The first batch of massive $3,200 direct payments are set to go out to eligible Alaska residents next month.
Earlier this year, the Alaska Legislature approved a budget that includes payments of $3,200 to eligible residents by the end of the year. The first round of direct payments are set to start hitting bank accounts on September 20, Alaska Public Media reported.
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Paper checks will then be sent out in early October.
The Alaska state Senate had green-lit a $5,500 payout, but that measure failed in the state House, per the report. Negotiators between the two chambers sought $3,850 as a compromise, but that got shot down by Hopkins and other lawmakers, resulting in the $3,200 figure.
Proponents of higher payments pointed to inflation, surging energy costs, and other woes eating away at the wallets of everyday Alaskans as justification for a bigger payment.
The funding derives from the Permanent Fund dividend, and the $3,200 figure marks one of the largest payments in state history, according to the report.
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Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) signed the measure into law as part of the state’s budget in June. The budget was among the largest in the state’s history.
“This budget is more than a spending plan; it’s a blueprint for Alaska’s future,” Dunleavy said. “Budgets should reflect the values and ambitions of the people they are designed for, and I believe this legislation accomplishes that.”
