Juneau -- Senator Pete Kelly (District P, Fairbanks) will direct the Alaska State Senate's work to write the fiscal year 2000 budgets for the state health and rural affairs departments, Senate Finance Committee Co-Chair Senator Sean Parnell announced today.

Senator Kelly, who serves on the Senate Finance Committee in the Twenty-First Alaska Legislature, was named chair of the subcommittee responsible for holding hearings and developing budget recommendations for the Department of Health and Social Services, and for the Department of Community and Regional Affairs.

"This is an significant achievement for Fairbanks and the Interior," said Senator Kelly. "The Health and Social Services Department has the largest budget of any state department, and touches on more lives than any other single agency in Alaska. Community and Regional Affairs is especially important to the non-Railbelt areas of the Interior. I'm pleased with the opportunity to help write a budget that can balance the people's needs with the realities of sharply reduced state revenues."

The low price of North Slope crude oil means a $1 billion-plus gap between state income and state expenditures for fiscal year 2000. Last year, the Department of Health and Social Services had a budget of $938 million and employed 2,073 people. The Department of Community and Regional Affairs had a $161.6 million budget and employed 168.

"As subcommittee chair I'll be responsible for detail work of writing the budget for these departments," Senator Kelly said. "That includes reviewing funding requests from agencies, hearing testimony from department staff, and developing budget recommendations for the full committee to consider."

In addition to his subcommittee assignments, Senator Kelly also serves as Vice Chair of the Senate Health, Education and Social Services Committee, and as a member of the Senate Resources Committee.

"We're fortunate to have such an experienced legislator helping us make the tough decisions regarding our budget," said Senator Parnell. "We have to make some hard choices about how the state should best use our financial resources."

Full Senate Finance Subcommittee List