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Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed the capital budget Thursday afternoon during a brief and somber ceremony at the Associated General Contractors of Alaska headquarters in Anchorage.
The bill signing came on the heels of the news that state Sen. Chris Birch, R-Anchorage, had died unexpectedly late Wednesday.
“Today is cause for celebration but it’s a tempered celebration with the loss of Sen. Chris Birch yesterday. It was a shock to all Alaskans. It was certainly a shock to us,” Dunleavy said.