The Alaska Legislative Council is suing Gov. Mike Dunleavy over appointments of numerous public servants, who the Legislature has not confirmed. The appointees were not confirmed because the Legislature refused to call itself into session after gaveling out in May, with its constitutionally mandated work unfinished.
The confirmations of tens of dozens of appointees — from Revenue Commissioner Lucinda Mahoney to members of the Fish Board and Oil and Gas Commission, and even Public Defender Samantha Cherot — were left hanging after the Legislature gaveled out of session earlier this year in a desperate attempt to get out of Juneau ahead of the COVID-19 virus.
The Legislature suspended its regular session effective March 29 through May 18, 2020. The Legislature then adjourned on May 20.
Lawmakers, in what some see as a failure of the leadership of Sen. President Cathy Giessel and House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, never reconvened in special session to finish their work.
The Legislative Council, which manages the affairs of the Legislature when it is not in session, met in executive session on Tuesday before voting 11-1 to sue the governor.
Sen. John Coghill, of Fairbanks, made the motion to sue the governor and was supported by Sens. Tom Begich, Natasha Von Imhof, Cathy Giessel, Lyman Hoffman, Gary Stevens, and Reps. Neal Foster, Jennifer Johnston, Chuck Kopp, Louise Stutes, and Steve Thompson. Sen. Bert Stedman voted no. Von Imhof was not present.
Dunleavy has said in various statements to the media that his appointees would continue to serve, but House Rep. Chuck Kopp, who lost his reelection bid and who is a foe of the governor, calls the governor’s action unlawful “according to HB 309.”
HB 309 was actually signed into law by Dunleavy, apparently to make a good-faith gesture toward the Legislature, which was not finishing its work in the spring. The bill says the any of his appointees who are not confirmed by the Legislature will expire before the next legislative session.
Now, the governor says that as far as he is concerned, those appointments are valid because the Legislature failed to fulfill its constitutional duty.
HB 309 may in fact be in conflict with the Alaska Constitution, which says the Legislature “shall” meet to confirm the governor’s appointees.
HB 309 may have allowed hostile members of the Legislature such as Kopp, who serves as House Rules Chair, to perform a “pocket veto,” a term used to describe killing legislation or an action by simply putting it in one’s pocket. That method of chicanery was something to be avoided in the Alaska Constitution, which set up a form of government that allows the governor to nimbly execute the laws of the state. The Legislature is under a constitutional mandate to perform this duty, but it also cannot be sued if it does not perform it.
