Members of the federal government’s ocean-mapping corps and Alaskans training for the merchant marine would continue to receive Permanent Fund dividends while away from the state, under a bill approved by the Alaska House of Representatives.
House Bill 75, from Rep. Jeremy Bynum, is the first piece of legislation from a freshman lawmaker to pass either the House or Senate this year. Bynum, who was elected last year, represents Ketchikan and Wrangell.
The legislation also would change state law to make the names of dividend applicants confidential “to guard against identity theft and fraud,” Bynum said.
Under current state law, an applicant’s personal information such as address, phone and email is confidential — but not their name, which is available to the public.
If approved by the Senate and signed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy, the bill would create additional exceptions to the requirement that Alaskans reside in the state a minimum number of days each year to remain eligible for the dividend.
HB 75 would keep college students’ spring breaks and fall breaks from counting against their days of allowable absences from the state.
Members of the “uniformed services,” rather than just the U.S. military, would receive exceptions as well. That changed definition would allow members of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Corps, which operates the federal government’s fleet of mapping ships and conducts other scientific missions, to continue receiving dividends even if deployed away from the state.
HB 75 also allows the Permanent Fund Dividend Division to fingerprint its employees for federal criminal background checks.
The House on April 16 passed the bill 35-5, with five members of the Republican House minority opposed. The bill moved to the Senate for consideration.
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