Gov. Bill Walker’s administration is preparing to roll out the most radical change to the state’s annual budgeting process since the creation of the Alaska Permanent Fund in 1976.
At noon Wednesday in Juneau’s Centennial Hall, lawmakers were briefed on a budget plan that redirects almost all of the state’s oil revenue to the Permanent Fund, in effect turning it into a money factory that would generate about $3.3 billion per year.
The plan also promises to radically change the way the annual Permanent Fund Dividend is paid.
Under the proposal, most of Alaska’s oil and gas revenue would flow directly into the Permanent Fund. A portion of the fund’s annual growth — which now comes more from investments than oil — would go to the fund’s earnings reserve, a separate reservoir.
Under the proposal, there would be an annual transfer of about $3.3 billion from the reserve to the state’s general fund, which pays for state services.
See Full Story at The Alaska Journal of Commerce
