully completed their work prior to the conclusion of the case, avoiding confusion on the laws enacted,” Taylor said.

No appeals are expected.

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Juneau’s new Civic Center: A vision for community spaces

Juneau’s proposed new Civic Center, photo from capitalciviccenter.org

Juneau is actively planning and moving forward with the construction of a new Capital Civic Center, according to the project’s executive director Bob Banghart the Civic Center’s purpose is to provide Alaska’s Capital City with an essential and vibrant community cultural and conference center located within the Áak’w Village Arts and Culture District.

“‘I’ll take us back to the early 80s, when Centennial Hall was first being designed and built.” Said Banghart, “Centennial Hall was built as it is, with an idea that there would be an addition later that would support performing arts and the arts itself. So about 10 years ago, a group of people got together to say, we need to do this.”

According to Banghart, the process of designing the new Civic Center started with an independent standalone building in the vicinity of Centennial Hall, but the group kept running into opposition, “We started listening to the different, diverse voices in the community, and then pandemic hit us.” Said Banghart, “during that process, the city approached us and said, what if we were to join the two buildings together and see about looking for some synergy that could be generated there. So the city put up some money, and we did just that, we designed a facility that conjoined what we had programmatically in the standalone building with Centennial Hall.”

The project has overcome significant challenges in recent years, including high construction costs and community opposition.

“In August last year, we came up with an idea, and we shopped it around. Took a lot of evaluation of it. People were saying, we like this, we don’t like that.” Said Banghart, “predominantly, we were looking at just joining the two buildings together with a large common space that proved to be, again, non-viable because it completely eradicated all the local parking in the area, and the cost to operate was looking like it might be outside the boundaries that we were able to afford.”

The proposed facility, an addition to the existing Centennial Hall, will feature a 299-seat professional theater, expanded lobby space, a gallery, and a flexible “black box” performance area.

Banghart described the project as a strategic response to community needs. “We’ve designed a facility that not only meets current event management challenges but creates new opportunities for community gatherings,” Banghart explained.

The $60 million project has already secured significant community support, with over 140 local donors contributing more than $10,000.

In terms of timeline, Banghart says he’d love to see the Civic Center break ground in 2027, “That’s funding pending right? the city is not on the hook to do any of that, other than what they’ve already contributed, contrary to some people’s beliefs, we are on a full court press to raise the money. We’ve been having some very strong successes.” Banghart said “So we’d love to see it happen in 27, we’ll see the documents completed next year.”

Though Banghart says there’s uncertainty on the federal end of things, he’s optimistic about contributions from the Coast Guard, “they’ve been very positive. They see a lot of application for the building’s use. We’re right across the street from them.”

The City and Project, the founding nonprofit, are jointly managing the Civic Center project, sharing design phase costs.

Interested community members can follow the project’s progress at capitalciviccenter.org.

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On budget vote, Murkowski says she was ‘hung out to dry’ and stuck between two bad options

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, smiles on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, as she exits the Alaska House of Representatives following her annual address to the Alaska Legislature. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

By: James Brooks, Alaska Beacon

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, smiles on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, as she exits the Alaska House of Representatives following her annual address to the Alaska Legislature. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

Speaking in an interview on Friday, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski said President Donald Trump’s health care-cutting budget plan was destined to pass Congress, and her decisive vote on the package last month represented the best of a bad pair of options.

In a new analysis published Monday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, Republicans’ “big, beautiful” law is estimated to add almost $3.4 trillion to the federal debt over the next decade and cause 10 million Americans to lose access to health insurance. 

Murkowski said she believes that had she opposed the law, Republican senators would instead have sought a 50th vote from Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul, and the result would have been deeper cuts to the federal budget, including to health care.

“What he was looking for was dramatically more cuts to Medicaid, dramatically greater reductions in spending,” Murkowski said. “And so it was no secret that the bill was going to pass. It was just a question of whether or not it was going to pass with Senator Paul’s vote, or with Senator Murkowski’s vote.”

In a column published July 3 by the Louisville Courier-Journal, Paul wrote, “They could have had my vote and saved money but instead chose more spending and tax and welfare changes targeted at Alaska at the cost of the fiscal sanity of our country.”

Murkowski, echoing comments made previously by Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan, who also voted for the proposal, said she was disappointed that several provisions benefiting Alaska were stricken by the Senate parliamentarian after objections from Senate Democrats.

Those included large subsidies for the state’s Medicaid program and a new split of oil revenue from federal land on the North Slope, with 90% going to the state and 10% to the federal government. 

Voting on the budget package began before the parliamentarian ruled on all aspects of it.

“And so we didn’t know what was in and we didn’t know what was not in,” Murkowski said.

During the process, the 90-10 split dropped to 70-30, and state-specific benefits for Alaska disappeared.

Afterward, one provision that survived — a concession for wind and solar projects — was quashed by executive orders issued by President Trump. 

Speaking to the Anchorage Daily News on Friday, Murkowski said she feels “cheated” by the maneuver.

Speaking to the Alaska Beacon, she said, “I have been criticized. I have been hung out to dry. But you know what? At the end of the day, I fought for my constituents as best I knew how, and I should never, and I will never, apologize for doing the best that I can by them.”

In her last three Alaska U.S. Senate elections, Murkowski defeated more socially conservative candidates with the support of Democrats and independents.

On social media, after her vote in favor of the Republican budget plan, many of those voters voiced their disapproval.

Asked about that disappointment, Murkowski said she understands and hears that criticism.

“I get the fact that they want me to be principled on this. But if it costs Alaskans — which it would have — then how is that doing my job for them? … At the end of the day, I couldn’t kill it, and I understand that people might not believe that, but again, what I set out to do was try to make improvements to a measure that started out in a place that would have … made it very challenging for too many Alaskans.”

Murkowski said she expects the Trump administration to propose more retroactive budget cuts akin to the one that passed last week involving foreign aid and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Sullivan voted in favor of the cut; Murkowski opposed it.

Afterward, Trump budget director Russ Vought said he wants congressional Republicans to get more partisan in the budget process and that lawmakers should expect more “rescission” votes like last week’s.

Murkowski said she hopes other Republicans will join her in rejecting that call.

“I would like to think that it’s comments like that, that would galvanize us as appropriators, galvanize us as Republicans and Democrats in the United States Senate,” she said. “Our oath is to the Constitution. We would say we’ve got our job to do here, and we know that in order to do it and have it be enduring, it takes 60 votes, and so we need to be more bipartisan and not more partisan. To me, it was absolutely offensive, his statement, and so arrogant.”

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Juneau Mayor comments on ICE agent rumors in the Capital city

Juneau from above, CBJ file

NOTN- After social media posts have circulated claiming 7 ICE agents checked into hotels in downtown Juneau, Mayor Beth Weldon joined KINY to discuss some of those rumors.

“So far, we haven’t been able to substantiate any of those rumors,” She said, “so, no presence or activity that we are aware of, however, maybe this is where the rumors are coming from, TSA is in town, and they will have a visual intermodal Presence Prevention and Response Team present.”

TSA will be conducting high visibility patrols on cruise ship docks, and they’ll be doing that all this week.

“So if you see lots of uniforms down there, that’s what’s happening.” Said Mayor Weldon “it’s no concern. It’s an annual activity. CBJ is not involved, and we’ve been doing this since 2021.”

While ICE agents may not be in the Capital, recently, the Alaska Department of Corrections has been holding dozens of immigration detainees in Anchorage under conditions that violate federal standards for humane treatment, according to Alaska Public Media, three immigration lawyers said the men were denied phone access to their attorneys and consulates, held in lockdown for long periods and, in one incident, subjected to pepper spray.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement is playing a key role in the Trump administration’s plans to crack down on illegal immigration.

ICE teams are continuing to carry out enforcement operations. And officials have said targeting criminals is a priority, but a key issue to watch is how the term “criminal” is defined. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said that the administration sees all undocumented immigrants as criminals.

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