In 2018, the bumper sticker for then-Gov. Bill Walker claimed that Walker and Lt. Gov. Mallott “SAVED THE PFD FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.” Walker vetoed half of the dividend that year. His bumper sticker was saying, essentially, he had to burn the village to save the village.
Seven years later, the PFD is still being burned. Now, it could be reduced to ashes for some Alaskans.
House Bill 209 by Rep. Zack Fields sets the PFD at a flat amount of $1,000, but would eliminate the dividend for anyone making over $50,000 a year (or $100,000 per married couple.)
In other words, the dividend would no longer be a share of the oil wealth of the state, but instead would be a welfare payment. HB 209 has been referred to House Judiciary and Finance Committees and is unlikely to pass both bodies this year due to the looming legislative deadline of May 21. It will be on the calendar for Judiciary on Monday.
“Payment of PFDs based on a 1982 formula is no longer practical,” said Fields in his sponsor statement.
Meanwhile, the Alaska Senate may cut the Permanent Fund dividend this year to $1,000 — its lowest level in history, when adjusted for inflation. It’s also lower than what the House passed earlier this year, $1,400.
The reduction in Senate Finance Committee trims an estimated $265 million from the Senate’s version of the budget, potentially bringing the state’s finances into balance without requiring new revenue sources or tapping more heavily into savings. The full Senate is expected to vote on the budget proposal next week. Ironically, several revenue bills are also awaiting action in the House and Senate, such as the controversial Etsy Tax, SB 113.
The PFD, distributed annually to nearly every Alaska resident, is a unique program Alaska lawmakers set up in 1982 that returns a share of the state’s oil wealth to its people.
The wealth originates from the Alaska Permanent Fund, a constitutionally established fund created in 1976 to save a portion of the state’s oil revenue for future generations and to eventually pay for state services when the oil runs out.
Dividend payments began in 1982, via statute rather than constitution, and were intended to ensure that Alaskans directly benefit from the development of natural resources, since private landowners in Alaska do not hold subsurface mineral rights — those belong to the state.
Historically, PFD amounts have fluctuated with oil revenues and investment earnings, but the dividend has become a contentious political issue in recent years as lawmakers find it easy to spend when oil prices are high, but can’t manage to trim when prices slip.
While earlier PFDs regularly exceeded $1,000 — and in some years, such as 2008 and 2015, approached or surpassed $2,000 — recent fiscal pressures have led to smaller payouts. The Legislature has increasingly used Permanent Fund earnings to pay for essential government services, squeezing the portion available for dividends.
This year’s proposed $1,000 check would be the lowest in real, inflation-adjusted terms since the dividend’s inception.
Historical Permanent Fund Dividend Amounts (1982–2024 not adjusted for inflation)
| Year | Dividend Amount |
|---|---|
| 1982 | $1,000 |
| 1983 | $386.15 |
| 1984 | $331.29 |
| 1985 | $404.00 |
| 1986 | $556.26 |
| 1987 | $708.19 |
| 1988 | $826.93 |
| 1989 | $873.16 |
| 1990 | $952.63 |
| 1991 | $931.34 |
| 1992 | $915.84 |
| 1993 | $949.46 |
| 1994 | $983.90 |
| 1995 | $990.30 |
| 1996 | $1,130.68 |
| 1997 | $1,296.54 |
| 1998 | $1,540.88 |
| 1999 | $1,769.84 |
| 2000 | $1,963.86 |
| 2001 | $1,850.28 |
| 2002 | $1,540.76 |
| 2003 | $1,107.56 |
| 2004 | $919.84 |
| 2005 | $845.76 |
| 2006 | $1,106.96 |
| 2007 | $1,654.00 |
| 2008 | $2,069.00 |
| 2009 | $1,305.00 |
| 2010 | $1,281.00 |
| 2011 | $1,174.00 |
| 2012 | $878.00 |
| 2013 | $900.00 |
| 2014 | $1,884.00 |
| 2015 | $2,072.00 |
| 2016 | $1,022.00 |
| 2017 | $1,100.00 |
| 2018 | $1,600.00 |
| 2019 | $1,606.00 |
| 2020 | $992.00 |
| 2021 | $1,114.00 |
| 2022 | $3,284.00 |
| 2023 | $1,312.00 |
| 2024 | $1,702.00 |
This is a bunch of crap. I knew this was gonna happen. There is a memo of Zack Fields being the culprit of this idea. I have the picture of his letter.
WE DESERVE OUR RESOURCES AND MONIES FROM IT! NEVER TO BE YOU BUDGET BALANCER ! Matter of FACT. …WAS TO KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF! It’s REALLY A BAD LOOK TO ALL OF YOU FROM ANTI~ALASKAN BILL WALKER DOWN!
HOPE YOU ALL ENJOY THE OUTCOMES OF A BROKE STATE FOR MANY MANY MORE HOMELESS AND THOSE DEPENDENT ON MORE GOVERNMENT! Shows a PITIFUL GROUP IN OUR STATE JUST LETTING IT DIE AND LET THE PEEPS FALL WHERE THEY MAY ! RIP ALASKANS! They’ll leave with LUCRATIVE RETIREMENTS ON OUR BACKS!
Used to be …YOU PAY BACK YOUR PFDS!
““Payment of PFDs based on a 1982 formula is no longer practical,” said Fields in his sponsor statement.”
I think it’s even less practical that people keep voting in Fields, et. al. These people have no compunction about breaking Alaska law.
What legal basis does the legislature have for denying us our dividend? The State Constitution states that the proceeds from natural resources belong to the people, not the government. Walker raided the fund, but with no legal basis. I’m not a lawyer and I’m not made of money for lawsuits, but it appears an enterprising law firm could be filing a class action suit for the entire population of the state to recoup money stolen by the governors and legislatures. Why is this not happening?
Senator Hoffman and Speaker Bryce Edgmon have zero intentions of protecting the PFD.
It’s their stated mission to get rid of it and use the funding for government.
They might as well shut down “pick, click, give” now. There won’t be anything left for the ” give” part . I’m sure they’ll be GLAD to TAX!!! Tax! tax us to make up for it
Bring back the legislators from 2022 ?………
It’s “not sustainable” because the state won’t stop unnecessary spending. And because the legislature flatly refuses to follow the statute.
Please no one say they are surprised. This was the goal all along. Eliminating the PFD. Up next? The corpus. That’s too much money to leave alone.
Not legal? Since when has that mattered?
Interesting how Zack Fields is continually linked to these items.
We’ve been spoiled by big dollar PDFs.
The point is that it was set up for the people not to pay for government over spending.
Criminals stealing our money.
“The Legislature has increasingly used Permanent Fund earnings to pay for essential government services, squeezing the portion available for dividends.”
Essential services is a misnomer. A good part of the bloated budget is far from essential.
All you Anchorage and bush democrat voters, your socialist party is taking your PFD away from you since they know how to spend it better than you.
Alaska is the only State without an income, or sales tax. Conservatives refuse to acknowledge providing Constitutionally mandated services at some point will require a broad based tax. No taxpayer then wants to hand out $$$$ adding to a tax bill.
When I grew up theft was a crime! How long will Alaskans allow their local politicians to steal from the permanent fund? Or will they just give the farm to the politicians? The same politicians that don’t know how to balance a checkbook.???
The pfd fund is worth somewhere near 76 billion dollars right now or more. Giving the recipients the agreed upon amount as was originally intended will not harm the fund at all. If everyone were given $3000 it would only take out less tahn 2,100,000,000. So tell me again why the elected officious types don’t want to follow the letter of the law.
I have lived in Alaska since 1965. I would be more than happy to get rid of the PFD permanently!!! I guarantee that the population will decrease very fast! I’m sick of the freeloader’s
that has come to Alaska because of the PFD!!!
I’ve known in my gut for many years that our legislators in Juneau were going to succeed in stealing “the people’s money”.
They keep insisting that they simply CANNOT cut the budget, while funding things like the corrupt boondoggle in western AK of paying 10 times for hardwire internet services, over what Starlink could easily provide it for.
We can thank CCP Bill Walker and his corrupt judge for opening this can of worms, and also thank Sarah Palin for endorsing him for governor over the much much better candidate, Sean Parnell….
The real question is, where is the money that should be in the PFD by statute going? Start with the inflated salaries and per diem the legislature keeps hiking for a mere four months’ work….