Dunleavy continues to duck revenue questions
“If the Legislature supports these measures, these are revenue measures that the governor would support as well,” Revenue Commissioner Lucinda Mahoney told legislators Tuesday.
The key word is “if.”
Not since Rudyard Kipling wrote “If,” has there been a more conditional point of view.
If the Legislature reduces oil tax credits, if the Legislature starts a sales tax, if the Legislature expands gambling to include casinos, if the Legislature raises gas taxes, if the Legislature extends the corporate income tax to cover digital enterprises, if the Legislature extends the oil company income tax to cover companies like Hilcorp and if the Legislature creates a carbon offset program, Dunleavy will be there to allow the changes to become law.
But hold on. The Legislature is not going to approve new taxes if the governor says it’s out of his hands and it’s not his job to twist arms for unpopular causes. If he insists that it’s up to the Legislature to take the lead, nothing is likely to happen.
This is par for the course for Dunleavy. He doesn’t want to provide the political leadership needed to get the Legislature to follow him and he won’t get out of the way.
The hallmark of his time in office, following the Donna Arduin interlude, is his intense desire to distance himself from every difficult decision and to avoid taking the blame.
If the revenue measures fail, he can blame the Legislature. If by some miracle the Legislature approves a new or higher tax, he can also blame the Legislature, saying it was not his idea and he didn’t push it.
Asked if Dunleavy supports the bill to raise fuel taxes that has already been introduced, HB 104, Mahoney said “the governor conceptually supports that. I don’t know that he’s gone through the bill in a detailed basis, but the concept and the increase he does support.”
Conceptually, Mahoney’s statement is revealing. Dunleavy doesn’t support the bill. Six days before a special session he hasn’t looked at the details and isn’t declaring his support or opposition for a simple bill introduced five months ago. Concepts don’t count.
The current gas tax is 8 cents a gallon, which has been unchanged for a half-century. HB 104 would raise the tax to 16 cents a gallon, which would still be one of the lowest taxes in the country.
Mahoney said bills for the revenue measures have been drafted for most of the proposed measures for the special session set to begin next week, but they have not been introduced or reviewed. The sales tax plan is not ready, she said.
Our state Constitution established the governor’s voice to be as strong as any chief executive in the United States. The Legislature, by comparison, features 60 competing vocalists. As an institution, the Legislature is far less equipped to lead the way out of difficult circumstances. The system won’t work when the governor is AWOL on the central question of how to balance the state budget.
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