Gov. Dunleavy’s Proposed FY 20 Budget Fails to Meet That Standard

Juneau – Wednesday, Alaska Governor Dunleavy unveiled his Fiscal Year 2020 budget proposal, which includes $1.6 billion in cuts. The Governor ran for office on a message of restoring trust in government, and yet the process used by the Dunleavy administration to develop the budget lacked transparency at every level. 

“Over the coming hours and days, we will dig into the details of this budget to understand its impacts on Alaskans. We are eager to hear what is important to Alaskans and what values they think the budget should reflect,” said Rep. Ivy Spohnholz (D-Anchorage). “In the last four years, Alaska has lost more than 13,000 jobs. Economists estimate that the $1.6 billion in budget cuts proposed by the Governor today would cost Alaska 15 thousand to 20 thousand private and public sector jobs including from schools to local small businesses. That’s a cost we simply cannot afford.”

Some key impacts of the Governor’s budget proposal include:

• Slashing 25 percent from K-12 and pre-k will force districts to close schools, fire teachers, increase class sizes, and eliminate Career Technical Education (CTE) programs which have been proven to improve graduation rates and local economies.
• A 33 percent reduction to health care will affect Alaska’s seniors hardest, slow the return of sick and injured workers to the workforce and their families, and cripple one of the brightest sectors in the Alaska economy over the past four years.
• Cutting the University of Alaska’s budget by nearly 50 percent will hurt a key economic driver, send our young people outside, and devastate the state’s ability to train Alaskans for good jobs.

“We are eager to work across the aisle, across bodies, and with Alaskans of all walks of life to make certain that this budget achieves robust public safety, a strong economy, and a bright future for our state,” said Rep. Neal Foster (D-Nome). “The State of Alaska is in a difficult fiscal position, which obviously demands budget discipline. In the coming day’s I believe the people of Alaska will make their concerns loud and clear. I support the development of a budget that reflects Alaskans values, maintains our savings, and supports a growing economy and thriving communities.

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