Post by Logan on Apr 19, 2016 3:56:25 GMT -6
In first extra legislative day, Alaska GOP House leaders propose new cut to pay raises for state workers
JUNEAU — The Alaska Legislature made little headway Monday on its deficit reduction plan after missing its Sunday adjournment deadline, while a House Republican leader introduced an entirely new bill to eliminate state workers’ annual and biennial pay increases that a Democratic colleague said could actually set negotiations backward.
Anchorage GOP Rep. Craig Johnson, whose House Rules Committee sponsored the last-minute legislation, said House Bill 379 is a “part of the package” needed to close the state’s $4 billion budget gap. According to the bill, the increases would be reinstated if the price of oil — revenues from which have traditionally funded the majority of state government — rise to $90 a barrel from their current low of $42.
“There are a lot of people standing in line to raise taxes, tap the Permanent Fund,” Johnson said in an interview Monday. “It is unconscionable to be giving raises.”
Johnson said he didn’t have an estimate for how much money the legislation would save, and he acknowledged it wouldn’t be enough to close the state’s budget deficit.
Read more: www.adn.com/article/20160418/first-extra-legislative-day-alaska-gop-house-leaders-propose-new-cut-pay-raises
JUNEAU — The Alaska Legislature made little headway Monday on its deficit reduction plan after missing its Sunday adjournment deadline, while a House Republican leader introduced an entirely new bill to eliminate state workers’ annual and biennial pay increases that a Democratic colleague said could actually set negotiations backward.
Anchorage GOP Rep. Craig Johnson, whose House Rules Committee sponsored the last-minute legislation, said House Bill 379 is a “part of the package” needed to close the state’s $4 billion budget gap. According to the bill, the increases would be reinstated if the price of oil — revenues from which have traditionally funded the majority of state government — rise to $90 a barrel from their current low of $42.
“There are a lot of people standing in line to raise taxes, tap the Permanent Fund,” Johnson said in an interview Monday. “It is unconscionable to be giving raises.”
Johnson said he didn’t have an estimate for how much money the legislation would save, and he acknowledged it wouldn’t be enough to close the state’s budget deficit.
Read more: www.adn.com/article/20160418/first-extra-legislative-day-alaska-gop-house-leaders-propose-new-cut-pay-raises