Legislature(2001 - 2002)
04/18/2002 08:02 AM House STA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SJR 38 - CONST AM: PRIORITY OF EXPENDITURES Number 0043 CHAIR COGHILL announced that the last order of business would be SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 38, Proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State of Alaska relating to information regarding proposed expenditures. WENDY HALL, Staff to Senator Pete Kelly, Alaska State Legislature, presented SJR 38 on behalf of Senator Kelly, sponsor. TAPE 02-43, SIDE A Number 0016 MS. HALL explained that SJR 38 will amend the constitution to have the governor submit his budget in a prioritized fashion. She said that the administration and the departments would be able to prioritize their services and workings of the department better than anybody else in this building because they're the ones that work in these positions day to day. This would be the most responsible way for the legislature to be able to make cuts within the budget, she stated. Number 0163 JACK KREINHEDER, Chief Analyst, Office of the Director, Office of Management & Budget, Office of the Governor, came forward to testify. He told the committee that the administration does not support the proposed amendment. He said that the issue again is whether this rises to the level of a constitutional amendment. He indicated that the administration believes that this amendment is trying to do what was already included in HB 349. It passed the House and is in the Senate Rules Committee, and is poised to pass the legislature. It would call for what this amendment does in directing the administration to set out priorities. Assuming that bill passes, this amendment is not necessary, he commented. MR. KREINHEDER stated that it comes back to the issue of cluttering up the constitution with language that may not be necessary. The administration's philosophy is it gives the legislature a budget that's its best effort at what services the people of Alaska need, and the legislature has full flexibility to reduce or increase state services. This priority budgeting is not really constructive in trying to reduce or manage the budget. The administration is concerned that things like administrative support would naturally fall to the bottom, but if somebody isn't writing paychecks or paying the bills, then the whole operation is undermined. Number 0437 REPRESENTATIVE JAMES said she isn't convinced that SJR 38 rises to a constitutional amendment. However, she supported the other piece of legislation [HB 349]. When she came to the legislature ten years ago, with her background in office management, business management, accounting, and consultation to small business, she believed that she had skills that would help make the government more efficient and the cost of government more effective. After three weeks, she found out that as a legislator, she could never do that because it is an administrative function. Number 0560 REPRESENTATIVE JAMES said there is definitely a disconnect between the administration and the legislature on what the priorities are. She said that prioritizing would help the legislature be more effective in its decision-making process. Number 0686 MR. KREINHEDER responded that he empathized with Representative James about the difficulty of coming here for four months and trying to get a handle on a $7 billion budget. The administration recognizes the difficulty and tries to provide as much budget information as possible. The difficulty of prioritizing is trying to decide, for example, what's more important for the Department of Revenue: paying permanent fund dividends or collecting oil taxes? Both are very important. He said the administration feels that prioritizing a budget is not an effective approach and would take a lot of time that could be better spent on effectively managing government and coming up with a better budget. Number 0850 SENATOR PETE KELLY, Alaska State Legislature, sponsor, came forward to answer questions. Number 0860 REPRESENTATIVE JAMES restated her observation early on, as a legislator believing she could effect some efficiencies in government, that that was not within her purview. She would have to be governor to do that. She commented about the distress over the years of trying to reduce spending and then having things not turn out in the way anticipated. She wanted to know what is wrong with the governor's doing a prioritized budget, because there have to be some things that are more important than others. SENATOR KELLY said that he had the honor of constructing the capital budget in the Senate for the last two years. It was essentially a prioritized budget, and he commented that the process was so much easier. He pointed out that the capital budget is generally one-time funds. Sometimes not funding something from a one-time fund is less traumatic than the recurring funds, so it is easier for the administration to come forward with a prioritized budget, he commented. The budget wasn't officially prioritized, but it just worked out that way and led to better discussions. At the end of last year, both sides were satisfied with the results of the capital budget. Number 1007 SENATOR KELLY reported that this year in the operating budget, the Alaska Department of Fish & Game came to Senator Kelly's committee with some recommendations. The department didn't want these recommendations, but in order to manage this budget, it wanted to be able to manage it on a prioritized basis. The department chose the projects to take out either because they were programs that the federal government could pick up, or not doing them wouldn't have dramatic effects on some of the other programs. SENATOR KELLY agreed with Representative James's frustration. The legislature gets presented with a budget and has no insights into the budget, and there is no way to get those insights that the administration has. He suggested that the problem has been that in the last few years, there has been a real recalcitrance on the part of the administration to engage in those kinds of conversations. He said if the budget were laid out in a priority fashion, it would give the legislature the environment to get into the needed discussions so that the people's branch of the government could impact the budget in the way it wants. He said he thinks this needs to be a constitutional amendment just like the requirement of the budget itself is in the constitution. Number 1375 REPRESENTATIVE JAMES agreed with the idea of a prioritized budget, but said she isn't sure it needs to be a constitutional amendment. CHAIR COGHILL announced that SJR 38 will be held over.
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