The Permanent Fund Earnings Reserve was not touched for the previous 2 years because the 'Muskrat Coalition' (currently called Republican Leaders in the predominantly Democrat House coalition) called it a Permanent Fund [Dividend] Raid and used it as a bargaining chip to put about about $1 billion back in the budget. Using the Earnings Reserve has been an allocation/appropriation tool for the Legislature since its inception and requires a less stringent vote (a simple vs a 3/4 majority).  But, that is not enough for the Legislature.  Both SB26 and the Governor/House/Senate budget are funneling over $2 Billion+ in funds directly past the Earnings Reserve and into the General Fund.  All of this bypasses what Gov. Hammond termed 'the equitable distribution balancing the inequitable distribution of government funding' in his book Diapering the Dinosaur.  What we genreally refer to as Hammond's 50-50 plan. DO YOUR RESEARCH.