Gov. Bill Walker prepared for his first legislative session since being elected by laying out his vision for tackling Alaska’s fiscal problems.
He is asking state agencies to reduce their budgets by 5 to 8 percent.
“Basically the message is, let’s not panic, let’s not over react, let’s manage our way out of this,” said Walker. “We have savings; we have resources to deal with thanks to the Legislature and prior Legislature.”
Walker says it’s highly likely the state Legislature will have to tap into the state’s reserve fund, and cuts alone will not get Alaska out of a $3.5 billion dollar spending deficit. It would take a three-quarters vote in the House and Senate to draw from the Constitutional Reserve Fund.
“We’re going to be fine. It’s more of just story of reassuring Alaska that we’re going to be fine. Other times we’ve done this, we didn’t have those reserves we have now,” Walker added.
The 29th Legislative Session begins Tuesday when the House and Senate swear in new members.
