LEGISLATORS talk AK budget squabbles ketchikandailynews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ketchikandailynews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The weather has been amazing in Anchorage this week! I hope everyone is out enjoying it. It s mid-June and a budget has still not been passed, but it looks like the conference committee should finish today. A lot of legislators
Wed, 06/09/2021 - 9:22am
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks during a press conference May 12 in the Alaska State Capitol at Juneau. With deadlines looming before the start of the next fiscal year on July 1, Dunleavy is urging legislators to approve his plan to evenly split Permanent Fund earnings between the budget and the PFD as a step toward a long-term budget solution. (Photo/James Brooks/Anchorage Daily News)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy insists he will do what it takes this year to solve the state’s fiscal dilemma that has led to a nearly decade-long run of budget deficits.
That starts with legislators agreeing to start splitting the roughly $3 billion in annual Permanent Fund revenue evenly between the dividend and other government expenses now, which would result in roughly $2,300 PFDs, before his compromise plan to put such a “50-50” fund earnings split into the Alaska Constitution is acted on, the governor said during a June 7 phone conversation with the Journal.
May 14, 2021
May 12, 2021 (Juneau, AK) – Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy proposed revisions to strengthen his Permanent Fund constitutional amendment (SJR 6) that builds a sustainable fiscal future for all Alaskans and guarantees an annual dividend to all Alaskans now and in the future. If passed by the Alaska Legislature, Alaskans will have the final word on the most significant policy decision since the establishment of the Permanent Fund when the amendment appears on the November 2022 general election ballot.
Today’s action accomplishes four significant fiscal policy goals:
Guarantees a PFD for every eligible Alaskan now and for future generations
Creates a fair and sustainable 50/50 split of Permanent Fund earnings between PFDs and core state services
Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy flanked by members of the Alaska Legislature. Juneau, Alaska (KINY) - The revisions Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy proposed in SJR 6 would aim to put the Permanent Fund Dividend into the Alaska Constitution, as well as adding the State s power cost equalization fund that lowers electricity prices in Alaskan communities.
Overall the proposal would create a 50/50 split of Permanent Fund earnings between paying out PFDs and funding core state services, protects the $1 billion power cost equalization endowment by depositing the funds into the PFD corpus, and also transfers $3 billion from the Permanent Fund Earnings Reserve Account to the Constitutional Budget Reserve.