Members of the House Finance Committee grilled state budget officials Monday on how realistic their 10-year budget plan is. Gov. Sean Parnell's budget office drafted a 10-year plan as a planning tool. The different scenarios include various oil price and production estimates and envision general fund spending of $5.6 billion a year. That's slightly less than Parnell's proposed level of spending for 2015. Committee co-chair Alan Austerman said that doesn't seem to fit with reality and the billions of dollars in increased costs that the Legislature is currently anticipating or discussing. Senior economist John Boucher, with the Office of Management and Budget, said the plan brings value in raising questions about what will give if spending needs to stay flat to keep reserves.
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