Current:Home > StocksAlaska budget negotiators announce tentative deal as legislative session nears deadline-LoTradeCoin
Alaska budget negotiators announce tentative deal as legislative session nears deadline
View Date:2024-12-23 19:07:37
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska budget negotiators announced a tentative agreement Tuesday that includes direct payments to residents this year of about $1,655, winding down a budget process that lacked the acrimony of prior years.
Lawmakers face a Wednesday deadline to complete their work, with floor dockets packed with bills. But the atmosphere around the budget conference committee of House and Senate negotiators was bright and upbeat Tuesday morning — in contrast with prior years, when the size of the yearly dividend paid to residents was a major point of contention. This year’s legislative session has been marked by tension around education and energy issues, which remained in play.
The tentative budget deal calls for a roughly $1,360 dividend to residents this year, plus an energy relief payment of $295. Dividends are traditionally paid with earnings from the Alaska Permanent Fund, a state nest-egg seeded with oil money and grown over time through investments. People must meet residency requirements to be eligible for dividends.
The payments are similar to what the Senate proposed in its version of the budget earlier this month, though the energy relief payment is slightly higher. The House version of the budget proposed checks of about $2,275 a person, including a dividend of roughly $1,650, plus energy relief payments of about $625. The conference committee was tasked with hashing out differences between the two proposals.
The agreement is subject to approval by the full House and Senate.
Republican Rep. DeLena Johnson, a co-chair of the House Finance Committee and one of the negotiators, said the level of upfront communication around the budget was different than last year. Late in the session last year, the Senate passed a budget for government operations and infrastructure projects and sent it to the House as a take-or-leave proposition. The House adjourned without voting on it, leading to a one-day special session to finalize a package.
“I think there was an attempt on both sides to make sure that ... the appropriate process was followed and that there was transparency in what we did,” she told reporters Tuesday.
Last year’s dividend was $1,312 a person.
The budget plan also includes a one-time, $175 million boost in foundation funding for K-12 schools. School leaders and education advocates sought a permanent increase in aid, citing the toll that inflation and high energy and insurance costs have taken on their budgets and a need for greater budget certainty. But a bill passed overwhelmingly by lawmakers earlier this session that included a permanent $175 million increase in aid to districts through a school funding formula was vetoed by Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy, and lawmakers failed by one vote to override that veto.
veryGood! (2)
Related
- AP Top 25: Oregon remains No. 1 as Big Ten grabs 4 of top 5 spots; Georgia, Miami out of top 10
- Pope Francis creates 21 new cardinals who will help him to reform the church and cement his legacy
- Where are the best places to grab a coffee? Vote for your faves
- Apple says it will fix software problems blamed for making iPhone 15 models too hot to handle
- John Krasinski Revealed as People's Sexiest Man Alive 2024
- Find your car, hide your caller ID and more with these smart tips for tech.
- She's broken so many records, what's one more? How Simone Biles may make history again
- Man tied to suspected shooter in Tupac Shakur’s 1996 killing arrested in Las Vegas, AP sources say
- After years of unrest, Commanders have reinvented their culture and shattered expectations
- Federal agency sues Chipotle after a Kansas manager allegedly ripped off an employee’s hijab
Ranking
- Harriet Tubman posthumously named a general in Veterans Day ceremony
- Why Kendall Jenner Is Scared to Have Kids
- Sea lion escapes from Central Park Zoo pool amid severe New York City flooding
- A doctor was caught in the crossfire and was among 4 killed in a gunbattle at a hospital in Mexico
- Trump pledged to roll back protections for transgender students. They’re flooding crisis hotlines
- Almost all of Nagorno-Karabakh’s people have left, Armenia’s government says
- Atlantic Festival 2023 features Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Kerry Washington and more, in partnership with CBS News
- 400-pound stingray caught in Long Island Sound in relatively rare sighting
Recommendation
-
Why Cynthia Erivo Needed Prosthetic Ears for Wicked
-
Maui wildfire missed signals stoke outrage as officials point fingers
-
Ryder Cup: Team USA’s problem used to be acrimony. Now it's apathy.
-
MVP candidates Shohei Ohtani, Ronald Acuña Jr. top MLB jersey sales list
-
Mega Millions winning numbers for November 12 drawing: Jackpot rises to $361 million
-
90 Day Fiancé’s Ed and Liz Reveal the Lessons They've Learned After 11-Plus Break Ups
-
Europe masterful at Ryder Cup format. There's nothing Americans can do to change that
-
Baltimore Archdiocese says it will file for bankruptcy before new law on abuse lawsuits takes effect