Alaska lawmakers pass budget compromise to avert shutdown

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The Alaska Legislature, motivated by the threat of a government shutdown, approved a plan late Thursday to fund state operations for another year.

The proposal, advanced by budget negotiators and passed by the House and Senate, would continue to draw from savings to help fill the state’s multibillion-dollar deficit, something Gov. Bill Walker had hoped to avoid.

It also would fully fund K-12 education, provide $57 million for oil and gas tax credits and limit to $1,100 the size of this year’s dividend check Alaskans receive from the state’s oil-wealth fund, the permanent...