Walker hopes to win over skeptical lawmakers on tax proposal

Alaska Gov. Bill Walker listens as Department of Revenue Commissioner Randall Hoffbeck discusses a compromise budget proposal with reporters in the cabinet room of the Capitol in Juneau on June 6, 2017. (Photo by Jeremy Hsieh/KTOO)

Gov. Bill Walker says he wouldn’t go through the hassle of calling another special session this year if he didn’t expect Alaska legislators to pass the bills on his agenda.

But Walker faces an uphill battle in selling skeptical senators on his new tax bill. The proposal is meant to help address a multibillion-dollar budget deficit that has persisted amid low oil prices.

After the House passed an income tax earlier this year, the Republican-led Senate rejected it. Members argued that the tax was ill-advised for a sluggish economy.

Senate President Pete Kelly, a Fairbanks Republican, says not much has changed.

Walker also wants lawmakers to consider revisions to a criminal justice overhaul when the special session starts Monday in Juneau.

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