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http://www.adn.com/politics/story/407821.html
Excerpt
Palin wants to give residents $100 a month to use on energy
By SEAN COCKERHAM
Published: May 16th, 2008 12:17 AM
Last Modified: May 16th, 2008 10:19 AM
Gov. Sarah Palin is proposing an energy cost relief plan to give Alaskans $100-a-month debit cards and pour state dollars into electric utilities so they'll slash their bills to ratepayers.
Palin's ambitious program, unprecedented in any other state, would last a year and cost $1.2 billion. The money would come out of the huge budget surplus the state government is enjoying because of the same high oil prices afflicting consumers at the pump.
Palin wants the Legislature to approve the plan this summer so it can start in September. She said the utility grants would mean a 60 percent reduction for all ratepayers.
Every Alaskan who qualifies for this year's Permanent Fund dividend check would also be eligible for an "Energy Debit Card" giving them $100 a month from the state.
The cards would have "merchant codes" so they could be used only for energy purchases at gas stations, fuel distributorships, utilities and the like. The $100-a-month for children could be added onto the balance of their parents' cards. Any Alaskan who activates a card would have to pay the federal income taxes on it, but unused balances on the card would roll over from one month to the next.
The plan was announced the same day that Alaska became the first state where the average pump price for a gallon of unleaded gas topped $4, according to the American Automobile Association. It was just under that around Anchorage and Fairbanks on Thursday and much higher across much of the rest of the state.
Palin said it makes sense to return some of the state surplus to the suffering public.
"It's really atrocious, the situation that Alaskans are in today," Palin said. "Where we, as the owners of the energy resources, are paying outrageous prices for use of those resource."
The debit cards would be expected to cost the state $729 million. The grants to electric utilities would be another $475 million. Palin said the state can afford it.
Oil prices of around $120 per barrel mean far more money from oil taxes and royalties than the state expected at its last revenue forecast a month and a half ago.
http://www.adn.com/politics/story/407821.html
Excerpt
Palin wants to give residents $100 a month to use on energy
By SEAN COCKERHAM
Published: May 16th, 2008 12:17 AM
Last Modified: May 16th, 2008 10:19 AM
Gov. Sarah Palin is proposing an energy cost relief plan to give Alaskans $100-a-month debit cards and pour state dollars into electric utilities so they'll slash their bills to ratepayers.
Palin's ambitious program, unprecedented in any other state, would last a year and cost $1.2 billion. The money would come out of the huge budget surplus the state government is enjoying because of the same high oil prices afflicting consumers at the pump.
Palin wants the Legislature to approve the plan this summer so it can start in September. She said the utility grants would mean a 60 percent reduction for all ratepayers.
Every Alaskan who qualifies for this year's Permanent Fund dividend check would also be eligible for an "Energy Debit Card" giving them $100 a month from the state.
The cards would have "merchant codes" so they could be used only for energy purchases at gas stations, fuel distributorships, utilities and the like. The $100-a-month for children could be added onto the balance of their parents' cards. Any Alaskan who activates a card would have to pay the federal income taxes on it, but unused balances on the card would roll over from one month to the next.
The plan was announced the same day that Alaska became the first state where the average pump price for a gallon of unleaded gas topped $4, according to the American Automobile Association. It was just under that around Anchorage and Fairbanks on Thursday and much higher across much of the rest of the state.
Palin said it makes sense to return some of the state surplus to the suffering public.
"It's really atrocious, the situation that Alaskans are in today," Palin said. "Where we, as the owners of the energy resources, are paying outrageous prices for use of those resource."
The debit cards would be expected to cost the state $729 million. The grants to electric utilities would be another $475 million. Palin said the state can afford it.
Oil prices of around $120 per barrel mean far more money from oil taxes and royalties than the state expected at its last revenue forecast a month and a half ago.
