Alaska Legislature: Senate Dept. of Revenue FSC, 4/16/26, 6:15pm

Good afternoon. I will call to order the Senate Finance Subcommittee on the Department of Revenue's budget. It is 6:10 p.m. on Thursday, April 6th. With me this evening are Senator Dunbar, Senator Kawasaki, Senator Yunt is excused today, and I am Senator Keel chairing. I want to start out by thanking our LIO moderator Susan Quigley who has the sound on and running so folks are able to call in.

We have one order of business this evening. It is to forward a recommendation to the full Finance Committee for the department's FY27 budget. I'd like to bring up Ms. Ella Adkisson, who works in my office and has been staffing the subcommittee, to present the recommendations to the subcommittee. Please accept. All right.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. For the record, Ella Adkisson, staff to Senator Kiel. The Senate Finance Budget Subcommittee for the Department of Revenue submits the following recommendations to the Senate Finance Committee. A budget with total funds of $485,142,200.

Of that, unrestricted general funds represent $36,191,800. Designated general funds are $3,465,700— $495,000, excuse me. Other funds are $334,990,600. And federal funds represent $110,464,100.

For position count, we are recommending a total of 873 positions. 830 Of those are permanent full-time, 24 are permanent part-time, and 19 are temporary. The Senate Finance Subcommittee accepted many items in the governor's amended budget, including 3 positions in the Tax Division for economic research and analysis, $611,600 in the Permanent Fund Dividend Fund needed to run the new dividend application information system in the Permanent Fund Division, $33,700 increase also in permanent fund dividend funds for increased federal postage costs at the Permanent Fund Division. $15,300,000 In federal receipt authority for the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation's Housing Choice Voucher Program. A $1,064,700 decrease in the permanent fund gross receipts in the Permanent Fund Corporation's investment systems.

An increase of $307 in permanent fund gross receipts for the Permanent Fund Corporation's data centers. After careful consideration, the subcommittee report recommends the denial of all requested substructure changes to revert the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation to a single appropriation. The boards of trustees' history of unauthorized spending makes a more transparent budget structure necessary. In addition to denying the structure change in the Permanent Fund Corporation, the report recommends creating an Anchorage office appropriation within the Permanent Fund Corporation and budgeting $1,000 to permanent fund gross receipts to decommission the second office. Reducing the investment systems line in the Permanent Fund Corporation by $500,000 in permanent fund gross receipts to better align the budgeted amount with projected expenditures, accepting and moving the correct— to the correct appropriations, an increase in permanent fund gross receipts of $41,700 for increased cost of investment data and analytic systems, $384,100 for computing costs and firewall licensing, and a one-time increase of $195,900 for workstation replacements.

And also recommends fully funding the Permanent Fund Corporation's Juneau office lease increases at $34,000 in permanent fund gross receipts. Outside of the Permanent Fund Corporation, we are adding 5 Auditor IV positions in the tax division at $900,000 unrestricted general fund. And lastly, the report recommends adding $52,200 in unrestricted general fund to annualize a now-filled position in the Alaska Sustainable Energy Corporation. And that's all I had, Mr. Chair, but I'm happy to take questions.

Thank you. Are there questions on the proposed report? Seeing and hearing none, Senator Kawasaki. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move the attached budget action and wordage reports from the Senate Budget Subcommittee for the Department of Revenue, Legislative Finance, and Legislative Legal is authorized to make any technical or conforming changes as necessary.

Thank you very much. I will note that we have folks from the department present. I checked in as well as online. I checked in and no one had a statement to make. Is there objection to the motion?

Opposition to the motion? Seeing and hearing none, the motion carries. That completes our work for the evening. I would like personally to thank our legislative finance analyst, Connor Bell, who did yeoman's work preparing this budget closeout through too many drafts that I sent him. I'd also like to thank Ms. Atkinson in my office, who, let's be honest, was really the one I made work with Mr. Bell on the reports.

Finally, my thanks to all of the Department of Revenue staff including the corporations, for transparency, for providing information when asked for. Nobody ever hid anything. It was an excellent working relationship, and I appreciate it very much. There being nothing further to come before the subcommittee, we are adjourned at 6:15 PM. Thank you very much.

Last closeout. Is it?