Legislators agree on $15 million UA cut
June 1, 2016
UA associate vice president for state relations
Today (May 31) is the ninth day of the special session. The legislature has been in session continuously since January 19 , but it now appears that it will conclude its work in a few days.
Last night, after more than a month of negotiations, the House and Senate majorities struck a deal with the House Minority on the operating budget. The conference committee that was reconciling the differences between the House and Senate budgets implemented the budgetary terms of the deal, and the full House and Senate adopted the conference committee’s version of the operating budget earlier today. The news for UA is positive.
As you know, the dramatic reduction in state revenues made budget cuts inevitable. The governor proposed an FY17 budget for UA that contained a $15 million cut from the current fiscal year. The Senate passed a budget that contained a $25 million cut, and the House passed a budget that
contained a $50 million cut. The conference committee had originally voted to adopt the House’s $50 million cut.
However, after much negotiating, the conference committee changed its mind and the legislature has enacted an operating budget for UA at $335 million — a $15 million cut from the current year.
If you read the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner or the Alaska Dispatch News this morning, you saw the report that the conference committee had decided on a $25 million cut for UA. That information was incorrect; the actual cut is $15 million.
The operating budget will now go to Governor Walker for his signature or veto. Hopefully the governor approves of the deal.
We will have more information after the session wraps up.
Thank you for all your work to promote and support the University of Alaska!
For more information, contact Associate Vice President Chris Christensen at cschristenseniii@alaska.edu or visit www.alaska.edu/state.