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House cool to Walker compromise

Published 6:31 am Tuesday, June 6, 2017

By James Brooks

Gov. Bill Walker walks into the Cabinet Room to present his compromise plan to the House Minority. (Courtesy photo/Office of the Governor)
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Gov. Bill Walker walks into the Cabinet Room to present his compromise plan to the House Minority. (Courtesy photo/Office of the Governor)
Gov. Bill Walker walks into the Cabinet Room to present his compromise plan to the House Minority. (Courtesy photo/Office of the Governor)
Lizzie Solger, business agent for ASEA/AFSCME Local 52, solicits a signature for a “layoff notice” aimed at the Alaska Senate. Solger was standing at the Willoughby Street entrance to the State Office Building on Monday, June 5, 2017. (James Brooks | Juneau Empire)
Carrie Hughes-Skandjis, union steward for ASEA/AFSCME Local 52, solicits a signature for a “layoff notice” aimed at the Alaska Senate. Hughes-Skandjis was standing at the Fourth Street entrance to the State Office Building on Monday. (James Brooks/Juneau Empire)
House cool to Walker compromise

In a bid to avoid a state-spanning government shutdown, Gov. Bill Walker on Monday proposed a compromise to bring the Alaska Senate and Alaska House together.

Walker’s compromise was promptly rejected by the coalition majority that runs the House.

That leaves the state on course for a July 3 shutdown that would paralyze state services and multibillion-dollar commercial salmon industry.

In an evening press conference, Speaker of the House Bryce Edgmon, D-Dillingham, said the governor is on the wrong track with a proposal that would slash the state deficit from about $2.7 billion per year to about $300 million per year. He said the House Majority is continuing to champion a strategy that eliminates the entire deficit within three years.

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