Dunleavy announces bill to reverse PFD cut

Sen. Mike Dunleavy, R-Wasilla, held a press conference Wednesday in front of an Anchorage Fred Meyer store to announce his intention to offer a bill that would restore half the Permanent Fund Dividend vetoed by Gov. Bill Walker this year.

In a prepared statement, Dunleavy said “the bill will be pre-filed as soon as possible, and I will ask for an expedited hearing when the Legislature convenes on Jan. 17, 2017.”

Dunleavy cast a strange scene as he announced his bill in the parking lot of an Anchorage store. The announcement was broadcast on Facebook Live, which showed shoppers stopping to watch and ask questions alongside reporters. One man in particular frequently interrupted Dunleavy with vocal opposition to the dividend veto.

The $1,022 dividend is expected to reach Alaskans Thursday, but it could have been double that amount had Walker not vetoed some $700 million from the account that pays dividends.

Walker said at the time that the veto was necessary to preserve the state’s savings. With Alaska’s state government operating at a multibillion-dollar deficit, it will soon need to use the account that pays dividends. Lowering the dividend this year ensures there will be more money in that account in the future.

Walker’s move was unpopular in many corners of the state, but the Alaska Legislature failed to muster enough votes to override Walker’s veto.

After the Legislature left Juneau, Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, launched a lawsuit to overturn Walker’s move on legal grounds. That measure is still proceeding through the courts, and Dunleavy said he’s “actually looking forward to the outcome of the lawsuit.”

He hopes his intent and announcement will start a bigger conversation about the right size of government and get people talking seriously, months before the Legislature starts working.

“Let’s agree that we’re going to have to reduce government and come up with a number first,” Dunleavy said. “We can’t even right now agree on a number, a size of reduction.”

If Alaskans can agree on that number, they’ll be able to then consider what can fit inside that figure — education, transportation, health care, or some other item.

“We got into this as a result of being too dependent on oil,” Dunleavy said. “We’re going to get out of this thing by working together and being transparent.”

Dunleavy is not running for election this year — his seat doesn’t come up for election until 2018 — but when asked if he is planning a run for governor, he didn’t directly deny it.

“This is not about any run,” Dunleavy said of his proposal. “This is not about any election.”

“This is unprecedented times,” he said, “but we’re hanging in there, standing in front of a store in which people are shopping, and we’re going to get through this.”

More in News

The Alaska Board of Fisheries hears public testimony at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska, on Feb. 18, 1999. (M. Scott Moon/Peninsula Clarion file)
Board of Fisheries again declines to hold Upper Cook Inlet meeting on Kenai Peninsula

The State Board of Fisheries this week rejected calls from the Kenai… Continue reading

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski takes a selfie with Rose Burke at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska, on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. Burke won the 2024 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree essay contest and will travel to Washington, D.C., in December to light the tree. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Connections student to light U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree

Rose Burke, 9, won the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree essay contest and will travel to Washington D.C.

Alaska State Troopers logo.
Soldotna man arrested for possession of child sex abuse material

He was taken to Wildwood Pretrial Facility

A cruise ship is docked in Seward, Alaska on Wednesday, May 25, 2022. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
Seward gets nearly $46 million for power upgrades at port

The funds are intended to transform Seward’s port into a “green port”

Troopers Joseph Miller Jr. and Jason Woodruff are seen in a screenshot from body camera footage taken in Kenai, Alaska, on May 24, 2024. (Photo provided by Alaska Department of Law)
Grand jury indicts 2 troopers on felony assault charge

The complaint cites both audio and body camera footage

Foliage surrounds the Soldotna Police Department sign on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Escott named new chief of Soldotna Police

Stace Escott has been promoted to chief of the Soldotna Police Department,… Continue reading

Campaign signs fill a wall near Paradisos Restaurant in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Candidates spend big on radio advertising, print mailers in final weeks of campaign

Only a week before the general election on Nov. 5, candidates are… Continue reading

An Alaska Division of Elections Official Election Pamphlet rests on a desk in the Peninsula Clarion newsroom on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
When, where to vote in the 2024 general election

Tuesday is Election Day! Voters in the Kenai Peninsula Borough will head… Continue reading

Most Read