May 23, 2025
Legislature Adjourns: UA Operating, Supplemental, and Capital Budgets Heading to the Governor; Other Bills Affecting UA Wait Until 2026
Operating, Supplemental, and Capital Budgets Moving Forward
The 2025 legislative session ended one day early on the afternoon of Tuesday, May 20 after lawmakers in both the Senate and House approved a compromise version of the budget, House Bill 53 (HB 53), which rolled the FY26 operating budget with the FY25 supplemental budget. The conference committee on HB 53, which is made up of three members from the House and three from the Senate, worked through the various differences between their budgets, before sending the final completed product to their respective floors for a vote.
Initial Differences in House and Senate Versions of the Operating Budget get Resolved
The House version of the operating budget included funding for a number of requests put forth by the University of ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ, while the Senate version rejected all FY26 requests from UA except for partial funding for employee compensation increases. Ultimately, the conference committee only accepted the funding for fixed costs from the House budget, while rejecting the rest. The Senate’s version of the budget on compensation was accepted. Therefore, the following UA increments made it in the final operating budget passed by the legislature:
- $17.2 million for employee compensation increases
- $3.7 million for fixed cost increases
Why did this occur?
Much like the other agencies seeking state funding this year, the decrease in revenue and overall challenging fiscal picture contributed to the lack of funding for items in the university’s budget request. Lower oil prices (with an expectation of low oil prices in the future), uncertain federal fiscal ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ, tariffs, and an appetite to save for what may be a more challenging year in FY27 all contributed to the budget we see today.
The operating budget (combined with the supplemental budget) will next go to the governor’s desk for consideration, where he can exercise his line-item veto authority if he so chooses.
The , which was concurred with by the Senate on May 16, is also heading to the Governor’s desk. Of note, the capital budget includes $10 million of the Board’s $60 million request for critical deferred maintenance projects across the UA system.
Notable Bills to Watch in Preparation for the 2026 Legislative Session
There are a few notable bills worthy of review in the months ahead. The UA is a focus, or has been a part of the conversation, in all of these bills. Please follow the links for a complete listing of all publicly available information:
- - By Rep. Carrick - "An Act relating to the Board of Regents of the University of ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ." - In the Senate Finance Committee.
- - By Rep. Story - "An Act establishing a student loan repayment pilot program." - In the Senate Education Committee.
- ) - By Rep. Vance - "An Act relating to group insurance coverage and self-insurance coverage for school district employees, employees of the University of ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ, and employees of other governmental units in the state." - In the House Education Committee (SB5 is Senate equivalent from Senator Hughes - In the Senate Education Committee).
- - By Rep. Carrick - "An Act relating to notice of new fees and fee increases from the University of ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ; relating to billing statements from the University of ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ."- In the House Rules Committee (SB157 is Senate equivalent from Senator Myers - In the Senate Education Committee).
- - By Rep. Holland - "An Act establishing the office of entrepreneurship; relating to new ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵes in the state; relating to reports concerning procurements by agencies; and relating to initial ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ license fees for new ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵes in the state." - In the House Finance Committee.
- - By Rep. Holland - "An Act establishing the ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ Innovation Council; and relating to financial disclosures for members of the ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ Innovation Council." - In the House Finance Committee.
- - By Sen. Stedman - "An Act relating to a matching grant program for fire station construction and renovation." - In the Senate Finance Committee.
- - By Sen. Stevens - "An Act relating to disclosure of information obtained by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development to other state agencies." - In the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee.
Katie McCall and I appreciate all the voices across the UA system. It’s a great privilege to work with all of you and we look forward to the work ahead.
For more information, contact Director of State Relations for the University of ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ System Chad Hutchison, cell 907-378-3946, email clhutchison@alaska.edu. You can also follow the University of ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ Government Relations on our .