A pair of bills that would give more than $1,000 to every Permanent Fund Dividend recipient is advancing in the Senate committee process, but significant obstacles remain before they become law.
On Tuesday, the Senate State Affairs Committee approved Senate Bill 1 and Senate Bill 2. The measures are now awaiting a hearing in the Senate Finance Committee.
The bills were proposed by Sen. Mike Dunleavy, R-Wasilla, after Gov. Bill Walker vetoed approximately half of last year’s dividend, citing the state’s multibillion-dollar budget deficit.
“The governor, under his right to do so, vetoed that portion of the dividend,” Dunleavy said Tuesday. “This is an attempt to restore it.”
If SB 1 and SB 2 are approved by the finance committee, pass a vote of the full Senate, survive the committee process in the House, win a vote of the full House, then avoid a veto by Gov. Bill Walker, Alaskans would receive a supplemental dividend of more than $1,030 later this year.
The exact amount of the dividend is not set, said deputy revenue commissioner Jerry Burnett on Tuesday.
The bills require $666.4 million to be taken from the earnings reserve of the Alaska Permanent Fund, and that amount would be divided among everyone eligible to receive a dividend during 2016.
Before the committee approved the bills, Burnett cautioned that there will be side effects if the bill passes; some Alaskans receiving public assistance might see their benefits impacted because they could be pushed above the maximum income limits.
He also said the state’s criminal justice budgets could be affected; the state garnishes the dividends of some convicts to compensate their victims.
SB 1 and SB 2 received votes from Dunleavy; Sen. Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage; and Sen. David Wilson, R-Wasilla.
Sen. Dennis Egan, D-Juneau; and Sen. John Coghill, R-North Pole, voted “no recommendation.”
• Contact Empire reporter James Brooks at james.k.brooks@juneauempire.com or 419-7732.
