JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska lawmakers tasked with negotiating a budget deal reached a tentative agreement Tuesday that would pay residents more than $3,000 this year, but the total amount would depend on whether the Legislature can muster the votes needed to access a key savings account.
The tentative agreement calls for a dividend from the state’s oil-wealth fund in the range of $2,500 this year, plus a $1,300 “energy relief” check. However, half the funding for the energy check would be contingent upon funding from a budget reserve account that requires three-fourths support in each the House and Senate to access.
That means payments to residents could be around $3,200 or around $3,850, depending on whether the vote threshold is reached, according to estimates provided by Senate Finance Committee Co-chair Bert Stedman’s office.
Stedman was a member of the conference committee that announced the tentative agreement Tuesday, the day before the legislative session was scheduled to end. The negotiated package is subject to a vote by the full House and Senate.
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