Senator Gretchen Guess Senator Hollis French Senator Kim Elton Representative Les Gara |
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE · September 1, 2006 |
Administration used Legislative Language in May to Pay for Jet
ANCHORAGE - Just how did the Governor get that Jet? A letter issued this week by the Alaska Department of Public Safety confirms that Governor Murkowski, in May, used little-known language included by the Legislature in a budget bill to finance the purchase. According to the letter, the state still owes $2.6 million on a "line of credit" the state secured to pay for the Governor's Westwind II Executive Jet.
"We could have easily prevented the Governor's Jet purchase. Alaskans would be right to say we should have done that when we had the chance," said Sen. Gretchen Guess (D-Anchorage).
In 2005 Guess and other Democrats warned that even though the Legislature didn't provide Gov. Murkowski with funds to pay for his jet, budget language passed by the legislature would still allow his jet purchase. That language authorized the state to sell existing aircraft to pay for the new Westwind II executive jet. A letter this week from the Department of Public Safety confirms that, pursuant to this legislative authorization, one of the state's King Air prop planes was sold in May. The proceeds from this sale were then used to pay down the state's debt obligations on the jet. That letter is available here.
Guess pointed this language out during the 2005 budget debate, and introduced an amendment to prevent the state from using the proceeds from a prop plane sale to finance the jet purchase. A majority of the Republican-led Senate voted against the amendment down.
Almost hidden in a 100-plus page budget bill was language that stated: "[P]roceeds from the sale of Department of Public Safety aircraft and surplus aircraft parts and accessories are appropriated from the general fund to the Department of Public Safety for the purchase of replacement aircraft or for aircraft maintenance." This language gave the Governor authority to pledge the sale of one of his King Air prop planes to secure financing the state received in 2005, following the passage of the 2005 budget bill, for the Westwind Jet.
The amendment Guess offered on May 17, 2005, provided that no state funds, including funds from the sale of any of the state's existing fleet of aircraft, could be used "toward the cost of purchasing, leasing, or operating a fixed wing jet aircraft by the state."
This week's letter was issued at the request of Rep. Les Gara (D-Anchorage), who asked how the state was paying the financing on the Westwind II jet.
According to Sen. Hollis French (D-Anchorage), who also voted for Guess' Amendment, "The Legislature had an opportunity to act, and it didn't."
"We wouldn't have to worry about whether the Governor's using this jet for personal travel if we simply stopped him from buying it in the first place," said Sen. Kim Elton (D-Juneau). Elton has chronicled the Governor's misuse of this jet since its purchase.
The full text of the budget and amendment language on this issue follows.
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The 2005 Budget Language:
SB 46, the 2005 capital budget bill (this is on page 102, lines 12-28 of the enrolled version of the bill), stated in relevant part:
12 * Sec. 12. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY. (a) The proceeds from the sale of
13 Department of Public Safety aircraft and surplus aircraft parts and accessories are
14 appropriated from the general fund to the Department of Public Safety for the purchase of
15 replacement aircraft or for aircraft maintenance.
16 (b) The proceeds from the sale of Department of Public Safety vessels and surplus
17 vessel parts and accessories are appropriated from the general fund to the Department of
18 Public Safety for the purchase of replacement vessels or for vessel maintenance.
Sen. Guess' Proposed Amendment (excerpted from the 2005 Senate Journal):
On May 17, Sen. Gretchen Guess offered the following amendment on the Senate floor:
"Insert a new bill section to read:
* Sec. A. EXPENDITURES FOR FIXED WING JET AIRCRAFT.
Notwithstanding any prior expenditure authorization to the contrary, funds appropriated by this Act, by another Act passed by the First Regular Session or the First Special Session of the Twenty-Fourth Alaska State Legislature and enacted into law, or by another Act enacted by a prior legislature may not be used toward the cost of purchasing, leasing, or operating a fixed wing jet aircraft by the state."
The question being: "Shall Amendment No. 3 be adopted?" The roll was taken with the following result:
2d CSSB 46(2d FIN) - Second Reading - Amendment No. 3
YEAS: 6 NAYS: 11 EXCUSED: 3 ABSENT: 0
Yeas: Ellis, Elton, French, Guess, Kookesh, Therriault
Nays: Cowdery, Dyson, Green, Hoffman, Huggins, Olson, Stedman, Stevens B, Stevens G, Wagoner, Wilken
Excused: Bunde, Davis, Seekins
and so, Amendment No. 3 failed.
Rep. Croft's Budget Amendment Attempt In the House Finance Committee (Excerpted from the House Committee Minutes; Democrats Voted in Favor/Republicans voted against):
Offered in the House Finance Committee By Representative Croft
To: CS HB 67(FIN) 24-GH1073\Y
To page 14 after line 7 and page 29 after line 31 insert the following intent language:
"It is the intent of this Legislature that none of the monies appropriated in either the Office of the Governor or the Department of Public Safety is to be spent for a jet, no matter what the stated purpose, without prior legislative approval."
Favor: Croft, Foster, Joule
Opposed: Hawker, Holm, Kelly, Stoltze, Chenault, Meyer
For more information, please contact the offices of Senator Gretchen Guess (907-269-0120), Senator Hollis French (907-269-0234, or Senator Kim Elton (907-465-4947)
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