The Senate-passed version of the state budget includes a $4,200 PFD plus $1,300 energy assistance checks — at a total cost of $3.5 billion. House members said they’re being barraged with messages from constituents for and against accepting that budget.
Speaker of the House Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, is framed by the doors of the Alaska House of Representatives during a floor session on March 16 at the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau.
The House was again expected to meet at 10 a.m. Thursday, but the floor session was delayed and eventually canceled for the day, with a plan to convene sometime Friday. If the budget remains unchanged, it could drain the state’s savings even in a year that brought unexpected revenue due to high oil prices.
Supporters of the larger dividend in the Senate had said they expected the House to reject their budget version, which would force lawmakers to reach a middle ground in a conference committee composed of majority and minority members of both the House and Senate. “He is committed to working with lawmakers on a spending plan that can receive legislative approval by May 18, the constitutional deadline for this year’s legislative session,” Turner said in an email.If they do not pass a budget by the May 18 deadline, the Legislature could be forced to enter a special session.Joelle Hall, president of Alaska AFL-CIO, confirmed Thursday that she had heard some majority members indicated they would vote to concur.
That includes $1.1 billion for higher dividends and a relief check to help Alaskans deal with higher energy prices, $900 million in higher capital budget spending, $250 million in agency operating budget increases and $465 million in supplemental spending in the current fiscal year, according to figures collected by legislative fiscal analysts.
The hallways of the Capitol were eerily quiet Thursday as legislators held closed door meetings. Some House members were tight-lipped about their position on the budget; asked how he would vote, one lawmaker said he was undecided, then told a reporter that answer was off the record. “I was elected by an overwhelming majority to follow the law, fight for your lawful PFD, and give the people the first draw before government,” McCabe said. “You have been denied your lawful PFD the last six years, and now have an opportunity to have some much needed relief. This is an easy decision for me — I will follow the law.”
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