Alaska governor wants lawmakers to offer budget ideas

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - Gov. Mike Dunleavy said Friday he’s eager for lawmakers to offer alternatives for addressing Alaska’s ongoing budget deficit.

Dunleavy told reporters that while he attends an energy conference next week in Texas he hopes the legislature will “get serious” about budget proposals.

House and Senate lawmakers have been working through details of Dunleavy’s budget plan, which was introduced last month.

In a typical year, the governor’s budget is submitted in December and around this time the House would be close to finalizing its version of the operating budget to send over to the Senate.

Dunleavy took office in December; a placeholder budget was released to comply with a budget release deadline and Dunleavy’s plan was not released until Feb. 13. The House did not have an organized majority until the next day but had been holding informal meetings while the Senate was holding overview and other hearings.

Dunleavy’s plan to fill a projected $1.6 billion deficit includes sweeping cuts to areas such as education, health and social service programs and the state ferry system, and tax collection changes that would benefit the state but take money from communities. He is not proposing any new statewide taxes and wants to pay residents a full dividend from the state’s oil-wealth fund, the Alaska Permanent Fund, after three years of reduced payouts amid the budget debate.

Legislative leaders have signaled concern with at least two of the tax-collection shifts, and there has been strong pushback against some of the proposed cuts.

Dunleavy said he’s interested in a long-term fiscal plan. To that end, he’s called for a series of proposed constitutional amendments on taxes, spending and the dividend. He is seeking to give voters a say on new or higher taxes and wants to replace an existing spending limit that critics say is too lax. The dividend measure is aimed at ensuring the dividend program is not changed without a vote of the people.

“We’ve laid our plan out. I’m ready and waiting for them to put forth their ideas,” Dunleavy said of lawmakers.

“If it’s just going to be about putting money back in and nothing more, you know what they say … about doing the same thing over and over again. It could be the definition of insanity,” he said. “And so I’m hoping for a little more, a little broader discussion.”