News from the Senate Majority

Alaska State Legislature

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

For Immediate Release: April 9, 1997 Contact: Senator Drue Pearce, 465-4993 or Senator Bert Sharp, 465-3004

Senate Asks Administration To Play By The Rules

Asks Governor to Submit A Complete Budget on December 15

Juneau -- The Senate Wednesday passed legislation 18 to 0 to clarify current law, making the law explicit that the Governor must present all three of his required budget bills on December 15 of each year -- an operating budget bill, a capital budget bill, and a mental health program operating/capital budget bill.

"Although Alaska law requires the Governor to submit his entire budget on December 15, over the years the executive branch has fallen into a bad habit of delaying release of a capital budget for up to several weeks after the beginning of the legislative session," said Senator Bert Sharp, Senate Finance Co-Chair.

"The public and the Legislature are both put behind the eight ball when the capital budget is released late," said Senator Sharp. "The public has less time to review the Governor’s proposal and provide input to the Legislature. In addition, legislators have less time to consider the Governor’s budget and complete their work within a 120 day session."

"Separating the pieces of the budget and delaying submission has not only slowed the legislative process, it has led to deceptive budget tactics," said Senator Drue Pearce, Co-Chair of senate Finance.

On December 16, 1996, Governor Knowles did not submit a capital budget bill but said his cap on general fund spending for capital projects would be $100 million. When the bill was finally submitted on February 27, six weeks after the start of session, it reflected general fund capital expenses of $113.3 million. It also proposed spending a $16 million Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) dividend on capital projects instead of depositing the money into the general fund as the Governor originally proposed.

"These provisions alone, in Governor Knowles’ capital budget, would increase the fiscal gap by nearly $29.3 million," said Pearce.

"As the Legislature continues to lead the way in the effort to close Alaska’s fiscal gap by making the hard decisions required to reduce government spending, it is essential we return to a more honest and timely budget process," Pearce said. "This bill will help make sure that the tools needed by the Legislature for responsible budgeting are available on December 15 as required by current law."

In addition to reaffirming the Governor’s December 15 budget deadline, Senate Bill 136 was amended in the Senate Finance Committee to:

• Require each department to report to the Legislature by the 45th day of each regular session the amount of current fiscal year appropriations that the department expects to lapse into the general fund at the end of the current fiscal year.
• Require the Governor to submit budget amendments by the 45th legislative day instead of the 60th day.
• Establish a January 10 deadline for submitting currently required performance reports to the Legislature.

SB 136 was further amended on the Senate floor today to ensure that the Governor awards designated grants to the grantees chosen by the Legislature.

###

Broadcast Note: Radio Actualities will be available after 2pm by calling 800/478-6540
^{= Drue Pearce, part 1 = Drue Pearce, part 2}