(JUNEAU) - The Alaska State House of Representatives approved House Bill 100 by a vote of 27 to seven today. HB 100 is the supplemental budget for the 2003 fiscal year. More than $69 million will finance disaster relief, fire suppression, and programs that require more funding to complete FY 03, which ends June 30th.

"Normally you're dealing with programs such as fire suppression that are hard to project what the costs will be," Finance co-Chair Rep. John Harris (R-Valdez) said. "It's hard to put a price tag on something such as fire suppression because you might have a light fire season or a heavy one, and if you have large fires, you spend more money."

Of the supplemental $69 million for FY 03:

• $41.9 million will pay for disaster relief for events such as last year's earthquake;
• $19 million will finance fire suppression costs.
• $500,000 for the accident involving a corrections transport van on the Seward Highway
• $100,000 for the Red Dog Mine air quality dispute

"We tried to trim down the supplemental as much as possible," Harris said. "We did keep some one-time funds available in case we need them for school funding and other one-time needs. They'll roll over into the general fund if they're not used this year."

HB 100 moves to the Senate.

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03-07-03: Finance Co-Chair Rep. John Harris explains what makes this year's $69 million supplemental budget important.

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John Harris 29 K

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John Harris 201 K