Bonkers Budget Briefing Bonkers Budget Briefing June 18, 2021 Dear Friends and Neighbors, State employees got pink slips this week. For no. good. reason. The budget passed on Wednesday. That's later then it should have been, which is on the legislature. But ultimately we reached enough compromises to pass a budget before anybody had to do anything related to a government shutdown. So what went wrong? Read on. Needs a title -- Is there a synonym for sucker-punch that also rhymes with flip-flop? The budget has plenty to dislike. It mostly flat-funds state agencies regardless of what they actually need. It has a compromise dividend amount (I'll come back to that in a minute.) But at least it doesn’t overdraw the Permanent Fund. As far as running the nuts and bolts of the state goes, it's basically the governor's budget. It has almost all the reductions he asked for. Even still, it took two tries to pass the Senate—by a single vote. The House didn’t have any votes to spare either. But it passed. If you watch the Legislature's floor sessions much, you need a real hobby. But also, you will have noticed a lot of bills need a separate vote for the effective dates. An effective date is just what it sounds like: it says when a law will take effect. If a bill doesn't have one, it takes effect 90 days after the governor signs it. When you want a date other than the default, you need a 2/3 vote, instead of a simple majority. The budget works a little differently. Because the regular session ends about two months before the next fiscal year starts, we always tack on a pair of suspenders to the effective date: a retroactivity provision. That way if the effective date doesn't get its supermajority vote, or the budget doesn't get signed until late, government doesn't have to shut down. It's a good thing we do that, because this year the effective dates passed in the Senate, but failed in the House. Attorneys General since the 1970s have analyzed the law and given retroactivity for spending bills a green light. The legislature's nonpartisan Legal Services team agreed. The Alaska Supreme Court ruled decades ago that retroactivity doesn't need 2/3 to pass. (If you want an example of how governors rely on retroactivity to spend money before they have a bill passed, just look at Governor Dunleavy's supplemental budget bill he sent us this February.) So on Wednesday the budget passed. Legislators piled into planes and flew home, knowing they'd headed off a shutdown. Until on Thursday, Gov. Dunleavy announced that everyone for 40+ years has been wrong and his February proposal was wrong and the budget is utterly un-signable because the effective dates failed. (OK, he didn't say the part about how he himself proposed retroactivity. Maybe he forgot?) His press conference implied heavily that only a fool could read the constitution any other way. Even if he's right about that, why keep it a secret until after the voting was done? If he had mentioned his novel read before the House voted, legislators could have worked accordingly. After all, knowing the consequences is a big part of any negotiation. I'm told the governor had his team evaluating the move for at least a week. I'll resist the temptation to guess at why he kept his colossal surprise a secret, but I can tell you the effect. Roughly 20,000 state employees got pink slips they don't deserve. Alaskans who serve our state called their legislators, afraid they'd lose their pending mortgages. Others ended up in tears over how they'd pay for ongoing chemotherapy or insulin next month. Legislators don't particularly suffer from pink slips, so his sucker punch didn't really stagger the pols. No, the governor punched down at the people who worked for him. It was a low blow. So what's the fix? I think a grand bargain on the most contentious parts of the budget (that's pronounced "PFD") is unlikely before July 1. But a deal that passes the effective dates for the coming year by 2/3 is within the realm of possibility. The current special session ends tonight at midnight. But legislative leaders and the governor agreed he should call the next special session on Wednesday, and he has. We should be able to get this fixed before anyone gets laid off, and services to Alaskans get interrupted. As long as there are no more surprises. Rep. Story & I presented a citation honoring the memory of Ima "Gean" Christensen. If you ate at Donna's in the last couple of decades, Gean smiled at you. There's no counting the number of days she brightened. It was a privilege to present this citation to Gean's family. Aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln? I’ve been giving weekly updates on highlights from the Conference Committee—the budget compromisers. They (obviously) finished last week. Along with the PFD and figuring out which fund sources pay for what, they also decided:  ASMI will get $10 million of federal funds, which is badly needed to help our commercial fishing industry recover from COVID UAS will keep the $2 million for vital health and safety repairs, which I added to the budget on the Senate floor. Another, $5 million for AMHS service. Not what we need, but a whole lot better than the governor’s request. It’s all in the budget, which passed. But as discussed above, we’ll need a few more votes next week. Come Visit! Finally: some good news. The Capitol is open to all again! Please come by and visit. I'm also holding town halls in the next few weeks in Juneau, Haines, Skagway, Gustavus, & Klukwan. More details to follow soon. I look forward to seeing you in person again! All my best, Did someone forward you this newsletter? Did you fall into it through the series of tubes? Want more? SUBSCRIBE Events & Happenings Around District Q Juneau Youth Shelter Needs CBJ and T&H partnered to open a shelter serving runaway and homeless youth & young adults Shéiyi Xaat Hít (Spruce Root House) needs pantry items to get them going so please check out the list and donate what you can! Juneau Good Times Roll The ice in the Treadwell Arena is gone for summer, so it’s time for some Disco Roller Skating! Happening Fridays nights through the month of June at 6 pm – bring your skates and show off those moves! Juneau Pride Pride Month is here and there are loads of opportunities to express yourself and celebrate! Dozens of happenings until June 30th check out this fun event and win some cool prizes too! Juneau Maritime Festival Juneau’s 11th Maritime Festival is happening June 19th – it’s a great way to catch up with neighbors, enjoy live music, eat delicious seafood, and much more. Free and open to all ages! Haines Lutak Town Hall Come out Thursday, June 24th at 6:30 pm to get an overview of the new Lutak Dock concept and discuss potential future phases of this major infrastructure idea. International Bike Relay The Kluane Chilkat International Bike Relay is going virtual this year – ride between one and eight of the 30-kilometer legs. Do it individually or by team – complete the challenge between June 12th-20th! Haines Salmon BBQ Its time for the annual Fisherman’s community BBQ at the fairgrounds – get a delicious salmon dinner, music, dancing, and a beer garden to celebrate Alaska’s wild Salmon fisheries! Haines 4th of July Great Scott! The Haines 4th of July theme is Back to the Future! – The parade starts at 12:30 pm and festivities will continue at the Southeast Alaska State Fairgrounds. It’ll be 1.21 gigawatts of fun! Skagway coloring the world with reading! Summer doesn’t always mean being outside. The Summer Reading Program is good both indoors and out! Log your reading and submit the results for a chance to win monthly prizes through mid-August or participate in these youth activities up until school starts! Skagway Summer Solstice Party The Skagway Elks are hosting fun under the midnight sun on June 19th: games, music, food, and a beer garden – need I say more?! Skagway Youth Entrepreneurs What captures the summer spirit better than a lemonade stand? Join thousands of Alaska youth on June 19th to learn a thing or two about business and have some fun – hosted by Skagway Development Corp. Is there an event in our district I should know about? Please call or email! Snail Mail? Alaska State Capitol Room 419 Juneau, AK 99801 Call: 800 550 4947 907 465 4947 Email Me! ‌ ‌ ‌ Contact My Staff, the people who power the work: Edric Carrillo 907 465 6419 [email protected] Cathy Schlingheyde 907 465 6827 [email protected] Senator Jesse Kiehl | Alaska State Capitol, Rm. 419, 4th Avenue & Main Street, Juneau, AK 99801 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected]