Mallott Says Governor Will Not Let Legislators Go Home Until They Act On Budget Crisis

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Speaking in Bethel at a Rasmuson Foundation sponsored community gathering on the

state’s fiscal crisis Lt. Governor Byron Mallott made it clear Governor Bill Walker has no intention of letting state legislators adjourn session and leave town without finding a comprehensive solution to the $4 Billion state budget shortfall:

“The Governor will not let them [The Legislature] do nothing (applause). He will keep them down in Juneau as long as it takes to resolve this issue. The future of Alaska is too important to do anything else.”

Mallott came back to the point several times saying “He will not let them go home until they fix this issue.”

Here is the audio of his remarks:

(Not great quality)

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If the Governor does act as the Lt. Governor indicates he will, it will create quite the standoff with lawmakers.

Many majority legislative leaders have publically stated they prefer to take a multi-year approach to fixing the state budget problem rather than trying to find a full solution this year.