09/14/2021 09:00 AM Senate FINANCE

SENATE BILL NO. 53                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     "An  Act  relating  to  use of  income  of  the  Alaska                                                                    
     permanent  fund;   relating  to   the  amount   of  the                                                                    
     permanent fund dividend; relating  to the duties of the                                                                    
     commissioner of  revenue; relating to an  advisory vote                                                                    
     on the permanent fund; providing  for an effective date                                                                    
     by repealing the effective date  of sec. 8, ch. 16, SLA                                                                    
     2018; and providing for an effective date."                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
11:43:46 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Senator  Wilson MOVED  to ADOPT  Amendment 1,  32-GS1693\W.2                                                                    
(Wallace/Nauman, 9/12/21) (copy on file).                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Bishop OBJECTED for discussion.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Senator Wilson  discussed the amendment. He  stated that the                                                                    
amendment would  change the  FY 22  payout of  the permanent                                                                    
fund  dividend (PFD)  from $1100  to roughly  a "fifty-fifty                                                                    
PFD  for  Alaskans."  The  hope  was  to  provide  a  better                                                                    
estimate.  He referred  to some  modeling  that showed  some                                                                    
negligible   changes.  He   felt  that   the  payments   for                                                                    
consulting was much greater  that the preliminary estimates.                                                                    
He  felt that  experts were  doing a  good job  managing the                                                                    
funds. He  hoped that there  would not  be a repeat  of poor                                                                    
fund management.  He remarked that  there would be  too much                                                                    
time  for legal  to deal  with any  committee action,  so he                                                                    
WITHDREW the AMENDMENT.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
Senator Hoffman  discussed the fiscal  note. He  stated that                                                                    
note to  fund the dividend  for the current fiscal  year was                                                                    
in HB  3003. He remarked that  there was no funding  for the                                                                    
dividend in the fiscal note  for the current year. He shared                                                                    
the dividend amounts for the upcoming years.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Stedman expressed some concerns with the bill.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
Senator Wilson stated  that it was difficult  to support the                                                                    
current version of the bill.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Bishop  remarked that  there  was  an attempt  for                                                                    
fiscal certainty, but understood the concerns.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
Senator  Hoffman  MOVED  to  REPORT   CSSB  53(FIN)  out  of                                                                    
committee  with  individual   recommendations  and  attached                                                                    
fiscal note. There being NO OBJECTION, it was so ordered.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
CSSB  53(FIN)   was  REPORTED  out  of   committee  with  no                                                                    
recommendation  and  with  one  new  fiscal  note  from  the                                                                    
Department of Revenue.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
11:52:09 AM                                                                                                                   
RECESSED