Gov. Mike Dunleavy used his veto power to thwart a legislative effort to boost the state ferry system budget.

The governor cut almost $8.5 million from an overall appropriation of $190.7 million intended to cover the next 18 months of Alaska Marine Highway System operations.

The veto scales back the budget closer to last year’s level on a 12-month basis and frustrates legislative attempts to restore some of the service cuts under the governor’s administration.

This is the third budget Dunleavy has signed since he took office in December 2018, and the third time he has used his veto auth...