Alaska’s Senate Finance Committee met for the first time in 2016 this morning, digging into Governor Bill Walker’s budget plan.
Committee members discussed the proposal to use money drawn from the Alaska Permanent Fund’s earnings reserve to help finance state government.
Senate Finance Committee co-chair Pete Kelly says there are certain assumptions built into Walker’s budget plan to address the budget deficit but the final solution from lawmakers may look very different.
Walker has called the permanent fund proposal a key piece to help with Alaska’s $3.5 billion deficit while oil prices continue to drop.
He has also included tax increases and changes to the oil and gas tax credit system into the solutions to reverse Alaska’s fiscal crisis.
No clear consensus on a way to move forward came from the Senate Finance Committee’s meeting this morning.