Alaska lawmakers raise concerns over governor's proposed budget

JUNEAU -- A budget battle may be brewing between Alaska lawmakers and Gov. Sean Parnell.

Leaders in both the state House and Senate have expressed concerns with the level of spending Parnell has proposed for the next fiscal year. A legislative fiscal analysis shows a $25 million deficit in the budget plan, a hole Parnell has proposed filling with savings.

Senate President Gary Stevens, a fellow Republican, told The Associated Press he's a "little disconcerted" about where things stand, a sentiment echoed by House Majority Leader Alan Austerman.

Stevens said Parnell's spending plan leaves lawmakers with "no room" to add projects they favor, for the state or their districts.

"I don't see things working out too well," he said.

Lawmakers said Parnell has not given them a spending cap, but Austerman, a Republican, said that idea is being floated. He said, with a laugh, that the governor, who met with legislators last week, indicated that as long as the Legislature stayed within his spending guidelines, all would be fine.

Parnell last year vetoed parts of a capital budget that he considered bloated. This year, he repeated his call to lawmakers to show fiscal restraint -- though he hasn't defined that precisely. Austerman is looking for that "bottom line."

Austerman said that each session, there's a "battle of wills or words" with the governor over spending. This isn't specific to Parnell, he said, adding that lawmakers maintain an open line of communication with the governor.

"There's still a lot of cordial discussion," he said. "There's no screaming or yelling."

Parnell has proposed an $11.1 billion spending plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1, which includes state and federal funds. Of that, $1.6 billion would be for capital projects and $8.3 billion would be for operating costs.

Stevens believes revenues will be higher than what the governor's budget anticipates, but lawmakers don't expect to have a clearer sense of that until, perhaps, March.

"We want a balanced budget where revenues match expenditures," he said.

Stevens and other senators also favor a "generous" capital budget this year to help put Alaskans to work, build up community infrastructure and keep the state's unemployment rates below the national average.

Austerman said spending disputes typically are settled by two of the three parties involved aligning -- whether that's the House and the Senate or one of the legislative bodies and the governor's office.


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