Dunleavy's budget: $3,000 dividend checks but a bigger deficit

JUNEAU — Lower projected oil prices and a larger Permanent Fund dividend are generating a $1.6 billion deficit in Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s inaugural state budget.

That deficit is likely temporary: The document released Friday, ahead of a legal deadline, is the transition spending plan released earlier this month by Gov. Bill Walker but with a revised revenue forecast and a bigger Permanent Fund dividend of about $3,000 paid under the traditional formula. Under the proposal, total state spending would rise to $12.2 billion from the $11.2 billion approved by lawmakers earlier this year.

Earlier this week, Dunleavy had said his budget would be a revised version of Walker’s proposal. Friday’s document contains no changes to the budgets of state agencies, but OMB director Donna Arduin said it is a work in progress.

“It’s a starting point that shows a $1.6 billion deficit," Arduin said of Friday’s budget proposal.

Read more: https://www.adn.com/politics/2018/12/15/dunleavys-budget-about-3000-dividend-checks-but-a-bigger-deficit/