2021 Alaska Legislative Session Permanent Fund Dividend payments to be in spotlight
Alaska’s 2021 state legislative session is getting off to a slow start. The state House,
The smooth senate organization dispelled fears that disagreements
There are seven Senate Dem- ocrats. As expected, Sen. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel, joined the Sen- ate Majority, as he has in the past. Rural lawmakers representing large districts must be pragmatic and of- ten set aside partisan affiliations to represent constituents. The Sen- ate’s new leaders, all experienced, also felt it is better to have the can- ny Hoffman “inside the tent” than outside. There were fears initially that the Senate would wind up being controlled this year by conserva- tive senators from the Mat-Su with strong influence by Gov. Mike Dun- leavy, who is from the region. In that scenario, the key issue would have been the governor’s push for large Permanent Fund dividends, which most senators feel the state can’t afford. Although moderate senators wound up in leadership the PFD is- sue is still there. That’s because a key condition in the Senate organi- zation deal is no “binding caucus” condition on votes. The means ev- ery senator is free to vote his or her wishes on a floor vote for a bill. A binding caucus rule requires a legislator to support the major- ity caucus position on key issues like the budget or bills with big fis- cal impacts like on the PFD. In an open-vote scenario the large PFD passes. It would take a courageous lawmaker to vote “no” on this and have to explain to constituents the math behind why a larger PFD can’t be afforded with $74 billion in the Permanent Fund. The “no bind- ing-caucus” agreement was likely a condition of Mat-Su senators like Mike Shower and Shelley Hughes in going along with Micciche, St- edman, Bishop and Stevens in the Senate organization. The House will take more time to get itself organized. Although this will slow things down, it may be a good thing in the long run, some
among the 13 Repub - licans would cause delays. Senate leaders in- clude experienced hands Sens. Peter Micciche, R-Kenai, as President; Bert St- edman, R-Sitka and Click Bishop, R-Fair - banks, as Finance Committee cochairs, and Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, as Rules chair. Sen. Shelley Hughes, R-Mat-Su, is
split 20-20 and with COVID-19 protections in place, can’t legally function until an or- ganization is in place with leaders and ap- pointments to com- mittees. The state Senate, however, chose its leaders and made committee as- signments quickly in the first week of the 2021 legislative ses - sion, which convened Jan. 20.
MIKE DUNLEAVY
Majority Leader.
12
The Alaska Miner
Winter 2021
Made with FlippingBook - Share PDF online