Measure to create new revenue surplus savings account moves in House

The third draft of House Joint Resolution 28 moved out of the House Judiciary Committee Feb. 6. Rep. Ralph Samuels, R-Anchorage, proposed in the bill a constitutional amendment to create an annuity account with dedicated funding from the progressivity portion of the petroleum profits tax.

The proposal, now before the House Finance Committee, sends all revenues from the progressivity tax that are not required to be deposited into the constitutional budget reserve to the new fund until Jan. 1, 2015. The Legislature can deposit other money into the tentatively named "Save Our Oil Surplus Fund" as it chooses.

To allow the fund to grow to a size that would produce significant long-term revenues, no withdrawals would be allowed before July 1, 2013. Every July 1 from that date forward withdrawals equal to 5 percent of the average market value of the fund for the first five of the preceding six years would be transferred to the general fund.

Alaska Department of Revenue projections, based on an earlier draft of the resolution, projected a 2013 withdrawal of $128.8 million, growing to $412 million in 2034. The projection is based on average assumed fund earnings of 8.51 percent.