(SitNews) Anchorage - Thursday at the Associated General Contractors of Alaska office in Anchorage, Governor Michael J. Dunleavy signed into law Senate Bill 2002, capturing nearly $1 billion in federal transportation and infrastructure funding, provides necessary resources to enact public safety legislation, and reinstates funding for various programs such as the Alaska Performance Scholarship, WWAMI, and Power Cost Equalization.

Governor Dunleavy reduced the final capital budget by $34.7 M through his line-item veto authority because SB2002, as passed by the Alaska Legislature, included a number of projects of local, community or legislative interest that the state simply cannot fund under its limited financial resources.

Senate Democratic Leader Tom Begich (D-Anchorage) said among Governor Dunleavy’s 27 line-item vetoes are addiction treatment facilities, homelessness assistance, weatherization, and the Interior gas project. Senate Bill 2002 passed the Senate unanimously on July 20, 2019, and the House on July 29, 2019, on a vote of 32-6. 

In a prepared statement Sen. Begich said, “Anchorage has declared a civil emergency in part because of the reductions to homeless and behavioral health services proposed by Governor Dunleavy. These vetoes are truly antithetical to his stated desire for a safer Alaska. Homeless issues in Anchorage are statewide issues and deserve a statewide response."

“This was a bare-bones capital budget to bring in Federal dollars to help alleviate some of Alaska’s infrastructure needs and to keep Alaskans working. It was carefully crafted with the entire Legislature’s input, which is why it passed with significant support - twice. I’m disappointed in Governor Dunleavy’s actions today, and they will only hurt our economy and make Alaskans less safe," said Begich. 

Begich ended his statement saying, “Governing should be done with an intent to improve the lives of all Alaskans, not through some narrow out-of-state theory of government that has failed everywhere in the past. Alaskans deserve better. We deserve a budget that respects us, not one that diminishes and places our future at risk.” 

Governor Dunleavy called the Alaska Legislature into a second special session on July 8th to resolve outstanding issues on the Permanent Fund and later the capital budget. SB 2002 completes unfinished work of the Fiscal Year 2020 budget, signed on July 10, 2019 by providing a proper funding source.

SB 2002 also reinstitutes funding for programs – including Power Cost Equalization and Alaska Performance Scholarship – that were included in Governor Dunleavy’s budget but were subject to the “reverse sweep,” a move that returns funds to the state’s savings accounts when the legislature fails to appropriate the funds.

Key items funded in SB 2002:

• $73M to Federal Highway and Aviation Match, which secures $877.2 million in Federal funds
• $12M to Village Safe Water and Wastewater Projects, securing over $52M in Federal funds
• $2.54M to Hiland Mountain Women’s Mental Health Unit
• $2M in AIDEA receipts for Northwest Arctic Borough school construction and major maintenance
• $680,200 to Electronic Visit Verification System
• $2.5M to Arctic Strategic Transportation and Resources
• $1.5M to AHFC Rental Assistance for Victims- Empowering Choice Housing Program
• $3.6M to AHFC Homeless Assistance
• $1.75M to AHFC Senior Citizen Housing
• $250,000 to Inter-Island Ferry Authority
• $13.5M to Alaska Marine Highway System vessel overhaul, annual certification, and shoreside facilities rehabilitation
• $1.6M to Harbor Grant Program

More detailed information on the 27 vetoes is not available at this time.

Source of News:

Office of Gov. Michael Dunleavy
www.gov.alaska.gov

Office of Sen. Tom Begich
www.akleg.gov

 

 

 

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