The Legislature is set to convene next week in Juneau, with the Permanent Fund dividend perhaps the biggest issue lawmakers will confront.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy wants the state to pay individual Alaskans $1,900 this spring, a cash supplement to last year's dividend intended to help boost the pandemic-weakened economy.

The governor also wants to take more money out of the Permanent Fund earnings reserve to pay a $3,000-plus dividend this fall, calculated on a 40-year-old formula the Legislature has not followed since 2015 when a majority of lawmakers decided the state could not afford large PFD...