By ART CHANCE
I had to get married to get my checkbook balanced, but I knew enough about the Executive Budget Act and State budgeting processes to ask questions and call BS.
My knowledge is dated, but my experience in dealing with the State is that dated knowledge is better because these days the State mostly runs on the “this is how we’ve always done it, principle.” Few seem to know or care whether or not that way is legal.
I’ve never believed that going to Legislative Budget and Audit for disbursement of the CARES Act subsidy money was appropriate.
I always viewed the Revised Program – Legislation or RP-L process as a way to move money between existing appropriations, not a way to make appropriations.
Maybe somebody is thinking my way, in that LB&A moved to act on CARES money to existing appropriations to State agencies. But now Rep. Chris Tuck wants a special session to consider the distribution to other entities.
Or maybe it is something very sinister.
First, a special session isn’t necessary because the Legislature is in Session already. That said, if they’re thinking clearly, the Legislature could adjourn and either move itself to special session or have the governor call a special session, in such a way that only a clearly delineated subject can be considered by the Legislature.
Relations between the governor and the legislative majorities are so bad that it is unlikely they would give the governor the opportunity to call the session. Therefore, if there is to be a special session, the Legislature will call itself into session and the agenda will be CARES Act allocation and, maybe, veto overrides. They’ll probably throw the vetoes in so there can be some horse-trading with the governor over where the CARES Act money goes.
That brings us to the sinister scenario. The legislative majorities are the chattel properties of the public employee union racket, the education racket, and the healthcare racket.
A session about CARES Act money is going to be about whether the money goes to local government and small business or whether the money goes to the rackets that own the Legislature.
This legislative leadership really doesn’t care about the People of Alaska. They care about making sure that every dime of available revenue goes to the union racket, the education racket, and the publicly funded healthcare racket.
You who are not in that exclusive club can just go bankrupt and die. They really don’t care. They really have no shame.
Art Chance is a retired Director of Labor Relations for the State of Alaska, formerly of Juneau and now living in Anchorage. He is the author of the book, “Red on Blue, Establishing a Republican Governance,” available at Amazon.
If Chris Tuck is involved it will surely be something sinister….he is my representative and perhaps one of the most, if not the most, counter-productive member of the legislature..
Art, I read everything you write here and thank you for that.
Couldn’t agree more, and when I wrote Cathy Giessel about this very subject, she responded about how very complicated disbursement was and that it involved great amounts of time and hard thought.
In other words, BS…
Thanks
Art you are so right but I was told by a Representative yesterday that before they left town they passed rule changes and agreed that LB&A should handle the Care money when it came in. They never planned or wanted to come back to Juneau. Tuck is playing his own game and if it is possible making the entire legislature look like they have no interest in helping Alaskans at all.
I’d have to be convinced that they could legally do that with rule-making. Only the Legislature, not a joint committee of the Legislature, can make an appropriation, and those CARES funds must be appropriated specifically. I’ll wait for somebody to give me a decent legal argument on this, not just an “I work for the Legislature and I know,” because that don’t impress me much.
Elections can’t come soon enough to start thinning this despicable, money-grabbing herd.
Art, how are they being compensated for their lobbyist activities? I know of some who sit on native boards and such. Do they have off shore Swiss accounts that are overflowing? Or, is it just job security and a big ego that they are after?
One thing I never learned to do in my State career was how to steal; oh, I knew how it was done, I just never learned how to make myself do it. There really is no consequence; the State has almost no internal control or auditing systems, the AST White Collar Crimes Unit couldn’t catch a cold even if it were interested in doing so. About the only way you could get in trouble for stealing from the People is if you had a rival for the same money who was better connected then you were and ratted you off.
They have no shame Art, they are a bundle of the self-imposed miserable corrupt legislators ever elected to the legislative branch of Alaska. Hopefully, the residents of this state will remember this coming election.
But sadly they are enough on the take to keep their thrones. “A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.” – George Bernard Shaw, an avowed socialist.
An accurate appraisal of the state of the Alaska legislature. There has been no interest at all int the people turning the wheel in Alaska, it has been unions and social programs to procure votes for decades. There is now too much month at the end of the money, so I believe many of these lackeys will fail to run for re election due to the fact that now they will have to work to come up with solutions for the problems in the state. Emphasis on the word WORK.
Nailed it!
Here’s a fine example of what’s wrong with the legislator.
Representative Tiffany Zulkowsky.
Employer: Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation, Bethel
Job: President of Communication
YK just laid off hundreds of people. Anyone thinking Tiffany got laid off??
I saw a bum holding a sign at an Anchorage intersection once that read, “Tuck You”, at the time I thought it was merely misspelled, now I wonder? I don’t know Mr. Tuck, however I understand that he is on the right side of some issues, that said, I am also convinced that several members of my own Republican Party might not be saints either. The problem is simply that Trump and the clowns back in D.C. just sent a whopper load of $. Obviously the people who REALLY need some of this cash will be the very last to see any of it. Politics as usual… ho hum.
Don’t blame Trump though. He is trying to put out fires by sending tankers. Blame the State level for dispenser fallacies.
Wot?
Somehow Dunleavy’s ability to direct the destination of these CARE funds is sorely missing from the discussion. Originally, He had designated four destinations using his Program Execution authority, and went thru the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee as required by Law. They have 45 days to respond, and can approve in a shorter period. The Governor had apparently modified his list at the Committee’s request. If the Legislature is seeking to usurp his authority once again, I wouldn’t doubt it, but he does not need to lay down again and roll over. The Recall is on, and Dunleavy is not in a position to abandon his authority once again… not if he wants to stay in office…
As a once firm supporter of his, sadly, even I would vote against him now.
Another state employee or recipient of state spending crying because he didn’t get the cash he wanted, so let’s recall the Governor.
Not me. I worked 2 hours a day paid by the hour with no benefits. You got me all wrong.
Explain why you no longer support Gov. Dunleavy?
Yes sir. Either stand up and fight, or get out of the way. It’s make or break time with those that voted for him.
I have given him ample opportunities to do something. Just going to walk away in disgust.
Art,
If there ever were a time when your point would be proven, it’s right now. Those federal funds were not meant for political purposes. Those funds are meant to help citizens that have been endangered by, not only Wuhan v, but loss of their lifetime savings, small businesses and work potential to recover. Instead of “disbursing” those funds to the intended recipients, the democrats are filling their own plate and not even leaving scraps for “commoners”, from the federal and state funds meant for us. They would sooner see Alaskans, and Americans in general, suffer huge financial losses, loss of freedom of speech and religion, loss of constitutional rights in many states, and loss of every right except those ‘given’ them by democrat politicians, in many areas. Those democrats, in the meantime, are living high, with their public salaries and benefits unending, unlike us commoners. We get to foot the bill. The main and only consolation is that they have exposed their hand in undeniable, gross fashion in their attempts to usurp all American liberties. Americans and, Alaskans especially, remember in November. Remember in November. Remember in November.
In their eyes we peons only exist to serve the masters. In their eyes we have no rights except those given by masters in government. In their eyes all belongs to almighty government masters with temporary custody granted as they see fit. Don’t believe? Try delinquency of your property tax.
Another one outa the park, Art. Damn buddy, you are good!
My rule in my working days was to expect the worst and be pleasantly surprised if I didn’t get it. So, maybe we here can take a little credit for nudging them towards the right thing. We could still argue over whether it should have been done by the full Legislature or by LB&A, but nothing is illegal if nobody complains, and that Billion or so will help our staggering economy.
Well, somebody complained; I tried to warn them. Maybe I’m too subtle. Who in Hell is dispensing legal advice to the Administration?
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