Alaska House lawmakers are on their third day of floor debate on the state’s operating budget.
They’ve taken up more than 70 amendments, mostly offered by Republicans in the minority caucus. They voted down all but three amendments so far.
At a press availability Thursday morning, House Minority Leader Charisse Millett said the debate is going smoothly.
“We’ve offered about 80 amendments this year,” Millett said. “We’re working through those in very good fashion with the House Democrats. Unfortunately, they’re not accepting any of our amendments. And that’s OK, the conversation is still good for Alaskans to hear and to understand our ideas on how we can reduce the size and footprint of government.”
Floor debate on the operating budget is expected to continue Thursday afternoon. Eventually, the budget bill will go to the Senate for deliberations.
The House has just recessed until the call of the chair. It is expected that the’ll return this afternoon. #akleg
— Gavel Alaska (@GavelAlaska) March 22, 2018
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Jeremy Hsieh is the deputy managing editor of the KTOO newsroom in Juneau. He’s a podcast fiend who’s worked in journalism since high school as a reporter, editor and television producer. He ran Gavel Alaska for 360 North from 2011 to 2016, and is big on experimenting with novel tools and mediums (including the occasional animated gif) to tell stories and demystify the news. Jeremy’s an East Coast transplant who moved to Juneau in 2008.
