Alaska Senate panel advances $1,100 PFD toward final vote on special session's final day
Sep. 15—JUNEAU — Members of the Alaska Senate Finance Committee voted unanimously Tuesday morning to advance a $1,100 dividend payment to a vote of the full Senate.
That amount has already been approved by the state House, and if the Senate agrees with the figure, it would go to Gov. Mike Dunleavy for signature or veto.
The Alaska Department of Revenue has previously said that dividends can be paid about 30 days after final approval of the amount.
With the Legislature's ongoing special session set to expire at midnight tonight, the Senate is likely to vote this afternoon. If it does not approve the $1,100 figure, there may be no dividend this year.
Answering questions from reporters, Dunleavy said he would not make a decision on a veto until after the Senate's vote. Earlier this year, he vetoed a $525 dividend that had passed the House and Senate, and his administration disagrees with lawmakers about the source of some of the money used to pay for the $1,100 proposal.
The Senate's vote is not certain: About half of the Senate has previously voted in support of a $2,350 dividend in line with a new payment formula proposed by Dunleavy.
But because the larger payment would require spending more from the Alaska Permanent Fund, lawmakers have had mixed reactions to that formula, and the House has repeatedly rejected the larger payment.
Emphasizing the House's opposition, Speaker of the House Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, said that the House will not meet on Tuesday.
That means that even if the Senate were to approve the larger figure, the House would not be able to vote on it before the session ends.
Two members of the House's Republican minority and Rep. Geran Tarr, D-Anchorage, appeared on the House floor about noon to protest Stutes' action.
In addition to advancing the 2021 dividend payment, the Senate Finance Committee approved legislation that would set a new formula for future payouts.
That formula, also likely to receive a vote Tuesday afternoon, calls for an $1,100 dividend in 2022, $1,200 in 2023, $1,300 in 2024, and dividends beyond that would be $1,300 plus inflation.
The bill allows a Dunleavy-style dividend if lawmakers also approve $700 million in additional revenue. Several senators said they intend to propose amendments to that formula if it reaches the Senate floor today.
If approved by the Senate, the new formula would be subject to approval by the House and Dunleavy at a future date.
