Among the bills making it through the end-of-session sieve were a minor increase in the state minimum wage, a bill making permanent what had been a temporary higher ceiling for power cost equalization payments supporting residential power bills in small, outlying communities, legislation that allows the state to backstop the state's Alaska Student Loan Corp. in selling revenue bonds to fund education loans for Alaskans, and the state operating and capital budgets for the upcoming fiscal year 2010.

Among bills that did not make the cut on April 19 was legislation extending the suspension of the state motor fuel tax, which means the 8 cents per gallon state tax will kick in at the gas pump in late summer.

Legislators authorized an $8.54 billion state operating budget for fiscal 2010, about $1.3 billion, or 14 percent, less than the budget requested by Gov. Sarah Palin. This doesn't mean agency budgets were cut by that amount, however.

Some $1 billion of the apparent reduction occurs because the Legislature did not forward fund that amount to the state education fund for funding for school districts next year.

Another $200 million of the reduction occurs because legislators did not fund $200 million for oil and gas exploration incentive tax credits that the governor had requested.

Of the $8.54 billion total, about $6.77 billion were state funds, both general funds and money from other designated state revenue sources, and $1.77 billion were federal funds.

Much of the federal money was in support of health and social services programs, such as Medicaid.

In addition, legislators approved a nearly $2.19 billion state capital budget, with $1.64 billion paid for by federal funds and the balance by state funds, paid from state general fund revenues and other state funds.

The capital budget included funds from the federal stimulus program.

Because of reduced revenues, legislators made sharp reductions in both the operating and capital budgets compared to recent years. The fiscal year 2010 operating budget of $8.55 billion, including all funds, is 14 percent lower than the $9.9 billion budget Palin requested.

It is also substantially lower than the $9.9 billion in the current 2009 operating budget, as well as the $12.6 billion 2008 and $9.1 billion 2007 operating budgets, according to figures provided by the Legislative Finance Division.

Because of lower crude oil prices, state revenues for fiscal 2010, paid mostly from oil royalties and taxes, have dropped from $5.3 billion estimated in December to $3.2 billion in a revised forecast released in early April.

The air of spending restraint that prevailed this year included the lack of any discretionary spending in the capital budget for the first time in years. Typically House and Senate members were allocated pots of money - large or small, depending on revenue circumstances - for projects in their districts, such as library additions, school improvements or small grants to nonprofits.

There was no such spending this year, however.

"This is the only time since I was first elected to office in 1995 that I've seen zero discretionary funding," said Rep. Alan Austerman, R-Kodiak, in a news release. "Unfortunately, these funds are often the ones that provide a small boost to community projects and needs."

Palin credited the Legislature for restraint in spending but expressed concern about cuts to needed infrastructure projects, some of which would have brought in additional federal funds.

"Responsible spending reductions and prudent use of reserve funds will help Alaska through the current economic conditions. We must, however, continue to invest in infrastructure that will help develop our resources and our communities," Palin said in a statement released when legislators adjourned.

Palin faulted lawmakers particularly in not funding deferred maintenance on state and university-owned facilities, and also said the state's aging infrastructure in increasingly inadequate to handle ordinary population growth.

The University of Alaska came up short in its requests to grow certain programs this year. A plan to oversee an expanded high school outreach program to encourage students to prepare for higher education was not funded, nor was a request for an expanded workforce-training program.

A request for a capital appropriation to begin work on a new biological sciences building at the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus was also denied. New laboratories and classrooms are badly needed, the university says, not only for students but to attract federal research grants.

Existing laboratories at UAF date from the 1960s and 1970s.

Even with restrained spending, the state will still have to draw down funds from its two savings accounts. Estimates are that about $2.5 billion will be needed to balance the budgets this year and next year, but the final amounts won't be known for some time.

The constitutional budget reserve fund now has about $6.5 billion and the statutory budget reserve about $1 billion, according to the state Department of Revenue.