{"id":44576,"date":"2019-03-14T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-14T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/news\/capitol-live-dems-ask-governor-for-long-term-fiscal-plan\/"},"modified":"2019-03-14T17:07:55","modified_gmt":"2019-03-15T01:07:55","slug":"capitol-live-dems-ask-governor-for-long-term-fiscal-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/news\/capitol-live-dems-ask-governor-for-long-term-fiscal-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"Capitol Live: House Minority angered over Majority’s plan to travel the state for budget talks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t\t

4:50 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“If I’m going to go back to my community and they’ll tell me, why do we keep funding the marine highway system. I recognize that when I’m hear I’m speaking for the whole state and because of that I need to find innovative solutions,” says Rep. Lance Pruitt, R-Anchorage.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

A reporter has asked if they will support any sort of lowered dividend to build a budget.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Sullivan-Leonard says she does support a full dividend. She also says she supports having the municipal oil taxes go to the state coffers.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“We all know that something has to change,” says Pruitt. “Whatever that is…the body will make it’s decision, and I can expect the body will add some things back in…we can all feel that in the building.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

A reporter has asked if they think it’s a crisis moment because options are being taken off the table, such as taxes.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“I didn’t see a way that we could continue to sustain the growth that we’ve had… the people that came before us didn’t put a bunch of money aside so that we could just eat through it.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Rasmussen says there’s so many sectors that Alaska is not touching or talking about, and it shouldn’t be the same conversations that they’ve already had.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

— Mollie Barnes<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

4:37 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Sullivan-Leonard says she was not invited to go to these House budget listening sessions, but if she was she wouldn’t go.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“We have work to do here,” she says.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Rep. Sara Rasmussen, R-Anchorage, also released a press release related to the marine highway system.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“While the House Transportation Committee sits through yet another session of testimony this afternoon on the Alaska Marine Highway System, the rest of our state’s transportation and infrastructure issues continue to be neglected,” said Rasmussen a member of the House Transportation Committee. “While I understand the importance of the Marine Highway System and generally support efforts to continue ferry service in a cost-effective manner, there are other important issues that warrant our immediate consideration. Our state owns and operates 239 airports, including Ted Stevens International Airport. The Port of Alaska, which imports 3.5 million tons of food and goods Alaskans need annually, is crumbling and needs repairs. We have thousands of miles of highways and railroads that need to be maintained. These issues are critically important to our ability to grow Alaska’s economy and they’re being completely ignored. Rather than spending hours fixated on one government system, we should be focusing on the whole – investing our time and resources in modern infrastructure through projects like the Juneau Access Road – that could fundamentally revolutionize both the economies of Southeast Alaska and the rest of the state.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“I think the conversation around marine highways needs to shift to solutions,” Rasmussen said to reporters.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

— Mollie Barnes<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

4:33 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

The House Minority is holding a press conference because they felt there was an urgency with what’s happening with a House Majority.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“After waiting nearly a month to organize the House, the fact that the Democrat-led House Majority now plans to spend tens of thousands of state dollars to fly members around the state campaigning for an increase in government spending in the middle of legislative session is astounding to me,” said Rep. Colleen Sullivan-Leonard, R-Wasilla, in a press release. “This is a great depiction of why the people of Alaska do not trust in their legislature – we’re in the middle of a huge budget deficit and House leadership wants to spend money that we do not have to try and advocate for spending even more money that we do not have. Other departments in the government are cutting their state travel budgets down by 50 percent or more – they didn’t give that money to the Democrat-led House Majority to spend for them.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“Additionally,” Sullivan-Leonard said, “it’s regrettable that members of the House Finance Committee were not made aware of these plans prior to their being made public by a blogger. Members of the House and Senate just spent weeks organizing town halls and caucuses in-district to hear from constituents. Spending precious dollars to peddle political motives in this way is disingenuous and irresponsible.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“What kind of an example are we setting to do a travel show out across the state when truly it’s not necessary?” Sullivan-Leonard said to reporters in the press conference.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

She said they just had all their town hall meetings in the last three weeks. She said this is a “frivolous” act.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

— Mollie Barnes<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

1:57 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Dunleavy is asked about interest in a gasline in Alaska.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“Right now, there’s a tremendous amount of gas and we don’t hear of a lot of investment at this time moving into large-scale gas projects,” Dunleavy says.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

— Alex McCarthy<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

1:55 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Corri Feige, commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources, says several companies have said there could be “significant” investments in the North Slope in the next three or five years.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“We have heard a lot of excitement and enthusiasm” about new explorations on the North Slope. She also mentions there’s interest in viscous oil, of which there is a great deal on the North Slope.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

— Alex McCarthy<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

1:53 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Dunleavy says he’s finding that a number of firms are interested in the state and “Alaska’s back on the radar screen.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“Alaska can play a role in balancing the portfolio of some of these companies,” Dunleavy says.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

— Alex McCarthy<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Gov.<\/a>

Gov. Mike Dunleavy. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t

1:50 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Gov. Mike Dunleavy is on a call to reporters from Houston, where he’s at the CERA Week conference. The conference brings many of the biggest names in the oil and gas industry together.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“I’d have to say it’s probably one of the best conferences I’ve attended,” Dunleavy says.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Read more about his trip here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

— Alex McCarthy<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

1:10 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Looks like Senate Majority Leader, Sen. Mia Costello, R-Anchorage, dropped by Juneau’s courthouse today to see the therapeutic court in action. Read more about Juneau Therapeutic Court here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Thank you for the invitation, Judge Swanson, to observe the Therapeutic Courts in action. It was a great opportunity to see how this court has positively impacted so many people's lives and watching their recovery process in person. pic.twitter.com\/ziz6kmc2eJ<\/a><\/p>— Sen. Mia Costello (@MiaCostelloAK) March 14, 2019<\/a><\/blockquote>\n