Supreme Court upholds Gov. Walker's veto of half of Permanent Fund dividend

The Alaska Supreme Court on Friday upheld Gov. Bill Walker's veto of about half of last year's Permanent Fund dividend payments, rejecting a lawsuit filed by Anchorage Democratic Sen. Bill Wielechowski and two old-time politicians, Clem Tillion and Rick Halford.

The unanimous decision means that Alaskans won't get an extra dividend payment on top of the $1,022 they received last year — about half of what they would have been paid had Walker not used his line-item veto power.

Wielechowski said Friday that the decision left him "bitterly disappointed."

At a news conference with Halford outside the downtown Anchorage state courthouse, Wielechowski urged lawmakers to advance his proposal to enshrine the historical dividend calculation in the Constitution, putting it out of reach of a future veto or a Supreme Court decision on a similar set of issues. But that step would require legislative approval before a public vote.

Read more: https://www.adn.com/politics/2017/08/25/alaska-supreme-court-upholds-gov-walkers-2016-veto-of-half-of-permanent-fund-dividend/