That statement has bedeviled the Legislature for weeks. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle say they don't see any evidence of strings.
"I think the House has done a very good, credible job at trying to look into what's become the myth of federal strings," Rep. Les Gara, D-Anchorage said.
"What appeared to be concerns on the surface perhaps might not be problematic on a more rational analysis," Rep. Mike Hawker, co-chair of the House Finance Committee, said.
"There's very few strings attached. It looks like there's going to be some accounting and reporting requirements," Sen. Bert Stedman, co-chair of Senate Finance committee, said.
There was a dustup last week over a scheduled meeting that did not take place between Palin and legislative leadership, and a press release from her office saying lawmakers had canceled to hold a news conference, despite her offer to meet with them telephonically.
Senate President Gary Stevens says he was unaware of the offer for the meeting via telephone, and says communications with the governor's office have been smoothed over.
"I really do appreciate the attempt by the administration to keep these channels open and make sure as we're communicating as much as possible," Stevens said.
As for that press conference last week, lawmakers say their message was lost, that they had partnered with a number of groups to create a clearinghouse for nonprofits and local governments to help them apply for stimulus money.
"We did the right thing," Hawker said. "We did a good thing. It's growing immediately by leaps and bounds."
The clearinghouse has already received a lot of requests for help. It's based at Denali Commission offices in Anchorage with support from the Alaska Municipal League, the Rasmuson Foundation and the Legislature.
Lawmakers say they're on schedule to make the most of the stimulus opportunity and are hoping Palin will help and they have another meeting scheduled with her Thursday.
Along with the stimulus money, they'll also discuss what legislation Palin wants to get passed before the end of session.
Contact Rhonda McBride at rmcbride@ktuu.com
