Politics

Despite recess, signs in Juneau point to progress on budget deal

JUNEAU - While the full Alaska Legislature isn't scheduled to meet again until the week after next, top leaders say they'll continue to work on a budget agreement even while most members have left Juneau during a "recess" in the special legislative session.

"If we could reach agreement we could come back earlier," said Sen. John Coghill, R-North Pole, the Senate majority leader.

Late Friday there were a few hopeful signs that progress toward budget agreement might be made, including the continued presence of some key players in Juneau despite the recess.

Gov. Bill Walker canceled a Friday speaking engagement in Fairbanks and remained in Juneau, and House Democratic Leader Chris Tuck was in town as well, despite his new baby at home in Anchorage. In the Senate, top budget negotiator Sen. Pete Kelly, R-Fairbanks, was also in town.

Each house's finance committee is scheduled to work during the recess, and by Friday each had begun to schedule next week's budget meetings.

The Senate Finance Committee will meet Monday in Juneau in the Capitol, the committee announced, while the House Finance Committee has scheduled meetings Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in Anchorage at the Legislative Information Office.

Walker's budget director, Pat Pitney, is scheduled to appear Monday in Juneau before the first committee, fly to Anchorage on Tuesday, and appear before the second committee on Wednesday.

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Those committees will be analyzing what's being called the "Take 2" budget proposal submitted by Walker when the Legislature couldn't pass and fund its own budget.

It's all happening during an official legislative hiatus, officially a recess in the special session Walker called Monday when legislators indicated they'd leave town without a funded budget.

Also Friday, the Legislature submitted to the governor the unfunded budget it passed Monday, before adjourning its regular 2015 legislative session. That budget calls for spending $5.4 billion from the state general fund, which is projected to contain only $2.2 billion in revenues.

The budget deadlock is over how to make up the $3.2 billion deficit, with Tuck's Democrats demanding more money for education and spending cuts to areas they don't like such as the Bragaw Road extension in Anchorage and the proposed Susitna-Watana Dam, in exchange for their support in accessing the $10 billion Constitutional Budget Reserve rainy-day fund.

But a complicating factor is Democrats also demanding approval of Medicaid expansion for their CBR vote.

Walker has already said the unfunded budget submitted to him Friday was unacceptable when he called the special session, but spokesperson Grace Jang said Friday he hadn't decided how to respond to the submission.

"It could be vetoed given it is $3 billion short or it could be used as the base from which the changes suggested in the Take 2 budget are considered to reach a fully funded budget," she said.

Walker said his new budget proposal could be used to bridge the differences between the Senate, the Republican-led House majority and the House Democrats.

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