LUTHERAN QUILTERS – Members of the Quilts for Comfort Group stand between pews draped with some of the 205 quilts they made, in the Sitka Lutheran Church Tuesday. The group made the quilts for five local non-profits and one in Anchorage. The remaining quilts are sent to Lutheran World Relief which  distributes them to places around the world in need, such as Ukraine, as part of Personal Care Kits. Pictured are, from left, Helen Cunningham, Kathleen Brandt,Vicki Swanson, Paulla Hardy, Kim Hunter, Linda Swanson and Sue Fleming.  (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

State's Transportation Plan Gets Federal OK
28 Mar 2024 15:06

By JAMES BROOKS
Alaska Beacon
    Federal officials on Wednesday approved most of Alaska’s four-y [ ... ]

New Funding Plan Ahead for Visit Sitka?
28 Mar 2024 15:02

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
    At an hour-long work session with the Assembly Tuesda [ ... ]

Sitka 'Frankenstein' Puts Classic Tale in New Ligh...
28 Mar 2024 15:01

By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
    The story behind a classic, though often misunderstoo [ ... ]

State May Los Millions Over Ed Dept. Missteps
28 Mar 2024 14:59

By CLAIRE STREMPLE
Alaska Beacon
    The state government risks losing millions of dollars in feder [ ... ]

Gov Signs Bill On Internet In State Schools
28 Mar 2024 14:57

By JAMES BROOKS
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    Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Wednesday signed a bill that promise [ ... ]

Capitol Christmas Tree to Come from Tongass
28 Mar 2024 14:56

By YERETH ROSEN
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City League Games Thursday
28 Mar 2024 14:52

By Sentinel Staff
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March 28, 2024, Police Blotter
28 Mar 2024 14:50

Police Blotter
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
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March 28, 2024, Community Happenings
28 Mar 2024 14:48

This Week in Girls on the Run By Sitkans Against Family Violence
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New RFP Sought For Managing PAC
27 Mar 2024 14:48

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Seiners Get Second Day with 2 Areas to Fish
27 Mar 2024 14:46

By Sentinel Staff
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Braves Take Second in Last Minute Upset
27 Mar 2024 12:41

By GARLAND KENNEDY
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Tuesday City League Volleyball
27 Mar 2024 12:39

By Sentinel Staff
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Kodiak Alutiiq Museum Getting New Attention
27 Mar 2024 12:37

By SHIRLEY SNEVE
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House Hearing on Inmate Deaths Halted
27 Mar 2024 12:35

By CLAIRE STREMPLE
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Nominee to Bering Sea Council: Not a Trawler
27 Mar 2024 12:34

By NATHANIEL HERZ
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    Tribal and environmental advocates calling for a crackdown o [ ... ]

March 27, 2024, Police Blotter
27 Mar 2024 12:26

Police Blotter
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
March 26
At 2:10 p.m. a man e [ ... ]

March 27, 2024, Community Happenings
27 Mar 2024 12:25

Big Rigs Sought
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Reassessments Raise Tax Bills for Sitkans
26 Mar 2024 15:22

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
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    The city’s reassessment of taxable real estate, alo [ ... ]

Two Areas Opened in Herring Fishery Today
26 Mar 2024 15:21

By Sentinel Staff
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Lady Wolves Rally to Take Fourth at State
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By GARLAND KENNEDY
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Edgecumbe Girls Close Out Season Up North
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26 Mar 2024 14:55

By Sentinel Staff
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House Votes to Broaden Rules For Review Panel Memb...
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By JAMES BROOKS
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Daily Sitka Sentinel

House Passes Budget; PFD Amount Not Decided

By BECKY BOHRER
The Associated Press

JUNEAU (AP) — The Alaska House passed a version of the state operating budget Monday that leaves for later debate over how much to pay residents from the state’s oil-wealth fund for this year’s dividend.

Time to resolve that debate is running out in the current legislative session, set to end on May 19 unless lawmakers vote to give themselves up to an extra 10 days. 

Legislative leaders have said a Permanent Fund Dividend will be paid though it has been unclear whether an amount would be included as part of the budget or handled separately. 

The House, as part of its drawn-out budget debate, previously failed to come to agreement on a dividend and money for a dividend isn’t included in the version of the budget that passed the chamber Monday, when debate on the spending package resumed after a roughly week-long delay.

The budget next goes to the Senate. Differences between House and Senate versions of the budget generally are resolved by negotiators as part of a conference committee. 

The process is playing out later than usual: often the House, which traditionally gets first dibs on reworking the governor’s budget proposal, passes its version of the budget in March. But it took the House a month to organize after the session started in January. The bipartisan coalition in control of the House has the bare minimum needed for a majority, 21 members. 

Another factor has been funds from a federal relief aid package that the state is expecting. Guidance on use of the funds was released Monday. Jeff Turner, a spokesperson for Gov. Mike Dunleavy, said it will take time to review the material “and determine the best path forward.”

Dunleavy had proposed an initial outline for the expected $1 billion. The House version of the budget proposed spending 70%; both proposals came before the guidelines were issued. 

Senate leaders have had different ideas for the relief aid, and Rep. Neal Foster, co-chair of the House Finance Committee, said he was comfortable taking the matter to a conference committee. 

Last year, lawmakers passed a budget in March amid COVID-19 concerns before taking an extended recess and adjourning in May. There was talk about reconvening later in the year, to take up issues like Dunleavy’s appointments to boards and commissions, but that never happened.

Lawmakers last year also largely ceded decision-making on a prior pandemic-related relief package to Dunleavy, and some lawmakers say they want a greater say in how aid dollars are spent this time around. 

Turner by email said there were “ongoing discussions” with lawmakers about how to pass the budget by May 19, and whether a special session would be needed to advance Dunleavy’s fiscal plan and “resolve the ongoing debate about the future of the Alaska Permanent Fund and the annual” dividend.

Dunleavy has proposed a series of constitutional amendments, dealing with issues like dividends, taxes and spending, and has supported paying a dividend in line with a decades-old formula until the formula is changed. He also has proposed a formula change. 

The existing formula was last used in 2015 amid a budget deficit. In 2018, lawmakers began using permanent fund earnings, typically used to pay dividends, to also help pay for state government, and they sought to limit what could be withdrawn from earnings for government expenses and dividends, creating tension that has yet to be resolved. 

The dividend in past sessions has overshadowed other issues. Coming into this session, a number of lawmakers considered the dividend a key issue that needed to be addressed.

Focus on that issue earlier on this year was derailed by the federal relief money and the lateness with which the House organized, said Senate President Peter Micciche.

“I have not in any way lost hope that we can get together on a sustainable future path for the Permanent Fund Dividend,” the Soldotna Republican said, adding that whether that happens before May 19 “is my only area of doubt at this point. It has to be done this year. “

House Speaker Louise Stutes, a Kodiak Republican, said one topic of conversation with Dunleavy has been a possible special session that deals with the dividend. But she said nothing has been finalized.

 

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20 YEARS AGO

March 2004

Advertisement: Tea-Licious Tea House & Bakery 315 Lincoln Street Grand Opening! Freshly Baked Scones, Cakes & Pastries Innovative Salads, Soups & Sandwiches Harney & Sons Tea. Lunch * Afternoon Tea * Supper.

50 YEARS AGO

March 1974

Photo caption: National Republican Chairman George Bush takes a drink of water offered by Jan Craddick, Sitka delegate, during the Republican convention held here. Mrs. Craddick explained to Bush that the water was from Indian River, which means, according to local legend, that he will return.

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