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JUNEAU -- State lawmakers on Saturday approved a spending plan for operating expenses that majority and minority members alike described as simply unsustainable.

“Some of the things we’re promising we’re going to have to take away,” Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Fairbanks, said during a floor debate on the bill.

The House also approved a budget for capital projects totaling $2.7 billion despite concerns from some members that the cash influx would overheat the state’s economy.

The capital budget still needs formal approval by the Senate, and another bill that would authorize the state to issue $315 million in bonds for transportation projects still needs approval in the House.

The three spending bills were the last major items still in play in the legislative session, which ends tonight.

The operating budget spends a total of $11.2 billion, including more than $5 billion in state general funds. It increases funding for state operations by roughly 8 percent over last year but boosts overall spending by more than 23 percent, according to legislative estimates.

The higher total stems from new oil production tax credits, a direct deposit to pay down the state’s retirement system debt, and funding for K-12 education, among other things.

“These are things we fixed over the session, and we’re going to pay the price for them,” said Rep. Mike Chenault, R-Nikiski, co-chair of the House Finance Committee.

Kelly and Rep. Ralph Samuels, R-Anchorage, the majority leader, both said they considered voting against the budget despite the stiff penalty for majority members for not supporting it.

“We cannot sustain the growth,” Samuels said.

Other majority members in the House also criticized the budget, but all of them voted for it. The budget passed 33-6 with six Democrats voting against it.

In the Senate, the budget passed 15-5, with only the five members of the Republican minority voting against it.

Senate Minority Leader Gene Therriault, R-North Pole, said the budget put the state on a path toward budget deficits in the future, warning that “a day of reckoning will come.”

Senate Finance Committee co-chair Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel, noted that the spending plan actually included some savings. But he also described the budget growth as unsustainable.

“We need to continue to look for a long-term solution to balancing the budget until we come to first gas,” he said.

A joint conference committee put together the final version of the budget based on separate versions previously approved by both bodies.

Debate over the state’s capital budget focused on the overall level of spending and whether it’s OK to spend more in years of high revenues.

Rep. Kevin Meyer, R-Anchorage, the co-chair of the House Finance Committee responsible for the capital budget, acknowledged some would argue the bill spent too much. But he said the state spending would make roads and water supplies safer, improve the quality of life for Alaskans, and increase recreational opportunities.

“When you consider all the things we’ve added and all the things we’ve done, I think this is a good budget,” he said.

Rep. David Guttenberg, D-Fairbanks, argued that putting that much money into construction projects would just lead to another boom and bust cycle.

“My concern is it’s overflowing,” he said.

The House approved the bill 33-6, with only minority Democrats voting against it.