On May 21, the governor announced her budget vetoes. I think her red pen may have run out of ink early because there are very few vetoes. This is actually not surprising given the bare-bones nature of the budget this year. However, one very concerning veto was the $28.65 million in federal stimulus money for the state energy program.

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Budget Veto Pen Runs Out of Ink

Once the legislature has passed the budgets, the governor has a chance to exercise line-item veto power. Governor Palin announced her veto decisions on May 21. In some years past, the marked-up version of the budget has looked like it’s been through the gauntlet, bleeding with red ink. Not this year, though that was to be expected with the bare-bones nature of the budget.

Some of the vetoes were basically house-cleaning items, such as striking money appropriated for bills that didn’t pass, correcting the amounts needed for projects and eliminating duplicate funding. When you weed those out, here’s what’s left:

• Stimulus package vetoes:
  • $28.563 million for the state energy program 
  • $2 million for chronic disease prevention
• Capital budget vetoes:
  • $50,000 of the $1.2 million appropriated for the National Historic Preservation Fund Federal Grant Program statewide
  • $4.9 million of the $9.9 million for the Anchorage Court System Campus Project
  • $394,000 of the $1.344 million for statewide CourtView enhancements
  • $2.3 million in cruise ship head tax projects in Ketchikan
  • $2.65 million in cruise ship head tax projects in Sitka

Critical Energy Funds Vetoed

The largest and most concerning veto from the governor was the striking of $28.563 million in federal stimulus funds for the state energy program. Alaska would have been able to apply these funds to energy efficiency upgrades and specific renewable energy projects.

The governor has vetoed these funds because she says the acceptance of these funds would require Alaska to adopt onerous federal energy codes and it would be difficult for the state to administer the use of the funds. I believe both assumptions are incorrect. The stimulus language is flexible enough to allow for local exceptions and other states have already sought and found compromises that work. Additionally, the state’s housing agency, the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, has already adopted the necessary code. That means that much of the state-funded housing is already meeting the standards. Additionally, since the programs targeted by these funds already exist in our state, administering the funds cannot be too difficult.

Access to affordable energy is more challenging in Alaska than in any other state. Yet our state may be one of the few to decline these funds, which could reduce energy costs for individual Alaskans for years to come. As we in Juneau know, energy efficiency is economically wise. This is why I and many of my colleagues are resolved to attempt an override of this veto.