Governor Mike Dunleavy discussed his proposed operating budget for Fiscal Year 2022, titled ‘A Path Forward,’ Friday afternoon. He noted that $12 billion in growth of the Permanent Fund this year will be utilized to help the state get through its recovery over the next few months.
As part of his budgetary package which will be sent to the state legislature, he is proposing a payout of the remaining portion of this year’s Permanent Fund Dividend, being done as early as March. He also proposed a full statutory PFD next year, amounting to a total of roughly $4,972 per Alaskan.
Dunleavy said that he does not plan to dip into the Permanent Fund often, and in fact, his package proposes constitutional amendments to ensure the PFD is, in fact, permanent: “We’re recommending three constitutional amendments as part of this package. One to protect the PFD forever, one to protect the Permanent Fund itself so it grows – which will grow that PFD, and a constitutional amendment that would control spending – an amendment that would allow the people of Alaska to be part of the taxation of Alaska, if there ever is taxes. In other words, the people of Alaska would have to approve taxes. But this is something that’s gotta be settled this year, and it needs to be settled, in my opinion, to the advantage of Alaskans so that they know they can be guaranteed a PFD every year.”
He is also proposing a $300-350 million infrastructure proposal to help put Alaskans to work in infrastructural projects.
With regards to the Alaska Marine Highway System, Dunleavy says the issue is addressed in his proposal: “It would be a $3 million reduction over what the legislature finally put in last year in the budgetary process. We really believe that here needs to be a discussion with the Marine Highway Reshaping Committee, which I hope also takes place, and we’ll be talking to the legislature about that, because that committee worked on looking at ways to, again, make the ferry system sustainable for coastal Alaska. So, you don’t see dramatic reductions in that budget because we have to have that discussion with the legislature, with the reshaping committee, to see what the ferry system could look like in terms of efficiencies but still have a ferry system that is sustainable well into the future. That’s what this discussion is all about. That’s what this whole discussion is all about.”
The Governor also expects to honor prior agreements with the University system to not gut their budget, referencing calls he received about that budget when oil prices fell earlier this year: “The question they asked is, ‘Are you going to reduce the University even more now because of the situation with the oil prices?’ As I said then and as I’m saying now, we have an agreement with the University. That agreement is a three year agreement with a step-down in it and we’re going to honor that agreement. We’re not asking for additional reductions at this point.”
The budget includes a total reduction of $295.6 million dollars, but no specifics are offered as to what has been cut in the proposal.
The Governor’s administration has offered a fact sheet online.