Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Alaska relating to the appropriation limit.

Updated: February 1, 2000

Senate Joint Resolution 28 would amend Article IX, sec 16 of Alaska's Constitution by lowering the existing appropriation limit to better reflect Alaska's current revenue picture. Passage of SJR 28 would ensure a limit on the growth of state government and force the state to further reasonably reduce non-essential state spending.

The existing constitutional appropriation limit, adopted by voters in 1981, has not worked as anticipated and has never been effective in restraining state spending. A main reason for its failure is that the starting amount of $2.5 billion was too high and its escalator factor based on population and inflation was too liberal. In fact, given the increases in inflation and population over the last 19 years, the general fund spending limit imposed by Article IX, Section 16 will be over $6 billion. That is about $3 billion more than general fund spending in the Fiscal Year 2000. SJR 28 would more accurately reflect today's spending by lowering the existing appropriation limit.

Additionally, SJR 28 would allow the legislature to exceed the limit by no more than ten percent of the base limit with a two-thirds vote of each house.

SJR 28 also removes the requirement that one-third of the budget be appropriated for capital expenditures. Over the years, several attorney general opinions have been written on the meaning of the constitutional limit; those opinions counter the plain English meaning of the language and have allowed the legislature and the administration to avoid this requirement. SJR 28 removes this arbitrary and superfluous requirement.

SJR 28 also simplifies and clarifies exactly what spending counts towards the appropriation limit, something that is not clear in the existing constitutional language.

Without a meaningful constitutional amendment in place that limits the amount of state general fund expenditures, there is absolutely no guarantee that the state will reduce spending. SJR 28 would limit state spending and is a needed step in addressing and solving our state's fiscal gap problem.

DD/jja