Legislature passes budget compromise to avert shutdown

State workers protested a possible government shutdown outside of the Capitol, June 22, 2017. The House and Senate appeared close to a budget compromise to avoid the shutdown. (Photo by Andrew Kitchenman/KTOO and Alaska Public Media)UPDATE: 9:15 a.m. on June 23, 2017
The Legislature passed a budget that avoids a state government shutdown Thursday night.
The part of the budget directly controlled by the Legislature includes $4.1 billion. The spending plan avoids cuts to school funding. It sets pe