The Fish and Game Budget Subcommittee of the Alaska Senate Finance Committee adopted its final closeout report for the Department of Fish and Game's FY2026 operating budget and sent the package to the full finance committee for review.

The action came after Tim Grusendorf, staff to Sen. Hoffman and the finance committee, walked members through the subcommittee's BA (budget action) closeout sheet, summarizing program transfers, denied increments and structure changes. "We have reduced the general fund from the governor by $1,700,000, which is a 2.4% reduction," Grusendorf said, and he described other adjustments including a $7.9 million reduction in other funds and a $240,000 increase in federal funds relative to the governor's request.

The nut of the subcommittee's work was trimming proposed increments while preserving certain structural changes. Grusendorf told the subcommittee that most denied increments remain "conferenceable," meaning the conference committee could revisit them if needed to reach a balanced budget. Specific actions the subcommittee took included denying a $103,032,000 general fund item tied to one position (as described in the closeout sheet), denying several other general-fund increments (items referenced on the BA sheet as denied totals of $450,000 and $716,500), and adopting a one-time $175,000 fish and game and other funds increment.

Members also approved a set of structure changes intended to separate deferred-maintenance funding between state-owned and non-state-owned properties and to establish a new allocation for state facility maintenance and operations. Grusendorf said the restructuring is intended to improve transparency for deferred maintenance and that some technical corrections would be made by analysts before the full committee review.

The subcommittee agreed to move a hunting-education program that the governor originally proposed in the Department of Education's budget into Fish and Game's Wildlife Conservation, Hunting Education and Public Shooting Ranges allocation, substituting other and federal funding in place of general funds. "We thought it would better fit here," Grusendorf said.

On several personnel and authority items the subcommittee deferred action. Grusendorf said one decrement was denied for now because an employee matter is being handled by the Department of Administration and the subcommittee did not want to preempt that administrative process; he said the position could be addressed in conference committee later. The subcommittee also removed increased authority for certain federal grant-related items and adopted designated receipts for subsistence research and monitoring.

Sen. Giesel moved to adopt the subcommittee's final budget action report and accompanying wordage and to give legislative finance authority to make technical or conforming changes. There was no objection; the chair declared the report adopted and referred it to the full finance committee.

The report will proceed to the full Senate Finance Committee and could be revised further in conference committee; legislative finance staff were authorized to make technical changes before that next step.