JUNEAU — A proposal in the Legislature to eliminate state workers' annual and biennial pay raises unless oil prices bounce back appears to be dead, at least for now.
Supporters and opponents of House Bill 379 say it doesn't appear to have enough support to move beyond the House Rules Committee — the last stop before a vote in the House — where it's been awaiting action since Sunday.
"I don't think it has the votes to pass on the floor right yet," said Anchorage Republican Rep. Charisse Millett, the House majority leader and one of the bill's proponents. "I think people are still discussing it."
Millett said the bill, sponsored by the House Rules Committee chaired by Rep. Craig Johnson, R-Anchorage, is taking a back seat to other legislation that will have a bigger effect on the state's $4 billion budget deficit. Those include a bill to reduce the $775 million projected to be paid by the state in cash subsidies to small oil and gas companies next year, as well as the state's operating budget, Millett said.
"We need to focus on the things that are going to get us out of Juneau," Millett said in an interview Wednesday.
HB 379 was introduced with leadership support April 18 — the 91st day of what's supposed to be a 90-day legislative session. The 90-day limit was set by voters in a 2006 initiative, though lawmakers are allowed to continue for up to 121 days according to the state Constitution.
Under the state's current pay structure for public employees, most workers get 3.5 percent annual "merit increases" in their first six years. The raises are given automatically, unless a supervisor denies the raise. More senior employees get 3.25 percent "pay increment" raises every two years as long as their performance is judged "acceptable or better."
HB 379 would eliminate those raises until oil prices hit $90 a barrel, up from the current price of $46.
The bill moved out of the House Finance Committee Sunday, with four Republican members recommending passage, four Democrats opposing passage, and three Republicans making no recommendation.
After its introduction, the bill drew sharp criticism from Democrats and from organized labor, with one top labor official, Alaska AFL-CIO President Vince Beltrami saying in a phone interview Wednesday that it was a "ridiculous sideshow."
Beltrami said he was happy to see the legislation didn't appear to have support to pass the House.
The bill wouldn't have applied to union contracts just negotiated by the Walker administration, delaying its impact. Administration officials said in a fiscal note published Wednesday total projected savings generated by the bill would be $31 million.
Correction: An earlier version of this story said the bill would eliminate annual and biennial state work raises unless oil rebounded to $90 a barrel. The bill actually would gradually reinstate the raises starting at a barrel price of $60 and fully reinstate the raises at $90.