Conference committee on HB 289 appoints Representative Vandy Josephson presiding chair, seeks limited powers to reconcile supplemental budget

The Alaska Legislature conference committee on House Bill 289 convened March 19, 2026, in the Senate Finance Room at the Alaska State Capitol to take up the fiscal year 2026 supplemental budget. Representative Vandy Josephson was appointed presiding chair without objection; Senator Hoffman was confirmed as vice chair by unanimous consent.

As chair, Representative Josephson reviewed the committee’s process, saying public testimony has concluded and "the conference committee will not be accepting public testimony unless invited by the chair." She told members that Legislative Finance has prepared motion sheets summarizing differences between the House and Senate versions and that those sheets are posted on the Legislative Finance Division website and will be updated after each meeting.

Senator Hoffman moved that all appropriations and language items that are identical in both the House and Senate versions of HB 289 be adopted; the motion was approved with no objection. The committee also considered and adopted letters requesting limited powers dated March 19, 2026, addressed to the Speaker of the House and the Senate President. The chair said that under limited powers the conference committee may adopt any amount "between 0 and the higher of the House or Senate version" for items subject to conference.

The committee recessed briefly to sign identical letters for each chamber and returned to the record at 3:53 p.m. Representative Josephson said the committee will take further action on the supplemental bill once limited powers have been received and that future meetings will be posted on akleg.gov. Senator Hoffman moved to adjourn, and the meeting was adjourned at 3:54 p.m.

The meeting record contains a transcription inconsistency in one segment that refers to "HB 286"; the committee’s stated business throughout the meeting and in official postings is House Bill 289, the FY2026 supplemental budget. No votes were recorded by roll call in the transcript; motions were adopted by unanimous consent ("no objection").