Anchorage Daily News

JUNEAU -- People in Eagle River wanted $1.2 million to buy a derelict shopping center and turn it into sort of a town hall.

Sure, the money's yours, said lawmakers considering next year's state budget.

Folks in Fairbanks wanted an extra $4 million to finish renovating the University of Alaska's Tanana Valley campus downtown.

Done, said the lawmakers.

In Washington, D.C., a nonprofit group called Arctic Power wanted an extra $130,000 to lobby Congress to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling.

Here you go.

That's how it went Thursday in the state Capitol -- one request after another heard and granted, the redwood-sized budget growing like a weed.

At the start of the day, what's known as the capital budget stood at 208 pages and more than $2.5 billion.

At 8 o'clock at night, the powerful House Finance Committee was still working through more than 30 budget amendments, most of them tacking on extra spending. The big hearing room was packed with state officials, legislative aides, and lobbyists often seeking big dollars for their clients.

The committee later passed the spending plan, and the full House could take it up today.

With the pressure on, most expect the capital budget will grow bigger before lawmakers adjourn for the year on Sunday.

"I've never seen one get smaller," said Rep. Mike Doogan, D-Anchorage.

The capital budget is where lawmakers fund hometown projects such as new roads, school improvements, fire trucks -- you name it.

It's a good year to spend, with the state enjoying billions of dollars in extra revenue from high oil prices and last year's tax increase.

Getting money here can be remarkably easy -- much easier, for instance, than preparing a business plan and going to your local bank.

Sometimes, a telephone call to the committee chairman does the trick. Or maybe a committee member points out his district is a little shy of dollars compared to another district.

Here's an example.

In an earlier version of the capital budget, Covenant House Alaska, which runs a shelter for homeless teens in downtown Anchorage, was down for $4 million to help it relocate to larger digs.

"I've since received a call from them," Meyer told his committee Thursday. The caller explained Covenant House really could use a little more.

So Meyer kicked up the amount to $5 million in the latest version of the budget.

Rep. Les Gara, an Anchorage Democrat who often scraps with Meyer on the Finance Committee, said that's just the way it goes this time of year.

"Finance Committee chairs have a lot of power in the process," Gara said.

On Thursday, committee members pushed plenty of last-minute spending ideas.

Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Fairbanks, asked for almost $5 million extra for road improvements in his town.

The chairman nodded in agreement, saying Fairbanks seemed a little light on roads.

The committee passed the amendment.

The committee also waved through an idea from Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Haines, to give the Alaska Department of Fish and Game $50,000 to start a new commercial fishery for skates in Prince William Sound.

Taking it all in was Karen Rehfeld, budget director for Gov. Sarah Palin.

Last year Palin angered many lawmakers by using her veto pen to ax $231 million from a $1.9 billion capital budget.

The growing size of this year's budget is worrisome, Rehfeld said.

"Everybody's trying to seize the opportunity to get their project funded and take their chances," she said.

Before she vetoes anything, however, the governor plans to consider the whole spending and savings package and confer with lawmakers on their priorities, Rehfeld said.

Lawmakers stress that their spending pales in comparison to the saving they'll do by session's end, likely totaling $5 billion deposited into two state rainy day accounts.

Some lawmakers have been sporting buttons that say, "Saving spree."

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