Lawmaker wants action on child support

But a lawmaker said the measure still isn't being implemented, and he worries that could leave the state open to lawsuits.

Rep. Harry Crawford, an Anchorage Democrat who co-sponsored the bill, called the delay inexcusable. The Department of Revenue countered that it never got the money to implement the provision. There are questions, too, over how to actually pay for it against the other programs already funded by the garnished Permanent Fund dividends of criminals.

Crawford made clear his opinion in a letter to Gov. Sean Parnell in December: "I believe that these children should be given preferential treatment over criminals."

The dividend is a payout to nearly every Alaskan from the proceeds of the state's oil investment fund. Permanent Fund dividends garnished from those incarcerated due to felonies or three misdemeanors, and who otherwise would have been eligible for the entitlement, help fund victims', domestic violence and inmate health programs.

For this fiscal year, nearly $22 million was transferred to those programs, said Permanent Fund Dividend Division Director Debbie Bitney. The biggest chunk went toward inmate health.

Crawford said there's no reason general fund dollars couldn't be used for some of those programs. This past week in a subcommittee meeting, Crawford tried to have $2 million from the pool of garnished funds put toward child support. The effort failed.

"People aren't paying enough attention to kids here," he said in an interview.

Parnell, in his response to Crawford, said the dividend amount is expected to decline for the next fiscal year, requiring the state to increase general fund spending to maintain the programs. He also said his budget proposal is a "starting point for conversation" with the Legislature.

But Parnell has made clear his plans to limit operational spending, a goal many lawmakers have shared as this session has progressed.

Crawford said his 2008 provision was meant to correct an unintended consequence of the garnishment bill that kept families from collecting child support from dividend checks. He said this was brought to his attention by a constituent whose recourse for getting child support from his ex had been her dividend.

Bitney said the department "is willing to begin regulations when there is an appropriation to fund the program and the cost of its implementation."