By ANCHORAGE DAILY PLANET
More than a few lawmakers are urging Gov. Mike Dunleavy to stick to his guns in demanding a full, $3,000 Permanent Fund dividend for Alaskans this year.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers told Dunleavy in a letter Friday they supported paying Alaskans their 2019 Permanent Fund Dividends according to the full statutory formula. Under that formula, established by law in 1982, each Alaskan would get a $3,000 dividend.
“Alaskans are fully justified in expecting their dividends to be distributed based on this traditional formula,” the lawmakers wrote, “Similarly, they are justified in feeling angry and shortchanged by the Legislature’s unilateral decision to not pay the full amount owed to Alaskans.”
Those who signed the letter include: Sens. Mia Costello, R-Anchorage, Shelly Hughes, R-Palmer, Peter Micciche, R-Kenai, Lora Reinbold, R-Eagle River, Mike Shower, R-Wasilla, Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, and Reps. Ben Carpenter, R-Nikiski, Sharon Jackson, R-Eagle River, Gabrielle LeDoux, R-Anchorage, Laddie Shaw, R-Anchorage, Chris Tuck, D-Anchorage, Dave Talerico, R-Healy, and Sarah Vance, R-Homer.
Lawmakers have sent the governor budget legislation including a $1,600 dividend. He has vowed he would settle for nothing less than a $3,000 dividend and has yet to sign the legislation into law.
Instead of relying on the 1982 statute to set the dividend’s amount, some lawmakers have opted to instead use political whim and expediency to set the amount.
It is nice to see some lawmakers still have respect for the law.
If there are legislators who do not respect the law when it comes to the statutory PFD formula, how can voters expect them to respect the law on anything else when they go to backwater Juneau?
Alaska is becoming a 3rd World State with the Permanent Fund as a bright target for corruption.
Use the FORMULA! That’s how the PFD amount is determined, not by greedy, let’s spend more Legislators!
As we await Governor Dunleavy decision on HB 2001. Which reinstates many on the vetoes the governor took out of the budget and only funds a $ 1600.00 PFD which is paid to Alaskan residents in lieu of having oil royalties under the land they own. One point can be made here. We can thank Rep. Gary Knopp for this, as he wanted a counter weight developed through a coalition in the House of Representatives against Governor Dunleavy. Now we have an infection in both bodies of the legislature that is feeding egos and not listening to the will of the people.
They have a choice: violate the traditional PFD statute or the one they passed last year limiting them to spending 5.25% of the Permanent Fund value from the Earnings Reserve. It does not seem they can follow one without violating the other.
Joint lawsuit against everyone of the legislators who are breaking the law!!!
Mr. Dunleavy, either way seems that you will lose, so why not just keep on the track you have promised. A $3,000 PFD and the placement of PFD calculation as the rule of the land. I personally believe that you will win out on this in the long run.
Harold, I agree. Go for the $3000. It is what the Governor said he would do.
We want our full dividend!!! We don’t trust most of the people in our Alaskan government because you are right, we all feel slighted and shortchanged. It’s not our fault the only bill they can pass in a timely manner involves their yearly salary, and their raises. Sometimes doing the right thing gets you hated, and Dunleavy is the only one we have elected into office that is willing to make the hard choices for us, if they would have allowed his changes to go into effect, our deficit would have been gone in 2 years, which would protect the dividend forever!!!
Comments are closed.