Stedman: proposed spending cap that excludes PFD is 'nonsensical'

Bills under consideration in the Legislature to cap state spending are not addressing the main challenges Alaska is facing, said Sitka Sen. Bert Stedman, co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee.

“We don’t have a spending-side problem; we have a revenue-side problem,” said Stedman, who represents Petersburg, Sitka and the rest of Southeast except for Juneau, Haines, Skagway and Gustavus. He is in his 20th year in the Legislature.

The senator pointed out that the latest spending-cap proposal advanced by an Anchorage Republican would exclude the Permanent Fund dividend from the limit. “We have $...