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HB51 • 2026

APPROPRIATION LIMIT; GOV BUDGET

An Act relating to an appropriation limit; relating to the budget responsibilities of the governor; and providing for an effective date.

Budget
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
REPRESENTATIVES STAPP, Costello
Last action
2025-04-25
Official status
(H) FIN
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official summary and digest do not provide specific details on how the appropriation limit is calculated beyond excluding certain types of appropriations. The full text provides more detail but still omits specifics about population change and inflation calculations.

Budget Limit and Governor's Responsibilities

This act sets an appropriation limit based on the real gross domestic product (GDP) of the previous five years and outlines new reporting requirements for the governor.

What This Bill Does

  • Sets an appropriation limit based on the average value of the state’s real GDP over the past five calendar years, excluding certain types of appropriations such as those related to disasters or specific funds like the Permanent Fund.
  • Requires the governor to submit a report calculating how the budget fits within the new appropriation limit.

Who It Names or Affects

  • The state government, particularly the governor's office and the legislature.

Terms To Know

appropriation
Money set aside by the government for specific uses.
real gross domestic product (GDP)
The total value of goods and services produced in a country, adjusted for inflation.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This act is contingent on an amendment to the Alaska Constitution being passed.
  • Details about how population changes and inflation are calculated have been removed from the bill text.

Bill History

  1. 2025-04-25 876

    (H) REFERRED TO FINANCE

  2. 2025-04-25 876

    (H) FN1: ZERO(GOV)

  3. 2025-04-25 876

    (H) AM: MINA

  4. 2025-04-25 876

    (H) NR: KOPP, EISCHEID

  5. 2025-04-25 876

    (H) DNP: GRAY

  6. 2025-04-25 876

    (H) DP: VANCE, UNDERWOOD, COSTELLO

  7. 2025-04-25 876

    (H) JUD RPT 3DP 1DNP 2NR 1AM

  8. 2025-04-23 Min

    (H) Minutes (HJUD)

  9. 2025-04-23 Text

    (H) Moved HB 51 Out of Committee

  10. 2025-04-23 Text

    (H) JUDICIARY at 01:00 PM GRUENBERG 120

  11. 2025-04-11 706

    (H) COSPONSOR(S): COSTELLO

  12. 2025-04-07 Min

    (H) Minutes (HJUD)

  13. 2025-04-07 Text

    (H) Heard & Held

  14. 2025-04-07 Text

    (H) JUDICIARY at 01:00 PM GRUENBERG 120

  15. 2025-04-04 Text

    (H) -- MEETING CANCELED --

  16. 2025-04-04 Text

    (H) JUDICIARY at 01:00 PM GRUENBERG 120

  17. 2025-03-24 Min

    (H) Minutes (HJUD)

  18. 2025-03-24 Text

    (H) Heard & Held

  19. 2025-03-24 Text

    (H) JUDICIARY at 01:00 PM GRUENBERG 120

  20. 2025-01-22 44

    (H) JUD, FIN

  21. 2025-01-22 44

    (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS

Official Summary Text

APPROPRIATION LIMIT; GOV BUDGET
An Act relating to an appropriation limit; relating to the budget responsibilities of the governor; and providing for an effective date.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
HB0051a -1- HB 51
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

34-LS0377\A

HOUSE BILL NO. 51

IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA

THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION

BY REPRESENTATIVES STAPP, Costello

Introduced: 1/22/25
Referred: Judiciary, Finance

A BILL

FOR AN ACT ENTITLED

"An Act relating to an appropriation limit; relating to the bud get responsibilities of the 1
governor; and providing for an effective date." 2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 3
* Section 1. AS 37.05.540(b) is amended to read: 4
(b) Except for appropriations to the permanent fund or for Ala ska permanent 5
fund dividends, appropriations t o the budget reserve fund, appr opriations of revenue 6
bond and general obligation bond proceeds, appropriati ons required to pay the 7
principal of and interest on revenue bonds and general obligation bonds, 8
appropriations to a state account or fund that requires a subse quent 9
appropriation from that account or fund as prescribed by law, a ppropriations to 10
meet a state of disaster decla red by the governor as prescribed b y l a w , [AND] 11
appropriations of money received from a nonstate source in trus t for a specific 12
purpose, including revenue of a public enterprise or public corporation of the state that 13
issues revenue bonds, appropriati ons from the mental health tru st settlement income 14
34-LS0377\A
HB 51 -2- HB0051a
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

account (AS 37.14.036), and appropriati ons made to the mental h ealth trust fund 1
(AS 37.14.031), appropriations from the treasury made for [IN] a fiscal year may not 2
exceed an amount equal to 12 percent of the average of the value of th e real gross 3
domestic product of the state as estimated by the federal burea u responsible for 4
economic analysis according to federal law, expressed in curren t dollars, for the 5
five calendar years immediately preceding the previous fiscal y ear. The value of 6
the real gross domestic product in this section may not include expenditures for 7
government spending [APPROPRIATIONS MADE IN THE PRECEDING FISCAL 8
YEAR BY MORE THAN FIVE PERCENT PLUS THE CHANGE IN 9
POPULATION AND INFLATION SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE 10
PRECEDING FISCAL YEAR]. For purposes of applying this limit , an appropriation 11
is considered to be made in the fiscal year in which it is enac ted and a reappropriation 12
remains attributed to the fiscal year in which the original app ropriation is enacted. 13
[THE DETERMINATION OF THE CHANGE IN POPULATION FOR PURPOSES 14
OF THIS SUBSECTION SHALL BE BASED ON AN ANNUAL ESTIMATE OF 15
POPULATION BY THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND WORKFORCE 16
DEVELOPMENT. THE DETERMINATION OF THE CHANGE IN INFLATION 17
FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SUBSECTION SHALL BE BASED ON THE 18
CONSUMER PRICE INDEX FOR ALL URBAN CONSUMERS FOR 19
ANCHORAGE PREPARED BY THE UNITED STATES BUREAU OF LABOR 20
STATISTICS.] The amount of money received by the state that is subject to the 21
appropriation limit includes the balance in the general fund ca rried forward from the 22
preceding fiscal year. 23
* Sec. 2. AS 37.07.020 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 24
(h) In addition to the budget and bills submitted under (a) of this section and 25
the capital improvements program and fiscal plan submitted unde r (b) of this section, 26
the governor shall submit a report with a calculation of approp riations provided in the 27
budget prepared under (a) of this section as applied to the app ropriation limit under 28
AS 37.05.540. The governor shall update the report upon submiss ion of the governor's 29
supplemental appropriation bills and the governor's budget amen dments in accordance 30
with the time limits prescribed in AS 37.07.070. 31
34-LS0377\A
HB0051a -3- HB 51
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

* Sec. 3. AS 37.05.540(e) is repealed. 1
* Sec. 4. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 2
read: 3
CONDITIONAL EFFECT. This Act is contingent on enactment into la w of an 4
amendment to art. IX, sec. 16, Constitution of the State of Ala ska, changing the appropriation 5
limit to provide that 6
(1) appropriations from the treasury made for a fiscal year ma y not exceed an 7
amount equal to a percentage of the average of the value of the real gross domestic product of 8
the state as estimated by the federal bureau responsible for ec onomic analysis according to 9
federal law, expressed in current dollars, for the five calenda r years immediately preceding 10
the previous fiscal year; and 11
(2) general obligation bond proceeds, appropriations required t o p a y t h e 12
principal of and interest on re venue bonds, appropriations to a state account or fund that 13
requires a subsequent appropriation from that account or fund a s prescribed by law, and 14
appropriations to meet a state o f disaster declared by the gove rnor as prescribed by law must 15
be excluded when calculating the appropriation limit. 16
* Sec. 5. This Act takes effect July 1, 2025. 17