Senate passes compromise budget; bill will head to the House

On the last day of regular session, the Alaska Senate passed the budget compromise produced by the conference committee earlier this week.

One of the key negotiating points this year was the size of the Permanent Fund Dividend checks that eligible Alaskans will receive this fall.

The conference committee version of the budget calls for a PFD payment of $2,550, plus an additional payment of $1,300 to offset high energy costs.

The funding method for that energy payment means that three-quarters of both the House and Senate must vote to withdraw funds from the state’s constitutional budget reserve.  Without that vote, the total payment would be $3,200 instead of $3,850.

The budget passed the Senate by a vote of nineteen-to-one, with Senator Lora Reinbold as the lone “no” vote.  The vote to withdraw from reserves received exactly the fifteen votes it needed.

Senator Mike Shower, whose district includes the Northern Valley, voted “yes” to both the budget and the reserve draw.  Shower has been a firm advocate of paying PFDs based on current state statute.  The current number gets to about ninety percent of a statutory dividend.  While Shower says he would have preferred the full amount, he was swayed to vote in favor of the compromise due to the immediate need of many Alaskan families as well as the capital spending in the budget.  Shower believes increased spending on capital projects will lead to additional jobs.

While the budget has passed the Senate, some steps remain.  The House of Representatives must still vote on it, which could happen Wednesday evening.  After that, the bill is sent to Governor Mike Dunleavy, who has line-item veto power.

The deadline to end regular session is before the clock strikes midnight on Wednesday night.  If the process takes longer, it will require an extension of the legislative session.