State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

AK: Walker renews call for budget reforms: 'Denial doesn't make the problem go away'

ADN: JUNEAU — Alaska Gov. Bill Walker made a renewed call for state budget reforms to a new Legislature in his annual State of the State speech Wednesday night, telling lawmakers that "denial doesn't make the problem go away."

Walker's speech, delivered at the start of his third year in office, came after two years of discord and gridlock in Juneau, with state savings dwindling as lawmakers largely dismissed his deficit-reduction plans and failed to make much of a dent in the deficit.

With 15 new legislators in Juneau, Walker, a Republican-turned-independent, pitched a stripped-down version of his budget package from last year and left room for adaptation — all while ratcheting up his rhetoric.

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