$1 billion education bill first of ‘big money’ bills in Legislature

A $1 billion education funding bill passed by the state House was cleared by the Senate Finance Committee Feb. 28 and was on the Senate floor Feb. 29.

Passage of the legislation is part of an agreement being worked out by legislative leaders that also involves other major funding bills, including a bill now in a House-Senate conference committee that extends state help to municipalities struggling with employee pension liability costs and another bill in the House that resurrects local government revenue sharing.

The education bill was developed last summer by a legislative task force headed by Rep. Mike Hawker, R-Anchorage.

With the education funding bill passed, the conference committee on the municipal pension bill is expected to quickly finish its work, most likely next week. That will clear the way for the revenue sharing bill to pass out of the House Finance Committee, according to Sen. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel, one of the architects of the agreements. Hoffman is co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee.

Local government revenue sharing will be of particular benefit to small municipalities and rural villages that have limited local tax revenues, Hoffman said in a briefing. The municipal pension bill will be a big help to all local governments, particularly large ones.

The state is helping municipalities with their pension obligations because a projected shortfall in funds available to pay future pensions resulted from actions by the state retirement investment board.

Under state law, pensions for state, municipal and school district employees are managed by a state investment board.

On other major legislation, the House is expected to act on its version of the fiscal year 2009 operating budget early in the week of March 3. The senate traditionally takes the lead on the capital budget.

State Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee, said capital budget proposals are being assembled in the senate by his staff. Rep. Kevin Meyer, co-chair of the House Finance Committee, is coordinating proposed capital budget appropriations among House members.