Gov. Mike Dunleavy said the state will pay Permanent Fund Dividends on July 1st, three months ahead of schedule.
The announcement comes just hours after the Alaska Legislature approved the spending of more than a billion dollars in federal coronavirus relief aid.
“We’re in extraordinary times,” Dunleavy said. “We need to make sure that people in Alaska have cash in their hands to help with this economy, I can’t think of a better time to do it than now.”
Dunleavy made the announcement at the end of a Wednesday’s press briefing that primarily focused on education and plans for reopening the state’s schools in the fall.
According to state day, as of Wednesday/yesterday (May 20), 671,364 people had applied for dividends. The Permanent Fund Dividend Division expects to send out nearly 600,000 payments on July 1.
Last month, the Legislature set the dividend amount at $1,000.
