Bill Calls for Long-Range Financial Plan
Committee Advances Sen. Fred Dyson’s SB 25

JUNEAU - The Senate State Affairs Committee advanced a bill today requiring the Governor to study, analyze, and publish information for the State’s future financial well-being.

“Evil, irresponsibility and bacteria grow in the dark. This legislation should drag the state’s financial situation out of the dark and under the bright light of public scrutiny. The information proposed under SB 25 should provide the basis for informed, thoughtful actions by public policy makers,” said Sen. Fred Dyson, R-Eagle River.

Senate Bill 25 requires the governor to submit a long-rang financial plan for the next 15 years that includes expected revenue sources and major expenditures. It also requires additional information to be used in the planning of state government finances, including actions necessary to balance the budget and analyses of state debt and unfunded state liabilities.

“This should significantly reduce the strategy of past administrations to ‘hope’ or ‘hide.’ The ‘hope’ tactic has been to spend wildly now and hope something unforeseen will dramatically appear and rescue us from our irresponsibility. The ‘hide’ tactic has been used to hide current irresponsibility and defer tough, unpopular decisions and let the next administration deal with it,” Sen. Dyson said.

The bill originally called for a long-range financial plan for the next 25 years, but was amended to 15 years at the request of the Administration. SB 25 now goes to the Senate Finance Committee for consideration.