The Budget Vote

During the first day of special session, the House concurred with the budget bill passed by the Senate. I voted no to concur with the budget. I did not vote for this budget for many reasons that I would like to share with you.

During my campaign I talked with thousands of residents in my District. I heard loud and clear that residents expect legislators to work together on the economy and issues affecting our state. This budget falls short of what we need for a strong fiscal plan that will stand the test of time for the next decade.

Like many budgets, there are many items of which I am fully supportive including education funding and others that I remain opposed to such as the PFD as a random appropriation by the Legislature. I also am very frustrated with the process between the House and the Senate during budget negotiations.

The PFD issue needs to be resolved through a statutory change, and I continue to advocate for this to happen. Since 2016 the PFD check has become a political football and a bargaining chip used by many. I remain committed to either following the law or changing the law. We must move on from the annual process of discussing the PFD issue at the detriment of many other economic issues facing our state.