Alaska State Legislature
News from the House Majority

Jerry Ritter, House Majority Press Secretary
State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801
Phone: (907) 465-3804
web site: http://www.akrepublicans.org
Actuality line: 1-800-478-6540

House Approves Deferred Maintenance Structuring

Blueprint Approved for Avoiding Future Problems

For Immediate Release April 28, 1998 Contact: Rep. Eldon Mulder at (907) 465-2647.

Juneau -- The Alaska House of Representatives Tuesday approved House Bill 313 and House Bill 315, a major part of the Legislature's long-range plan to ensure that the state's deferred maintenance problems do not reoccur.

"The Deferred Maintenance Task Force determined that the best way to prevent a reoccurrence of deferred maintenance was to be proactive in maintenance," said Representative Eldon Mulder (R-Anchorage), Co-Chair of the Alaska Legislature's Deferred Maintenance Task Force. "Passage of these two bills is a giant step down the road toward accomplishing that goal," Mulder said.

House Bill 313 requires that local agencies and school districts have in place a preventive maintenance program prior to being able to receive capital for new construction, renovation, or replacement from the state. House Bill 315 requires a separate appropriation for maintenance that will limit the use of those funds to maintenance and maintenance alone. HB 315 further requires State agencies to determine the need for maintenance funding, the amount of which will be decided by budget subcommittees in the Legislature.

"The Deferred Maintenance Task Force determined that the answer to the state's costly deferred maintenance problem was two-fold," said Speaker of the House Gail Phillips (R-Homer). "We need to take care of existing problems and to make sure we don't get into a similar situation again.

"House Bills 313 and 315 take care of the second part, the future. The Legislature is now actively pursuing a plan to take care of the our present needs and we hope to have that plan in place in the very near future," Phillips said.

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Broadcasters note: Audio available by calling the House Majority Line at (800) 478-6540.
= Eldon Mulder, 45 K