Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott has approved the language of a constitutional amendment proposed by the Alaska Legislature earlier this year. The amendment will be on this fall’s general election ballot.
Senate Joint Resolution 2, approved by the House and Senate during their regular session, calls for a vote on a constitutional amendment that would allow the state to issue general obligation bonds to pay for student loans.
SJR 2 was encouraged by the Alaska Student Loan Corporation, which is seeking to lower the interest rates paid by Alaska students.
SJR 2 would change Article IX, Section 8, which was last altered in 1982 to allow the state to issue bonds to pay for veterans housing.
The constitutional amendment would appear on this fall’s general election ballot if approved by lawmakers. Critically, the amendment only provides authority, not any money. Voters would have to approve the loan program at the polls again in 2018, that time to appropriate money.
The amendment would change Article IX, Section 8, to state: “No state debt shall be contracted unless authorized by law for capital improvements, unless authorized by law for postsecondary student loans, or unless authorized by law for housing loans for veterans and ratified by a majority of the qualified voters of the State who vote on the question.”
