Also I dug into the 1999 ballot proposition. That was an advisory question. I'm not quite sure what the point of it was as it was not changing any law. Maybe it was just done so that legislators would know how their constituents stand on the issue. The measure would have advised the state government that voters want to use a portion of the Alaska Permanent Fund to balance the state budget. Voters, in voting overwhelmingly against the question, advised the government that they did not. It appears that the measure proposed something similar to what Walker proposed this year but the dividends would have been capped at a higher amount. Now we have fewer choices to balance the budget and the permanent fund earnings is the only realistic way to make a significant change in our fiscal situation.