Alaska Senate delays action on proposed spending plan

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Senate delayed action on a state spending package Tuesday, as lawmakers evaluated their options for getting needed votes on a budget and completing their work ahead of a Friday special session deadline.

The budget proposal that advanced from a six-member conference committee Sunday attached strings to funding for programs like the annual dividend paid to residents. It was criticized by some lawmakers as a strong-arm tactic.

Dividends typically have been paid using earnings from the state’s oil-wealth fund, the Alaska Permanent Fund. But the conference committee proposal cobbled together money for dividends from various sources, including the constitutional budget reserve fund that requires three-fourths support in each the House and Senate to tap.

The check size would be cut to $525 a person if the so-called three-quarter threshold is not met, according to the Legislative Finance Division.

Some lawmakers saw the budget proposal as a way for lawmakers to avoid taking out more than they previously planned from permanent fund earnings and as leaving room for additional discussions later this year on the dividend program’s future.

The Senate and House had scheduled Tuesday morning floor sessions. The Senate met briefly and adjourned to Wednesday.

The House meeting time was delayed.

An “action alert” sent with Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s name Tuesday characterized the budget proposal as attempted coercion. But Lauren Giliam, a Dunleavy spokesperson, said the “messaging was not authorized or approved by the Governor.”

A statement from Giliam said the Restore the PFD Facebook page, administered by the governor’s office, sent an “unauthorized email with respect to the Governor’s advocacy of a vote on the budget.” PFD refers to permanent fund dividend.

While the governor “strenuously opposes” the dividend amount proposed in the budget plan, “he did not authorize any advocacy efforts to urge votes one way or the other on the bill,” the statement said.

The budget is the subject of “vigorous negotiations” between lawmakers, and Dunleavy “is clear he is not going to interfere in those deliberations,” the statement said.

Dunleavy called the current special session to finish work on the budget and discuss his proposal to restructure the permanent fund and put a dividend formula in the state constitution. Special sessions can last up to 30 days, a mark that would be reached Friday.

A number of legislators have said they would prefer to discuss potential long-term changes to the dividend program with other pieces of a possible fiscal plan.

Another special session is scheduled for August, though the dividend is not currently on that agenda.

Becky Bohrer, The Associated Press