Juneau -- The Alaska State Senate today voted 17-3 to pass Senate Bill 49, which restores results-based budgeting principles to Alaska's budget writing process.

The measure is the latest step in the Senate Republicans' effort to implement results-based budgeting, the practice of establishing objective missions and performance measures for state agencies so lawmakers can evaluate how effectively these agencies are spending state money.

"By passing Senate Bill 49, the Senate is making a strong statement that Alaskans deserve value for their money," said Senator Parnell, Co-Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, which introduced the bill. "Legislators need to know what state agencies are trying to accomplish for Alaskans, and how effective -- or ineffective -- they are."

The Legislature last year passed Senator Parnell's "Results Based Government Act" requiring the Legislature to promote results-based government, and drew on this law to include intent language in the last session's budget bill. However, Governor Knowles line-item vetoed all sections of last year's budget bill implementing the measures.

Senate Bill 49 represents the Legislature's effort to help overcome the governor's objections to having intent language in a budget bill, while still working with the administration to make state government more effective and accountable.

"Senate Bill 49 will enable the budget subcommittees to point back at substantive law, and hold agencies accountable for results that were jointly negotiated and agreed to by the various departments during last year's budget process," said Senate President Drue Pearce.

The bill comes up for reconsideration on Wednesday at the request of Senator Georgiana Lincoln, one of three minority senators voting against it.