Conference committee approves HB 289 conference substitute, reduces CBR headroom to $20 million

The conference committee reconciling House Bill 289, the FY26 supplemental appropriations bill, approved the conference committee substitute with individual recommendations at a March 23 meeting in the Senate Finance Room.

Representative Ben Josephson, chair, presided over the meeting and moved a conceptual amendment to change the CBR "headroom" figure in amendment H.A.4 from $30,000,000 to $20,000,000. Josephson said the lower figure "seems, based on the record presented by Mr. Painter, to be closer to the anticipated need" and the committee adopted the conceptual amendment without objection before considering the amended amendment on the floor.

Alexi Painter, director of the Legislative Finance Division, told the committee the governor had submitted supplemental requests not adopted by either chamber that total $12,584,400 in general-fund requests and identified a potential SNAP penalty dating to FY24 of about $4,600,000 that "could be coming in a future supplemental." Painter said when those items and other typical late additions are considered the known, foreseeable items approached roughly $16,200,000 and that the revised headroom figure better matched likely needs.

The amended amendment (H.A.4 as amended) was put to a roll call and adopted. The clerk recorded votes on the amended amendment as follows: Senator Croft — Yes; Representative Staff — No; Senator Stedman — Yes; Representative Schrage — Yes; Senator Hoffman — Yes; Representative Josephson — Yes. The committee then adopted remaining fund-transfer and capital-budget items and moved to allow legislative finance and legislative legal services to make technical and conforming adjustments; that motion carried after Representative Stapp removed a narrower objection to the technical-conforming part.

Senator Hoffman moved the conference committee report — the substitute for House Bill 289 with individual recommendations — for the committee to report out to both floors. Representative Stapp again objected to language that could allow a Constitutional Budget Reserve draw, arguing he did not believe a CBR draw was necessary to fund the bill. Hoffman responded that the adopted language limits CBR use to situations "if necessary," and that stronger revenue forecasts (including higher oil-price projections) and tightened language made the approach prudent. The committee approved the report: House side recorded two yeas and one nay; Senate side recorded three yeas and no nays. The report will return to the House and Senate floors for final consideration.

The conference committee also closed conferenceable items across the major departments covered by the supplemental — Administration; Commerce, Community and Economic Development; Corrections; Education and Early Development; Fish and Game; Health; Natural Resources; Revenue; Transportation and Public Facilities; the University of Alaska; Judiciary; debt service; special appropriations; fund capitalization; fund transfers; and capital-budget items — with most motions adopted without recorded objections.

Chair Josephson thanked committee members and staff, including Alexi Painter of the Legislative Finance Division, Marie Marks of Legislative Legal Services, and Lacey Sanders and staff at the Office of Management and Budget, before adjourning the committee at 3:56 p.m.

Votes at a glance

- Adoption of amendment H.A.4 (as amended, reducing headroom from $30M to $20M): adopted by roll call (see text for recorded votes).
- Approval of conference committee report for House Bill 289: approved (House: 2 yeas, 1 nay; Senate: 3 yeas, 0 nays).

What happens next

The conference committee report will be sent back to the House and Senate floors for further action according to each chamber's calendar.