(Anchorage, AK) – Thursday, Governor Mike Dunleavy announced his decision that his administration will not appeal the ruling from the Superior Court regarding the Power Cost Equalization (PCE) endowment. The case, brought by the Alaska Federation of Natives and welcomed by the Dunleavy administration, sought clarity whether the endowment is subject to the annual legislative […]
Berkeley, CA — A federal district court judge ruled Monday in favor of a coalition of individuals and environmental groups and ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to update its decades-old regulations on the use of toxic chemical dispersants in oil spill responses. The lawsuit was filed in early 2020 in the U.S. District […]
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — An Alaska court has ruled that the witness requirement for absentee ballots is unconstitutional during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parties in this case are working now to determine how the Election Division can alert voters about any subsequent changes. The lawsuit was filed by the Native American Rights Fund (NARF), American Civil […]
(Anchorage) – Friday the Alaska Supreme Court, in Forrer v. State of Alaska, struck down legislation enacted under the previous Walker administration in 2018 that authorized the issuance of “subject-to-appropriation” bonds to pay outstanding cashable oil and gas tax credits. According to the Department of Revenue, there is $743 million in outstanding tax credits […]
A significant ruling came down recently in a lawsuit regarding the use of oil spill chemical dispersants that has an Alaska connection. In addition to its relevance to the oil industry in Alaska, several plaintiffs in the case are based in Alaska: Alaska’s Cook Inletkeeper, which has spent the past 25 years holding the oil and […]
ANCHORAGE – The federal district court in Alaska dismissed a consolidated lawsuit challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s removal of proposed protections for Bristol Bay, Alaska. The EPA’s 2014 proposed protections under the Clean Water Act would have protected Bristol Bay from the proposed Pebble mine project, but EPA withdrew its proposed determination in 2019. The […]
JUNEAU, Alaska― A federal judge today rejected the Trump administration’s enormous commercial timber harvest and road-building plan for Prince of Wales Island in the Tongass National Forest of southeast Alaska. The judge ruled that the project’s approval violated the National Environmental Policy Act, which sets standards for public engagement on federal projects that will alter the environment, […]
Appeals Court Sides with GOP Led Plaintiffs in Declaring Law Unconstitutional, Remands Final Decision to Judge who Already Said Entire Law Should Fall Washington, DC — Tuesday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Trump administration in Texas vs. United States, striking down as unconstitutional the ACA’s individual mandate and […]
‘Students, parents, teachers and school administrators deserve certainty in funding’ ANCHORAGE – The Alaska Superior Court issued an order Thursday evening that ruled against the governor’s attempt to reject the Legislature’s forward funding of K-12 education. The court ruled that legislative action to remove uncertainty for schools by passing a two-year school budget is constitutional: […]