(JUNEAU) - The House Ways and Means Committee finished its first week on Friday. The nine-member committee bears the task of finding fiscal solutions to bridge state spending with state revenues. Co-Chairs Rep. Jim Whitaker (R-Fairbanks) and Rep. Mike Hawker (R-Anchorage) said the committee seeks an overall direction to help the state and will consider a variety of solutions.

"We're searching for a new philosophy and direction to reduce spending and generate revenue," Whitaker said. "This means a variety of measures will ensure lasting fiscal stability for Alaska."

"Temporary fixes each year are not a responsible way to balance our budget," Hawker said. "We're charting a fiscal course, and we want to weigh the long-term merits of all the proposed solutions as well as new ones that we have yet to consider."

This week the committee reviewed the state's fiscal situation and its present stream of revenues. Currently a constitutional spending limit sits before the committee.

"Ideas like this are why the Ways and Means Committee exists," Whitaker said. "We not only consider how the state will spend and generate today's revenue, but how it will deal with budgets far into the future."

"These are the first steps of a long journey to lasting financial security," Hawker said. "A constitutional spending limit will affect Alaska's legislatures far into the future, and we must give this idea the attention it deserves."

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