Current:Home > InvestAlaska House passes budget with roughly $2,275 payments to residents, bill goes to Senate -Wealth Evolution Experts
Alaska House passes budget with roughly $2,275 payments to residents, bill goes to Senate
View
Date:2025-04-11 14:21:22
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska House on Thursday passed its version of the state operating budget that includes direct payments to residents of roughly $2,275 a person. That amount is expected to be a subject of negotiations in the waning weeks of the legislative session, with Senate leaders questioning whether the state can afford it.
The House spending plan includes a Permanent Fund Dividend of roughly $1,650, plus energy relief payments of about $625. Senate Finance Committee co-Chair Bert Stedman told reporters Wednesday that House and Senate leaders had reached agreement on big items related to the budget but not on that issue.
The bill also includes a roughly $175 million, one-time increase in aid to school districts that would be paid according to a funding formula. Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy last month vetoed an education package that overwhelmingly passed the Legislature that would have permanently boosted school funding by that amount. Dunleavy complained the package lacked provisions he wanted on teacher bonuses and charter schools — provisions that had failed to win broad support among lawmakers.
Lawmakers fell one vote short of overriding the veto, frustrating school leaders and education advocates who have been pleading for more money. Students last week walked out of class — and marched through the Capitol — in protest.
The Republican-led House has been trying to cobble together a new education package, with the legislative session set to end in mid-May.
The size of the yearly dividend — long paid to residents using earnings from the state’s Permanent Fund, its oil-wealth nest egg — has become a perennial fight.
For years, the amount set aside for checks was determined by a formula that lawmakers have virtually abandoned, particularly as the state has increasingly relied on fund earnings to help pay for government. Legislators have not set a new formula and instead have battled each year over what the dividend amount should be.
The operating budget next goes to the Senate, which is working on its version of a state infrastructure budget. Differences between what passes the House and Senate are generally hashed out in a conference committee.
veryGood! (6)
Related
- DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
- 25-Year-Old Woman Announces Her Own Death on Social Media After Rare Cancer Battle
- Top 5 most popular dog breeds of 2023 in America: Guess which is No. 1?
- Spring brings snow to several northern states after mild winter canceled ski trips, winter festivals
- Who's hosting 'Saturday Night Live' tonight? Musical guest, how to watch Dec. 14 episode
- The Top 56 Amazon Home Deals on Celeb-Loved Picks: Kyle Richards, Olivia Culpo, Nick Cannon & More
- Star Wars celebrates 'Phantom Menace' 25th anniversary with marathon of 9 films in theaters
- Drawing nears for $997M Mega Millions jackpot
- Former Danish minister for Greenland discusses Trump's push to acquire island
- Lawrence County Superintendent Robbie Fletcher selected as Kentucky’s next education commissioner
Ranking
- SFO's new sensory room helps neurodivergent travelers fight flying jitters
- AP Week in Pictures: North America
- Has anyone ever had a perfect bracket for March Madness? The odds and precedents for NCAA predictions
- Spring brings snow to several northern states after mild winter canceled ski trips, winter festivals
- How to watch the 'Blue Bloods' Season 14 finale: Final episode premiere date, cast
- USMNT avoids stunning Concacaf Nations League elimination with late goal vs. Jamaica
- Create a digital will or control what Meta shares with savvy tech tips
- An American Who Managed a Shrimp Processing Plant in India Files a Whistleblower Complaint With U.S. Authorities
Recommendation
At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors, hope for answers
Prosecutors in 3 Wisconsin counties decline to pursue charges against Trump committee, lawmaker
Revisit the 2023 March Madness bracket results as the 2024 NCAA tournament kicks off
Did grocery chains take advantage of COVID shortages to raise prices? FTC says yes
Rams vs. 49ers highlights: LA wins rainy defensive struggle in key divisional game
New York Mets to sign J.D. Martinez, make big splash late to bolster lineup
Stellantis recalls nearly 285,000 cars to replace side air bags that can explode and hurl shrapnel
No. 11 Oregon stays hot and takes out South Carolina in another NCAA Tournament upset