Legislators listen during a joint session of the Alaska Legislature on March 12, 2024 (Eric Stone/Alaska Public Media)
The Alaska Legislature rejected eight executive orders issued by Gov. Mike Dunleavy in lengthy joint session on Tuesday.
Typically, the Legislature writes bills and sends them to the governor for approval or veto. But on Tuesday, the process worked in reverse: Lawmakers were the ones pondering their veto power over a dozen executive orders issued by Dunleavy.
Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, underscored the governor’s historic use of executive power.
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“The Legislature has never considered 12 executive orders during one floor session, as we will be doing today,” Stevens said.
Dunleavy’s 12 orders make up nearly 10% of the total number of executive orders issued since statehood. Most of his orders would have transferred the functions of various boards and commissions to the executive branch.
The Alaska Constitution allows the governor to reorganize the executive branch to provide for “efficient administration,” but it also gives lawmakers a chance to vote them down — something they hadn’t done in nearly 30 years.
Lawmakers voted unanimously to uphold two of the governor’s orders. They eliminate the Alaska Council on Emergency Medical Services and the Criminal Justice Information Advisory Board. The latter board hadn’t met in years, Sen. Matt Claman, D-Anchorage, said.
But lawmakers were far more skeptical of other orders. Rep. Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, urged lawmakers to reject an order that would have eliminated the management council that oversees Wood-Tikchik State Park in Southwest Alaska. He said the council has been an integral part of the park since its inception in 1978.
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“The agreement back then with then-Gov. (Jay) Hammond and his administration was that an independent advisory body would be set up to ensure that traditional hunting and fishing rights would be overseen and protected and that there’ll be a proper balance with sports fishing and recreators going into time,” Edgmon said. “It’s been around for 50 years. The park itself has worked beautifully.”
The joint House and Senate voted 38-21 to reject the order. Lawmakers then rejected another order that would have eliminated the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve Advisory Board, 40-19.
And it was a similar story for an order that would have allowed Dunleavy to appoint all nine members of the Alaska Marine Highway Operations Board. The board advises the administration on how to operate the ferry system. Currently, four members are appointed by leaders of the House and Senate.
The Dunleavy administration told lawmakers the board was dysfunctional and resisted department leadership. But Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, who helped craft the board, argued a little discord can be a good thing.
“This is a very successful board with a diverse group of board members with diverse ideas,” Stutes said. “This, to me, is exactly what we’re looking for: a group of people that do not all think alike and are able to think outside the box and ask tough questions.”
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The feeling was not unanimous. Rep. Kevin McCabe, R-Big Lake, who chairs the House Transportation Committee, said he agreed that the Legislature should have some input on the future of the ferry system, but spoke in support of the restructuring.
“I think that the governor deserves to have a board that supports his vision for the Marine Highway System,” McCabe said. “I don’t think it’s all that different from our vision.”
Lawmakers ultimately rejected the reorganization 33-26.
Lawmakers also rejected three orders that would have eliminated the regulatory boards for barbers and hairdressers, massage therapists and midwives.
Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski and chair of the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee, said midwives had come out in force to oppose the order.
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“We heard about the desire from midwives for their profession to be regulated and have a board that represents them professionally in what those regulations are and what those folks are able to do,” Bjorkman said.
The Legislature also nixed a proposal that would have allowed the commissioner of the Department of Fish and Game to craft regulations for “live capture, possession, transport, or release of native or exotic game or their eggs.” That’s currently the prerogative of the Board of Game. Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, argued the board’s yearslong public process is essential to preventing invasive species from taking root in Alaska.
“I trust this commissioner will conduct a robust process, but I don’t know who the future commissioner will be that will be running this process. And quite frankly, on decisions of this magnitude, I’d rather have a more dispersed decision making process, then the decision being made by one political appointee,” he said.
Lawmakers also rejected an order that would have split the boards of the Alaska Energy Authority and the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority. The two state-run enterprises currently share a board. Though lawmakers said they’re open to the idea, legislative attorneys raised concerns about the constitutionality of the executive action.
Just four of Dunleavy’s orders survived — the two mentioned earlier, plus one that eliminates the Alaska Safety Advisory Council, which holds an annual workplace safety conference, and the Susitna Basin Recreation Rivers Advisory Board, which provides input on the management of six Southcentral rivers. Mat-Su lawmakers offered nearly unanimous support for eliminating the board, which they said was standing in the way of development.
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In an interview shortly after the votes, Wielechowski said lawmakers considered all of the orders on their own merits — but there was something of a theme.
“I think it’s Alaskans being concerned about consolidation of power in one individual or one department, and I think really an appreciation of these checks and balances that we have in our governmental system,” he said.
Dunleavy’s press office had a different take, issuing a brief statement after the series of votes.
“The purpose of the executive orders was to check the growth of government and improve efficiency,” spokesperson Jeff Turner wrote in an email. “Therefore, the Dunleavy administration will continue to forward executive orders that streamline government and make it more efficient.”
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Eric Stone covers state government, tracking the Alaska Legislature, state policy and its impact on all Alaskans. Reach him at estone@alaskapublic.org.
Last month, Alaska Attorney General Stephen J. Cox announced that his office entered into a settlement with a group of Swickard car dealerships, resolving false advertising allegations against the dealers. As part of the settlement, the dealers agree to pay a civil penalty of $800,000.
The Alaska AG alleged that the dealers engaged in bait and switch advertising by promoting vehicles that were not actually available for purchase in order to draw customers to its lots. The AG also alleged that the dealers refused to honor advertised prices, requiring customers to purchase expensive dealer add-ons.
In announcing the settlement, Cox said, “Car dealers don’t get to advertise one price and charge another—or advertise cars that aren’t really there. That’s a bait-and-switch, and it’s unlawful. Alaskans already face higher costs than most—this settlement holds Swickard accountable and reinforces that the price you see should be the price you pay.”
Interestingly, the consent decree includes a provision that says that if the dealers engage “in a reckless violation or persistent violations” of Alaska’s consumer protection laws in the future, the court may impose an additional penalty of up to $200,000.
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This enforcement action is yet another example of the heightened scrutiny that car dealer advertising is under right now. Earlier this month, the Federal Trade Commission settled a similar action. And, in March, the FTC sent warning letters to nearly 100 car dealers.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Palmer’s Colony High School Northern Knights Robotics won the First Robotics Competition (FRC) regional championship on April 4, becoming the first team from Alaska to win the title.
The Northern Knights’ business manager, sophomore Carter Fickes, said that the FRC is one of the most prestigious robotics competitions in the world.
“The game elements are a lot bigger,” he said.
“There’s a lot of more coding challenges as well, because you have what is called an autonomous period where your robot’s running strictly on code, and then you have a teleop period where it’s driver controlled.”
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According to Fickes, the regional competition in Minneapolis saw the team paired with and against groups from Minnesota, Illinois, the Czech Republic, Japan, and China.
Teams were required to make “alliances” with each other, before competing together in the quarterfinals.
“Being collaborative with other teams and being open to their strategy is great.” he said.
“We were telling them our main marketing strategy was ‘we’re flexible, and if you want us to do something, we can do it.’”
Fickes told Alaska’s News Source that the competition required teams to program and direct their robots to shoot balls towards targets in order to score points.
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The Northern Knights programmed their 85-pound robot to focus on defense, blocking shots from the opposing team.
“Our alliance partners had semi-automatic turrets that could shoot like hundreds of balls in a minute,” he said.
“We were blocking the other robots from getting on the other side and scoring fuel.”
Fickes said this was the first year that their team was selected to be a part of an alliance.
After the quarterfinals, the Northern Knights went on to dominate the rest of the competition.
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“We were untouched,” he said.
“We were outscoring them by 200 points, and then the finals matches, I think it ended up being like 400 to 200 or 300.”
By winning both the finals match, as well as the Rookie Team of the Year award, the Northern Knights earned themselves a ticket to the FRC Worlds Competition in Texas beginning on April 29.
“Our mentality is kind of like, ‘we’ve made it this far, so why not try our best?’” he said.
“If we don’t win the whole competition, it’s not the end of the world. A team from Alaska has never done this before, and if we like our goal is to win and to qualify and do good.”
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Unlike many other robotics teams across the country, Ficker said the Northern Knights are entirely funded through private donations.
“We built our robot in our team captain’s basement. He let us use his house, and we spent hours upon hours upon hours in his basement building and testing.”
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A U.S. Senate race in Alaska is turning into one of the most expensive in the state’s history as a Democrat tries to flip a seat held by two-term incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan.
The fundraising bonanza comes as the odds of Democrats taking control of the Senate in this year’s midterm elections appear to be improving, according to political analysts.
Democrat Mary Peltola, who held Alaska’s sole House seat from 2022 to 2025, raised almost $9 million in the first quarter of 2026, Politico reported. It’s the largest first-quarter stockpile in Alaska political history, according to her campaign.
“I’m so grateful for the support we’ve received from every single borough and census area across our state, and it’s that support that will bring us to victory this November,” Peltola said.
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GOP incumbent also has millions
Sullivan, who’s seeking a third term, brought in $2.1 million in the first quarter and has $7.5 million of cash on hand, Politico reported.
“This historic support sends a clear message: Alaskans know that Dan delivers,” Sullivan campaign spokesperson Nate Adams said in a statement.
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In 2020, Democrat Al Gross outspent Sullivan but still lost by 13 points.
Alaska is a heavily Republican state. President Donald Trump carried the state by 10 to 15 points in each of the last three elections.
However, Democrats are optimistic about a recent poll from Alaska Survey Research. The survey showed Peltola with a positive rating of 48.5%, compared to Sullivan’s 40.7%.
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Dozens of US Senate seats in play
Thirty-five U.S. Senate seats are up for grabs in November, with Republicans defending 22 and Democrats, 13.
With the GOP holding a current majority of 53-47, Democrats need to flip four seats to take control of the upper chamber for the remaining two years of Trump’s second term.
The Cook Political Report reported Monday that “the Senate battlefield is shifting in Democrats’ favor.” However, securing the magic number of 51 is still a “tall order.”
Cook rates the Peltola-Sullivan race as “leans Republican.” Eighteen other races are currently rated as either “likely Republican” or “solid Republican.”
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The nonpartisan newsletter shows three races in the “leans Democrat” category. One other is “likely Democrat,” and nine are listed as “solid Democrat.”
With Election Day more than six months away, three races — in Maine, Michigan and Ohio — are listed as toss-ups.
National Democrats see Peltola as a key to winning a majority in the Senate.
Politico said super PACs supporting Democrats have already spent more than $3 million in ad buys in Alaska, while the Republican’s Senate Leadership Fund has indicated it intends to spend $15 million on the race for Sullivan.
