JUNEAU (AP) — Gov. Mike Dunleavy last Thursday reiterated his push for payments of at least $3,700 to residents this year, with the legislative session in its last weeks and the size of the annual dividend check paid to residents still unresolved.
The House in its version of the budget approved one-time “energy relief” payments of $1,300 plus a Permanent Fund dividend of about $1,250. The Senate Finance Committee is weighing a dividend of about $2,600 as it works on a draft budget plan.
Annual dividends to residents traditionally have been paid with earnings from the state’s oil-wealth account, the Alaska Permanent Fund. But lawmakers in 2018 also began using earnings to help pay for public services and put a limit on annual withdrawals from the fund to protect its long-term growth.
A longstanding formula for calculating dividends was last used in 2015, amid large state budget deficits, and a new formula has not been adopted. Lawmakers instead have been setting the annual payout each year.
If the old formula were followed, checks would be in the $4,200 range this fall, according to the Legislative Finance Division. That would cost more than an additional $1 billion over the House and Senate plans, pulling more money out of savings or generating a budget deficit.
Last year’s dividend was $1,114.
Dunleavy is seeking reelection this year, and nearly all legislative seats are up for election, too. The state, after years of deficits, faces a richer revenue forecast amid high oil prices.
The regular session is set to end by May 18.
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