The Alaska Senate passed a budget bill Wednesday night, 40 seconds before midnight, the end of the Legislature’s regular session. The budget was largely in line with what was proposed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy late last year, said Senate President Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, except for the $2,300 Permanent Fund Dividend approved by the Senate.<\/p>\n
The budget will be sent to a bicameral conference committee which will negotiate changes in the bill that then must be approved by both bodies. Micciche said he hopes the process is finished before the end of the month.<\/p>\n
In a meeting with reporters Thursday morning Micciche said he was pleased with the previous day’s outcome, and said despite conflicts early in the day senators came together to pass the budget 17-3. Sens. Donny Olson, D-Golovin; Scott Kawasaki, D-Fairbanks; and Lora Reinbold, R-Eagle River, voted against the budget.<\/p>\n
Senators passed the budget but the House of Representatives voted against concurrence, meaning the budget now goes to a bicameral conference committee. Each body will select representatives for the committee which will negotiate changes in the bill. Changes must then be approved by a vote of two-thirds of each body.<\/p>\n
House Speaker Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, and House Finance Committee co-chair Rep. Neal Foster, D-Nome, told reporters Thursday morning caucus meetings would happen later in the day and discussions on representatives for the committee after that.<\/p>\n
“We’ve been working well with the minority,” Stutes said. “(Rep. Cathy Tilton, R-Wasilla)” has indicated the minority is anxious to work with both bodies to come up with a sustainable solution.”<\/p>\n
Foster said it generally takes at least two days for staff to find the differences in the versions of the bills but he hoped the committee could begin over the weekend. Stutes, Foster and Micciche all declined to speculate what in the budget might change in negotiations but there were disagreements in the Senate over the size of the PFD.<\/p>\n
In fact, the Senate was scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Wednesday but didn’t get to the budget until after 5 p.m. after divisions in the Republican majority kept lawmakers in caucus almost all day. Micciche said Thursday he began the previous day not knowing if there were enough votes for even a simple majority, but after significant negotiation senators were able to vote overwhelmingly in favor of the bill.<\/p>\n
“The Senate came across as a team, more than the budget. I’m proud we came through with 17 (votes),” Micciche said.<\/p>\n
But before the Senate reached 17 votes for the budget, there were several amendment votes on various amounts for the PFD. The House’s version of the budget didn’t include a PFD appropriation, and on Tuesday the Senate Finance Committee added a $1,000 PFD to the budget.<\/p>\n