Friday, March 13, 2015, Juneau, Alaska – The Alaska House of Representatives early this morning passed a Fiscal Year 2016 statewide operating budget with a historic 10 percent reduction in unrestricted general funds (UGF). Faced with a $3.5 billion deficit, the House Finance Committee found $229 million in reductions to day-to-day agency operations, while prioritizing […]
Juneau – Representative Les Gara (D-Anchorage) intends to file legislation this week to stop a large oil company subsidy that increases the budget deficit. The bill has been filed with the House Clerk and will be officially introduced on Wednesday. “Alaskans pay roughly $14 million a year for oil companies to use the Dalton Highway,” […]
Juneau – Education is Alaska’s best investment and the members of the Alaska Independent Democratic Coalition adamantly object to a proposal to reduce public education funding by over 18 percent. The House Finance Budget Subcommittee for the Department of Education and Early Development approved the FY 2016 budget proposal Tuesday night despite the objections of […]
ANCHORAGE – Today Rep. Les Gara (D-Anch), a lead sponsor of legislation to start reversing the last three years of over 600 layoffs to teachers and educators across the state, called the “three-year” education bill that passed “two, and likely three more years of layoffs on top of the more than 600 teachers staff Parnell and […]