The Alaska Senate Finance Committee advanced legislation Tuesday that would allow people with overturned criminal convictions to receive Permanent Fund Dividends they were previously denied.

The committee recommended Senate Bill 167 be replaced with a Finance Committee substitute and sent forward with a new indeterminate fiscal note. The bill now sits in the Rules Committee with no further referrals.

The committee vote split three ways. Senators Olson and Hoffman, the co-chairs, signed a do-pass recommendation. Senator Stedman, also a co-chair, signed no recommendation along with Senators Kaufman, Cronk, and Merrick. Senator Kiel signed an amend recommendation.

The bill addresses a gap in state law for Alaskans whose criminal convictions are later overturned. Under current rules, those individuals remain ineligible for dividends they missed while wrongly convicted, even after courts clear their names.

The Finance Committee substitute includes changes from the original bill, though the specific amendments were not detailed in the floor session report. The indeterminate fiscal note indicates the state cannot yet estimate the cost of paying retroactive dividends to eligible Alaskans.

The Senate met in technical session Tuesday morning, a limited format that allows only committee reports and procedural business. No floor debate or public testimony occurred during the session.

The bill will remain in the Rules Committee until scheduled for a floor vote. Technical sessions do not include action on legislation beyond receiving committee reports.