The Alaska Senate Finance Committee on March 30 adopted a committee substitute (Version I) for Senate Bill 57, a capital budget bill that the committee described as a pared-down, match-only proposal.

David Scott, staff to the Senate Finance Committee, told members Version I is a “bare bones, match only capital budget.” He said the substitute contains $173,000,000 in unrestricted general funds (UGF) intended to match and thereby leverage about $2,355,000,000 in federal and other funds for a total budget of roughly $2,793,000,000.

Scott told the committee the match funding is intended to secure federal programs and other grants, citing examples: the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) and the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) for Department of Transportation projects, village sanitation projects under the Village Safe Water program, community development block grants administered through the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development, energy projects administered by the Alaska Energy Authority, housing and weatherization projects administered by the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC), and maintenance and modernization of armories managed by the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.

Senator Tom Kiehl moved that the committee adopt the CS for Senate Bill 57 as Finance Work Order 34 GS 1460/I and presented Version I as the committee’s working document. Committee members asked whether the projects in this substitute were submitted in the governor’s originally submitted budget; staff confirmed all projects in the CS were included in the governor’s submission and that there were no legislative additions in this version.

Chair Bert Stedman and staff said a later updated committee substitute would be forthcoming in several days as committee members continued work assembling the budget. Senator Kiehl removed his objection after discussion and the committee adopted Version I as the working document with no members recorded as objecting during the meeting.

The committee adjourned after confirming the schedule for further hearings on related bills the next day.