The Alaska Legislature adjourned late Wednesday without approving a budget that would finance the state government for the fiscal year which starts July 1.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy immediately called the Legislature to a special session to approve the budget, which began with 10:00 a.m. on Thursday.
“There’s an encore tomorrow” Senator. Bill Wielechowski, a Democrat from Anchorage who is part of the Senate’s bipartisan majority.
Wielechowski’s optimism is despite the fact that special sessions have a history of that were largely inactive until the end of the session, and despite claims from House leadership that the Senate had taken action without their input in the final days of talks.
“The most important thing is that it’s an Legislature which has two bodies. Both bodies ought to be able to influence the budget.” stated House Speaker Cathy Tilton, a Wasilla Republican.
The Senate had proposed a $1300 Permanent Fund dividend and a $174 million increase in education funding. The House suggested a $2,700 dividend as well as a level of education funding comparable to the Senate however it didn’t have the votes needed to finance the cost of a deficit.
On Wednesday night on Wednesday evening, the Senate approved a budget which included a PFD of $1,300 with an option to pay the extra $500 in case prices for oil were higher than predicted.
In normal times, the House is given 24 hours to consider budgets, however lawmakers in the Senate did not submit its bill back to House until the day in the session, as they fought to reach a compromise late into evening on Tuesday during an assembly called by Governor. House lawmakers said that there was no compromise reached during the talks and that they wanted more time to review specifics.
“Going from six o’clock until eight o’clock, it’s a total of two hours, which is not enough time to have the time to look over the budget we received through the Senate … that we did not even have the chance to comment on,” Tilton said.
Rep. Craig Johnson, of Anchorage, was quoted as saying House leaders wanted the creation of a conference committee to ensure that the members of both chambers could debate differences in their proposals. However, he added that Senate leaders refused to accept.
The House eventually adjourned on Wednesday night, but without an action about the Senate’s budget plan.
Senate leadership were of a different opinion in the last day of session. They claimed that the House did not communicate what capital projects they desired to include in the budget agreement. In addition, they cited the House’s inability to come up with funds to pay for the bigger dividend they suggested and that would require an overwhelming majority in House votes.
“They were able to offer a 50-50 split that we all want but it wasn’t affixed,” said Wielechowski. “And they gave us an education budget that was not fully funded.”
Wielechowski stated that his Senate Majority Caucus would continue to meet with House members to attempt to get an agreement on the budget as early as Thursday. House leaders haven’t said when they’d meet again.
The governor has not made any statements regarding whether he’d like to approve the budget that includes a $1,300 PFD. Dunleavy is in Anchorage on Wednesday. The spokesperson for him said Dunleavy was scheduled to participate in a charitable hunt with black bears.
