Protecting the Permanent Fund

To the editor:

During the budget standoff, frustration built up over the demands of the House Minority in exchange for their votes needed to tap the Constitutional Budget Reserve. A nuclear option was developed involving transferring more than $7 billion in permanent fund earnings.

The proposal was to transfer earnings of the permanent fund to the principal of the fund, utilizing a loophole in the Constitution by making less state funds available for appropriation, bypassing the ¾ vote requirement to access the budget reserve. This would allow a simple majority vote to access the budget reserve.

I was very concerned about this proposal for the following reasons:

• It’s not fully vetted and the financial impact has not been adequately analyzed;

• It’s all Alaskans’ fund, and the people need to be involved in any decision;

• It will severely lower Alaska’s liquidity, may affect our bond rating; and

• If there is a correction in the stock market there may not be enough funds available to pay dividends from the Permanent Fund.

As you know, I stood firm with a strong group of House Majority legislators opposed to using the earnings of the permanent fund as a gimmick to access this budget reserve fund; this is why I worked so hard to help my colleagues craft the budget deal that passed the Legislature.

As your representative, I will continue to insist that you are involved in deciding the future of the Permanent Fund.

Jim Colver

District 9

Alaska State House of Representatives