Alaska House passes nearly $500M budget deficit bill, amid split support for Dunleavy spending
- Alaska Beacon
- 2 hours ago
- 5 min read
However, the House failed to pass a supermajority vote to pay for the budget bill from the state’s savings account. The bill now moves to be debated in the Senate
By Corinne Smith
Alaska Beacon
The Alaska House of Representatives advanced a nearly $500 million supplemental budget bill to address the state’s budget deficit — one of the largest budget shortfalls to date — amid debate and scrutiny from Republicans who opposed drawing from a state savings account to pay for it, leaving the bill unfunded for now.
Lawmakers passed House Bill 289, known as the supplemental budget, by a 24 to 16 vote on Monday, which is largely a routine process to address budget shortfalls and fund state government services and programs through the fiscal year that ends on June 30.
Top line items include an additional $40 million for disaster relief, following the devastation of the remnants of Typhoon Halong on Western Alaska; $55 million for last year’s million-acre wildfire season in the Interior of Alaska; $70 million in transportation funding to unlock $630 million in federal matching funds; $130 million for the Higher Education Investment Fund; $20 million for the Alaska Department of Corrections; and millions for public assistance including Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, housing vouchers and senior benefits.
But members of the Republican-led House Minority caucus raised concerns and frustration at the “fast tracked” budget bill, as well as expansion of spending and high costs for this year. While some members said a few items may be mandatory like funding disaster relief efforts and transportation, other spending items need further vetting and review.
Voicing opposition, Republican members voted against immediately funding the roughly $490 million budget bill through the state’s principal savings account, the Constitutional Budget Reserve – which failed by a 24 to 16 vote on Monday.
Unlocking the savings requires three quarters of the 40-person House, or 30 votes. Amid higher than expected state costs, and declining oil prices and state revenues, the Legislature must draw from the savings account to fund the state government.
The budget bill is expected to advance to the Senate for further debate and possible amendments. But on Monday, Rep. Mia Costello, R-Anchorage, a member of the minority caucus, requested a re-vote, expected on Wednesday, which may change the final vote tally but is not expected to delay the bill.
Historically, members of the minority have withheld support for the CBR vote until after the Senate approves the bill to maintain negotiating leverage.
Rep. DeLena Johnson, R-Palmer who serves as the House Minority Leader, raised objections to what she called a rushed process in the House.
“A rush through the budget without adequate scrutiny, in my opinion, without transparency, that’s not efficiency, that’s just courting failure, that’s just a rush to failure,” Johnson said. “And history has shown that rushed budgets often lead to unintended consequences.”
Members of the multipartisan House Majority caucus called for lawmakers to support the budget bill, as requested by Dunleavy, and pay the state’s bills now.
“These obligations must be paid,” said Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage, who chairs the House Finance Committee, speaking on the House floor on Monday. “There’s nothing unusual. The size is unusual, but the fact that they were requested and filed is not unusual. They are obligations of the state. They are effectively binding contracts that must be paid. And the question is, when.”
Dunleavy first introduced the supplemental budget in December, and requested additional items up to last week, including $35 million more for disaster relief if the state fails a federal appeal and is denied a request for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to fund 90% of costs for the first three months of the typhoon disaster in October.
Some items, like the $70 million federal transportation match, replace funds that Dunleavy vetoed last year — to the alarm of some lawmakers, union and construction industry groups because the money unlocks hundreds of millions of federal dollars. Lawmakers say it is time-sensitive to fund it in order to support the summer construction season.
“I would say these are actually precise invoices, not a blank check,” said Rep. Chuck Kopp, R-Anchorage. “They’re ones that were already on the books, and we’ve already taken the responsibility to pay.”
Lawmakers also allocated nearly $130 million to repay the Higher Education Investment Fund, which in part funds student scholarships, in order to cover state expenses last year.
Some Republicans questioned departments spending over what the Legislature appropriated last year, particularly the Alaska Department of Corrections, calling for more thorough oversight and transparency.
“We have departments who have come with us, who actually spent like drunken sailors last year,” said Rep. Jamie Allard, R-Eagle River. “We need to make sure that they’re reined in.”
Other lawmakers pushed back against critics for holding up the budget bill process.
“I feel like I’m in the Twilight Zone,” said Rep. Andrew Gray, D-Anchorage, on the House floor on Monday, in response to Republicans’ criticisms of Dunleavy’s budget request and administration spending. “And what I’ll say is that sometimes we just have to put our differences behind us. We have to collaborate, cooperate, and do what’s best for Alaska.”
Following the House votes on Monday, House Speaker Rep. Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, pointed out that the governor has not been involved in supporting the budget his administration has requested. “It’s quite interesting if this is a governor’s bill and the governor’s not involved at all in terms of promoting his own bill,” he said.
Rep. Jeremy Bynem, R-Ketchikan, a member of the minority, raised concerns on the House floor but ultimately voted to support the budget bill and the savings draw. “It was a difficult, challenging vote for me,” he said of voting against his caucus.
“I absolutely did not love the process we went through to get to where we were today. There are items in that (bill) I still have questions on,” he said. “The reality is that many of these items are things that we will have to take up and pay for.”
A spokesperson for Dunleavy’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the criticisms raised and lack of support from Republicans on the governor’s requested budget.
“The Alaska Constitution grants appropriation powers to the legislature, and that includes the CBR draw,” said Jeff Turner, communications director for Dunleavy. “The governor’s office is not part of any negotiations between the house caucuses.”
• Corinne Smith started reporting in Alaska in 2020, serving as a radio reporter for several local stations across the state including in Petersburg, Haines, Homer and Dillingham. She spent two summers covering the Bristol Bay fishing season. Originally from Oakland, California, she got her start as a reporter, then morning show producer, at KPFA Radio in Berkeley. Alaska Beacon is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
