ALASKA: State Sen. Bert Stedman speaks at a press conference in 2014. He told Sitka’s Chamber of Commerce, “We don’t want to go to a vote of the people to make payroll. The state’s budget for next year is settled, but Alaska’ budget crisis is far from over.
It was the usual legislative post mortem for Bert Stedman, except for the first time in his 12 years in the senate; the state has not had the cash resources to drive spending through tough times.
Next in line is the constitutional budget reserve, which takes a vote of three-quarters of the legislature. There’s $16-billion in the CBR but it won’t last long if Alaska continues to run up deficits of $4-billion or so..
