About 90 people rallied outside the state courthouse in Petersburg today to call on the legislature to override Governor Mike Dunleavy’s line-item vetoes. The governor cut 390 million dollars from the state operating budget approved by the House and Senate.
Chelsea Tremblay organized the rally. She says the far-reaching impacts of the vetoes are concerning both for the state and for Petersburg specifically.
“I worry about education, especially university, ferries, I mean the list goes on. The damage being done to seniors, Head Start education, the list is too long for me to swallow,” Tremblay said.
Similar rallies have happened in communities around the state.
One of those vetoes is already hitting here. The Petersburg borough assembly voted last week to raise property taxes after the governor cut state reimbursement for school bond debt in half.
Lawmakers take up the governor’s vetoes tomorrow. Overriding a veto requires a three-quarters majority vote, a difficult task under normal circumstances but further complicated by the fact that the legislature couldn’t agree on a place to meet.
Most lawmakers are convening at the Capitol in Juneau, while a smaller group of Republicans are heeding Governor Dunleavy’s wishes and meeting in the Wasilla middle school.
The special session to consider the overrides is scheduled to begin at 11:30am tomorrow in Juneau.
