After more than two decades of Republican control, the Alaska House is now led by a bipartisan caucus. Democrats make up the majority of the 22-member caucus, along with two independents and three Republicans.
Republican Representative Paul Seaton of Homer is a member of the caucus and the newly-appointed co-chair of the House Finance Committee. Seaton said he joined the bipartisan coalition because the legislature must move forward on developing a sustainable fiscal plan.
“I do not think it was at all fiscally conservative just to deplete our savings accounts in the last couple years instead of looking at how do we diversify our revenue,” Seaton said.
The caucus has already begun to discuss a new fiscal plan, Seaton said. One key component is the institution of a broad-based tax.
“We don’t pay any state sales tax, we don’t pay any state income tax, we don’t pay any state property tax,” Seaton said. “Yet we receive all of these services, whether it’s corrections, the courts, the troopers, the roads, all of those things. So that’s why we need a broad-based tax.”
A multi-part approach will help distribute the burden among Alaskans, Seaton said.
“A broad-based tax can be designed to hit higher income individuals, whereas a reduction in the PFD hits lower income individuals,” Seaton said. “So you can get more of an equality or an equitable distribution of the pain across Alaskans.”
The Alaska House will reconvene during the next legislative session, beginning Jan. 17, 2017.