So. We'll Be Getting A $200 Energy Rebate With Our $1,000 PFD, They Say
Alaska lawmakers reach budget deal with $1,000 PFD and $200 energy rebate for residents The operating budget agreement paves the way for t...
Alaska lawmakers reach budget deal with $1,000 PFD and $200 energy rebate for residents
The operating budget agreement paves the way for the end of the regular legislative session on Wednesday
The Alaska Legislature’s operating budget conference committee is seen on Monday, May 11, 2026. (James Brooks photo/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska lawmakers are planning to vote on a $13.9 billion compromise state operating budget that includes a $1,000 Permanent Fund dividend and a $200 energy rebate.
In a 4-2 vote Sunday morning, a panel of House and Senate negotiators finalized a deal that combines two different versions of the budget — one passed by the Senate and the other by the House — preparing legislators for a final vote before the last regular day of the legislative session on Wednesday.
Once passed by the Legislature, the budget will go to Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who may sign it or use his line-item veto powers to eliminate or reduce specific items. The governor has never let a budget go into law without some vetoes.
With legislators focused on a potential tax break for the proposed trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline, the state budget has taken second billing in the state Capitol this month.
Legislators convened in January with the expectation that they would be facing a massive deficit in fiscal year 2027, which starts July 1.
The Iran war, and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz, has sent oil prices soaring, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in extra revenue for the state.
That eliminated the projected deficit, but lawmakers don’t expect to have much left over for the Permanent Fund dividend.
While a payment formula from the 1980s remains in state law, legislators since 2016 have adopted a “surplus dividend” approach, paying the dividend with what’s left over after services are covered.
While Dunleavy proposed a $3,800 Permanent Fund dividend in December, that would have required deep spending from the state’s savings accounts.
Members of the House approved a draft budget with a $1,500 Permanent Fund dividend in April, and in a competing draft, the Senate reduced that to $1,000 and a $150 one-time bonus intended to offset higher energy prices.
The final compromise version of the budget closely resembles the Senate plan, but the one-time bonus was slightly increased, to $200, in an amendment proposed over the weekend.
The final version of the budget also contains $144 million in one-time bonus payments for public schools across the state, including $29 million intended to offset the high cost of heating fuel.
The one-time bonus is less than the House proposed but higher than the Senate’s figure.
The budget also proposes to fund a heating assistance program for Alaskans, increase Medicaid reimbursements for medical providers, send additional money to cities and boroughs, and increase funding for wildfire response.
Altogether, the budget balances if Alaska North Slope oil prices average at least $75 per barrel in FY27. The average price since March is above $100 per barrel.
The operating budget advancing to a final vote is the last of four budget bills that lawmakers approve in an ordinary year.
The state’s supplemental budget — making changes to fiscal year 2026 — was adopted in March and signed by the governor in April. The $2.5 billion capital budget, which funds construction and renovation projects statewide, is awaiting a final vote in the Senate.
Alaska’s comprehensive mental health budget is moving in parallel to the operating budget and is expected to pass when the operating budget does.
