Juneau -- Good morning. This is House Speaker Brian Porter. The house is looking forward to a busy week here at the Capitol. Our Finance Committee has finalized House Bill 100, the Supplemental Budget. The Supplemental, as many Alaskans know, pays for those things like emergency situations and disasters, which often occur but are impossible to predict. Within the Supplemental Budget this year is an additional draw from the state's Constitutional Budget Reserve to fund the remainder of fiscal year 1999. This is necessary because of the also-unanticipated decline in the price of oil. We hope to get the Supplemental Budget onto the house floor by the middle of the week and out of the House and on to the Senate by the end of the week.

While the Supplemental Budget will keep the government operating, work also continues on next year's budget. The majority met for several hours Saturday to continue its efforts to craft an FY 2000 budget which will put us on the way to balancing our spending and our income. As we have noted before, this will require a combination of spending reductions and new revenues. We want to make those reductions and raise those revenues in ways which will be most acceptable to most Alaskans.

The Administration has announced that it is making certain spending reductions for this fiscal year. Along those lines, we have received a list, from the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, of roads which the department will not be opening this spring. We recognize the need for spending reductions - indeed, House and Senate Leadership has consistently urged the Administration to reduce its spending wherever it can. But we also recognize that the need for proper road maintenance is critical. The House Community and Regional Affairs Committee will be meeting this morning to completely assess the impacts of these maintenance reductions and along with the work of our Finance Committee, will determine if alternatives exist both for funding some of this maintenance from other sources or from savings in other areas.

Also this week . . . On Wednesday, the senate and house judiciary committees will be meeting jointly for confirmation hearings on the governor's appointments to the Alaska bar, the Commission of Judicial Conduct, the Alaska Judicial Council, and the Violent Crimes Compensation Board. That joint hearing is scheduled for Wednesday at 1 p.m. Those are a few of the highlights of this week's activity in the legislature. This is House Speaker Brian Porter. Thanks for listening.