Legislation would restructure the Public School Trust Fund
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 6th, 2017
Juneau – Wednesday, the Alaska House of Representatives read across a bill introduced by Rep. Justin Parish (D-Juneau) to restructure the Public School Trust Fund. The restructure is expected to bring in more than $10 million annually for education by combining what are now separate accounts and utilizing a percent of market value (POMV) draw of 4.75 percent of the fund’s value.
“This bill will give us more money for our schools. The new investment structure will give us higher returns and more dependable results, at no additional cost to the state,” said Rep. Parish. “If we had used this last year, we would have had another $13 million for our schools this year.”
A restructure of the Public School Trust Fund, similar to Rep. Parish’s proposal, is included in Senate Bill 96 which is currently being considered by the House Finance Committee. The restructure was also recommended by the House Finance Committee’s budget subcommittee for the Department of Education and Early Development. Rep. Parish has worked with the Legislative Finance Division and the Alaska Department of Revenue to vet and improve upon the language in SB 96.
“Senate Bill 96 has some good parts in it. I’m taking one of those good parts and moving it forward,” said Rep. Parish. “I have some deep reservations about Senate Bill 96 as a whole, but I commend the work done by the Senate on this one part of the bill.”
House Bill 213 was formally introduced Wednesday and referred to the House Finance Committee.
For more information, please contact Lisa Worl in Rep. Parish’s office at (907) 465-3744.
###
