A looming $3.5 billion deficit — based on assumptions the Legislative Finance Division called “optimistic” in a report circulating Monday — has already set many lawmakers to work well before they gavel in today.
“We’ve had meetings all day every day it seems like,” Fairbanks Rep. Steve Thompson said. “I’ve never had a session start like this. My wife comes down for the first week of the session and helps gear up when there’s not a lot going on, but I’ve hardly got to see her.”
Thompson, the former mayor of the city of Fairbanks, has had a particularly busy time in Juneau thanks to his new job as the co-chair of the House Finance Committee.
The House Finance Committee, where Thompson will oversee the state’s capital projects budget, will be one of the bodies tasked with dealing with the deficit created by plummeting oil prices and production that’s not meeting forecasts.
Many, including Thompson, have put forward an “it’s all on the table” attitude towards budget cuts, but Thompson said that cuts alone shouldn’t be the only thing the Legislature focuses on this year.
“We know we’re not going to be able to cut $3.5 billion dollars,” he said. “We’re going to need a longer range plan. Once we get the budget under control, we’re going to have to look at alternatives for other revenues we can bring in. Nobody likes the word ‘tax’ and I don’t think we’re going to go there, but we’re going to have to look at something.”
He said he plans to begin departmental budget overviews next week.
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