House Finance subcommittee cuts $575,000 for Alaska State Defense Force in FY26 DMVA budget

The Alaska House Finance subcommittee on the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs voted to adopt an amended FY2026 operating budget on March 4, 2025, and approved an amendment that removes $575,000 in funding for the Alaska State Defense Force (adopted 6 yeas, 2 nays). The subcommittee convened at 10:22 a.m. and adjourned at 10:50 a.m.

The amendment, offered by Representative Fields, would “decrement all funding allocated in the 2026 operating budget to the Alaska State Defense Force,” including a $400,000 allotment already in the budget and a $175,000 governor-proposed increase, for a total reduction of $575,000. Representative Fields said the change was intended to find “real savings” in a tight fiscal environment and to avoid proactively duplicating capabilities the National Guard or federal forces provide.

The subcommittee’s staff review, presented by Bridal Anderson (staff to Representative Neil Foster), summarized the department’s closeout numbers and the governor’s proposals. The department’s adjusted base spending listed in the packet included $18,024,100 in unrestricted general funds, $28,500 in designated general funds, $12,991,900 in other funds and $35,382,000 in federal funds, for a departmentwide total of $66,426,500. The department reported 282 permanent full-time positions, zero permanent part-time positions and three temporary positions, for 285 total positions; the governor’s package added one permanent full-time position.

Deputy Commissioner Craig Christiansen, Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, described how the department intended to use the $175,000 increase the governor proposed. Christiansen said the $175,000 was “to fund activities across the state” including outreach, equipment and recruitment to expand volunteer-organized militia and naval-militia activities and to place trained members in more communities, particularly in Western Alaska. He also described the position request as a reallocation of an existing position to the adjutant general’s office to serve as a program manager overseeing training and coordinated operations across the Alaska State Defense Force and the Alaska Naval Militia.

Christiansen said the Alaska State Defense Force and Naval Militia serve as volunteer forces that augment the National Guard for logistics, sheltering, traffic control, debris removal and emergency operations-center duties in local disasters that do not rise to the level of a declared state emergency. “When we had Merbok, Western Alaska … we had over a hundred people deployed to numerous communities all across Western Alaska,” Christiansen said, describing recent disaster responses.

Supporters on the subcommittee cited those local responses in opposing the amendment. Representative Ballard said the forces provided “a good bang for a buck” during local disasters and commended the department’s recent response work. Opponents, including Representative Fields and Representative Gray, questioned whether state funds should be used to replicate National Guard capabilities and whether modest incidents would instead trigger National Guard or federal disaster responses. Representative Gray said the State Defense Force is a volunteer organization that can respond to “minor emergencies such as flooding that doesn’t rise to the level of a disaster,” and that the $175,000 appeared to be aimed at outreach and limited operational costs rather than full duplicative deployments.

The roll call on amendment number 1 produced the following vote as recorded by the clerk: Representative Grama — Yes; Representative Nelson — Yes; Representative Fields — Yes; Representative Sadler — Yes; Representative Eisheid — Yes; Representative Allard — No; Representative Hall — Yes; Representative Foster — No. The tally recorded in the transcript was 6 yeas, 2 nays; the chair announced amendment 1 adopted. Following that vote, representatives who had offered amendments 2 and 3 withdrew them or the chair declared them inoperative.

After the amendment votes, Representative Aischaied moved to forward the FY26 operating budget for the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs from subcommittee as amended, with subcommittee narrative and legislative finance reports forthcoming, and to authorize the Legislative Finance Division to make technical and conforming changes. The chair indicated no objections and moved the amended FY26 package out of subcommittee. The subcommittee adjourned at 10:50 a.m.

The meeting record shows the subcommittee accepted several other governor-requested adjustments in the VA (budget action) sheet, including an interagency and capital-receipts swap that reduced federal authority by $800,000 while increasing interagency receipts and CIP receipts, and a $200,000 interagency receipts item for counter-drug training, outreach and prevention. The packet materials and the subcommittee’s narrative and legislative finance reports were noted as forthcoming.

Votes at a glance - Adopt BA sheet (initial closeout as presented): adopted by voice after chair removed objection (no roll call in transcript). - Amendment 1 (Representative Fields): motion to remove $575,000 from Alaska State Defense Force; adopted 6 yeas, 2 nays (roll call recorded above). - Final motion to forward the FY26 operating budget for DMVA as amended: moved and approved without objection; authorization given to Legislative Finance Division to make technical and conforming changes.

The subcommittee record and the department’s closeout materials will be published with the committee narrative and Legislative Finance Division technical updates.