Alaskans Cash In On Annual Dividend

It's the season for Alaskans to be rewarded just for living here and this year's take is extra sweet: $3,269, a record share of the state's oil wealth combined with a special cash payout to help with stratospheric energy prices.

Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell announced Friday that every eligible man, woman and child will receive $2,069, thanks to this year's annual payment from the state's oil royalty program. On top of that, the checks will include an additional $1,200 from the state treasury to help offset soaring fuel prices.

The one-time energy boost was proposed by Gov. Sarah Palin in May and approved by state lawmakers last month. Palin has since been tapped as the running mate of Republican presidential nominee John McCain. It fell to Parnell to make Friday's announcement on the dividend because Palin is out of state.

"The royalty dollars that flow through the state are the people's wealth," said Parnell. "The $1,200 resource rebate goes to that philosophy."

In addition to the $1,200 payments, the Legislature also approved Palin's proposal to suspend the state's 8-cents-a-gallon gasoline tax for a year.

Past dividend payments ranged from $331 to $1,963 in 2000. Last year's payout was $1,654. People must live in Alaska one calendar year to qualify. For residents in Alaska's rural communities, the money can't arrive at a more crucial time.

"When it gets real cold in winter, it can take five gallons of fuel for heating overnight," said Wanda Sue Page, who lives in the Arctic village of Noatak, where residents pay more than $9 a gallon for gasoline and nearly $10 a gallon for heating oil.

"I'm going to fill my 52-gallon tank up to the top and put the heat up real high," Page said. "And when it gets empty, I'm going to fill it again."

In all, 610,768 people are receiving the dividend this year. The state's estimated population is just under 680,000.

The fund was established in 1976 after North Slope oil was discovered. Including the upcoming dividends, the fund has yielded $16.5 billion to Alaskans since the first payout of $1,000 in 1982, according to the state Revenue Department.

That's not counting this year's extra energy relief money, which alone totals $730 million.

Sam Shields, who lives in the Kuskokwim River town of Bethel, said the state money is desperately needed in his community, where he recently saw a whole chicken selling for $23 at the local grocery store.

"Everyone around here was happy to hear how much we're getting," he said. "Mainly everybody here is saying they're going to use it on fuel."