House Judiciary Committee adopts committee substitute for balanced-budget constitutional amendment

The Alaska House Judiciary Committee on March 20 adopted a committee substitute (CS) for House Joint Resolution 23, a proposed constitutional amendment that would require the governor's budget submission to reflect a balanced operating plan based on ongoing revenues.

Chair Representative Gray said she would adopt the committee substitute after staff confirmed no amendments had been filed by the deadline. Buddy Witt, staff to Representative Underwood, told the committee the CS reorganizes the language to add a new subsection clarifying the term "available funds," explicitly excludes the constitutional budget reserve from that calculation, and sets an effective date of Jan. 1, 2027, should voters approve the amendment.

"The committee substitute explicitly excludes the constitutional budget reserve from that calculation," Witt said, adding the change is intended to ensure a governor's initial budget reflects ongoing revenues rather than relying on reserve draws.

Representative Vance asked whether the CS would effectively prevent a proposed budget from exceeding statutory limits tied to the Permanent Fund and other legal constraints. Witt replied that restrictions "authorized by law" — whether current or future statutes — would carry into the section and limit the governor's draw, meaning statutory limits such as those governing Permanent Fund distributions would still constrain budget submissions.

After discussion, Chair Gray removed her objection and the committee substitute was adopted as the committee's working document. Representative Kopp moved that HJR 23 be reported out of the committee with individual recommendations and an attached fiscal note; with no objections, the resolution was reported out and Legislative Legal Services was authorized to make technical and conforming changes.

The CS sets a clear effective date of Jan. 1, 2027, to allow any newly elected executive time to conform to the requirement if voters approve the amendment. The committee did not accept, and staff reported there were no, amendments to the CS by the stated deadline.

The committee's action sends HJR 23 forward for further consideration with a record that the CS refines the constitutional text to define "available funds" and to prevent use of the constitutional budget reserve in calculating the governor's proposed balanced budget.