00                            HOUSE BILL NO. 493                                                                          
01 "An Act relating to adoption and revision of a long-term fiscal plan for the State of                                   
02 Alaska."                                                                                                                
03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
04    * Section 1.  The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section                         
05 to read:                                                                                                                
06       FINDINGS.  The Alaska State Legislature finds that                                                                
07            (1)  the State of Alaska has a significant disparity between available revenues                              
08 and the level of expenditures necessary to maintain a reasonable level of state services;                               
09            (2)  for several years the legislature has addressed the disparity between state                             
10 revenues and expenditures by drawing against the balance of the budget reserve fund (art. IX,                           
11 sec. 17, Constitution of the State of Alaska);                                                                          
12            (3)  the amount available in the budget reserve fund is rapidly declining to a                               
13 level that requires the development of a sound fiscal plan to address future state revenues and                         
14 expenditures;                                                                                                           

01            (4)  a long-term fiscal plan would provide the discipline necessary to assure                                
02 that the state budget remains balanced and properly planned in the future;                                              
03            (5)  there is no simple solution to the state's current fiscal dilemma and that a                            
04 combination of fiscal measures will be required to achieve a fiscal plan that is fair and                               
05 balanced for all Alaskans.                                                                                              
06    * Sec. 2.  AS 37.07 is amended by adding a new section to read:                                                    
07            Sec. 37.07.012.  Long-term fiscal plan.  (a)  The legislature shall adopt and                              
08       annually revise a comprehensive long-term fiscal plan for balancing state revenues and                            
09       expenditures for the succeeding five fiscal years.                                                                
10            (b)  The fiscal plan must include all of the following:                                                      
11                 (1)  the means to foster a stable state economy that encourages real                                    
12       economic growth, maintains a high quality of life, develops the natural resources of                              
13       the state, provides education for the children of the state, and maintains public health                          
14       and safety;                                                                                                       
15                 (2)  procedures to assure that state government provides essential                                      
16       services as efficiently as practicable and reduces state expenditures where possible;                             
17                 (3)  policies that protect the principal of the Alaska Permanent Fund                                   
18       while using the earnings of the fund to provide inflation-proofing for the principal of                           
19       the fund, to maintain a strong dividend program, and to retain flexibility of the                                 
20       legislature to determine the appropriate use of the remaining earnings of the fund;                               
21                 (4)  the means to raise revenues for the operation of state government                                  
22       while maintaining a stable tax environment in the state;                                                          
23                 (5)  provisions to maintain the integrity of the budget reserve fund                                    
24       established under art. IX, sec. 17, Constitution of the State of Alaska, so that the                              
25       budget reserve fund is available to provide funding in the event of emergencies while                             
26       maintaining a prudent minimum balance in the fund.