JUNEAU, Alaska — The Alaska House and Senate are inching toward a deal on the state spending plan for schools, roads, and repairs; with both sides continuing to talk, but it's still unclear just where they'll end up.
As it stands, the capital budget that the Senate put together is about $2.9 billion -- the House Majority thinks that’s too big.
House and Senate leaders have been negotiating, trying to bring the figure down a few notches, so that when the spending plan crosses over, lawmakers will have room to tack on a few projects of their own.
Sen. Bert Stedman (R-Sitka), a key negotiator, said Friday he’s willing to strike a few hundred million dollars, to soothe some of the concerns in the House.
“The Senate has been conceding on multiple points and the House hasn’t conceded on one point yet so we’re hoping the House will meet us somewhere in the middle,” he said.
