Greetings from your District 31 Representative. It has been a long, tough legislative session. The House and Senate were able to come to a compromise on some items, but there are several key pieces which were not resolved. The decisions the state faces are difficult ones and will affect all Alaskans and our future.
Late Saturday night, the legislature found compromise and passed HB111, ending cash payments to oil companies. This effort will save the state $150-200 million annually for the next 10 years. These cash payments incentivized exploration and production efforts, but paying the companies cash just didn’t make sense as we try to balance the budget and fill this $2.5’ish billion deficit. Instead, the companies can now recover their costs once fields go into production.
Two weeks ago, the legislature passed an operating budget, thus averting a government shutdown. I am glad that legislators from across the political spectrum were able to compromise and kept Alaska open for business. A few important notes about this budget:
Just after I wrote last week’s enews, late last Thursday evening, with just a week before the government would have shutdown, the legislature reached a compromise on the operating budget. While this relieves the immediate pressure of a looming shutdown, measures to enact a fiscal plan were not passed so we have not completed our work for this year.
On Thursday evening, the legislature passed House Bill 57, the FY18 operating budget. Passing this budget compromise means the state will continue to provide government services when the state’s fiscal year begins on July 1. Although passing the operating budget is a step in the right direction, the legislature has not adopted a responsible action plan to address Alaska’s financial challenges. There is more work to be done for a long-term solution.
Juneau – Tonight, to avoid a government shutdown at the beginning of the month, the Alaska House of Representatives passed a combined Capital and Operating Budget for Fiscal Year 2018. The House budgets reverse the Senate’s $69 million cut to K-12 education and most of the cut to the University of Alaska. Additionally, the Capital Budget restored the full amount of expected Permanent Fund Dividends, which will be paid in the fall to eligible Alaskans.
I do not believe there will be a government shutdown. Making that prediction true requires that 60 legislators act as statesmen and stateswomen, and that they base their votes on facts, not the fiction some politicians use for a good TV soundbite.
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.
