Alaska Attorney General Kevin Clarkson says the Alaska Hire law is unconstitutional.
Clarkson wrote in a memo in response to a question from Governor Mike Dunleavy that a provision of state law requiring some private employers to hire Alaskans violates both the state and federal constitutions. He says the state should stop enforcing it.
Clarkson wrote in the 11-page document that excluding non-residents isn’t a legitimate purpose under both constitutions. He notes that both the U.S. and Alaska supreme courts have struck down previous versions of the Alaska Hire laws because the state couldn’t provide a legitimate reason justifying discrimination against non-residents.
Andrew Kitchenman is the state government and politics reporter for Alaska Public Media and KTOO in Juneau. Reach him at akitchenman@alaskapublic.org.
