Happy Holidays! Before the New Year I want to share with you my vision for this upcoming legislative session. The Governor released his FY 2019 budget proposal on Friday, December 15. We are beginning to analyze it to see how it fits with our goals, especially education funding.
The Governor has called the legislature back for a fourth special session starting at 11am on Monday, Oct. 23. On the agenda is SB 54, the criminal justice legislation, and a payroll tax.
In a major step forward, the Legislature has passed a compromise operating budget with a bipartisan vote of 31 to 8 in the Alaska House. This budget is not ideal, but it is necessary to prevent a government shutdown on July 1 which would have brought a halt to Alaskans’ ability to provide for their families at the most crucial time of year for many economic activities.
The Governor recently suggested an approach to Alaska’s financial challenges that uses parts of the House and Senate budget plans. One element of his proposal is a school head tax. The main question Alaskans are asking is how to reduce the deficit in the future.
The budget and how solve our fiscal gap are first and foremost on the minds of many concerned Alaskans. As you would expect, the Legislature’s top priority is getting Alaska back on a path of fiscal sustainability and long-term economic prosperity.
Video of the Alaska House Majority Coalition’s April 18th, 2017 press availability with Reps. Edgmon, Tuck, Foster and Seaton.
I apologize for the short notice. There were issues with the mailing server that have now been resolved. This week the House Finance Committee will be hearing public testimony on: HB 115: Income Tax, Permanent Fund Dividend Credit, Permanent Fund Income
Alaska is on the brink of economic failure as the budget deficit adds to thousands of job losses already resulting from loss of revenues caused by low oil prices and large cash subsidies to the oil industry. The Alaska House Majority Coalition was formed to save the economy and protect jobs.
