JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A vote to fund a full Alaska Permanent Fund dividend has splintered Alaska’s House.
Speaker Bryce Edgmon says he lacks the votes to advance any version of a state operating budget.
During budget debate Monday, the House narrowly approved an amendment to follow a dividend calculation formula that’s been ignored the last two years, proposing a dividend of about $2,650 this year.
The vote halted further budget deliberations, with lawmakers split over how the ultimate package should look.
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Lawmakers from both parties who supported the full dividend saw it as fair, saying Alaskans shouldn’t be the only ones pitching in as the state grapples with a budget deficit. Others called the vote fiscally reckless.
The dividend has been capped the last two years amid legislative gridlock on a fiscal plan.