House Speaker hopeful for budget deal within the next week

House Speaker Mike Chenault, R-Nikiski, Rep. Les Gara, D-Anchorage, and House Minority Leader Chris Tuck, D-Anchorage, confer after the first floor session of the legislature's special session on Monday, May 23, 2016, in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by Rashah McChesney/KTOO)
House Speaker Mike Chenault, R-Nikiski, Rep. Les Gara, D-Anchorage, and House Minority Leader Chris Tuck, D-Anchorage, confer after the first floor session of the legislature’s special session on Monday, May 23, 2016, in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by Rashah McChesney/KTOO)

It was a slow Monday in Juneau, as lawmakers gaveled in for the first day of the special session.

Gov. Bill Walker called the legislature back to work after it failed to pass a budget by the end of the regular session last week. They now have thirty days to try again.

House Speaker Mike Chenault, R-Nikiski, says he thinks the legislature could pass a budget within the next week.

“I don’t think we’re that far apart on the operating budget, or we weren’t last week,” Chenault said. “That distance may have grown since we didn’t pass a budget (at) that point in time. I think we were fairly close on the budget, I don’t see why we couldn’t wrap that up in a week.”

If lawmakers don’t pass a budget before June 1, the administration will have to send out layoff notices to state workers. If there’s no budget by July 1, the state faces the prospect of a full government shutdown.

The Republican leadership would like to pass the budget — and pay for it with savings — before turning to the more contentious revenue proposals on the table. Those include restructuring the Permanent Fund, raising taxes and creating an income tax.

But House Minority Leader Chris Tuck, D-Anchorage, says his caucus can’t vote for a budget unless there’s some agreement on overhauling oil and gas taxes.

“It all depends on what we do on the oil tax credits again. That was the point of contention that we could not get a budget passed in the regular 121-day session if you will …. We just can’t see dipping into our savings to give to the oil industry,” Tuck said.

The big question is whether the legislature can pick up where they left off or whether they’ll have to start over. Technically, any bills the legislature didn’t pass died at midnight last Wednesday. But those bills can be revived by a two-thirds vote in both bodies

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