HCR 1: Creating the Long Range Financial Planning Commission.
00HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 1 01 Creating the Long Range Financial Planning Commission. 02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03 WHEREAS state spending has exceeded recurring revenue to the state; and 04 WHEREAS the state must eliminate the fiscal gap; and 05 WHEREAS the state is currently forced to deal with an unpredictable and declining 06 revenue stream; and 07 WHEREAS the state must find a means of stabilizing revenue at a sustainable level 08 in order to remove doubt and uncertainty regarding expenditures; and 09 WHEREAS income, expenditures, budget reductions, the future of the permanent fund, 10 land status, economic development, taxes, transition funds, loan programs, welfare programs, 11 housing programs, other state services, and similar items are issues that must be analyzed and 12 reevaluated by the legislature; and 13 WHEREAS the citizens of the state should have an opportunity to consider these 14 topics and offer comment on a long-range financial plan for the state; and
01 WHEREAS it would be beneficial to the state and its citizens to establish a long-range 02 plan that organizes the state's approach to handling its finances; 03 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature establishes the Long Range 04 Financial Planning Commission in order to develop and recommend to the legislature a 05 10-year financial plan for the state that includes goals to be met by the end of the first three 06 and five years of the plan; and be it 07 FURTHER RESOLVED that the commission shall consist of six members of the 08 public, which may include legislators, with three each appointed by the Speaker of the House 09 of Representatives and the President of the Senate, and seven members who are high-level 10 technical experts from the legislative and executive branches, jointly appointed by the Speaker 11 of the House and the President of the Senate, with one each from the Department of Revenue, 12 the Permanent Fund Corporation, the office of management and budget in the Office of the 13 Governor, the division of finance in the Department of Administration, the Department of 14 Natural Resources, the legislative finance division, and the legislative audit division; and be 15 it 16 FURTHER RESOLVED that the commission shall select a chair and vice-chair from 17 among the members of the commission, shall meet as frequently as the commission determines 18 necessary to perform its work, may meet during the interim, and may meet and vote by 19 teleconference; and be it 20 FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of the commission shall serve without 21 compensation but are entitled to travel expenses and per diem as authorized under 22 AS 39.20.180 for boards and commissions; and be it 23 FURTHER RESOLVED that the commission may hire staff to carry out its duties; 24 and be it 25 FURTHER RESOLVED that the commission shall 26 (1) review and identify anticipated state expenditures, recurring revenue, 27 reserves, and potential revenue sources; 28 (2) review and identify fiscal assumptions concerning state finances that have 29 been made by planners and financial managers in government and the private sector; 30 (3) recommend strategies for generating sustainable sources of future state 31 revenue and legislation to implement the recommendations;
01 (4) if new taxes are recommended, investigate specific tax structures, review 02 the consequences of the structures, and prepare draft legislation to implement the 03 recommendations; 04 (5) disseminate information and solicit public input through hearings and other 05 means from the various regions of the state in the development and review of the proposed 06 financial plan; 07 (6) review state programs, especially formula driven programs, and recommend 08 reductions in state expenditures to reach a sustainable level; 09 (7) recommend structural changes to the way the state budget is prepared to 10 ensure that the governor and the legislature have information on which to base decisions; 11 (8) investigate implementing forward funding of the budget; and 12 (9) submit a written report containing the commission's recommended 10-year 13 financial plan to the legislature by February 15, 1996; and be it 14 FURTHER RESOLVED that the commission is authorized to begin work immediately 15 upon the appointment of its full membership and is terminated upon the convening of the First 16 Regular Session of the Twentieth Alaska State Legislature.