ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – The Alaska House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a $6.2 billion draft state operating budget, putting Alaska on track for a significant deficit in the fiscal year that begins July 1, according to James Brooks with the Alaska Beacon.
If Wednesday’s draft is added to a capital budget draft passed Tuesday by the Senate and a planned supplemental budget needed to fix a deficit in the current fiscal year, total general-purpose spending is near $6.6 billion.
Meanwhile, the Alaska Department of Revenue expects $6.1 billion in general-purpose revenue during the upcoming fiscal year. The House is proposing to spend from the Constitutional Budget Reserve, the state’s main savings account, to balance the budget…