Stevens and Stutes Give Update on State Budget

Representative Louise Stutes and Senator Gary Stevens at the Legistlative Update. Kayla Desroches/KMXT

Kayla Desroches/KMXT

On Thursday night, the Kodiak Public Library hosted a Legislative Update to give audience members an overview of the state budget while legislators are on recess.

At the beginning of the talk, Senator Gary Stevens and Representative Louise Stutes summarized the current status of the capital and operating budget.

Stevens says they’ve cut both as part of the fiscal year 16 budget by a little over 16 percent.

“Amazingly, we were able to cut the capital budget from 600 million dollars last year to 100 million dollars this year,” says Stevens. “That’s a pretty remarkable cut. It just means we’re not doing those things. But, remember, that money will not be available to cut next year. To cut next year, we have to really go back to the operating budget.”

Stevens says they managed to slash the operating budget down by almost 10 percent, and says Governor Walker’s proposed goal is 25 percent in the next four years. Which he says means more reductions from the operating budget in the future.

“That’s things like state employees, education, health and social services, the marine highway, fish and game, police protection, University of Alaska, all of those things are in the operating budget,” says Stevens.

Stevens says the state will have to cut waste.

“That’s the first place to go,” says Stevens. “The next place is to reduce nonessential services and we need to find ways along the way to grow our economy and try to make it better. So mostly what we’ve done this year is concentrate on cutting expenses, then in the future we’re going to have to deal with revenue enhancements. That’s a really nice way of saying taxes.”

Stevens says they should be careful not to jump to taxes as the first solution, but they should look at them and at how much money the state is getting from oil companies.  

Stutes discussed the House minority’s fight to put money back into education from what the Senate reduced in order to fund other areas. She says Governor Bill Walker is in the middle of his own attempt to pass a bill to expand and reform Medicaid.

“He’s trying to tie it into the budget and so now, he and the minority have kind of come together as one and said, ‘This is what we’re willing to take.’ Well, the House has said no, and the Senate has said no, and the House and the Senate haven’t even come to an even level. So, we’re really at a stalemate, and it’s not a pretty picture,” says Stutes.

Both legislators encourage people to email them. To contact Stutes and Stevens during the interim, use the following information:

Louise Stutes
Address: 305 Center Avenue Ste. 1 Kodiak 99615
Phone: 907-486 – 8872
Email: representative.louise.stutes@akleg.com

Gary Stevens
305 Center Ave. Suite 1
Kodiak AK, 99615
Phone: 907-486-4925
Email: senator.gary.stevens@akleg.gov