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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
This is Day 121 of the 121 day session.
You are receiving more frequent newsletters to keep you up-to-date and informed about work being done.
Its nearly 8 PM right now. The House is just now about to go onto the floor to review the budgets. The Senate has made changes that removed or reduced some of the Operating Budget items that the House didn't like (reduced child care funding, home and community based care, paying off oil tax credit debt) and increase the dividend for next year.
The Operating and Capital Budget is balanced, there is No use of any savings, No overdraw of the Earnings Reserve Account. The funding for schools is one-time (not permanent).
The day has been spent talking with House Leadership to attempt to get to agreement.
Senate Leadership has been meeting with the House once a week since the beginning, in the last 2 weeks, we've met with them to talk about Budget items every day.
As I said, its 8 PM, the House is going to their floor to discuss the Budget. I don't know, at this time, what they will do.
if they reject the budget, the Governor will have to call the Legislature into a Special Session to pass the budget. This will be added cost to the State.
Different bloggers may be talking about “session extensions” or “special sessions”.
These are laid out in the Alaska Constitution.
Article 2, section 8 – Regular Sessions. Near the end of this section it states: “An extension of the regular session requires the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the membership of each house of the legislature.”
Article 2, section 9 – Special Sessions. “Special sessions may be called by the governor or by vote of two-thirds of the legislators. The vote may be conducted by the legislative council or as prescribe by law. At special sessions called by the governor, legislation shall be limited to subjects designated in his proclamation calling the session, to subjects presented by him, and the reconsideration of bills vetoed by him after adjournment of the last regular session. Special sessions are limited to thirty days.”
Items in this Newsletter:
· Finished FY24 Budget
· Senate Floor Sessions
· How EV Adoption Will Impact Oil Consumption
· Current Topics, Economy, Health Care, Energy
· Oil and Permanent Fund Resources
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