After 148 days in Juneau, the Alaska House of Representatives has ended its work, but lawmakers are expected to soon be back on the job under orders from Gov. Bill Walker.<\/p>\n
The House adjourned itself at 8:51 p.m. Saturday without voting on any significant new revenue measures to address Alaska\u2019s crippling budget deficit.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe do have to come back and do our work. It\u2019s just a matter of when the governor calls us back,\u201d said Rep. Sam Kito III, D-Juneau, shortly after the final gavel fell.<\/span><\/p>\n While the Legislature has cut millions of dollars from the budget, the deficit in next year\u2019s budget is still $3.2 billion. Unless tax increases or spending from the Permanent Fund fills some of that deficit, it will be paid with the state\u2019s savings accounts.<\/span><\/p>\n Walker proposed a 13-point plan to address the deficit, but on Friday the House Finance Committee turned down Senate Bill 128, the core of that 13-point plan, in a 5-6 vote.<\/span><\/p>\n [House kills Permanent Fund plan<\/a>]<\/p>\n SB 128 proposed diverting a portion of the Permanent Fund each year to fund government operations, but it would cut the Permanent Fund Dividend in the process, and Alaskans loudly objected. Many lawmakers listened to those objections and blocked the bill.<\/span><\/p>\n The House also failed to vote on any tax increase proposed by Walker or any legislator. The only revenue-increasing measure passed by the Legislature this year was a bill increasing the fees for many hunting and fishing licenses and tags. That measure, expected to bring in roughly $9 million per year to the state, was proposed by Rep. David Talerico, R-Healy.<\/span><\/p>\n