Palin has sights set on gas line, budget as session looms

January 20, 2009

Gov. Sarah Palin, seen here giving an interview to a national media outlet, has goals in mind for the upcoming legislative session. (Rich Jordan/KTUU-TV)

by Rebecca Palsha
Monday, January 19, 2009

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The 2009 Alaska Legislature gavels to session Tuesday and Gov. Sarah Palin is facing a much tougher state budget situation because of the huge drop in oil prices.

Oil maxed out last year at $144.59 a barrel. Today the picture isn't as optimistic and Palin knows what she wants for the State of Alaska.

"Getting an in-state gas line is most important," she said.

But before a gas line is built the state has to face a new reality during the upcoming session. After the summer all-time high oil bottomed out at an all-time low of about $25 a barrel last month.

"Of course overriding everything will be managing a budget that is based on the price of a barrel of oil that has, relatively speaking, it's crashed," Palin said.

The governor's budget was based on about $70 a barrel, something Rep. Mike Hawker, R-Anchorage, warned against back in December.

"I don't think the world has seen economic circumstances like this in our lifetime," Hawker said last month. "We are in uncharted territory and it makes me extremely nervous over the future of the State of Alaska."

Today Palin agrees the budget may need to be tinkered with.

"Yes, there is going to have to be amendments that are going to take place," she said. "So our arms are open to lawmakers and their ideas. They hold the purse strings, of course, on how we can together serve best the people of Alaska."

Rep. Jay Ramras from Fairbanks, often an outspoken critic of Palin, agrees things need to scale back.

"(That is the) realistic approach, and I applaud the governor for recognizing what most analysts are saying," he said.

Ramras says the state could expect oil to hover around $40 to $50 a barrel. In the meantime both sides say they hope to work together during the upcoming session.

"I look forward to a constructive relationship between the executive branch and the legislative branch around realistic price projections and an extraordinarily modest budget," Ramras said.

"As those new numbers come in we are offering to work with the lawmakers on prioritizing the best services and projects for the people we're serving," Palin said.

But how everyone feels once they get to Juneau remains to be seen.

Contact Rebecca Palsha at rpalsha@ktuu.com

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