By Sentinel Staff
The bi-partisan Alaska House majority reported today that the public comments and testimony received by the House Finance Committee in meetings across the state this past week ran five-to-one against Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposed state operating budget.
The statement by the House majority said the meetings “were the first of their kind and provided Alaskans the opportunity to communicate directly with lawmakers in a format that was open to the public.”
The Finance Committee sent individual members out to host meetings for public comment in Anchorage, Bethel, Fairbanks, Kenai, Ketchikan, Juneau, Mat-Su, and Sitka. The Sitka meeting on March 25 drew more than 60 comments and turnout of more than 200 residents.
“The outpouring and the passion from Alaskans has been incredible,” said House Speaker Bryce Edgmon in the news release. “We’ve heard from Alaskans who would lose access to health care if Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s budget passes as-is. We’ve heard from teachers who don’t know if they’ll have a job this fall, elders on a fixed income who fear they’ll lose senior benefits, and people in communities at risk of losing their only highway.”
“The House Majority hears you and thanks everyone who’s spoken out,” said Rep. Chuck Kopp. “As we continue to build this budget, our goal is to balance living within our means and providing for the critical needs of our most vulnerable residents.”
At the community meetings there were 512 submissions as testimony and 488 as comments, for a total of 1,000 statements. The report said that in addition there were 784 submissions as public testimony by email, call or in-person, bringing the total to 1,784 public statements on various aspects of the Dunleavy budget.
“Of the people who provided input on the budget, 990 voiced opposition to the governor’s drastic cuts, 202 supported the governor’s plan, leaving a 5-to-1 margin of opposition,” the statement said. “The leading topic of discussion statewide was K-12 education. Overall, 839 voiced opposition to Governor Dunleavy’s proposed cuts to school funding.
“Another common refrain was a push for a sustainable Permanent Fund Dividend, rather than the governor’s proposal to double the PFD; 611 spoke of their desire for balance between the size of the PFD and the state’s ability to provide critical services Alaskans rely on; and 206 opposed reducing the dividend.
“More than 300 people spoke out in favor of preserving funding for Medicaid, the University, and the Alaska Marine Highway System.
“Nearly 900 people spoke in favor of the State of Alaska taking a step to diversify revenue.”
The committee did not break down responses by community, but provided a table listing the number of public comments and public testimony “the top ten items.”
Education: oppose cuts: 839
Support Income Tax: 664
Support PFD cuts: 611
Oppose Medicaid/health care cuts: 368
Oppose university cuts: 356
Oppose Marine Highway cuts: 367
Oil/Gas, (increase taxes, reduce tax credits, revise taxes): 378
New Revenue (support diversification, broadbased tax): 230
Oppose PFD cuts: 230
Oppose Pioneer Home cuts: 112.
The committee’s summary said 990 public comments and testimony opposed the governor’s budget, and 202 were in support.
The House Majority leadership held a press availability Thursday to discuss the public response to the budget and to take questions from reporters, which can be viewed online at Gavel Alaska.
The House Majority is a 25-member coalition of Democratic, Republican, and Independent representatives from large and small communities across the state.
“The House Majority is committed to serving all Alaskans with integrity and transparency, and to practicing informed leadership so that every citizen’s quality of life will improve for generations to come,” the statement concluded.
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