Sponsor Statement for HB 82

An Act making a special appropriation to the
principal of the permanent fund

The best place to put Alaska’s excess cash earnings from the Permanent Fund is back into the corpus of the Permanent Fund, so it can continue to grow.

In its December projections, the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation estimates the earnings reserve will have an excess balance of $584 million at the end of this fiscal year. This is after inflation-proofing and permanent fund dividends are subtracted.

House Bill 82 would take $534 million of that excess and deposit it into the Permanent Fund, leaving an emergency fund of $50 million.

The Legislature has an excellent track record of saving excess earnings, having made deposits of $2.7 billion from 1981-85, $1.264 billion in 1987, and $1.861 billion in 1996. These deposits were above and beyond the constitutionally - and statutorially - dedicated revenues to the Permanent Fund and have been crucial to its growth.

We now have the opportunity to continue this worthy savings tradition by adding approximately $534 million this year.