Dear Friends and Neighbors,

The end is near for the 2015 Legislative Session. Per usual, the gridlock starts as legislators scramble to negotiate for priority issues. This year I expect there to be significant stand offs between the House, Senate and governor over education funding, Medicaid expansion and the future of the gas line.

Minority Leader Chris Tuck (D-Anchorage) and Representative Guttenberg speak to the press about the ramifications of the Senate’s cuts to education

Public Testimony on Medicaid Expansion

The House Finance Committee will be taking statewide public testimony on HB 148 “Medical Assistance Coverage; Reform” this Saturday. This is the governor’s bill expanding Medicaid to Alaskans. 

Date: Saturday, April 11, 2015
Time: 1:00pm to 5:00pm
Location: Fairbanks Legislative Information
                   Office, 1292 Sadler Way, 3rd floor of
                   the Alaska USA Federal Credit Union
                   across from Home Depot

Testimony will be limited to two minutes. Please arrive 30 minutes prior to the end of the time period as testimony may close early.

For more information on testifying, please call the LIO at 907-452-4448. If you can’t make it to the LIO, please call 907-465-4648 to obtain a call in number or send your written testimony to the House Finance Committee via lhscfin@akleg.gov .

Rep David Guttenberg and members of the Alaska Independent and Democratic Caucus talk on the House Floor during an at ease

FY 2016 Operating and Capital Budgets

The Senate took two major actions these past weeks; they passed an Operating Budget back over to the House and revealed the first look at the Capital Budget.

The Senate made some noticeable cuts to the Operating Budget including a $47.5 million reduction in education (including a 4% cut to the Base Student Allocation) and they canceled the annual cost-of-living increase for state employees. They also made cuts to public broadcasting, Pre-K and the Alaska Marine Highway among many others.

The House rejected the Senate’s changes and now will form a conference committee from members of both bodies to hash out a final budget. While this process is normal, I imagine that it could push us into overtime with so many big cuts on the table.

The (already bare-bones) Capital Budget saw continued decreases with the elimination of $8 million for the UAF Engineering building and $3 million for the Home Energy Rebate Program among others.

The Capital Budget will head to the House here shortly where the House Finance Committee will have its first attempt to make changes. Public testimony will happen quickly with short notice given the lack of time left, so please keep an eye out for announcements.

Alaska’s Fiscal Presentation

Last month I shared an upcoming presentation by non- partisan Legislative Finance Director David Teal on the impact of certain revenue sources on the budget. The presentation is now archived for you to watch at any time.

David takes the audience through different tax scenarios and how that may or may not really change the budget shortfall. There has been a little bit of political bickering about this presentation but at the end of the day we need to have the hard conversations about how we move forward. My biggest take away from this presentation was that we can weather this fiscal climate for the next few years. There is a light at the end of tunnel and hopefully everyone learns from this experience.

Click here to watch the presentation

Thank you for reading and please feel free to call my office and share your ideas.