State energy rebate bills losing power

Billions of dollars of oil wealth are flowing into Alaska's treasury, but attempts to share it with Alaska residents are faltering on concerns about fairness and fiscal responsibility.

Sen. Tom Wagoner, R-Kenai, introduced Senate Bill 217 to provide Alaskans with rebates tied to their electric meters.

He recently described the bill as "dead in the water," and said he's been unable to get it a hearing in committee. Wagoner is a member of the Republican minority in the Senate.

In the House of Representatives, Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Haines, is in the majority, but has had only a little more success. His House Bill 396 didn't falter until it reached the House Finance Committee, on which he sits.

Thomas' bill would give all Alaskans a $500 boost to their Alaska Permanent Fund dividend checks, a way to combine sharing the wealth brought by high oil prices while easing the pain those high prices brought as well.

Facing a vote he was likely to lose, Thomas recently pulled his bill. This week, there are indications his bill might have new life with the return of two missing committee members.

Thomas tells the story of a 100 percent disabled, legally blind veteran in his rural Southeast district who was out chopping wood because he couldn't afford to fill his fuel tank.

"I asked him 'How do you do that?'" Thomas said.

"Carefully," was the answer.

It's Alaskans like him that Thomas wants to help, but is having difficulty persuading other legislators just how to do it.

Thomas' bill provides the $500 to rich and poor alike, but that was what some people objected to.

"Why would we want to give it to people who don't need it?" asked Rep. Andrea Doll, D-Juneau.

Fiscal conservatives said this kind of proposal has them worried the state will blow the surplus, and in a few years won't be able to pay for either basic services or new entitlements.

Thomas' bill was passed out of its first committee, the State Affairs Committee, with all six committee members indicating they don't have a recommendation to approve or disapprove the bill.

In the Finance Committee, both Thomas' original bill and proposed amendments had vocal opponents.

Rep. Les Gara, D-Anchorage, said he'd support the payments, if they were targeted to poor people or those struggling with high fuel prices. In rural areas off the road system, the cost of shipping in fuel can be exorbitant, compounding rising retail prices.

Rep. Kevin Meyer, R-Anchorage, objected to that, and said everyone in the state should benefit equally.

"I need help on my high fuel cost, like most middle-class people," he said.

State Rep. Mary Nelson, R-Bethel, said Thomas' bill wasn't perfect, but few were, and it was good enough.

"This is a shotgun approach, that's true, but there are people who really, really need the relief," she said.

Nelson wasn't there when Thomas' bill faltered, but returned to the Capitol on Monday after giving birth recently.

Also missing was Rep. Richard Foster, D-Nome, who represents the North Slope. Foster returns to the Legislature today after undergoing a kidney replacement.

"I haven't counted the voted, but I'm hoping Richard Foster will be a supporter," Nelson said.

Some legislators thought the idea of cash to citizens smacked of vote buying.

"There's nothing else out there better to get votes than handing people checks," said Rep. Harry Crawford, D-Anchorage.

Such comments did not go over well with Thomas.

"I resent the fact that people think I'm doing this to get votes," he said.

• Contact reporter Pat Forgey at 586-4816 or patrick.forgey@juneauempire.com.