Alaska legislators agree on the need to address the state’s multibillion-dollar budget deficit.
But rifts remain over how best to do that, with divisions forming over taxes, how much to keep cutting spending and whether the state needs to tinker with Alaskans’ beloved yearly oil wealth check.
A new 90-day legislative session begins Tuesday. Many lawmakers cite a sense of urgency amid the continued drawdown of state savings. Last year’s sessions were snarled by gridlock ahead of a heated election season.
With the ouster of incumbents and legislative retirements, one-quarter of the 60-member Legislature will be new.
The House, long held by Republicans, will be led by a coalition comprised largely of Democrats that formed around a desire to tackle the deficit. The Senate will remain in GOP control.