Conference ideas to be discussed

JUNEAU -- In response to resolutions forwarded to him by the Conference of Alaskans held Feb. 10 to 12 in Fairbanks, Gov. Frank Murkowski said he will work closely with the Legislature to jointly craft legislation "that reflects the conference's recommendations, that will be acceptable to the majority of the voters, and that works."

"The Conference of Alaskans was an excellent process that produced good result," Murkowski said in a recent press release. "It engaged the attention of Alaskans over the three-day period. They have given us answers to the four questions we asked of them, yet they were not specific as to the details of how much of the income should be used to pay for state services, or how the amendment to put the dividend into the Constitution should be written. That is as it should be. That is the province of the Legislature. We understand the direction the conference has given, and will work with the Legislature to get there."

Murkowksi said leaders in the Legislature have agreed to take up the topic next month.

"We have reached a tentative agreement with House and Senate leaders that the issues will be taken up and addressed starting the week of March 15," Murkowski said. "We expect to get to a resolution that week on as many parts of the equation as possible. I would note that some of those pieces are already making their way through the process, such as the POMV and the spending limit. So, new bills will not have to be introduced on those issues."

Based on the agreement with the House and Senate, Murkowski said he would rescind the call for a special session, which was to have started Tuesday. Murkowski said the decision to rescind the call for a special session was made out of respect for legislative scheduling, particularly for action on the FY 2005 budget bills that are nearing completion in the House.