By SUZANNE DOWNING
March 31, 2026 – The Alaska State Senate passed Senate Joint Resolution 2, a proposed constitutional amendment that would lower the vote threshold required for lawmakers to override a governor’s veto on budget and tax items. Although it would need to be approved by voters, it would weaken one of the executive branch’s most significant checks on legislative spending. The measure passed along caucus line, with 14. yeas and 6 nays.
Voting for the resolution were Sens. Jesse Björkman, Matt Claman, Forrest Dunbar, Cathy Giessel, Elvi Gray-Jackson, Lyman Hoffman, Scott Kawasaki, Jesse Kiehl, Kelly Merrick, Donny Olson, Bert Stedman, Gary Stevens, Loki Tobin, and Bill Wielechowski.
Against the measure were Sens. Mike Cronk, James Kaufman, Robert Myers, George Rauscher, Cathy Tilton, and Rob Yundt.
Under the Alaska Constitution, it currently takes a three-quarter vote of the Legislature to override a governor’s veto of appropriations and revenue measures. SJR 2, sponsored by Sen. Matt Claman (who is a candidate for governor), would reduce that requirement to a two-thirds vote, making it easier for lawmakers to reverse gubernatorial cuts to spending or taxes. The Legislature last overrode the governor when he vetoed spending last year.
Alaska’s Constitution was intentionally designed with a higher bar to restrain spending and preserve balance between branches of government.
The governor’s line-item veto is one of the executive branch’s most powerful fiscal tools. It allows the governor to reduce or eliminate specific appropriations passed by the Legislature. Requiring a three-quarter vote to override those reductions has historically made it difficult for lawmakers to restore spending without broad bipartisan agreement.
Senate Minority Leader Mike Cronk, R-Tok/Northway, said the framers of Alaska’s Constitution intentionally gave the governor strong authority over spending decisions.
“The framers of our Constitution saw the wisdom in giving the governor considerable power to reduce state spending,” Cronk said. “The fiscal override threshold is high for a reason.”
Alaska’s Legislature already wields substantial power under the constitution, with few structural limits compared to other states. In that framework, the governor’s veto authority serves as one of the only checks on legislative tax and spending decisions.
If approved by the House, SJR 2 would not immediately change the law. Because it amends the Alaska Constitution, the proposal would be placed on the 2026 statewide ballot for voters to decide.
Because the House is controlled by Democrats, the measure is likely to pass this session.
7 thoughts on “Senate passes measure to strip governor of the power of the veto pen”
These legislators they don’t recognize this is a violation of the right of a Governor. It is also reducing the balance if power. I’ll spell it out since these leaders are ignorant. There are three branches of government: the Judicial. the Legislature. The Executive. Each branch holds equal amount of power so one branch does not have greater power than the other.
The Governor as just as much right to veto any bill or budget coming across his desk just as the legislature as every right to assemble and override any veto they think was wrong to be vetoed.
They who all voted in favor of this bill. If they overrides the governor’s veto of it. They all could likely be personally legally individually be held responsible in a lawsuit with Alaska Supreme Court or even the US Supreme Court
What they thoughtlessly callously want to do is violate a protected right of the Governor held by an individual whoever is elected.
So which attorneys want to make some money, this looks like a case that could bring money to the law firm.
What point would maintaining the balence of power between the branches of a legislature that is already split 50/50 between R’s and D’s with some R’s who are dishonest to make a 2/3 vote in an override.
The point of a three quarter vote is because if something a Governor does is truly horrendous then it’ll likely would gather the 3/4 or whole body vote to override. Getting an override at 2/3 vote would be much easy for emotional driven legislators to organize because they don’t like not getting what they want instead of looking into a mirror at themselves recognizing it wasn’t the person the problem, the problem is within himself and his ideas. The problems with our state legislators is they think too highly of themselves and their ideas and they aren’t even that great nor good people with good intentions.
Dunleavy Derangement Disorder. Confusion, obsession, envy, irrationality. Triple D is real in Juneau, and it’s almost always the same folks.
I find it interesting that all the Rs stuck together on this issue when in the past some of them jumped at the chance to cross over to aid the Ds in getting to the required 3/4 overriding threshold of a veto by the governor on a huge education spending bill. We’ll see how well the Rs in the House stick together. Some of them also like to cross the political divide to help the Ds. I guess that the divide jumpers find it pretty easy to get to the required 3/4 threshold on veto overrides, so why change the Alaska Constitution
The only way this works for democrats is that if Republicans never again take a legislative majority. This is wishful thinking today and ultimately disastrous for democrats the instant they lose their working majorities in either or both houses of the legislature. Cheers –
“Voting for the resolution were Sens. Jesse Björkman, Matt Claman, Forrest Dunbar, Cathy Giessel, Elvi Gray-Jackson, Lyman Hoffman, Scott Kawasaki, Jesse Kiehl, Kelly Merrick, Donny Olson, Bert Stedman, Gary Stevens, Loki Tobin, and Bill Wielechowski.”
Interestingly these are the same people berating us about the danger to our “democracy” from authoritarian rule. At the same time they are diligently working to consolidate all possible power in one body, so only they can decide what is best for us all.
Despicable!