Capital Budget Passes (& Round 2 Vetoes)
The fight to fund the essentials continues.
The governor made his decisions on the capital budget yesterday. The good news is he signed the reverse sweep—restoring PCE and scholarships—and the funding to maintain roads, ferries & some state buildings.
At the same time, he vetoed money for addiction treatment grants, much of the money for homeless housing, the Marine Exchange of Alaska, maintenance for University buildings, earthquake safety, and more. Some of those are mildly shortsighted, others wildly.
Now the governor has until August 30 to decide whether to sign or veto the bill that funds the PFD and what we restored to the operating budget after the first round of vetoes. He's seen thousands and thousands of Alaskans speak out about his actions. I hope he'll take a more measured approach than he did in June.
There's a tough road ahead of us to build the kind of Alaska future generations need. I'll keep you updated when the governor makes a decision on the operating budget later this month.
