00                   HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 13                                                                   
01 Relating to the Alaska permanent fund.                                                                                  
02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
03       WHEREAS, in November 1976, the people of the state voted to amend the                                         
04 Constitution of the State of Alaska to create the Alaska permanent fund to save a portion of                            
05 the state's oil wealth for future generations; and                                                                      
06 WHEREAS art. IX, sec. 15, Constitution of the State of Alaska, reads that "at least                                   
07 twenty-five per cent of all mineral lease rentals, royalties, royalty sale proceeds, federal                            
08 mineral revenue sharing payments and bonuses received by the State shall be placed in a                                 
09 permanent fund, the principal of which shall be used only for those income-producing                                    
10 investments specifically designated by law as eligible for permanent fund investments. All                              
11 income from the permanent fund shall be deposited in the general fund unless otherwise                                  
12 provided by law"; and                                                                                                   
13       WHEREAS the permanent fund received its first oil royalty deposit of $734,000 on                                
14 February 28, 1977; and                                                                                                  
15       WHEREAS, with wise fiscal stewardship, the permanent fund is currently worth over                               
16 $66,000,000,000; and                                                                                                    

01       WHEREAS the Alaska permanent fund is a state legacy and is the only endowment in                                
02 the world to pay an annual dividend to every eligible state resident; and                                               
03       WHEREAS the people of the state need a financially healthy permanent fund that will                             
04 continue to grow in perpetuity; and                                                                                     
05       WHEREAS the Alaska permanent fund is an integral part of the economic and social                                
06 fabric of the state and should continue to benefit all generations; and                                                 
07       WHEREAS the permanent fund dividend program was established in 1980, but                                        
08 dividends were not paid out until 1982, after Zobel v. Williams was resolved by the United                              
09 States Supreme Court and new legislation, conforming to the decision, was enacted; and                                  
10 WHEREAS, in the past two years, the earnings reserve account in the Alaska                                            
11 permanent fund has, in addition to paying for the annual permanent fund dividend, become an                             
12 integral part of the state budget for public services, providing almost half of the state's                             
13 unrestricted general fund revenue in fiscal year 2020; and                                                              
14 WHEREAS, in 2018, the Thirtieth Alaska State Legislature passed Senate Bill 26,                                       
15 which established a sustainable limit on the allowable annual draw from the earnings reserve                            
16 account, using a percent-of-market-value calculation commonly employed by most                                          
17 foundations and endowments globally; and                                                                                
18 WHEREAS recent analysis identifies a 15 percent risk over the next 10 years that the                                  
19 earnings reserve account will fall short of meeting the sustainable annual draw for dividends                           
20 and public services; and                                                                                                
21 WHEREAS an overdraw of the earnings reserve account in the Alaska permanent                                           
22 fund beyond the limit established by Senate Bill 26 would put the fund at material risk,                                
23 jeopardizing the annual draw, endangering the long-term economic well-being of the state,                               
24 and impairing the state's long-anticipated ability to rely on the earnings reserve account to                           
25 help meet the public service needs of the people of the state; and                                                      
26 WHEREAS international credit rating agencies have identified that the financial                                       
27 health of the Alaska permanent fund is critically important to the state, providing operating                           
28 budget flexibility that would be lost if the fund were depleted; and                                                    
29 WHEREAS current and future generations of people of the state have a vested                                           
30 interest in seeing the Alaska permanent fund continue its history of consistent financial                               
31 growth in line with the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation's projected permanent fund value                              

01 of $84,571,000,000 by June 30, 2029;                                                                                    
02       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature vows to defend the Alaska                                      
03 permanent fund today and for generations to come; and be it                                                             
04       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature pledges to maintain a                                        
05 permanent fund dividend for all future generations; and be it                                                           
06       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature pledges to safeguard the                                     
07 substantial oil and investment wealth that has accumulated in the Alaska permanent fund over                            
08 the past two generations so that future generations can share in the fund's benefits.