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May 10, 2024

With Bipartisan Support, the House Adopts the Capital Budget, and the Final Operating Budget Takes Shape in Conference Committee

The 121st day of the Legislative session is less than a week away, and lawmakers are working hard to get several pieces of legislation across the finish line before the May 15 statutory deadline. The Legislature is getting closer to finalizing the operating and capital budgets. This week, the House adopted the capital budget, and both bodies selected members for a conference committee to reach a consensus on the operating budget.

In addition, both bodies met in a joint session to confirm the Governor’s commissioners and appointees to state boards and commissions - including the University of Alaska Board of Regents appointees. Two regent-appointees, Seth Church and Steve Colligan, were up for confirmation. Both were approved unanimously.

Capital Budget

By a vote of 39Y-1N, the House adopted a revised capital budget earlier this week. The House’s version of the capital budget adds approximately $100 million to the $3.9 billion budget proposed by the Senate. Most of the funds are federal, but $500 million comes from the state’s unrestricted general funds (UGF). A sizeable $63 million chunk of the state funds is for K-12 school maintenance projects and another $28.6 million for the following UA deferred maintenance projects:

1. UAA -  East Campus Learning Hub Renewal Project: Social Sciences Building and UAA/APU Consortium Library
2. UAA - Major Re-investment in Health (SMH/PSB) and Community Engagement (WWA)
3. UAA - Campus Wide Code Compliance, Emergency Services, and Security Improvements; Roof and Exterior Envelope Replacements; Mechanical/Electrical System Upgrades
4. UAF - Campus Wide Student Health and Safety; Cutler Roof; Patty Pool Compliance
5. UAS -  Juneau Campus Safety & Regulatory Compliance - covered walkways, security cameras and door-locking systems
6. UAA - Kodiak Campus Wide: Priority investments in mechanical, electrical, energy egress, exterior doors, and roofs
7. UAA -  Prince William Sound Campus Wide: Priority investments in mechanical, electrical, fire alarm systems, roofs, campus interiors, and campus accessibility
8. UAA - Mat-Su Campus Wide: Priority investments in mechanical, electrical, and interior system
   

The capital budget also includes $10 million in state funds to advance the , $11.1 million ($2.2 million in state matching funds and $8.9 million in federal funds) for the , and $1 million for the 

Conference Committee

After the House rejected the Senate’s changes to the state operating budget, both bodies elected three lawmakers to a six-person conference committee. The committee is responsible for addressing the variations between House and Senate versions of the bill, and ultimately coming up with a final consensus bill. This year’s conference committee has “limited powers of free conference.” This terminology refers to the items the conference committee may consider. A “closed” conference means members must stick to the selections included by both bodies. A “free” conference means committee members can return to the drawing board and suggest any means to resolve the budget differences. A conference with “limited powers of free conference” means that the committee has guardrails on the items they can freely consider.  In this case, the AGWA/UAW union agreement with the UA has been submitted to OMB, Administration, and Senator Stedman’s office for consideration for inclusion in the final budget during the conference committee discussions.  UA has encouraged the committee to accept the agreement.

The conference committee met multiple times this week but has yet to finalize the UA budget. Outstanding university system budget items include compensation and fixed costs increases; expanding pilot programs for teacher preparation and healthcare professionals; campus public safety and security upgrades at UAA; and R1 research status funding for UAF.  Noteworthy:  Intent language was approved on Wednesday (i.e., the House and Senate conference committee members agreed) that the UA Museum of the North would help facilitate a bone transfer from the American Museum of Natural History.  The bones are known as the “Childs Frick-Alaska Quaternary Mammal Collection.”

Priority Legislation

On Tuesday morning, the House passed , the Technical Vocational Education Program (TVEP) reauthorization. The bill was immediately transmitted over to the Senate, and it received only one committee referral. It has been sent to the Senate Finance Committee and is expected to be heard in the next few days. It must still pass the full Senate if it passes through the Finance Committee. If the Senate makes any changes, the House will also need to vote to adopt those changes. While the timeline is tight, the Senate has indicated that HB 55 is a priority bill, and they intend to hear it quickly.

Several other UA priority bills are well-placed for passage. Multiple bills addressing the education tax credit sunset are also in Senate Finance, the final committee of referral. , by Representative Justin Ruffridge (R-Soldonta), eliminating the education tax credit sunset, and , by Representative Julie Coulombe (R-Anchorage), extending the sunset date to 2028, are both in Senate Finance awaiting final action. 

Similarly, , expanding the Alaska Performance Scholarship, is also awaiting final passage by the Senate Finance Committee.

Regent Confirmations

Lawmakers came together for a 4-hour joint session on Tuesday to consider the Governor’s commissioners and appointees to state boards and commissions. Among the appointees considered were UA Board of Regent appointees Seth Church and Stephen (Steve) Colligan. Both were unanimously approved and will remain on the Board through 2027 before they are up for reconsideration.

Seth Church owns Jewel Isaac LLC, a general contracting company that provides commercial construction services throughout the State of Alaska, and is also a co-owner of Sabe Capital LLC, The Laundry Company, and many other real estate ventures. Regent Church has served the State of Alaska on the Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee and the Marine Transportation Advisory Board. He was elected National Youth Chair for the Coalition of Juvenile Justice, was a Business Advisory Board Member for Students Who Enjoy Economic Thinking at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and served on the Minority Ethnic Committee for the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District. Regent Church and his wife, Mayya, reside in Fairbanks.

Steve Colligan is a lifelong Alaskan; he holds an Associate of Applied Sciences in petroleum engineering technology from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) and has studied engineering at UAF and the University of Alaska Anchorage. Regent Colligan has national and international experience specializing in information technology integration, geographic information systems, and geomatics.

What We’re Watching

Typically, at the end of the session, the Legislature transitions into the “24-hour rule” once a conference committee has been announced. This rule refers to the time needed to notice public meetings. Usually, the Legislature must give 7 days notice on a bill hearing; however, once the 24-hour rule is enacted, hearings may be noticed 24 hours in advance. This means that next week’s schedule has not yet been determined.

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For more information, contact Director of State Relations for the University of Alaska System Chad Hutchison, cell 907-378-3946, email clhutchison@alaska.edu. You can also follow the University of Alaska Government Relations on our .