The Alaska Legislature struck a budget agreement Thursday, the very beginning of the session which includes an increase of $174 million to public school funding. It also pays an annual $1,300 permanent Fund dividend.
The budget compromise was a result of failing on the last day in the session in which House members paused without taking a vote over the budget of Senate.
Senate members said they had negotiated together with members of the House late the night of Wednesday and all day Thursday. The final agreement included the sum of $34 million for a variety of local projects that were negotiated by House members. House.
Senate Presidency Gary Stevens, a Kodiak Republican and a Kodiak Republican, said that finally receiving an inventory of capital budget proposals by House Majority Leaders House Majority helped seal the agreement.
“We used their list of priorities, and that’s most of the projects included in the budget,”” the executive said.
The budget includes money to build a new roof on Palmer Library, a new roof for Palmer Library, $2 million to fix the Mary Avenue storm drainage system in Anchorage and replacement of harbor floats in Dillingham as well as other items.
It also included $7.5 million in child care grant and the same amount was allocated to an innovative program that will help to pay for local medical services.
“It’s an excellent morning for Alaska,” said House Rules Chair Craig Johnson, R-Anchorage. “Our towns will all be protected. They’ll have fire protection, and road grates in the winter.”
In the last weeks focusing on the budget and the budget, the Legislature abstained without passing a variety of important bills, among them one designed to change laws on involuntary commitments for mentally impaired people as well as an initiative to pump greenhouse gases back into the earth.
Stevens stated that the Legislature had learned lessons to improve its efficiency in the future sessions.
“The principle is to follow the program,” said Stevens. “We all know that there’s a timetable, we all know there’s a specific time when you can’t attend the conference committee We all have to be aware of that.”
House majority leaders shared a similar opinion. Johnson declared that his caucus would be more prepared for the demands of the coming year.
“We’ve created the idea”The only thing that we can change is ourselves,” he said. “So we’ve got ourselves to be better.”
In the final days of a regular 120-day session, the House and Senate were divided on the amount of the PFD that has been the cause of budget disputes since the beginning of 2017. The House offered a dividend of $2700 that was nearly double the $1,300 dividend that was ultimately approved but House leadership couldn’t get necessary votes to draw from savings to fund the dividend. The budget’s final version contained the possibility of paying an additional $500 in the event that the oil price rises above expectations.
“Would we prefer it to have been higher? Absolutely,” said Rep. DeLena Johnson, a Republican from South Anchorage. “But you are aware that sometimes, you only meet at an area in the middle.”
The budget bill was approved by the Senate 15-1, and in the House 26-14. The entire House Minority approved of the bill. However, the majority of Republicans in the Majority divided. Minority Speaker Cathy Tilton, R-Wasilla, opposed the bill.
The budget was first passed since the year 1982. a budget was approved by consent instead of conference committees between both chambers.
The bill now goes to the governor, who has the option of vote to veto the legislation. Gov. Mike Dunleavy is currently on a bear hunt for charity according to a spokesperson. Dunleavy has not made any public comments on the budget. The budget year begins July 1.
The governor is scheduled to convene an extra session in October, which will be a discussion of tax reform.
