On Friday, Governor Bill Walker’s office released a video announcing that the 2016 Permanent Fund Dividend will be $1,022, about half of what it would have been without Walker’s partial veto of PFD funding.
In late June, Governor Walker issued line-item vetoes canceling spending on specific items approved by the legislature in its long budget process. Walker says reducing the dividend means less spending from reserves for state services, which will preserve the PFD into the future. Walker claims that, without intervention, the PFD would go away entirely within a few years.
Had Walker not vetoed part of the dividend funding for this year, eligible Alaskans would have received $2,052. Some critics of Walker’s veto say cutting the PFD affects low-income families disproportionately to wealthy Alaskans.
One of those opponents, Anchorage senator Bill Wielechowski (WHEEL-uh-COW-skee) has filed a lawsuit seeking to reverse the veto. Wielechowski claims that, due to the way PFD statute is worded, that Walker does not have the authority to veto or reduce it. The senator requested an expedited hearing, but it’s not clear whether the case will be heard before dividend checks are scheduled to begin going out on October 6th.
