Special Orders Remarks -- Sen. Loren Leman

Tuesday, January 21, 1997

The following remarks were delivered by Senator Leman on the floor of Senate, in reaction to the "State of the State" address delivered the previous week by Governor Knowles.

Mr. President, over the past several days I've reflected on the Governor's "State of the State" and budget addresses.

If Governor Knowles and his cabinet members stay true to the substance of these two speeches, this session will be highly productive. Many of the themes in the Governor's remarks reflect priorities already laid out by the Republican Majority in our "Commitment to Alaska".

Unfortunately, the words of this Administration have not always been consistent with its deeds.

Mr. President, last Tuesday the Governor stated that we must protect and enlarge the Permanent Fund. This is one of the items in the Republican "Commitment to Alaska". Yet, the Governor's Democratic allies in the Legislature have proposed transforming a large portion of the Permanent Fund into an endowment for government functions now paid for through the general fund.

The Governor's proposal for an education endowment was devoid of details, but it looks very similar to a proposal advanced by former Governor Cowper, which was rejected by the legislature. It is a backdoor approach to raid the Permanent Fund. As important as it is, education funding must be subject to the same budget scrutiny as public safety and our resource agencies.

The Governor stated he wants to shrink the welfare rolls by offering a tax credit to businesses that hire Alaskans on public assistance. I agree. In the 18th Legislature I introduced legislation, Senate Bill 307, to accomplish this. I am happy to see the Governor support this proposal, but I remain skeptical of his commitment to shrinking the welfare rolls. Let's not forget that he vetoed the initial welfare reform bill passed by the Legislature in 1995.

The Governor also spoke of the pressing need to control juvenile crime. Specifically, he stated: "My message to juvenile offenders is this: there will be consequences for your crimes and they will be swift and severe." That is a good sound bite, but it doesn't square with his veto of my bill to reduce juvenile auto theft. That legislation was passed by an overwhelming bi-partisan majority in both houses of the Legislature. Yet the Governor vetoed the bill for reasons that are difficult to fathom -- he argued that appearing in adult court to answer for this crime might create a hardship for juveniles!

The Governor also stated (and I quote): "...we must close the budget gap and balance our budget." If his commitment is sincere, why did he call us into special session last June to add $52 million to the budget proposed by the Legislature? Fortunately, we resisted the Governor's pressure and reduced spending by more than $70 million. As a result, we are on track with our 5-year plan to close the fiscal gap. Let me be clear: when it comes to closing the fiscal gap, we are succeeding in spite of and not because of the Governor's involvement.

Perhaps the most remarkable statement in the Governor's presentation was his identification of tort reform as his top priority for business. This is a strange pledge from a Governor who stalled a decade of consensus building when he vetoed tort reform last year. The legislature's bill was supported by the Chamber of Commerce and virtually every trade, industry, and professional group in Alaska. This Administration talks about listening to business, but on this bill it seems the business community was speaking to a deaf ear.

Clearly we have a long way to go in creating a business-friendly climate in Alaska. Only a few hours before the Governor's first address I found myself reading two press releases on my desk. Many of you saw the same announcements. One was from Echo Bay Mines, announcing that it is abandoning its effort to reopen the A-J mine in Juneau. The other came from Ketchikan Pulp Company, which issued formal notices to its employees regarding the imminent closure of its Ward Cove mill.

Although this Administration is not entirely to blame for these two developments, the timber industry as a whole has certainly suffered during this Governor's tenure. The larger point is that we need more than rhetoric about promoting business. It is no small irony that while the Governor was proclaiming Alaska "open for business", two major companies were looking for the exit, leaving hundreds of unemployed Alaskans in their wake.

Tuesday night the Governor urged us to "rise above the partisan differences that so often delay or prevent progress." Like President Clinton, he seems to equate legitimate policy differences with political wrangling. Yet these words were spoken by a Governor who has vetoed more bills than any other Governor in Alaskan history. If cooperation is going to occur, it must be a two-way street. Over the next four months, this Governor has many opportunities to demonstrate his commitment to cooperation.

In last November's elections the voters provided a clear mandate: they want a smaller, smarter government. I am committed to achieving this. In doing so, I would like to work cooperatively with the Governor. But in any event, we will meet our commitment to Alaskans. I look forward to getting on with our work and accomplishing the people's business.