The ADN reported that by Friday afternoon, June 18 “there were no longer (even) 27 House lawmakers (left) in Juneau” to pass a budget, had an agreement been reached later that day with the Senate on the budget and the budget’s effective date clause.
This was the last day of the 30-day special session called by the governor to give the Legislature time to complete a budget for the fiscal year 2022, beginning July 1, less than two weeks from now. Clearly, Republican House members were playing along with the governor, despite their unbelievable protestations to the contrary, assuming that their delay tactics will get what they want next week: a multiple billion dollar steal from the Permanent Fund in order to give every Alaskan a $2,300 dividend (giving a family of four almost $10,000 to spend).
Since many of these newly elected Republican members have already failed to meet their 2020 campaign promises of a $6,000 PFD to every Alaskan this year, they are now colluding with the governor to attempt to get close to half that amount into pockets. None of these House members or the governor really understand the importance of government, its role in the lives of Alaskans and their communities, and the importance of stability in public services, or they would have been in Juneau working to find a solution even on the last day of the special session.
But when your only goal as a politician (already up for re-election next year) is to put as much money as you can in the pockets of constituents — to hell with policy considerations (so boring!) — they see no need to participate in the budget negotiations, since that complex and difficult democratic process is not really their goal.
Members of the House minority may already have been out of town on that last day of the special session, but, sadly, and more importantly, since day one of this year’s legislative session, they have clearly been out of touch with the state’s fiscal realities.
— Randall Burns
Anchorage
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