KLS Keeping Law Simple Legislation in plain English

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SB36 • 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
SENATOR KAUFMAN
Last action
2025-04-25
Official status
(S) JUD
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary does not provide specific details on how the new budget limit will be calculated, leaving some uncertainty about exact implementation.

Budget Limit and Governor's Responsibilities

This act sets an annual spending limit for the state government of Alaska based on economic performance and outlines additional reporting requirements for the governor.

What This Bill Does

  • Sets an annual spending limit for the state government, excluding certain types of funds like disaster relief and bond proceeds.
  • Requires the governor to submit reports detailing how proposed budgets align with this new spending limit.

Who It Names or Affects

  • The governor of Alaska, who must now submit additional reports on proposed budgets.
  • State agencies and departments affected by the new spending limits.

Terms To Know

appropriation limit
A rule that sets a maximum amount of money the state can spend in a fiscal year based on economic factors.
real gross domestic product (GDP)
The total value of goods and services produced by an economy, adjusted for inflation to reflect true growth.

Limits and Unknowns

  • Specific details about how the new budget limit will be calculated are not fully detailed in this bill.
  • The act's effectiveness is contingent on a constitutional amendment being passed.

Bill History

  1. 2025-04-25 Min

    (S) Minutes (SJUD)

  2. 2025-04-25 Text

    (S) Heard & Held

  3. 2025-04-25 Text

    (S) JUDICIARY at 01:30 PM BUTROVICH 205

  4. 2025-01-22 35

    (S) REFERRED TO JUDICIARY

  5. 2025-01-22 35

    (S) JUD, FIN

  6. 2025-01-22 35

    (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS

  7. 2025-01-22 35

    (S) PREFILE RELEASED 1/10/25

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 
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SENATE BILL NO. 36

IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA

THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION

BY SENATOR KAUFMAN

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
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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
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* 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