News archives 2010-2021

Capitol Report for Feb. 6, 2017

February 6, 2017

Carla Browning

By Miles Baker
UA associate vice president, government relations

Feb. 6 is the 21st day of the legislative session. The regular 90-day session is scheduled to end on April 16.

As is tradition, particularly in the first year of a two-year legislative cycle, legislative standing committees spent the first several weeks familiarizing themselves with some of the major policy areas they are expected to review. Finance committees received revenue and budget presentations from the governor’s Office of Management and Budget director, the revenue commissioner and their own Division of Legislative Finance director. Education committees met jointly to receive overviews of the Department of Education, the state’s K-12 funding formula and the federal Every Student Succeeds Act. The
Senate Labor and Commerce Committee, led by Anchorage Sen. Mia Costello, held several days of hearings on Alaska’s economy.

On Jan. 20, the House Finance Committee initiated public hearings on Gov. Walker’s FY18 operating budget. Over the last two weeks, every major state agency has been called on to provide brief overviews to the committee. University President Jim Johnsen appeared on Tuesday, Jan. 31, to present the university’s budget. President Johnsen discussed the university’s education, research and service mission. He introduced the “65 by 25” educated workforce imperative, the Strategic Pathways initiative and the regents’ 10-year budget glide path, and he highlighted the highest-priority areas for continued strategic investment. This year, the committee gave very specific parameters for how they wanted agencies to present their budgets. As required by state budgeting protocols, the university reports its budget by the three program categories that align with our primary missions: student instruction, research and service. Institutional support and physical plant costs are distributed proportionally across each of these three categories.

President Johnsen outlined the programmatic allocation of the university's $917 million FY18 budget: $635 million (71 percent) towards the student instruction category, $189 million (21 percent) to the research category and $75 million (8 percent) to the service category.

Johnsen outlined the significant impacts that three years of budget reductions have had across the entire system. You can watch President Johnsen’s presentation here.

Co-chairman Paul Seaton, who is managing the House operating budget process, is taking a somewhat nontraditional approach this year. Instead of forming separate budget subcommittees, the responsibility for detailed budget reviews has been assigned to an existing House standing committee. The standing committees will then convene as finance subcommittees chaired by a member of the House Finance Committee. The University of Alaska’s budget subcommittee consists of the members of the House State Affairs Committee with the addition of finance member Rep. David Guttenberg, who chairs the group. The university budget subcommittee in the House is:


  • Rep. David Guttenberg, chair (D-Fairbanks)

  • Rep. Chris Birch (R-Anchorage)

  • Rep. DeLena Johnson (R-Palmer)

  • Rep. Gary Knopp (R-Kenai)

  • Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins (D-Sitka)

  • Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux (R-Anchorage)

  • Rep. Chris Tuck (D-Anchorage)

  • Rep. Adam Wool (D-Fairbanks)


On Jan. 31, the budget subcommittee held its first hearing. President Jim Johnsen provided an overview of the university, our strategic objectives and FY18 budget request, and he responded to a variety of committee questions. The hearing and presentation materials can be viewed here.

The subcommittee has scheduled three more hearings and is expected to complete their work and report their recommendations back to the full House Finance Committee by Feb. 24 . The hearings are:

  • Thursday, Feb. 9, 4:30 p.m.

  • Thursday, Feb. 16, 4:30 p.m.

  • Thursday, Feb. 23, 4:30 p.m.


The Senate has yet to begin their detailed review of the FY18 budget, but, on Feb. 1, the Finance Committee announced budget subcommittee assignments. The university’s budget subcommittee in the Senate will be:

  • Sen. Natasha von Imhof, chair (R-Anchorage)

  • Sen. Berta Gardner (D-Anchorage)

  • Sen. Anna MacKinnon (R-Eagle River)

  • Sen. Gary Stevens (R-Kodiak)


The university’s Institute of Social and Economic Research is playing a prominent role in the early legislative policy discussions here in Juneau. ISER is at the forefront of fiscal policy analysis in Alaska, and the institute’s work is helping policymakers better understand the state’s
financial challenges and the options available to address them. Of particular interest is the financial model ISER has developed for estimating short- and medium-run economic effects of various policy changes. The Legislature’s reliance on ISER’s faculty and research is an excellent example of the tangible benefits continued public investment in the university’s research institutions provides. ISER Director Ralph Townsend, Associate Professor of Economics Mouhcine Guettabi and Professor Emeritus Gunnar Knapp have all participated in hearings over the last several weeks:

Coming up this week:

  • Wednesday, Feb. 8, at 8 a.m., University President Jim Johnsen will provide an overview of the university to the Senate Education Committee.

  • Wednesday, Feb. 8, at 11 a.m., the House and Senate will meet in joint session to hear the State of the Judiciary address by Alaska Supreme Court Chief Justice
    Craig Stowers.

  • Wednesday, Feb. 8, at 1 p.m. and Thursday, Feb. 9, at 9 a.m., the House and Senate Joint Task Force on Civics Education will discuss its preliminary report.

  • Thursday, Feb. 9, at 4:30 p.m., the House Finance University Subcommittee will hold its second budget hearing. The topics expected to be covered are the 65 by 2025 educated workforce imperative and the university’s recruitment, retention and enrollment strategies.

  • Friday, Feb. 10., at 1:30 p.m., ISER Director Ralph Townsend is scheduled to appear before the House Finance Committee to take part in another discussion on Alaska’s economy.

  • Saturday, Feb. 11 through Tuesday, Feb. 14,  the Coalition of Student Leaders and the University of Alaska's alumni associations will visit Juneau for their fly-ins. I look forward to working with both organizations to make these advocacy trips as memorable, fun and effective as possible.


New legislation:

  • *HB71/SB31* (Gov. Walker) — The bill freezes pay increases, merit increases, pay increments, bonuses and comparable salary increases for non-union public employees for two years. Approximately 5,000 public employees, including those university employees not covered by a collective bargaining agreement, will be impacted by this freeze. However, the Board of Regents already established that no across-the-board increases would be approved for non-covered employees in FY18, so this legislation is not expected to have an immediate impact on the university’s budget. On Jan.
    31, the House State Affairs Committee held a preliminary hearing on the legislation.

  • *HB 64/SB 27*(Rep. Drummond/Sen. Dunleavy) — Creates a task force on reading proficiency and instruction, and on the effects of dyslexia on some students. UA would have one representative on the 15-member task force. On Jan. 30, the House Education Committee held a preliminary hearing on
    the legislation.

  • *SB 12* (Sen. Bishop) — Institutes an education facilities, maintenance and construction payroll tax. Tax proceeds are intended to be used for the educational facilities maintenance and construction fund (AS 37.05.560) from which money can be appropriated to maintain UA facilities. No House companion at this time.

  • *SB 17* (Sen. Costello) — Establishes the Stevens-Inouye Exchange Program, a reciprocal educational exchange between the University of Alaska and the University of Hawaii for students pursuing political science degrees. The program is intended to commemorate and honor the long friendship and productive bipartisan relationship between U.S. Sens. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, and Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii. No House companion at this time.


Thank you for your continued support of the University of Alaska.

For more information, contact Miles Baker at miles.baker@alaska.edu or visit www.alaska.edu/state/.