The Alaska Legislature has approved a compromise state operating budget, the timing of which was aimed at preventing layoff warnings from being sent to state employees Wednesday.
House and Senate negotiators reached a compromise late Monday that addresses a number of issues that were important to minority House Democrats. Support from the minority was needed in the House to access a reserve fund to cover costs not covered by revenue.
At a news conference today in Juneau, Gov. Bill Walker and his team said the budget passed by the Legislature falls short by deferring hundreds of millions in spending. As he has all session, Walker pressed lawmakers to adopt a long-range fiscal plan.
“Do we have to go broke before we fix Alaska?” Walker asked. "Do we have to become a Puerto Rico?"