House Bill 4008 was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee and was formally introduced last Friday. It relates to the use of income of the Alaska permanent fund, relating to the amount of the permanent fund dividend, the duties of the commissioner of revenue and provides for an effective date.
Rep. Liz Snyder introduced the legislation:
“The overall motivation is similar in this bill as to several others that are under consideration. Namely the need to overcome legislative gridlock and bring us closer to a comprehensive fiscal plan that is good for Alaska and Alaskans. The bill retains a 5% POMV draw. It repeals conflicting statute and adds a revised PFD formula which we are currently calling a 50/50 contingency plan. We designed HB 4008 to balance the importance of sustainably funding high quality essential government services to strike a balance along with the importance of protecting and growing the permanent fund and the PFD, both of which I argue should be a priority. I also would like to highlight a strength of the 50/50 contingency plan is that it temporally separates and mitigates the impact of a budget increase or a budget decrease on the PFD by using a 5-year moving average and calculating the base line budget for a given year. Thus, reducing the capacity for the PFD to be utilized as political leverage in either direction and providing much needed budgetary stability.”
According to a fiscal note analysis, the legislation also allows the legislature to reduce the appropriation by the amount necessary to pay for the balance of the state budget under a certain threshold based on a five-year average of appropriations adjusted for inflation and population. Rep. Snyder called HB 4008 a ‘step forward’ and providing advocates across the political spectrum with a ‘win’ in working to create a sustainable budget solution.
The bill is currently in the House Ways and Means Committee. Click here for more information on HB 4008.
Transcribed audio courtesy of KTOO 360TV.