{"id":43624,"date":"2019-02-20T21:30:00","date_gmt":"2019-02-21T06:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/news\/capitol-live-69-house-bills-have-been-filed\/"},"modified":"2019-02-21T16:57:41","modified_gmt":"2019-02-22T01:57:41","slug":"capitol-live-69-house-bills-have-been-filed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/news\/capitol-live-69-house-bills-have-been-filed\/","title":{"rendered":"Capitol Live: House members change offices"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t\t

4:30 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

It’s hectic here at the Capitol because many representatives have moved their offices today. With the new majority forming last week, some representatives were assigned to new offices based on their committee roles and seniority. The directories do not appear to be updated yet either.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Rep. Andi Story, D-Juneau, is next door to the press office now. With such convenient proximity its safe to assume the Empire reporters are OK with Story’s location change.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

— Kevin Baird<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

3:46 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

After more than two hours, this hearing finally comes to an end. Lots of questions from the representatives, but the central theme was whether this budget benefits individuals and municipalities. As with the Senate Finance Committee, they didn’t get many firm answers. Whenever Ed King presents his economic impact studies, that will be appointment television. Until then, the ramifications of the budget remain hazy.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Still, it was interesting to hear what the representatives had to say.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Someone from the back of the room to the person sitting next to them: “Were you not entertained?”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

— Alex McCarthy<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

3:45 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Arduin continues to say that the worst thing for educational stability in the state is continuing to pull from reserves. Doing that year after year, she says, puts school districts in a bad spot.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

She says the state is sending a bad message to people who are looking to invest in the state because there’s so much that changes in the budget year after year. Having a sustainable and predictable budget, she says, will show Outside investors that the state is a safer bet.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

— Alex McCarthy<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

3:10 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Carpenter says he’s frustrated with the lack of clear answers here. He says he’d like to know that there’s some kind of end goal to this budget approach.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Arduin says the end goal of this is to balance the budget and then start to build reserves instead of draining them. The long-term vision is to provide stability, she says.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Carpenter pushes back, saying there still aren’t answers about whether this approach is a net gain for the people of the state. While it might eventually be good for the state’s reserves and budget, there’s no evidence that this is good for municipalities or individuals, Carpenter says. Arduin reiterates that OMB’s economist Ed King can provide analysis at a later time.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

— Alex McCarthy<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

3:07 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Rep. Jennifer Johnston asks if OMB expects a legal challenge.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“There’s always a possibility of litigation,” Barnhill says.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

— Alex McCarthy<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

3:02 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

The idea of the greater good seems to be the theme of this hearing. After Carpenter asked the below question, Ortiz jumps back in and asks a two-part question. Philosophically, he asks if giving people a full Permanent Fund Dividend is worth slashing the budget so dramatically. Specifically, he asks whether OMB has done a study into whether the economic impact of a large PFD outweighs the economic impact of budget cuts.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“The governor’s belief is that the dividends are not optional and shouldn’t be part of the budget,” Arduin says, addressing the first part of the question.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“Our chief economist is doing an analysis of the overall budget and it will include the dividends,” she says, addressing the second part. Ed King is OMB’s chief economist.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

— Alex McCarthy<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

2:56 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

OMB Policy Director Mike Barnhill is being asked about Senate Bill 57, which takes oil tax revenue from municipalities and gives it to the state. Rep. Ben Carpenter asks whether this is an overall positive. It will help the state, he says, but it will hurt people at a local level.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“In the case of the North Slope Borough, it would be a very substantial disruptive impact,” Barnhill says.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Barnhill keeps saying, obviously, that there are some very difficult decisions ahead.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

— Alex McCarthy<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

2:35 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Ortiz asks specifically about the reduction in funding to the Alaska Marine Highway System. He points out that “preserving maintenance of our transportation infrastructure” is identified by OMB as one of the state’s core programs, and asks how that fits in with cutting 75 percent of the ferry system’s funding.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Arduin says that all of the state’s departments listed their priorities and that the Department of Transportation & Public Facilities listed maintenance as a top priority but running transportation systems was not.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“Maintaining the highways fell into a higher priority than running the ferries,” Arduin says.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

[Senators want more answers on marine highway closure<\/a>]<\/ins><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“We have hopes that it can be done better,” Arduin says later. “Better, cheaper and more efficiently.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

— Alex McCarthy<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

2:13 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Arduin says that her office is concerned about education in the state, but she also says that the way the state has spent money in recent years still hasn’t helped the situation much. Rep. Dan Ortiz asks Arduin if she believes that cutting education funding will help the schools.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“We’re not the policy team,” Arduin says. “The outcomes that you all see in Alaska are not favorable compared to other states and not where we say we should be.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Later, Arduin says she’s open to going back and forth with legislators to try and figure out solutions to these issues. These are just proposals, of course, and the final budget will look different from this.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

— Alex McCarthy<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

2:02 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

The House Finance Committee is now listening to a presentation from Office of Management and Budget officials. Rep. Andy Josephson asks OMB Director Donna Arduin if she’s worried about the state facing lawsuits for cuts to public education. The state has been successfully sued before about this, he points out.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Arduin says the previous lawsuit Josephson is referencing came as a result of a governor’s directive to cut funding. In this case, she says, OMB is merely making requests for the Legislature to appropriate the money in this way. Josephson asks for more clarification on that statement.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“Our proposals are proposals to you for appropriations,” Arduin says in response. “Those appropriations we would expect you to pass them in some form. We’re not directing anyone to fund or not fund anything. We’re making proposals to you.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

— Alex McCarthy<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

12:55 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Anchorage Republican Rep. Sara Rasmussen posted a response to the senators’ addresses on her Facebook page.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t