Senators said late Saturday they are being forced by House leaders into spending more and saving less than they wanted after the House suddenly adjourned Saturday, before the mandatory Tuesday end of the 30-day special session.
Senate leaders earlier Saturday, as rumors of the pending House adjournment plan spread, called upon House leaders to instead negotiate a lower budget amount with the Senate.
“We’d like to see more savings, and we’d like to see a reduction in the budget,” said Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak.
Typically differences between House and Senate budget versions are settled with conference committees, which House leaders had earlier said they intended.
Senate Finance Committee Co-chairman Bill Stoltze, R-Chugiak, last week said the Senate should pass the budget and send it to the House, and work out any differences in the usual manner.
“Our position is, let’s both bodies pass the capital budget, (for) which we need to have the Senate Bill 46 in our possession, we have differences of opinion on the language section” Stoltze said last week.
“Let’s have a conference committee on that in the openness of the public,” he said.
Instead, after the Senate transmitted the budget bill to the House, the House passed its own, larger version, held it until Saturday, and then adjourned.
That left the Senate with a decision: Either accept the House version or leave the state without a capital budget.
Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, expressed disappointment with the House’s action Saturday.
“Clearly it’s not in good faith,” he said
• Contact reporter Pat Forgey at 586-4816 or at patrick.forgey@juneauempire.com.
"Clearly it’s not in good faith,”
Much like most of which is done ... however, it is constitutional.
Capital budget and session end
I applaud the House Majority for finally standing up to the Senate Coalition, and for outsmarting the Senate. It took too long, the capital budget is at least $1.5 billion too high, and the special session was unneeded. But at least the House Majority proved that while this fragile senate working group lasts there are ways to keep it from further damaging the state. I hope the governor watched carefully so that he will also stand up to the senate.
glacierdogs
Session End
I also applaud the State Senate Bipartisan Working Group. It was disappointing that they were unable to completely work through their own Capital Budget but they prevented the single biggest royalty tax givaway in recent history. For nothing in return. Remember that. Nothing. Somewhere between 2-3 billion for squat.
That more than paid for the original Senate budget, plugged the CBR and can put some damm money down on the pension shortfall.
I look forward to seeing how closely the House kept to the Senate Capital budget that was submitted Thursday.
But agreed to the other posters recently who are not very pleased with all three branches of gvmt lately.