After hearing from 1,800 Alaskans, House ready to form budget to counter Dunleavy's

After hearing from hundreds of Alaskans around the state, House and Senate leaders shed a little light on their budget outlook and process Thursday.

Rep. Neal Foster, D-Nome, the co-chair of the House Finance Committee, said around 1,800 Alaskans weighed in on Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposed budget during recent community meetings around the state organized by the committee and during House Finance Committee public testimony. Foster said that by a 5-to-1 margin, members of the public who spoke to the committee were opposed to the state making the extensive cuts proposed by the governor.

Speaker of the House Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, said while most people were opposed to the cuts, they still heard from people on the other side of the spectrum.

“It’s not to belie the fact that there are a lot of people out there who want a full PFD and would like to say deep cuts, probably deeper cuts,” Edgmon said, “but the vast majority of people we heard did not give us that message.”

Read more: https://www.juneauempire.com/news/after-hearing-from-1800-alaskans-house-ready-to-form-budget-to-counter-dunleavys/