HB 322 protects future funds for marine highway, scholarships

The M/V Aurora departs the Cordova Ferry Terminal. (July 21, 2019) Photo by Zachary Snowdon Smith/The Cordova Times
The M/V Aurora departs the Cordova Ferry Terminal. (July 21, 2019) Photo by Zachary Snowdon Smith/The Cordova Times

House Bill 322, designed to protect funding sources for the Alaska Marine Highway and higher education scholarships, has passed the Legislature and now awaits Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s signature.

Passage of the legislation, sponsored by the House Transportation Committee, was hailed by Speaker of the House Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, and Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage, for its protective stance.

The Constitutional Budget Reserve (CBR) sweep provision, established in the Alaska Constitution, requires that money in the general fund available for the appropriation at the end of each fiscal year be swept, or repaid, to the CBR. While the sweep is reversible by a 3/4 vote of the Legislature, that outcome has become difficult to achieve in recent years. Moreover, funds previously held harmless from the annual repayment have since been interpreted as subject to the sweep, destabilizing crucial ongoing state services and longstanding funds.

HB 322 removes the Alaska Marine Highway System Fund, the AMHS Vessel Replacement Fund, and the Higher Education Investment Fund from the equation by moving them from the state’s general fund to the state treasury.

“When Alaskans chart their trips on the Marine Highway, they want to know that the ferry schedule will be reliable and robust,” Stutes said. “This legislation will help ensure the Marine Highway System consistently serves Alaskans, without a yearly fight over funding, while allowing AMHS to bank farebox receipts into an endowment that will help rebuild our fleet.”

“Alaska’s youth shouldn’t have to worry that the scholarships they were counting on to become our next generation of doctors, nurses, scientists and business leaders is arbitrarily on the chopping block each year,” Josephson said.

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