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Appropriations committee advances bill to create future dividend fund for residents
Summary
Lawmakers reported House Bill 628 favorably after the sponsor outlined a framework modeled on Alaska’s dividend program that would set aside 25% of excess mineral revenues into a Louisiana Dividend Program once certain constitutional and tax milestones are met.
The House Appropriations Committee reported House Bill 628 favorable after Representative Cruz described a long-term framework to share a portion of future excess mineral revenues with Louisiana residents.
The bill establishes a Louisiana Dividend Program within the Department of Treasury. Under the measure, once personal income tax is eliminated and annual mineral revenues exceed $650 million, 25% of revenues above that threshold would be deposited into the dividend program. When that program’s balance reaches $400 million, the treasury could make per-resident distributions, subject to a qualifying period and with a concurrent-resolution override option available to the legislature.
Representative Cruz told the committee the proposal was modeled on Alaska’s Permanent Fund Dividend and is designed as a long-term structure rather than an immediate payment. “This is kind of laying a framework to be able to do this sometime in the future,” Cruz said, and noted the bill is intentionally open-ended about timing because elimination of the personal income tax and sustained royalty growth are prerequisites.
Committee members questioned the mechanics, including which revenue streams would remain constitutionally dedicated and how the dividend interacts with existing budget stabilization and retirement allocations. Staff and the sponsor said the bill is drafted to operate within existing constitutional dedication language, placing the dividend allocation after those constitutional obligations and after the revenue stabilization transfers.
Two technical amendments from committee were adopted and Representative Amade moved the bill favorably as amended. With no objection, the committee reported House Bill 628 favorable as amended.
The sponsor and staff said the program would be slow to materialize and depend on mineral-price and production trends as well as future tax changes.
