The Governor of Alaska gave the annual address to its Legislature. Mike Dunleavy highlighted the successes of his first four years in office and demanded that action be taken on a list administration priorities including additional funding for a “statehood defence” program, which has been sued by the federal government.
Monday night, the governor spoke at the Juneau state Capitol. He also stated that he would work closely with legislators to make Alaska the “most pro-life state” in the country.
He said that this would require affordable housing, better education, economic opportunity, and a higher quality of life. Dunleavy said that it was important to think about life from the moment of conception.
He didn’t include a proposal for achieving those goals.
After the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade being overturned, the governor declared that he would introduce an amendment to the constitution this year regarding abortion. Officials in the governor’s offices did not confirm whether he would introduce an abortion-related constitutional amendment.
“Alaska does provide constitutional protection for abortion. So I would assume — even though I don’t know this — that he would suggest a constitutional amendment,” stated Sen. Cathy Giessel (R-Anchorage).
I-Anchorage Rep. Calvin Schrage, the House minority leader, stated in writing that he was encouraged and hopeful by the governor’s speech. He hopes it will mean that in areas such as the state’s base students allocation, he will support “investment into maternal and child’s health, increasing BSA educational funding and restoring defined benefits to our hard-working public servants.”
The speech was generally well received by legislators, who expressed optimism that the governor’s second term would bring about a shift from the often-complicative relationships the administration had with the Legislature during his first four years.
“Overall, a positive and forward-looking speech. But I guess the devil’s not in the details. And I look forward to hearing all the details,” stated Sen. Bill Wielechowski (D-Anchorage).
Although the governor’s “prolife” message was lacking details, some elements of his speech were already included in his budget.
One of the biggest initiatives of the administration is the expansion of its statehood defense program, which funds lawsuits against the federal government, often using hired lawyers.
Dunleavy stated that federal agencies can be wrong if they misinterpret the Statehood Act, ANILCA or other laws governing the relationship with the federal government. He was referring to the 1980 Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act which conserved large swathes of Alaska’s land.
Speaker of the House Cathy Tilton (R-Wasilla) said that this is in line with House coalition majority priorities.
Already, the administration has requested and received millions of money for lawsuits on a range of subjects. The governor’s latest budget requests $10 million more.
Legislators declare they are interested.
“I believe we must continue to move forward, and protect our natural resource to ensure we stay in business,” stated Sen. Bert Stedman (R-Sitka) and co-chair of Senate Finance Committee.
Governor Dunleavy also requested $5 million to promote Alaska as an area of potential for new businesses. The North to Opportunity program is an ongoing effort that the Dunleavy administration has already used to promote Alaska to fishing businesses, tourism ventures, and even to the U.S Navy SEALs.
Dunleavy declared he would “declare War on Fentanyl”, a drug that has contributed to a growing number of deaths from Alaska and other places.
The Alaska Beacon originally published this story. It is republished with permission.
