Senators hear opposition to rewrite of Permanent Fund dividend formula

JUNEAU — The Alaska Senate Finance Committee is continuing work to rewrite the traditional formula for calculating the Permanent Fund dividend, but a session of public testimony Monday morning indicated lawmakers will have to overcome public skepticism.

“I’m telling you, the people are not in line with what you guys are trying to do here. We’re in line with Gov. Dunleavy’s plan,” said Cris Eichenlaub of Eagle River.

From 1982 to 2016, the dividend was paid using a formula based upon the average investment returns of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. over several years. The new approach under consideration by the finance committee would be based upon the average value of the fund over several years.

Support for the idea was not evident in a session of public testimony Monday: Of the seven people who provided their opinions, none were supportive.

Read more: https://www.adn.com/politics/alaska-legislature/2019/04/30/senators-hear-opposition-to-rewrite-of-permanent-fund-dividend-formula/