Lawmakers love to tinker. They can’t help themselves. Deep in the DNA of nearly every politician is the pathological belief that the worst thing a legislature can do for the public is … nothing.
Forget Jefferson’s old maxim that “the government which governs best, governs least.” Sorry, Tom, what really excites the political class is meddling. Tampering. Grabbing whatever levers of power they can reach. It’s not ideological. It’s instinctual. And it’s on full display right now in Juneau.
When lawmakers aren’t slashing the Permanent Fund dividend or floating new taxes to prop up budget-busting boondoggles like unsustainable pensions and a broken education system, they’ve found a new arena for flexing muscle: a turf war over constitutional boundaries.
Exhibit A: Senate Bill 183.
On paper, it looks harmless, dull, even. Just a bit of “cleanup” language. (Pro tip: most power grabs start out looking boring.)
The bill would force executive branch departments to hand over information to the Legislature’s auditor in any format the auditor or their legislative overlords demanded. Refusal? That would be illegal.
This is more than oversight. SB 183 blatantly infringes on executive branch autonomy. It empowers legislative auditors to dictate how data, including sensitive or proprietary information, is delivered, regardless of operational burden or security risks. That’s especially problematic in complex areas like oil and gas tax audits, which often involve trade secrets and confidential commercial data.
Imagine a state employee, already buried in technical work, being told to repackage geophysical models or Medicaid financials — not because it’s necessary, but because a legislative staffer prefers PowerPoint over Excel, with 12-point Allegri font in off-black. Sound absurd? That’s exactly the kind of power this bill hands over.
So why is this happening? Simple: a long-running feud. Legislative auditors and Department of Revenue staff have been at odds for nearly a decade, under multiple governors and commissioners. The friction finally came into the open during a House Rules Committee hearing.
Revenue officials testified they’d already provided the requested data. The problem? The format. Legislators wanted the data redone their way — even if it meant hundreds of extra hours for agency staff.
The auditor’s response? Too bad. Get to work. And make sure the color palette is pleasing.
This bill isn’t about transparency. It’s about control. It’s a legislative overreach that sets a dangerous precedent: allowing lawmakers to micromanage executive branch functions under the guise of “accountability.” Today it’s data formatting. Tomorrow, who knows?
Rep. Chuck Kopp insists courts will uphold this power play. He might want to check his case history. In 2020, the Legislature tried a similar move, inserting language into a Covid-era bill that would automatically reject the governor’s appointees if not confirmed by a deadline. The Alaska Supreme Court, hardly a fan club for the current governor, struck it down as a clear overreach.
Maybe, just maybe, in the closing days of session, lawmakers could set aside this petty bureaucratic feud. How about focusing on, say, passing a budget? Avoiding new taxes? Not driving the economy into a ditch?
Just a thought.
Suzanne Downing is founder and editor of Must Read Alaska.
