Alaskans could see $500 bonus payment next year

High oil prices could provide an additional $500 for Alaskans a year from now.

As part of the end-of-session budget deal put together by legislative leaders, particularly in the Senate, lawmakers in May adopted a provision in the fiscal year 2024 state spending plan that will provide a one-time “energy relief payment” next fall if state revenues exceed estimates.

Global supply shortages, caused largely by production cuts in Saudi Arabia and Russia, have driven up oil prices and boosted state revenues for the first three months of the fiscal year.

Alaskans in 2022 received a similar bonus along...