The special session is heading in to its third week, and the House and Senate Finance Committees are still at an impasse over the capital budget. The main point of contention is language the Senate has proposed linking millions of dollars worth of energy projects together in order to prevent the governor from vetoing some of those projects.
I’ve done my best these past two weeks to share what I learned as an attorney who started my career on a very contentious case – representing the State in its civil prosecution of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill case. Sticking your heels in the mud and drawing lines in the sand doesn’t end disputes – this one’s over the budget. We settled the state’s case with Exxon for $1 billion in 1991 – though the major damages were suffered by individuals who brought their own cases – and by not talking Exxon used its obstinance and power to drag that case out for two decades.
Government by Press Conference
There’s been a lot of talk about process in the Capitol the past two weeks. In case you’ve missed it, and you very well might have, legislators are still down in Juneau, trying to figure out if we’re going to have a budget next year. So far we’ve been at that for 12 days of special session, and we’re pretty much right where we started.
Maybe that’s because everybody is talking about process, mostly in dueling press conferences and interviews, but nobody seems to actually be applying a process.
All parties should stand down and work together in good faith
JUNEAU – Today, Alaska House Democrats announced a simple, common-sense solution to the budget stand-off that has the Legislature locked into a special session.
“We have a way out of this mess. It isn’t all that complicated,” said Representative Beth Kerttula, House Minority Leader. “We say this without blame and in the spirit of being helpful.”
I’ve been to two goat ropings and a county fair, but I ain’t seen nothing like this before.
Last night, the first session of the 27th Alaska Legislature came apart like a cheap suit in a hard rain. First the Senate, then the House came crawling to the governor to get them out of a jam that the same governor had helped them into in the first place. It was, bar none, the saddest performance yet by state officials in the 50-plus years of the state’s history. And that includes a governor who was impeached (but not convicted) and three legislators who were indicted AND convicted.
Legislators seek governor’s help inserting funds into the budget
Representative Les Gara and Senator Hollis French (both D-Anchorage) are asking Governor Sean Parnell for help solving the major parking problems at Glen Alps, a popular Anchorage recreation area. The legislators asked the governor to support their efforts to include funding for more parking in this year’s budget. This past summer, overflow parking was banned for the first time, blocking access to this area for thousands of Alaskans.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Gara, French Urge Governor to Promote Alaska’s Oil Incentives Would-be producers need to know the breaks Alaska already offers for oil
The governor has released his proposed version of the budget for Fiscal Year 2012 (FY12), which runs from July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012. Now it’s the Legislature’s turn to review and reshape the FY12 budget.
In this newsletter, I’ll highlight some items in the governor’s proposed capital budget that might be of interest to Juneauites. I’ll also talk about the budgeting process and give you some resources that are available to help you keep track.
