The full state Senate is scheduled to debate amendments to the state’s operating budget Thursday.
The Senate Finance Committee passed the budget, House Bill 286, on Tuesday. The committee substituted its own version of the budget bill for the one the House passed.
The Senate bill would provide $4.2 billion to fund the portion of the budget that the Legislature focuses on each year. It has $1 billion for Alaska Permanent Fund dividends, which would provide a $1,600 dividend.
The biggest difference from the House budget is that the Senate bill does not include $1.28 billion for school funding. The Senate would provide that money in separate legislation, House Bill 287.
Committee Co-Chairman Lyman Hoffman, a Bethel Democrat, said the school funding bill is intended to reduce the risk of widespread layoff notices.
“Hopefully, we can come to an understanding with the other body, so that early funding can happen,” Hoffman said. “I’m optimistic that pink slips will not go out.”
The Senate budget includes less money than the House for Medicaid and would cut $13.5 million of the $19 million increase that the House budgeted for the University of Alaska. And it would pay out more for oil and gas tax credits.
The Senate could vote on the budget as soon as tomorrow. Once the Senate passes it, the House would have to vote on whether to accept the Senate’s version. If it doesn’t, the two chambers will work out the differences through a conference committee.
The scheduled 90-day end of the session is Sunday, although it’s not likely lawmakers will be done. Voters passed an initiative in 2006 that set the session length at 90 days in state law.
But the Legislature can go past that date. The state constitution sets the session length at 121 days.
Andrew Kitchenman is the state government and politics reporter for Alaska Public Media and KTOO in Juneau. Reach him at akitchenman@alaskapublic.org.
