State budget problem worse than it looks, legislative analyst says

Federal pandemic relief aid, one-time funding sources - some of doubtful legal authority - and other salves to ease the state budget pain in the fiscal year that starts July 1 only mask the underlying illness, the Legislature's chief financial analyst told senators.

Filling the holes with ongoing state dollars in subsequent years - regardless of the size of the Permanent Fund dividend - could take about $250 million more than the governor proposes in his budget, Alexei Painter, director of the Legislative Finance Division, testified at the Senate Finance Committee on March 4.

To make it even w...