Permanent Fund Future, Gas Pipeline, Value of Mining, and lots more!

Senate Majority Bipartisan Coalition Website

State Senator District E

Senate Majority Leader

Senator Cathy Giessel Newsletter

UPDATES

Issues affecting

your family, community and jobs.

April 9, 2026

Dear friends and neighbors,

Photo: Its melting! Maybe winter will finally end!

SPRING BREAKUP (from ADN April 6)

By Joyce C. Pennington

When it's breakup in Alaska

And the streets begin to flow.

All the potholes start abloomin'

’Neath the everlasting snow.

Cars are joggled, splashed, and muddy.

Axles bend and drivers curse.

Don’t despair, and just remember

Things are going to get lots worse.

All the kids leave lovely footprints.

Through the homes are muddy tracks,

And the breakup that they talk of

Isn’t ice, but mothers’ backs.

’Fore the end of this 'sweet” season

All the snow will melt away,

And the junk you left last autumn

Will upon the front yard lay.

Don’t give up—the summer’s coming

With its flowers and glorious fun,

And we’ll soon be having picnics

’Neath Alaska's Midnight Sun.

What Is the Permanent Fund and Who's in Charge?

This is an excellent 90 minute webinar!

Hosted by Alaska Common Ground.

Speakers: Cliff Groh, Dermot Cole, Rick Halford, Craig Richards.

Conversation is informed, well worth listening time.

Here’s what I appreciated:

· History (Groh)

· Emphasis on fiduciary responsibility of the board members (Richards)

· Establish legislative oversight committee (Cole)

· Decrease amount taken out of the Fund (Halford) (Error in his message - we are not “spending more” out of the Fund; its the same 5% POMV established in 2018.)

· (Current action on this: SJR 14 reduces the POMV to 4.5%)

Watch the webinar here.

Catch up with Cathy

Informal coffee conversations; folks that attend determine topics of interest and concerns.

April 11th - Bell’s Nursery Café,

13700 Specking Ave

10:30-noon

Items in this Newsletter:

· Finance Committee Meetings.

· Resources Committee Meetings.

· Cost of Dividend

· Governor's Property Tax Exemption For AKLNG Project

· Commonwealth North - Arctic Maritime, Permanent Fund Future

· April Trends Magazine from Dept of Labor

· Oil and Gas Pipeline Topics with Current Topics, Stuff I Found Interesting, Arctic Issues, Economy, Education, Politics, Healthcare

· Resource Values, Permanent Fund Data

· Alaska History

· Catch Up With Cathy Events

Email me

Past Newsletters

Subscribe Here

Finance Committee Meetings

No Meetings April 2nd - April 8th, 2026

Senate Resources meetings

April 8 - Recorded meeting,

· Consideration of Governor’s Appointees: Julie Vogler, Commissioner, Regulatory Commission of Alaska

· SB 226 - HOMEMADE FOOD; REDUCED OXYGEN PACKAGING, Documents

· HJR 18 - URGING SUPPORT FOR AKLNG

What does a Dividend Cost?

A "full dividend" costs $2.4 Billion.

(Check of about $3,800 for every man, woman, child living in Alaska for 12 consecutive months, "intending" to stay.)

Results in Budget Deficit - $1.68 Billion (equalls Half of the Savings (CBR))

Graph above: departments completely deleted to fund the $2.4 Billion.

Public Safety, Family, Courts, Fish & Game, Natural Resources, Environmental Conservation, Labor, Military Affairs and more.

$3,800 dividend = $2.4 Billion

$1500 dividend = $1 Billion

$1000 dividend = $620 Million in 2025.

Above graph:

RED bars are last year budget; BLUE bars are Governor proposed new budget.

************

Permanent Fund earnings take the place of ~$5,500 per Alaskan in taxes to pay for services like State Troopers, prisons, schools, roads, regulation of resource extraction, and more.

· In other words, Alaskans would be paying $5,500 in sales and/or income tax every year, if not for the Permanent Fund earnings contribution to the State budget.

************

House budgeters advance statutory Permanent Fund dividend contingent on savings draw - Anchorage Daily News

Nome Democratic Rep. Neal Foster, joined the committee’s five minority Republicans to pass a dividend plan that would spend $2.4 billion in state funds on the annual payments, including $1.6 billion drawn from the Constitutional Budget Reserve.

Alaska House budget panel advances $3,800 PFD in draft budget - Alaska Beacon

The Alaska House Finance Committee on Wednesday advanced a draft operating budget with a roughly $3,800 Permanent Fund dividend.

Governor's Property Tax Exemption for AKLNG Project

SB280 - OIL & GAS PROPERTY TAX; MUNI TAX

HB 381 - Oil & Gas Property Tax; Muni Tax (House version of same bill)

March 27 Senate Resources - Testimony from the 5 Mayors of jurisdictions along the pipeline. Listen Here at 3:31:51 PM of the recording.

March 30 Senate Resources - Testimony from Glenfarne and part of a Fiscal presentation. Listen here to the recording. Here is the powerpoint.

· On slide 18 (where the committee presentation concluded on March 30) you will hear Dan Stickel, Chief Economist, Tax Division, Alaska Department of Revenue state that in:

· FY2036 the tax revenue to the State and municipalities with lowered taxes will equal $74 million. Without the Governor’s proposed tax abatement, that would be about $500 million.

· Mr. Stickel goes on to say that by FY 2042 the Governor’s low tax rate will mean $728 million. Without the tax abatement would be $5.7 Billion.

Summarizing State and municipality income from gas pipeline:

2036 - with tax reduction = $74 million; without tax reduction = $500 million.

2042- with tax reduction = $728 million; without tax reduction = $5.7 Billion.

Falling Resident Workforce

The Workforce Reality: A Structural Constraint

Behind the job forecasts lies a harder truth. Alaska has experienced 13 consecutive years of net out-migration, losing 34,000 working-age residents since 2013. The population is aging faster than the national average, and fewer young workers are entering the pipeline.

In 2024, 22.9% of Alaska’s work force was nonresident — the highest share ever recorded. That reliance will likely continue.

(page 34, THE LINK: Alaska Support Industry Alliance, Spring 2026)

Nonresident Wages at New High

Nonresidents' wages also hit new highs, overall and proportionally. They earned $3.8 billion in 2024, taking in 17.3 percent of all wages paid in Alaska.

(page 9, Alaska Economic Trends, Feb 2026)

COMMONWEALTH NORTH

UPCOMING MEETINGS

in Anchorage

Ice, Infrastructure, & Iron : The Arctic and Alaska's Maritime Future

Monday, April 13 | 5:00–7:30 PM | Williwaw, Anchorage

The head of the U.S. Maritime Administration is coming to Anchorage. So is the newly appointed Chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission.

Vessel traffic through the Bering Strait is climbing. Russia and China are building Arctic fleets while the U.S. plays catch-up on icebreakers. Home-porting decisions are on the table. Port readiness assessments are underway. And the jobs and infrastructure that follow those decisions will land somewhere in the next five years.

The question is whether they land in Alaska.

Stephen Carmel, the Administrator of the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD), will lay out where Alaska's ports stand in the federal readiness picture. Tom Dans, Chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, will frame the broader strategic landscape: what's moving through Arctic waters, who's competing for control, and where U.S. policy is headed.

The evening opens with a 45-minute program, followed by live music, appetizers, and the kind of direct access to senior federal officials that doesn't happen often outside of D.C.

Register Here

Revisiting the Alaska Permanent Fund Compact

Thursday, April 16 | 4:00 PM | Wild Birch Hotel, Anchorage

In 2016, Alaska broke the PFD formula. The state redirected the money. It never explained to Alaskans how that money was being spent on their behalf.

Nine years later, we still don't have an answer.

The Permanent Fund now provides more than 60 percent of Alaska's unrestricted general fund revenue. It has quietly become the financial engine of state government.

Unresolved Question: What does Alaska owe its citizens from the Permanent Fund? A full statutory dividend? A restructured payout? A new framework entirely?

Larry Persily opens with the history. Why the Fund was created. What voters expected when they approved it. What has changed since.

Angela Rodell, former CEO of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, broadens the lens to how other sovereign wealth funds around the world balance citizen payouts with long-term investment.

Then three legislators sit down to debate the Fund's promise going forward: Rep. Carolyn Hall - House Majority Rep. Will Stapp - House Minority, & Sen. Robert Myers - Senate Minority

If you care about the PFD, about how Alaska funds its schools and roads and troopers, about whether the Fund will still be there for your kids, this is the conversation to be in.

Register Here

April Trends Magazine

Visit our Website

Oil and Gas Pipeline Topics

The Middle East Gulf was source for 8% of 2025 U.S. crude oil imports - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

Imports from the Middle East Gulf region made up 8% of the 6.2 million b/d of U.S. crude oil imports in 2025. These imports make up far less than those from Canada but slightly more than those from Mexico. Imports from Canada, Mexico, and elsewhere in the Americas benefit from geographic proximity, historical trade relationships, and shorter shipping times.

Current Topics

House budgeters advance statutory Permanent Fund dividend contingent on savings draw - Anchorage Daily News

Nome Democratic Rep. Neal Foster, joined the committee’s five minority Republicans to pass a dividend plan that would spend $2.4 billion in state funds on the annual payments, including $1.4 billion drawn from the Constitutional Budget Reserve.

Trump administration resumes ferry funding program critical for Alaska Marine Highway System - Anchorage Daily News

The Federal Transit Administration on Monday opened a long-awaited application window for a grant that Alaska relies on to fund its ferry operations. The grant application posted a year later than expected.

Alaska Senate approves ‘baby box’ law for surrendering infants - Anchorage Daily News

As of 2008, under Alaska law, a parent is able to turn over an infant under 21 days old to a doctor, nurse, firefighter or peace officer without being prosecuted.

The bill — introduced by Republican Sen. Robert Myers of North Pole — would also allow for a parent to surrender an infant into a baby box, installed at facilities like fire departments and hospitals, without being prosecuted.

Stuff I found Interesting

Anchorage recognized nationally as a ‘Trail Town’. Alaska Public Media

For locals, Anchorage has always been a trail town. Now it's official. The International Mountain Bicycling Association recognized Anchorage as a 2026 IMBA Trail Town on March 31. The city joins just 27 others nationwide.

⚠️ Behind the Curtain: AI's scary phase Axios

Anthropic has begun a tightly controlled release of Mythos, the first AI model that officials believe is capable of bringing down a Fortune 100 company, crippling swaths of the internet or penetrating vital national defense systems. This is the scary phase of AI — a model deemed so powerful that its full release into the wild could unleash untold catastrophe. So only carefully vetted companies and organizations, about 40 so far, are getting access.

Economy

Alaska freight shipping costs set to spike amid war in Iran - Alaska Public Media

Three of Alaska’s key shipping companies are set to hike rates as fuel prices skyrocket amid the war with Iran. Alaska Marine Lines, Matson and Tote Maritime are all increasing their fuel-related surcharges, starting this month.

Education

With ‘deplorable’ education conditions, numerous bills attempt to address Alaska school crisis. Alaska News Source

Lawmakers visited Mt. Edgecumbe High School in Sitka after February reporting showed 108 students, a quarter of the school’s population, unenrolled. Sen. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel, described what he saw during a press conference the next week.

Alaska school district officials urge lawmakers to address teacher shortages, financial strain Alaska Beacon

Alaska superintendents, principals and school officials delivered sobering testimony to lawmakers at the Alaska State Capitol last week. They painted a picture of schools struggling to continue to support teachers and students amid budget shortfalls, cuts to programs, teacher shortages, rising costs and increased facility maintenance needs.

Elections

Opinion: Do not trade a full ballot for a party gatekeeper - Anchorage Daily News

The ballot measure seeks to restrict the freedom to vote even further than the old system. In the older closed system, if you were undeclared or independent, you could at least choose one of the primary ballots since that was the only way you could vote. But the current ballot measure grants the party power to close the primary completely to anyone who is not registered in the party, effectively making it so you cannot be an independent or undeclared voter at all. It also wants to put masks on dark money donors so you will not know who is greasing candidates’ palms.

Fisheries

Southeast Alaska’s treaty-determined Chinook salmon catch limit returns to normal levels - Alaska Beacon

Fishers in Southeast Alaska will be allowed to harvest 205,300Chinook salmon this year, returning to a normal total after last year’s ultra-low harvest limit.

Healthcare

The thirst for insurance trustbusting. Axios

"Vertical integration" is the official term for what's going on. It's what happens when multiple parts of the health care system — like health insurers, pharmacy benefit managers and providers like doctors and hospitals — are combined in one place. Vertical integration is simply a form of consolidation, and plenty of others exist within the health care system. But the potential for self-dealing and perverse incentives — especially when it comes to insurers owning the same entities they pay claims to — is certainly raising eyebrows.

Breaking up isn't the only option. Axios

Using UnitedHealth Group as an example, Sanders and Wyden wrote that a patient could receive their insurance coverage from United, get a prescription from a United-owned pharmacy and have surgery at a United-owned facility. "At every step of the way, United can extract profit from patients, all while side-stepping rules that establish minimum standards for how much revenue from insurance premiums must be spent on actual patient care,"

Bipartisan (!) ACA ire. Axios

Revisiting the ACA's medical loss ratio seems to be a more straightforward policy goal than breaking up big insurers. The MLR, as it's known, was designed to cap the percentage of premiums that insurers could keep as profit. What's happened, critics argue, is that insurers have bought up pharmacies, providers and other subsidiaries and are now often paying themselves. That's had an inflationary effect on overall costs, because higher costs bump up the legally allowed profit insurers can take: "A 15% cut of a bigger pie is a bigger cut," Whaley said.

Alaska Resource Values

Alaska North Slope crude oil price (04/06/2026): $120.28

FY26 budget (beginning 7/1/25) is fully funded at

$64/barrel of oil.

History of prices:

12/17/25: $60.06

9/20/24: $63.63

9/30/23: $87.99

9/30/22: $86.91

6/29/22: $116.84

3/08/22: $125.44

12/22/21: $75.55

March 2020: $12.29

7/3/2008: $144.00

ANS production (4/08/26): 460,811 bpd

Precious Metal Prices

April 8, 2026

Gold - $4727.72

Silver - $74.63

Platinum - $2,041.80

Copper - $5.72

Palladium - $1588.11

Rhodium - $10,200

Did the next Hecla just form in Alaska, BC? - North of 60 Mining News

Fairbanks antimony coming back to life - North of 60 Mining News

Swiftly reemerging as a strategic mineral in the United States, antimony has begun to cast new light on Alaska's past and potential role as a domestic source, particularly in the Fairbanks area, where stibnite emerged as part of the district's early 20th century gold mining history.

Metals mining in Alaska still a big source of jobs, money and exports, report says Alaska Beacon

Over the past decade, the metals mining sector has made up 3% to 4% of Alaska’s gross domestic product, and those mined metals rival Alaska seafood as top exports from the state, according to a state Department of Labor and Workforce Development analysis.

Alaska Permanent Fund

website

How is the Fund invested? Alaska Senate Finance Committee, presenters: Callan, Investment Advisors. Callan said that APF is "one of the best run portfolios among our clients".

February 25, 2026 Link to meeting. Meeting Notes.

Alaska Permanent Fund’s performance compares favorably to peers, evaluators tell lawmakers - Alaska Public Media