The Capitol Report 3/20/17: FY18 operating budget passed by House, proceeds to Senate
by Michelle Saport |
The Capitol Report - March 20, 2017
Today is the 63rd day of the legislative session.
Here's an interesting factoid to start your week: the House and Senate have introduced a total of 281 bills since the session began. To date, just one of those bills has passed and is awaiting transmittal to the governor. The bill, SB 33, names two of our new state ferries.
Last week saw both the House and Senate move on several of their major individual policy priorities as both bodies start positioning themselves for end-game negotiations. On Wednesday, the Senate passed SB 26 allowing annual draws of 5.25 percent from Permanent Fund earnings to fund government expenditures. The bill also sets dividends at $1,000 for the next three years and includes a provision that caps annual state spending at $4.1 billion. Meanwhile, the House Resources Committee voted along party lines to advance HB 111, its oil and gas tax reform proposal, to the House Finance Committee. With the committee's work on the operating budget concluded, it has scheduled the entire week to discuss HB 111.
Read the full report at alaska.edu/state/report.
The Capitol Report, written by Miles Baker, UA Associate Vice President for Government Relations, is designed to keep the University of Alaska community informed about the current legislative session, particularly its impact on the university budget.
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