Legislature(1995 - 1996)
1996-02-02 Senate Journal
Full Journal pdf1996-02-02 Senate Journal Page 2283 SB 260 SENATE BILL NO. 260 BY THE SENATE RULES COMMITTEE BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR, entitled: An Act making supplemental appropriations for the expenses of state government and making and amending appropriations; ratifying certain state expenditures; and providing for an effective date. was read the first time and referred to the Finance Committee. Governor's transmittal letter dated February 1: Dear President Pearce: 1996-02-02 Senate Journal Page 2284 SB 260 In the first two weeks of my administration, I made a public commitment not to play the supplemental game. The FY96 supplemental request I am submitting to you now makes good on that promise. It falls within the $20 million level anticipated in the FY96 budget plan approved by the legislature last May and signed by me. I have insisted that agencies manage their resources in a manner consistent with overall appropriations. This is the lowest supplemental request in nearly ten years, a far cry from the $37 million to $168 million requests of recent years. You will find requests which are customary and entirely appropriate for the supplemental process such as legal judgments and claims, ratifications of past year expenditures, extensions of lapse dates and miscellaneous claims and stale-dated warrants. Three categories -- wild land fire fighting activities, flood disasters, and facility leases -- were identified in the last appropriation cycle as expenditures which the Legislature explicitly preferred to fund through supplementals. In a few cases, we propose adjusting appropriations within a department to meet needs that were unanticipated when the budget was passed last May. In keeping with responsible budget discipline, I asked agencies to find ways to cover these needs within their existing appropriations if at all possible. As a result of this effort, you will find several net-zero proposals that realign projected savings within an agency to cover anticipated shortfalls for FY96. We have encountered several problems as a result of the Legislatures decision to fund fire and disaster activities in supplementals. It was sometimes difficult during the interim to reach legislative leaders to get their approval for disaster relief. We are anticipating that the extremely low temperatures and snowfall in Alaska this year may mean worse than usual fire and disaster seasons. The Department of Natural Resources must begin negotiations with contractors very soon on contracts for the upcoming fire season and emergency fire fighter wages. We do not have funding authorization for these contracts; it will be needed by March so final agreements can be signed. Despite working diligently to close out past disaster accounts, as it stands now, the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs will not have sufficient general fund authorization for this springs floods. 1996-02-02 Senate Journal Page 2285 SB 260 To rectify these problems, I am recommending that the supplemental budget include approximately $2 million to restore an appropriate funding mechanism for the types of disasters and fires that occur every year. Since we have kept other supplementals to a minimum, we can fix this problem within the $20 million projected for total supplementals. My Office of Management and Budget would like to work with the finance committees to address the Legislatures concerns about cost control, timely close-out of past disaster accounts and the ability to respond quickly to disasters and fires. This supplemental proposes investing in three important components of welfare reform using anticipated lapses due to reduced caseloads in Medicaid and Aid to Families with Dependent Children. To meet new federal requirements, we absolutely must revamp our eligibility determination computer systems. We can get a head start on this two to three year project using AFDC funds that would otherwise lapse. Additional child care funds will enable us to help even more parents move from welfare to work this year. The family independence emergency fund would allow us to keep future AFDC appropriations lower by providing a back-stop in case the number of families on welfare does not drop as quickly as we project. To ensure budget discipline, I urge your early consideration of this supplemental bill. Additional information about these requests will be provided by the Office of Management and Budget. Sincerely, /s/ Tony Knowles Governor