April 12, 2024
House Debates Operating Budget Amendments While the Senate Releases Revised Capital Budget
It’s been a budget-centric week in Juneau. The House spent multiple long days debating the operating budget and associated amendments on the floor while the Senate released and considered a revised capital budget. The bodies are expected to swap budgets as early as this afternoon.
Budget
Earlier in this session, the House and the Senate arranged to swap their respective operating and capital budgets on April 12. Traditionally, a swap of both budgets is part of the budget review process and allows each body to have a fair shot at operating and capital state budgets. While that hasn’t happened in the last several years, the agreement is an attempt to return to the traditional process.
To meet the April 12 swap deadline, the House has hosted marathon floor sessions to complete its annual operating budget review this week. The budget, House Bill 268, was introduced on the House Floor on Monday, and the body began amendment review on Tuesday. More than 130 budget amendments were drafted, however many were not offered on the floor. The House considered amendments well into the evenings on both Tuesday and Wednesday. The final amended budget was debated again and ultimately passed out of the House on Thursday afternoon.
House Budget Amendments
Several of the 130+ drafted operating budget amendments impacted the university system's operations:
- Representative Carrick (D-Fairbanks) introduced an amendment to increase the UA operating budget by $740,000 for increased student mental health services. The amendment failed 17Y-23N.
- Representative Carpenter (R-Nikiski) introduced two amendments, eliminating $29.8 from UA’s supplemental budget for program funding for drones, critical minerals, enhanced oil recovery, and mariculture research, and $20 million from the operating budget to cut funding to help UAF reach R1 research status. Members of both the House majority and minority spoke strongly against both amendments. Finance Co-Chair Representative DeLena Johnson (R-Palmer) defended the supplemental funding for research programs, noting the $29.8 million was already appropriated in previous years’ budgets, and the inclusion in this year’s supplemental budget is strictly for the extension of the timeframe with which funds may be used. She also highlighted UA’s excellence in drone research. Representative Will Stapp (R-Fairbanks) and Representative Dan Saddler (R-Eagle River) also heralded UA’s affected research areas and highlighted industry accomplishments in each, urging continued support. Rep Stapp and Rep. Carrick also highlighted the return on investment in funding UAF’s R1 research status. Representative Andy Josephson (D-Anchorage) noted the opportunities that will come with R1 status, and Representative Zack Fields (D-Anchorage) emphasized the short two-year time frame UAF has to meet the criteria for R1 Research status. Ultimately, the first amendment failed 9Y-31N, and the second failed 5Y-35N.
Meanwhile, in the Senate, the Finance Committee introduced a committee substitute for its capital budget bill, Senate Bill 187. The Senate Finance Committee Substitute of SB 187 added $200 million in unrestricted general funds (UGF), for a total of $460 million UGF for the state capital budget. The revised budget includes the following for the University of Alaska system:
- $1.0 million in general funds for Alaska Energy Data Storage and Access Revitalization Project
- $10.0 million in general funds for year three of the UA Alaska Drones Project funding - $5 million from UGF and $5 million from university receipts.
- $5.6 million in receipt authority for the UAF University Park Early Childhood Development Center
- $26.4 for deferred maintenance:
- $4,375,000: UAA: East Campus: Social Sciences Building and UAA/APU Consortium Library renewal
- $955,000: UAA: Kodiak Campus: Mechanical Electrical, emergency Egress, Exterior Doors and Roofs
- $5,125,000: UAA: Code Compliance, Emergency Services, Security Improvements; Roof and Exterior Replacement
- $4,375,000: UAA: Deferred Maintenance for PSB, SMH, and WWA Campus Buildings
- $10,500,000: UAF Campus Wide: Student Health and Safety; Cutler Roof; Patty Pool Compliance
- $1,070,000: UAS Juneau Campus: Safety & Regulators Compliance; Walkways, Security
Find more information on these projects in the FY 25 University of Alaska Operating and Capital Budget Request (Redbook)
The Senate Finance Committee adopted two technical amendments and passed the bill Thursday morning. In a rare move, the Senate considered the bill the same day on the floor. The Senate is debating additional amendments this morning and is expected to pass the bill this afternoon. Once it has passed the Senate floor, it will be transmitted to the House.
Priority Legislation
House Bill 55 - the Technical Vocational Education Program (TVEP) reauthorization was passed out of the House Labor & Commerce Committee on Monday afternoon. The bill was revised last week to return the legislation to a clean reauthorization of the program as it currently stands. On Monday, the committee accepted a conceptual amendment that reduced the reauthorization period to one year, meaning that the program will need to be approved again in 2025. Now that the House Labor & Commerce Committee bill has passed, it goes to the House Finance Committee.
House Bill 89, which contains the Education Tax Credit (ETC) program extension (administered through the Department of Revenue, of which the University is a beneficiary), passed out of the Senate Health And Social Services Committee on Thursday afternoon. It will now go to the Senate Finance Committee for consideration.
In the Spotlight
The Office of Representative Alyse Galvin
Represents: Spenard, Rogers Park, and Midtown Anchorage
Membership: House Finance Committee, House University of Alaska Finance Subcommittee
Bill sponsorship: House Bill 156: “Income Tax,” House Bill 383: “Early Childhood Literacy,” House Joint Resolution 18: “Social Security Benefit Reduction Repeal”
Representative Galvin is a mom, a community leader, an Alaskan legislator, and a fighter for public education throughout our state. Alyse first gained recognition as a leader of Great Alaska Schools, organizing parents, students, educators, and community leaders to fight for our kids and protect our schools. In 2022, Alyse was elected to the State House of Representatives to represent Midtown Anchorage, including Spenard and Rogers Park, and serves on the House Finance Committee.
Alyse is a graduate of the University of California San Diego, where she met her husband of 35 years, Pat. Together, they are the proud parents of four amazing kids raised in Alaska, and now celebrate a wonderful grandson. Alyse’s family came to Alaska to serve in WWII, and she grew up in a diverse Alaskan family of bankers, builders, mechanics, misfits, and outlaws. Alyse started working when she was eight years old – and has been a living example of the power of resilience and grit since her early days. When not working, Alyse enjoys gardening, quilting, fishing, playing bridge, and cooking for her family.
Meredith Trainor is Representative Galvin’s Chief of Staff – this is her first legislative session. Before joining Rep Galvin’s team, Meredith spent 8 years as Executive Director of the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council. She moved to Southeast Alaska in 2016 to accept that position, but her first and most memorable summer in Alaska was spent in Arctic Alaska in 2005, studying how plants might adapt to climate change at the University of Alaska’s Toolik Lake Field Station.
She still has coffee out of her ancient Toolik Lake Field Station mug many mornings, but her roots are firmly in Southeast these days, where she lives with her partner, Colin, and a “purebred Alaskan mutt” named Rhubarb.
Claire Fordyce is Representative Galvin’s Legislative Aide and Constituent Services lead. Claire has enjoyed being a student in UA courses both on-site and online for decades, earning over 40 credits in Undergraduate, Professional, and Graduate courses ranging from Remote Sensing to Anthropology of Natives of Alaska and the Arctic, from certificates in Chemical Dependency Counseling to Sculpture, Family Empowerment, and post-graduate classes in Disabilities. An ardent supporter of the UA system, Claire believes strong communities and schools go hand in hand with well-resourced Universities, which attract students and retain quality professors. She has appreciated the cultural enrichment that the University of Alaska Southeast has provided to her life in Juneau. She and her husband Clay live in Juneau, as does their daughter. They also have a child and grandchildren in Anchorage, and a son in Seattle.
Public Testimony Opportunities
With the Capital budget in hand, the House Finance Committee will conduct public testimony on the bill on Thursday afternoon at 1:30. If you’d like to testify, please call in or arrive at your local LIO at least 30 minutes before the allotted testimony time. Alternatively, you can send written testimony to housefinance@akleg.gov
What We’re Watching
Monday, April 15
- 1:30 p.m. - Senate Finance University of Alaska Subcommittee: University of Alaska FY25 Budget Closeout
Wednesday, April 17
- 9:00 a.m - Senate Finance: HB 268: “Appropriations: Operating Budget; Capital; Supplemental; Amended”
- 1:30 p.m. - House Finance: HB 269: “Appropriations: Capital; Reappropriations” / SB 187: “Appropriations: Capital; Reappropriations”
Thursday, April 18
1:30 p.m. - House Finance: HB 269: “Appropriations: Capital; Reappropriations” / SB 187: “Appropriations: Capital; Reappropriations”: Public Testimony
For more information, contact Director of State Relations for the University of Alaska System Chad Hutchison, cell 907-378-3946, email clhutchison@alaska.edu. You can also follow the University of Alaska Government Relations on our Twitter page.