Paying Dividends

Late last week, there was a big announcement from the Alaska Senate Finance Committee — one that Alaskans look forward to every year. It’s still a little early for finding out how much the Permanent Fund Dividend will be, but this one could be a doozy: something like $3,029. It could be the biggest check in state’s history. But there’s a lot standing between now and October when that amount would be paid out.

On this episode of Paying Dividends, Andrew Kitchenman talks about why the fate of this year’s dividend is still up in the air, and what Alaska’s senators still hope to accomplish before the end of the legislative session.

The Alaska State House of Representatives has passed the budget. Now, it’s the Senate’s turn. Senators have to decide how much to cut from public schools and health care, the ferry system and the University of Alaska. Where do leading senators stand and what do they see happening next?

Andrew Kitchenman shares what he’s been hearing at the state capitol. And Nat Herz reports on how Alaskans are responding to the differences between what Gov. Dunleavy said about the budget when he was campaigning last year and the budget he has proposed.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s austerity budget isn’t going over smoothly — even among members of his own party. Now, he’s taking his fiscal plan on the road with stops in communities from Nome to Fairbanks to Kenai. Members of the State House Finance Committee held their own dueling meetings.

As Alaskans got up close and personal with their elected representatives — what’s the message? On this episode of Paying Dividends, Alaskans weigh-in.

We hear reporters from Juneau to Bethel, in Southwest Alaska, where Gov. Mike Dunleavy and members of the legislature landed in the last week. They were taking feedback on the budget, PFDs, the state’s constitution and, really, whatever else was on people’s minds.

The reception they got was, in a word, mixed. There were protests at nearly every stop on the Governor’s tour. In Fairbanks, nearly 400 protesters showed up. In Nome, a woman was detained by police.

The Governor and lawmakers heard from people who didn’t want to see their dividends cut, but they also heard hours of testimony from people who opposed dramatic state budget cuts to things like education and ferries.

Rashah McChesney talks to KTOO and Alaska Public Media’s Andrew Kitchenman in Juneau, KDLL’s Shaylon Cochran in Kenai, KYUK’s Krysti Shallenberger in Bethel and KNOM’s Emily Hofstadter in Nome.

There’s a saying in Juneau, and probably in a lot of other state Capitols : the governor proposes and the Legislature disposes.

In the first two episodes of Paying Dividends, we’ve talked a lot about what Governor Mike Dunleavy is proposing — an austerity budget with sharp cuts to schools, health-care and ferries so the state can afford $3,000 Permanent Fund dividend checks.

In the Capitol, people like to refer to the governor’s proposal as his request — because really, it’s the House and Senate that decide how much to spend on each program, and they’re free to accept or ignore the governor’s advice.

In the House right now, the committees that are handling the budgets for each state agency aren’t even using Dunleavy’s proposal as a starting place — they’re starting by asking how much each agency would need to sustain the status quo.

But if lawmakers reject Dunleavy’s budget cuts and decide to spend more money on government services, how much cash will be left over for PFDs?

In this episode, we go back to the Capitol, to talk to lawmakers about what next year’s budget and PFD are actually going to look like.

While Governor Dunleavy was elected on pledges to pay big dividends while cutting state government, his detailed proposal to do that is not exactly going over smoothly with lawmakers — even those in his own party, like the Republicans who control the Senate.

Nat Herz talks to two of those senators and with Andrew Kitchenman, who’s been covering budget hearings in the Senate Finance Committee.

Last time on Paying Dividends, we explored the ways that Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration could make good on its promise to pay full PFDs. And now we know that in order to do that, the governor is proposing steep cuts to the state’s budget.

And along with those spending cuts come job losses. Depending on which economist you ask, the state could lose anywhere from 600 government jobs to at least 12,000 jobs in fields like education and healthcare .

But Dunleavy is also proposing to inject almost $2 billion dollars back into the state’s economy through a larger PFD, arguing that the PFD and private sector will make up for job losses that come from spending cuts.

Host Rashah McChesney talks to reporter Nat Herz, who traveled to the Mat-Su Valley for a recent story and talked to someone who is passionate about the agriculture industry in Alaska — whose state support is on the chopping block — and a small business owner who is just as passionate about the potential economic benefit from a large Permanent Fund dividend.

To get the Dunleavy administration’s view on the budget’s impact on the state’s economy, Rashah sat down with Ed King, the state’s chief economist. He works for the Office of Management and Budget, giving the administration economic advice and analyzing the impacts of policy changes.

When he was on the campaign trail, Alaska Gov. Michael Dunleavy promised to pay dividends of more than $6,000. And now, he’s trying to make good on that promise. But delivering on it isn’t going to be simple. On this episode of Paying Dividends, what do legislators think of Dunleavy’s promise? And will they work with him or against him?

Host Rashah McChesney talks to Andrew Kitchenman, state government and politics reporter for KTOO and Alaska Public Media. In a recent news story, Andrew said that every dollar the state pays out in permanent fund dividends is a dollar that won’t pay for government services. With Gov. Dunleavy’s newly trimmed budget anticipated next week, that math is on everyone’s mind. We also talk to Bruce Tangeman, the new commissioner of the state’s Department of Revenue.