(SitNews) Anchorage, Alaska - Alaska Attorney General Kevin G. Clarkson entered into a stipulation with the Alaska legislature to ensure education funds will be disbursed while a lawsuit over the 2018 forward appropriation of fiscal year 2020 appropriation funding proceeds. The stipulation was filed Monday with the court.

Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Daniel Shally signed an order submitted jointly by attorneys from the Department of Law and the Legislature releasing education funding for Fiscal Year 2020.

Judge Shally’s order states that “for good cause and in the public interest” the joint motion is granted and state funding for education shall be disbursed on a monthly basis while this matter is pending before the court. The calculation for the funds released will be based on the public school funding formula under AS 14.17.410(b) and the pupil transportation funding formula under AS 14.09.01.

The order, signed July 16, 2019, was distributed to the parties Wednesday morning.  The Attorney General noted the parties sought expedited consideration on this lawsuit and will file a proposed order with a briefing schedule to that effect.

“We recognize the importance of the constitutional question presented to the court on this matter, but also want to ensure that Alaska’s schools receive funding while this litigation proceeds,” said Attorney General Kevin Clarkson.

"We have a clear constitutional disagreement between the executive and legislative branches," said Attorney General Clarkson. "But that should not impact our schools. Both the governor and the legislature agree funding should continue, even if we disagree on whether there is a valid appropriation to fund schools. The stipulation ensures that funding continues while the courts review the legal arguments."

In 2018, the legislature passed an appropriation that sought to commit future revenues, not on hand in the state treasury in fiscal year 2019, to pay for education in the future fiscal year 2020. This was not a case where projected revenues for the forthcoming fiscal year were appropriated to a future purpose. Instead, the appropriation did not take effect until the future fiscal year.

Attorney General Clarkson issued a formal Attorney General Opinion on May 8, 2019 concluding that the appropriation was unconstitutional and a new appropriation was needed. The legislature disagreed and decided not to pass a new appropriation, which left education, in the opinion of the Attorney General, without any constitutional source of funding.

Attorney General Clarkson had also agreed to seek an expedited briefing schedule to get this issue resolved as quickly as possible. "I hope the court agrees to consider this case quickly, so we can come to a resolution on this important constitutional issue," said Attorney General Clarkson.

Source of News:

Alaska Dept. of Law
www.law.state.ak.us

 

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