Legislature(1997 - 1998)
1997-07-10 Senate Journal
Full Journal pdf1997-07-10 Senate Journal Page 2070 SB 83 Message dated and received May 29, stating: Dear President Miller: On this date I have signed the following bill and am transmitting the engrossed and enrolled copies to the Lieutenant Governors Office for permanent filing: HOUSE CS FOR CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 83(FIN) am H An Act making and amending appropriations; amending an appropriation from the constitutional budget reserve fund under art. IX, sec. 17(c), Constitution of the State of Alaska; and providing for an effective date. Chapter No. 50, SLA 1997 with line item vetoes Effective Date: 5/30/97 1997-07-10 Senate Journal Page 2071 SB 83 The FY97 supplemental appropriations bill which I have signed today is the result of a continuing effort by the executive and legislative branches to exercise budget discipline in three ways: 1) to budget, for the most part, on a full year basis; 2) to acknowledge in the annual budget plan that some supplementals will be necessary; and 3) to manage within the parameters of that budget plan. These are not simply onetime improvements; we have done them each of the three years since I made this part of my budget discipline commitment to Alaskans. I am pleased the Legislature agreed with most of the supplemental requests from our state agencies. Several of your additions to that list were taken from our proposed capital budget. While our opinions may differ about the necessity of including them in the FY97 supplemental bill instead of the FY98 and FY99 capital budgets, these projects are worthwhile nonetheless. As governors before me have done routinely, I vetoed legislative intent provisions because they are not generally appropriate in an appropriations bill. These vetoes should not necessarily be interpreted as disagreement with the underlying intent. For instance, I agree wholeheartedly the future of the power cost equalization program needs thorough analysis and broad public discussion prior to the next legislative session. I am also interested in having representatives of my Administration serve with legislators on the steering committee which will oversee the studies of state employee salaries and benefits, and of comparative school district costs. (The Departments of Administration and Education did express concern during the session that adding only $50,000 for the school study may result in insufficient funding for these two extensive comparative reviews). Although the appropriation for emergency repairs to Perseverance Trail includes language which would appear to make it conditional upon the transfer of right-of-way ownership from the state to the City and Borough of Juneau, the Department of Law has informed me this violates the state constitutional requirement that bills for appropriations shall be confined to appropriations. (Art. II, sec. 13.) 1997-07-10 Senate Journal Page 2072 SB 83 The merits of any statutory requirement for right-of-way transfer must be considered in separate legislation. Since the appropriation and the purported condition are severable, the appropriation for the repair can still go forward. I would note nothing prohibits the state and the local government from reaching a separate agreement to this effect if both parties are willing and can agree on the terms of such a transfer. We will continue to discuss this with local officials. I have approved the capital appropriations for timber sales and a related road development project. Although they were not part of my supplemental budget request, the Interior and Southeast timber sales were in my FY98 capital budget; your bill funds them at the level I proposed for both FY98 and FY99. The Kenai sales are very controversial, partly because they have not yet undergone the full public process and because there are concerns about wildlife habitat, particularly for brown bears. If done right, timber sales can bring jobs and economic development without sacrificing other resources and values which are important to Alaskans. I will ensure there is plenty of opportunity for an open, responsive public process in the planning of the sales. I will also ensure that habitat concerns are properly addressed by securing the full involvement of the Department of Fish and Game. Although the issue of an appraisal of public school trust lands should be revisited next session, I am vetoing the supplemental appropriation of $432,500 from the trust fund to do this work immediately. Net income from the trust may only be used for the support of the state public school program under AS 37.14.140. This currently provides about $9 million of the nearly $700 million necessary to fully fund the school foundation program. The issue of whether the trust has already been fully capitalized has been brought to the attention of the administration and the legislature. An appraisal would be required to determine for sure whether this is the case. However, if Alaskans decide that the best solution to long-term, secure funding for public education of Alaskas children includes a much-expanded public school trust, the appraised value of the lands could become a moot point. If thats the case, it would have been a waste of nearly half a million dollars to determine by next spring 1997-07-10 Senate Journal Page 2073 SB 83 that the trust is already as big or bigger than originally intended. If we decide the best long-term education funding option does not involve the existing trust --or if we cannot agree on a plan soon --we can still do an appraisal. I pledge to work through this issue with the legislature and the public next session. The FY97 supplemental appropriations came within the $17 million allowance in our budget plans for the current year. This is due in large part to my Administrations commitment to budget discipline and strong management by department managers and employees, as well as to legislative restraint in adding other items to the bill. We have also been fortunate this year to have a continued strong economy and no costly natural disasters so far. Either of these factors could have led to higher than anticipated supplementals. Next year I propose a further improvement in our supplemental budget process: more timely action on the supplemental so the budget status is clear before the tenth month of the fiscal year. My suggestion would be to have legislative action on the supplemental bill completed no later than the end of March. This would enable us to implement the final months of operating budgets more sensibly and to get emergency projects out to bid in time for the summer construction season. Any supplemental needs which arise after that date (such as additional judgments and claims, natural disasters, or modifications of formula program projections) could still be addressed in the final budget bills. I would be pleased to work with you toward this goal. Sincerely, /s/ Tony Knowles Governor