Senate passes bill cutting Permanent Fund dividends in half

Permanent Fund dividends would be cut in half under a bill the Senate passed Monday. It’s part of a plan to change the basis for funding state government from a dependence on oil revenues toward Permanent Fund earnings. But the plan is controversial.
Bill sponsor Anchorage Republican Senator Lesil McGuire said the bill would make Alaskans more invested in the state budget, while providing a sounder, more predictable basis for funding government services.
Sen. Lesil McGuire, R-Anchorage, ex