Anchorage Daily News

JUNEAU -- The Legislature's approval of a $1,200 "resource rebate" for Alaskans will blast an unprecedented amount of free money into the state economy.

Let's do the math.

Under the new law legislators passed Thursday, the $1,200 payments will be tacked onto Alaska Permanent Fund dividend checks going out this fall.

The dividend itself is expected to be big this year -- a record $2,000-plus.

So $2,000 plus the $1,200 rebate equals $3,200. Multiply that by 620,000, which is the number of people expected to qualify for checks, and that totals to just shy of $2 billion.

How much is that?

It's roughly double the total wages paid in the Alaska construction industry in 2007, and well in excess of the $1.4 billion in wages paid in Alaska's oil, gas and mining sector.

It's also about double the state government wages paid in 2007. Ditto for the federal civilian payroll.

So pumping $2 billion into the economy will be an extraordinary event.

It's something that's likely to draw national media attention to a state so rich it's able to avoid income or other broad taxes and still send shares of its oil wealth directly to its citizens, said Scott Goldsmith, an economist at the University of Alaska Anchorage Institute of Social and Economic Research.

Goldsmith notes, however, that a primary reason why Gov. Sarah Palin proposed the rebate and legislators supported it was to help people cope with huge spikes in fuel and heating costs, particularly in remote Bush Alaska.

"To a certain extent, this large payment will be just offsetting some of those costs rather than creating a new boom," Goldsmith said.

Most Alaskans, of course, aren't thinking about macroeconomics. They just want to know when or if they'll get the big check.

Debbie Richter, director of the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend Division, said people besieged her office with inquiries Friday.

By day's end, her staff had taken 596 phone calls statewide, and 203 people walked into the Anchorage office alone, she said.

In addition, 4,700 people checked the status of their 2008 dividend application on the division's Web site, Richter said.

"Can you believe that? What a crazy day," she said.

Richter said many callers are asking: Do I qualify for the resource rebate?

The answer to that question is pretty simple: If you didn't apply by the March 31 deadline for this year's Permanent Fund dividend, then sorry, you will not receive the $1,200 rebate.

And if you did apply but you don't qualify, then you also won't get the rebate. The key qualification requirement for the dividend is you must have established residency in Alaska prior to Jan. 1, 2007.

Although early proposals were for a separate application process just for the $1,200 rebate, state lawmakers didn't support that and linked the rebate to the dividend as a way to reduce government red tape.

So, alas, if you moved to Alaska in, say, June of last year, or you spaced and forgot to apply for this year's dividend, you won't get the $1,200 rebate.

"That's one of the hardest things for our staff -- giving people that bad news," Richter said.

On the bright side, most Alaskans -- men, women and children too -- might receive their super dividend a bit earlier than normal this year. For a family of four, the household checks are expected to total about $12,800.

According to the current schedule, the first round of bank direct deposits are scheduled for Oct. 2, with paper checks going in the mail on Nov. 14.

State officials are working now to see if they can move up the schedule so people, especially rural residents, can have the money to buy winter fuel barged into many villages. Fuel costs are expected to surge this year.

Sending dividends early, however, is a tricky operation involving many state offices and details such as making sure enough paper stock is on hand to print the checks. So the state isn't making any promises yet about early distribution, Richter said Friday.

Goldsmith, the economist, said the vast majority of people living in Alaska are residents who qualify for the dividend. But at any given time, 5 percent to 10 percent of the people here wouldn't meet the eligibility requirements for the dividend, he said.

"There's a lot of churning in the population. In other words people come and stay for a year and then leave," Goldsmith said.

The $1,200 resource rebate was a controversial decision for many lawmakers, who debated whether such payments are responsible public policy.

Bush legislators pressed for more than just the rebate, noting that energy and other costs in Alaska villages are much higher than in Anchorage, where half the state's population lives. The Bush lawmakers wanted electricity and heating oil subsidies to close the gap somewhat between village and urban costs.

They succeeded in winning an increase in the state's Power Cost Equalization program, which provides a subsidy for electric power.

Still, some wonder if the Bush is headed for a massive outmigration due to the rising expense of rural life. They even wonder if the $1,200 rebate could speed up the exodus.

"Maybe this $1,200 will help people move to where their $1,200 will go a lot further," said Rep. Mary Nelson, D-Bethel.

Find Wesley Loy online at adn.com/contact/wloy or call him in Juneau at 586-1531.

Resource rebate

• Amount: $1,200

• Distribution: Amount to be added to this fall's Permanent Fund dividend checks

• Who gets it: Only Alaska residents, including men, women and children, who qualify for Permanent Fund dividend are eligible. A small pool of 400 disabled veterans may apply separately for the rebate.

• State cost for rebates: $745 million

What do you think of the "energy rebate?" How are you planning on spending yours?

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