 Makes Significant Cuts To Budget Bills Passed By Legislature June 12, 2003
"This is the first major step in disciplining Alaska to live within our means," Murkowski said. "We have vetoed $138 million from the Legislature's budget, but have been able to achieve our two most important goals. We have kept spending below last year's level, and
Murkowski has insisted on making the Constitutional Budget Reserve last for the next five years, until significant revenues from resource development come on-line. At $2 billion, the CBR will last that long, if draws are kept below $400 million. At the same time, he has led the way to make resource development happen, through a series of executive orders and bills that streamline permitting, provide incentives for new exploration, establish a framework to negotiate for a natural gas pipeline, and provide other initiatives to make the state more attractive to investment. "The cuts and reductions in the FY04 budget made through the veto process are fair and across-the-board," Murkowski said. "All interest groups are affected. Significant spending reductions were made in various state government departments and programs. However, I do not expect a serious deterioration in the essential services which government presently provides. The state will continue to meet its obligations, and core services like education, public safety and transportation are protected." Murkowski sent a letter to municipalities earlier this week, explaining his decision to no longer fund municipal revenue sharing programs. Another letter today went out to seniors explaining that the longevity bonus would end. "For both of these programs, we are proposing to provide a one-year phase-out, using one-time federal dollars from the recently-passed tax relief bill," Murkowski said. "We will distribute $15 million to the municipalities using the revenue-sharing formula, and we will set up through regulation a one-year relief program for seniors in need. Again, the senior assistance program is fair, because it is needs-based and because it will be available to all seniors over 65 who might need it." Murkowski said he has directed the Department of Health and Social Services to have regulations in place in September to provide $120 per month to needy seniors. That $120 payment is the maximum that can be paid to needy seniors under the State's General Relief Assistance Program. In total, the three budget bills - HB 75, the operating budget, SB 100, the capital budget, and HB 76, the mental health budget - spend $5.9 billion on state government, including funds from the general fund, federal funds, and other funding sources, such as user fees and enterprise funds. The $5.9 billion does not include appropriations from the income of the Alaska Permanent Fund, such as for dividends, administrative costs, and inflation-proofing the fund. Murkowski compared that level of spending with the state's budget in 1968, when he served as Commissioner of Commerce under Governor Wally Hickel. "Compare $5.9 billion with a state budget of $310 million dollars. That's a hefty increase -- almost twenty-fold and it's far more than we can afford. "The 209 state positions that we deleted in this budget represent only 1.1 percent of the 19,163 positions authorized by the last administration, 2,000 of which were added in the last eight years." The budget bills take effect on July 1, 2003, the first day of the state's fiscal year. For detailed information on
the budget bills, visit the Office of Management and Budget website
at: http://www.gov.state.ak.us/omb/
Source of News Release:
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