Alaska lawmakers will convene a new legislative session Tuesday against the backdrop of an election year, with a record that includes education funding, energy proposals and the ongoing challenge of how large the annual dividend checks should be to go to residents. Submit. They are also starting the session with increased salaries.
Here's what you need to know:
education
School officials are calling for a permanent increase in per-pupil funding for K-12 schools. They say inflation is eating away at their budgets and in some cases forcing them to cut programs and increase class sizes. The school is also having trouble hiring teachers and filling other positions.
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Lawmakers approved a one-time increase of $175 million last year, but Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed half of it.
Dunleavy, a former educator, did not propose any funding increases as part of the budget plan he announced last month, but said he is sure education will be a big topic this Congress. He has expressed his support for homeschooling and said he wants to replicate the success of charter schools.
He also hopes the bill he introduced last year will gain renewed attention. He is calling for a three-year program that would pay bonuses as a way to retain full-time teachers.
The Alaska State Legislature is scheduled to convene a new session on January 16, 2024 at the Alaska State Capitol here in Juneau. (AP Photo/Becky Bowler, File)
Tom Krameyer, president of the teachers union NEA Alaska, said schools are in “crisis.” He said there is an urgent need to pass legislation that would increase school funding and provide pensions to public employees, including teachers.
Nearly 20 years ago, the state Legislature, in response to billions of dollars in unfunded pension liabilities, voted for states to stop offering pensions in favor of 401k-style retirement plans.
Republican Senate President Gary Stevens, who leads the bipartisan Senate majority, said it was time to revisit the pension issue. But he said lawmakers want to analyze carefully to avoid unexpected costs if they take action.
Republican House Speaker Kathy Tilton said her caucus members are interested in seeing whether changes can be made to the current defined contribution plan to make it more attractive to workers. She also expects broader conversations about education.
dividend
For years, legislative leaders have cited the need to end conflicts over the amount of annual checks Alaskans receive from the proceeds of the state's Spawn Oil Wealth Fund. And every year this problem persists.
Expectations that this situation will change in a campaign year when most parliamentary seats are up for election seem low.
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This discussion dates back to 2016. At the time, amid low oil prices and a budget deficit, then-Governor Bill Walker vetoed about half of the available dividends. Previously, the amount of investment income allocated to dividends was based on a moving average of the fund's performance. Checks vary in size. In 2005, the last year the formula was used, it was $845.76, but 10 years later he was worth $2,072.
The check has since become a political football.
In 2018, lawmakers began using Alaska Permanent Fund revenue, which had long been used to pay dividends, as a recurring fund to help pay the government. Both governments have stuck to caps on annual withdrawals, but have been unable to set a new formula for how funds will be allocated between dividends and government spending, sparking disputes, disrupting budget negotiations and threatening other parties. attention is diverted from the problem.
Dunleavy proposed a constitutional amendment in 2021 as part of a broader fiscal plan that would earmark half of all withdrawals from the fund for dividends. But it didn't go anywhere.
In his latest budget proposal, he included checks based on a formula last used in 2015, which is widely considered unsustainable. Dunleavy successfully ran for governor in 2018, seeking a dividend along this formula, but he was unable to get it through the Legislature. He was re-elected to a four-year term in 2022.
His proposed budget would spend $2.3 billion on a dividend of about $3,400 per person and would require about $990 million from depleted state savings to balance the bill.
Last year's dividend was $1,312, and Stevens said the company will strive to pay a “reasonable” dividend this year. The Senate passed last year that if the state generates at least $1.3 billion in new current revenue and meets savings goals, 75% of annual revenue withdrawals would go to the government and 25% to dividends, split 50-50. passed a bill requiring. This approach stalled in the Republican-led House.
“Is there ever going to be a solution to that?” Stevens said of the annual debate. “Probably not. There's always going to be a fight, and there's always going to be a fight with the governor when you have a governor who insists on this huge dividend in the budget.”
energy
Dunleavy said he expects energy issues to be discussed, including updating power lines in Alaska's most populous railbelt region. Dunleavy's proposals for underground carbon storage and the natural gas supplies that southcentral Alaskans depend on also could attract attention.
raise
The pay increase, rushed through last year by new appointees to the Alaska State Executive Compensation Commission and accepted by lawmakers, would raise their annual salaries from $50,400 to $84,000. The governor, lieutenant governor, and director of the department also received raises, effective July 1.
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The statutory increase will take effect at the beginning of the session. Jessica Geary, executive director of the Legislature's Office, said that half of legislators' pay in January will be at the old tax rate and half will be at the new rate, which equates to about $80,000 this year.
All but three Juneau residents are also entitled to a $307 per diem during the session. A typical session lasts up to 121 days.
The Salary Committee is struggling with how to deal with members' remuneration. The per diem that lawmakers receive has been the subject of intense scrutiny, especially during years of drawn-out special legislative sessions. Lawmakers complain that without higher salaries, it will be difficult to attract young people and people with families to run for and serve in parliament.
Lawmakers last year rejected a committee proposal that called for higher salaries for the executive branch but did not address salaries for members of Congress. Two members subsequently resigned and three others were fired by Dunleavy. With little debate, the new appointees proposed raising salaries for lawmakers in addition to raises for the executive branch.
