The Alaska Senate Finance Committee adopted a $13.83 billion operating budget Thursday that includes a $150 per person energy relief payment and up to $100 million in one-time grants to school districts.

The committee substitute for House Bill 263 appropriates $6.21 billion in unrestricted general funds, $1.04 billion in designated general funds, $2.06 billion in other funds, and $4.52 billion in federal funds. The budget targets spending at $73 per barrel of oil while reserving $50 million for supplementals next year.

Pete Eklund, staff to Senate Finance Committee Chair Bert Stedman, walked the committee through the changes. The budget includes $96 million in general funds for a $150 per person energy relief payment that will be added to the October Permanent Fund dividend. After that payment, up to $100 million in general funds will go to school districts as grants distributed using the adjusted average daily membership formula.

"So they will be granted out just like the money was run through the BSA, or the base student allocation, but outside the formula as a one-time grant or as a one-time item," Eklund said.

The actual amount school districts receive depends on final revenue numbers. Alexi Painter, director of the Legislative Finance Division, told the committee that if oil prices remain at forecast levels for the rest of the fiscal year, about $59.3 million would be available for school grants. If prices average $95 per barrel through June, the full $100 million would be funded.

The budget also includes $29.1 million in energy relief grants to school districts, calculated by taking the highest energy costs each district reported over the past three years and multiplying by 30 percent.

For communities, the budget adds $10 million from the general fund to the community assistance fund, increasing the fiscal year 2027 payout to $30 million. A separate $20 million appropriation will make an additional base payment to help communities with high fuel and shipping costs. The budget also increases the disaster relief fund from $24 million to $48 million to address costs from the Ahlong storm and other recent disasters.

The Alaska Marine Highway System receives $3.5 million in general funds for maintenance of effort and salary adjustments, plus $49.5 million in backstop funding if no federal operating dollars arrive in fiscal year 2027. Eklund said the Federal Transit Administration issued a notice of funding opportunity in recent weeks, and federal money is expected at some point during the fiscal year.

The budget splits the Office of the Governor into two parts, with approximately half effective July 1, 2026 through December 31, and the remainder effective January 1, 2027. A new appropriation was created for the lieutenant governor.