Juneau -- Senator Dave Donley (District J, Midtown) will direct the Alaska State Senate's work to write the fiscal year 2000 budgets for the Department of Law and Department of Public Safety, Senate Finance Committee Co-Chair Senator Sean Parnell announced today.

Senator Donley, who serves as Vice Chair of the Senate Finance Committee and Chair of the capital budget subcommittee in the Twenty-First Alaska Legislature, was named chair of the subcommittees responsible for holding hearings and developing budget recommendations for the two departments.

"I am pleased to be able to head these two, especially this year," Senator Donley said. "One of the state's most important responsibilities is the administration of justice. As chair of these subcommittees, I've got the chance to help write budgets that can balance the people's needs with the realities of sharply reduced state revenues."

The low price of North Slope crude oil means a $1 billion-plus gap between state income and state expenditures for fiscal year 2000. Last year, the Department of Law had a budget of $43.8 million and employed 443 people. The Department of Public Safety had a budget of $94.8 million, and employed 757 people.

"As subcommittee chair I'll be responsible for reviewing funding requests from the agencies, hearing testimony from department staff, and developing budget recommendations for the full committee to consider," Senator Donley said.

In addition to his subcommittee assignments, Senator Donley serves as a member of the Senate Labor and Commerce, Legislative Council and Judiciary committees.

"We're fortunate to have such an experienced legislator helping us make the tough decisions regarding our budget," said Senator Parnell. "We have to make some hard choices about how the state should best use our financial resources."

Full Senate Finance Subcommittee List