House and Senate leadership are refusing to share a budget agreement and calendar that they both agreed to follow this session. The agreement lays out a framework and timeline for the House and Senate in order to advance the operating and capital budgets.

Traditionally, the operating budget starts in the House while the capital budget starts in the Senate. They are then passed to one another where the opposite body makes changes. Those changes are usually worked out in a conference committee. A source told the Landmine the agreed upon date to switch budgets is April 11. 

The office of Representative Andy Josephson (D – Anchorage), who oversees the operating budget in the House Finance Committee, refused to share the agreement and told the Landmine that the document is secret. The office of Senator Lyman Hoffman (D – Bethel), who oversees the operating budget in the Senate Finance Committee, told the Landmine they were directed by the House to not share the agreement. 

The office of Representative Neal Foster (D – Nome), who oversees bills in the finance committee, also refused to share the agreement. The office of Representative Calvin Schrage (I – Anchorage), who oversees the capital budget in the finance committee, told the Landmine they do not even have the agreement.

The office of Senator Bert Stedman (R – Sitka) and Senator Donny Olson (D – Golovin), who oversee the capital budget and bills in the finance committee, also refused to share the agreement. 

Last year, the agreement was shared with the Landmine and made public without any issues. Here is last year’s agreement. A source told the Landmine that this year’s agreement is similar to last year’s.

House and Senate leadership have also refused to share the agreement and calendar with Republican minority members on the finance committees or either of the minority leaders. 

The likely explanation for the secrecy is the House Finance Committee has struggled in recent weeks. First, Representative Josephson included Governor Mike Dunleavy’s (R – Alaska) $2.5 billion full statutory Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) in the first operating budget committee substitute (CS) on March 12. Republicans, to screw with the House majority, then ran a social media campaign to inform people that the full PFD was still in the budget.

This spooked Representative Foster and Representative Nellie Jimmie (D – Tooksok Bay), who both support a larger dividend. Now, without Foster and Jimmie, the committee lacks the votes to adopt another operating budget CS with the PFD removed. This was supposed to happen last week but was punted by Josephson because he lacked the votes to adopt the CS. They could get help from Republicans on the committee but have so far chosen not to engage them.

Today, the committee rolled out a CS for the current year’s supplemental budget. Republicans on the committee were not given a heads up about the majority’s plans and objected to the adoption of the CS. They were unhappy with additions that were made as well as a large draw on the Constitutional Budget Reserve (CBR) required to fund the supplemental budget.

Representative Jimmie is not in Juneau and attended by phone. The majority has six of the 11 seats on the committee. At first Jimmie did not respond when her name was called. When they came back to her she finally said yes. With her vote, the CS was adopted 6-5. If she failed to vote the CS would have not been adopted as it requires six votes.

Republicans objected to her voting over the phone. But Josephson read from a January legal memo that said in-person votes are only required to pass a bill out of committee. Republicans accepted it but weren’t happy.

Before the meeting ended, Representative DeLena Johnson (R – Palmer) made a comment that the supplemental budget could offer reductions instead of additions. Representative Josephson quipped, “You should take that up with the third floor,” referring to Governor Dunleavy – who has proposed significant additions to the supplemental budget. It was a strange comment for Johnson to make as she oversaw the operating budget in the House last year, meaning the current budget is her budget. 

If this is any indication where things are headed, the operating budget is going to be a real show in the House Finance Committee. It’s noticed for several finance meetings this week, but there does not seem to be any concrete plan to advance the operating budget out of the finance committee. It’s also unclear when Jimmie will be back in town.

They could stick with their current committee substitute and leave in the full PDF, but that would piss off many Democrats in their majority. That could result with the budget not even passing the House. But if they managed to pass it, the Senate would not be happy if they were sent a budget loaded up with a full PFD and a $1.5 billion deficit (probably more with additions) with no way to pay for the deficit. 

The next few weeks in Juneau should be loose!