House Finance DNR subcommittee adopts FY26 operating recommendation, approves four member amendments

The House Finance Department of Natural Resources Subcommittee adopted its fiscal year 2026 operating recommendation for the Department of Natural Resources on Feb. 28, 2025, approving the subcommittee's BA report and forwarding the package to the full Finance Committee.

The action moved the subcommittee's BA report — the working document that compares the governor's proposed budget and the subcommittee changes — out of committee and instructed the nonpartisan Legislative Finance Division to make any necessary conforming or technical changes. Caroline Hamp, staff for Chair Shroggy, told the panel, "This BA report is the same as the governor's proposed budget other than the items in blue," identifying the lines the subcommittee had already changed.

Why it matters: the adopted recommendation includes member amendments that restore or remove specific authorities and funding lines affecting Alaska LNG work, trust land administration receipts, temporary forest management funding and park user-fee allocations. Those changes affect department priorities for commercial oil-and-gas analysis, trust-land receipts, forest management activities and the Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation.

Key amendments and outcomes

- Amendment 1 (Representative Colom): Removed $39,500 in MTAR receipts to reduce an increase to Mental Health Trust administration and redirected that receipt authority. The amendment passed on roll call, 8 yeas, 0 nays. Representative Colom argued the change to trust administration "takes away from the trustees of the mental health trust." The committee adopted the amendment.

- Amendment 2 (Representative Rauscher): Restored authority/funding for a DNR commercial position supporting evaluation of AKLNG and other oil-and-gas commercial work (program receipts funding). Representative Rauscher said, "Only the DNR looks out for the state's royalty interest, not the AGDC or Glen Farm," urging that reductions to staffing would constrain the department's negotiating and analytic capacity. The amendment was adopted by the committee (adopted by voice/consent after objection withdrawn).

- Amendment 3 (Representative Rauscher): Funding for the guide concession/permit program tied to prior HB 189 elements. The amendment failed on roll call, 4 yays, 5 nays.

- Amendment 4 (Representative Rauscher): A change related to timber sale receipts and use of those receipts for infrastructure; the amendment failed, 4 yeas, 5 nays.

- Amendment 5 (Representative Colom): Converted a proposed base increase into a temporary increment of $800,000 for forest management activity so the committee can revisit the funding next year. The department indicated a temporary increment can make recruiting harder but would work with the committee; Rena Miller, special assistant at DNR, told the committee generally that "whenever we have temporary increments, it always will make recruiting somewhat more difficult." The amendment was adopted by the committee.

- Amendment 6 (Representative Fields): Redirects additional existing vehicle rental tax (VRT) revenue to parks infrastructure and revenue-generation projects within the Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation. Fields said the amendment "is not adding spending" but reallocates existing VRT revenue to support user-fee infrastructure and revenue-generating facilities. The amendment was adopted by the committee.

- Amendment 7 (Representative Kloe/Klum): A proposal to reduce administrative costs tied to creating a separate Department of Agriculture (keeping some functions in DNR); the sponsor withdrew the amendment after committee discussion and confirmation it is outside subcommittee purview.

- Amendment 8 (Representative Klum): Intent language and reporting on timber receipt uses; the sponsor withdrew the amendment and asked staff to include the language in the packet to the full Finance Committee.

Discussion highlights

Committee members debated the tradeoffs between tightening receipts and maintaining DNR staff capacity for high-value commercial work. Representative Sadler and others said the state needs "horsepower at the negotiating table" for any future AKLNG agreements, while Representative Rauscher stressed the work impacts state royalty value. Members also pressed department staff about recruitment impacts when funding is temporary rather than permanent.

Department responses and next steps

Department staff present (Rena Miller, special assistant) confirmed that temporary increments can complicate recruitment but that the department will work with committee decisions. The subcommittee adopted the BA report and moved its FY26 DNR operating recommendation out of committee; the Legislative Finance Division is directed to make any necessary technical or conforming changes before transmittal to the full Finance Committee.

Votes at a glance

- Adopt BA report and corresponding budget: adopted by the subcommittee (no roll-call tally recorded). - Amendment 1 (Colom) — MTAR receipt removal: passed, 8-0. - Amendment 2 (Rauscher) — restore AKLNG/commercial-position authority: adopted (no roll-call tally recorded). - Amendment 3 (Rauscher) — guide concession/permit funding (HB 189-related): failed, 4-5. - Amendment 4 (Rauscher) — timber receipts reallocation for infrastructure: failed, 4-5. - Amendment 5 (Colom) — $800,000 temporary increment for forest management: adopted (no roll-call tally recorded). - Amendment 6 (Fields) — vehicle rental tax allocation to parks: adopted (no roll-call tally recorded). - Amendment 7 (Klum) — reduce admin costs tied to Department of Agriculture creation: withdrawn (not voted). - Amendment 8 (Klum) — timber receipts reporting intent language: withdrawn (not voted).

The subcommittee moved the FY26 DNR operating recommendation to the full Finance Committee and adjourned at 12:45 p.m.

Ending

The recommendation, supporting material and adopted amendments will appear in the subcommittee's BA report packet for the full Finance Committee; the Legislative Finance Division will make technical changes before further consideration.