Press Release: Deferred Maintenance Proposal Moves to Senate Finance Committee

News from the Senate Majority
Alaska State Legislature

Wendy Lindskoog, Senate Majority Press Secretary
State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
Phone: 907/465-4582
http://www.akrepublicans.org
Broadcast Actualities: 800/478-6540

Deferred Maintenance Proposal Moves to Senate Finance Committee

For Immediate Release: February 6, 1998 Contact: Denny DeWitt, Deferred Maintenance Committee Aide, at (907) 465-2647.

Juneau – Providing for a long-term solution to an old and growing maintenance problem in Alaska, the Senate State Affairs Committee Thursday evening moved the deferred maintenance legislative package to the Senate Finance Committee.

Senator Tim Kelly (R-Anchorage), co-chair of the Deferred Maintenance Task Force and chair of the Senate Rules Committee, said the proposal fits into the Republican-led Majority’s Five Year plan.

"Our plan calls for no new taxes, no use of the permanent fund and a financial schedule that will continue to allow growth of the Constitutional Budget Reserve," Kelly said. "The proposal will not only fix the State’s existing problems, but will go a long way in preventing this back up in deferred maintenance in the future."

While the size of the proposal was not changed in the Senate State Affairs Committee, it may undergo some modification in the Senate Finance Committee where a less aggressive proposal may surface. The legislative majorities are committed to addressing the deferred maintenance issue in a fiscally responsible manner. Achieving this goal may require a more expanded timetable. The final proposal will be compatible with the majority’s long range fiscal plan. The current plan would finance $1.5 billion dollars worth of deferred maintenance of Alaska’s schools, harbors, roads, airports and other public owned facilities.

By taking on a more conservative fiscal approach, the State can begin rebuilding Alaska for the 21^st century and still monitor the long-term implications from today’s dropping oil prices," Kelly said. "All State needs will be addressed, but with our lower projected state income due to oil prices, the time-frame for addressing those needs may be stretched out over a longer period of time."

The Deferred Maintenance proposal includes Senate Bills 224, 225, 226, 227 and 228.

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