Alaska’s budget deficit is at the front of everyone’s minds as lawmakers head back to Juneau for the second half of their 29th legislative session on Tuesday.
Soldotna Senator Peter Micciche says his constituents are sending him back with a clear message regarding Governor Bill Walker’s proposed income tax…
Sen. Micciche(K. Pen): “About half of Alaskans work and I don’t know why they should be penalized to support the other half. I think we should all be invested in the services that we enjoy. Sales tax allows that to occur. For those who earn less, they spend less, they have control of their spending, somewhat. There will likely be exemptions for key issues that people need to survive. So that’s where the equalizer is, if you will.”
Another huge item on the agenda is the Alaska LNG project. Nikiski’s Representative Mike Chenault says legislators will be considering a constitutional amendment that would allow Alaskans to vote on binding future legislatures to the project.
Rep. Chenault(R-District 29): “For a project this size, in order to get financing for it, and also to get customers. You won’t get customers until you know what the price of that project is, and how much that gas is going to cost. And if you can’t reasonably control taxes and other pieces of the project, you’re not going to come up with a good enough price that allows you to go out to market and market that gas.”
With those huge decisions on the table, Representative Kurt Olson expects to have at least one special session in 2016.
Rep. Olson(R-District 30): “I would suspect that we’ll go into special session right at the end of the regular session because we won’t have the budget done. I would be guessing right now but I’d say it will run one to two months.”