In what is likely the Legislature’s final attempt to pass a state budget on time, Senate Finance Committee members crafted a budget “turducken” and called on the state House to prepare for a straight up-or-down vote on the proposal. (via AlaskaBeacon)
Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, speaks about the budget at a news conference on Thursday. Pictured with him are Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, and Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage.
The result is a single $6.3 billion omnibus bill that would fund state services for the 12 months that begin July 1. The Senate proposal includes a Permanent Fund dividend of about $1,300 per recipient — roughly half the amount favored by the House — and a $175 million increase to the state’s per-student funding formula for public schools.
The window for a conference committee “came and closed,” said Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka and the finance committee co-chair in charge of the operating budget. Now, with time running out, the Senate is preparing a take-it-or-leave-it approach: an up-or-down vote on whether to agree with the Senate plan.
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