The mostly balanced budget is similar to the House’s spending plan. The bigger fights between lawmakers are expected to be on policy differences.
Sitka Republican Sen. Bert Stedman, in Juneau on Wednesday, says the Senate's budget is balanced, funding essential services and"a handsome" $1,600 dividend payment to Alaskans.
Both the House and Senate included $175 million in their budgets in extra one-time funding for schools, meaning that funding will not be the subject of further budget negotiations. The one-time funding equates to a $680 boost to the Base Student Allocation, the state’s per-student funding formula — but only for one year.. At a news conference Wednesday, Dunleavy signaled that he would support $175 million in extra school funding included in a final budget passed by the Legislature this year.
Sitka Republican Sen. Bert Stedman, co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee, urged support for the operating budget. He said it would fund essential services while providing a “handsome dividend” for Alaskans. The Senate’s budget includes $7.5 million for the child care sector, which is intended to boost wages, and $10 million for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute to help sell Alaska seafood in challenging market conditions. The Senate also included $1.3 million to help pay for snowplowing in Southcentral Alaska.
Republican minority senators spoke in support of matching the House’s dividend. Sen. Mike Shower, a Wasilla Republican, said a larger dividend now would kick-start discussions in the Legislature to implement a comprehensive fiscal plan — potentially including a new PFD formula, taxes and a tighter legislative spending cap.
The amendment to boost the Senate’s dividend, proposed by Shower, was solidly rejected. Anchorage Democratic Sen. Bill Wielechowski, a longtime supporter of a full statutory dividend, said he wanted to approve a larger PFD, but it was not affordable.A provision in the Senate’s budget could boost the dividend next year. If oil revenue exceeds expectations, some additional revenue would be set aside for dividends next year and some would go to savings.
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