JUNEAU – Thousands of Alaska state employees received contract layoff notices on Thursday as Gov. Mike Dunleavy said he was unable to sign ‘flawed state budget »Without a key clause.

The Alaska State House and Senate approved an operating budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1, but House members did not approve a clause allowing the bill to take effect. to this date.

Under the Alaska Constitution, bills come into force 90 days after promulgation, unless two-thirds of the House and two-thirds of the Senate agree to an earlier date.

If the issue is not resolved by July 1, state employees will be temporarily laid off and many state departments will be shut down. The impacts are likely to be significant: the state’s ferries will not operate, fisheries managers will be unable to oversee Alaska’s multibillion-dollar salmon fishery, and managers of the Alaskan Permanent Fund. Alaska’s $ 81 billion will put it under passive management because they won’t be able to work.

Dunleavy has said he hopes lawmakers will fix the issue before an ongoing special session ends at 11:59 p.m. Friday night, but if they can’t, he will call them to another special session starting Wednesday. Many lawmakers have already left Capitol Hill, and the start time would allow them to return to Juneau.

This is a developing story and will be updated.