A new bill in the Alaska state legislature would withhold Permanent Fund dividend checks from out-of-state college students, University of Alaska students on exchange, and active military until they return.

Introduced by Rep. Paul Seaton, R-Homer, House Bill 547 would prevent residents on extended absence from receiving dividends until they return for at least one year.

Currently, the PFD program allows residents to be absent 180 days per year. However, there are 13 allowable extended absences that let residents live Outside and still receive a check. They include: full-time college attendance, active military duty, medical treatment, care for sick and terminally ill family members, estate settlement and attendance of a secondary school.

Although House Bill 547 retains these exceptions, it does not allow residents to receive checks until after returning to Alaska for 185 days of the year after their absences. If residents do not return to the state, the money would return to the fund.

The bill also addresses the "brain drain," the term given to the loss of Alaskan high school students to the Outside. Seaton, who has two children attending college in Michigan, noted students would be encouraged to return to the state as their checks accumulate.

The bill also affects UA students. Seaton noted that since physical residency is a requirement, students on exchange would have to wait until they return to receive their check. ROTC students would have to wait after graduation if they were stationed outside of the state.

The Permanent Fund Division conducted a preliminary analysis of the plan from 112 randomly selected records of people on extended absence absences. According to the results, of the 31 college students in the study, 18 never returned to the state. Out of 34 people on active military duty, 26 stayed out of state while 2 remain on duty.

"The question is, is it a good public policy to send $35 million to people that don't plan to return?" said Seaton.

Many Alaskans attending college Outside are concerned about any possibility of not receiving a check. Nineteen-year-old Cody Smith, of Homer, said the plan seemed to "punish" students for getting "the best education they can" and the military for "protecting our country and doing their duty."

He also had personal concerns as a freshman at the University of Western Washington. "I guess if I went to college out of state I would need all the money possible at the time and keeping the PFD from me would make it hard to pay for college out of state."

Homer resident Jamie Smith, 18, did not react favorably to the idea. An elementary education major at Montana State University-Bozeman, she said the dividend is a source of income that helps her pay for school.

"Personally if this bill passed it would be devastating to many students attending school out of state, myself included," she said.

Ethan McWilliams, 18, felt this plan would punish student. The Fairbanks resident and political science major at the University of Richmond in Virginia said it would be unfair to prevent students from attending schools specializing in their field of study.

"A brain-chain is hardly the solution to the brain drain," he said.

Many UAF students shared different feelings. Brandon Meston, 19, said the plan seemed like a "good idea." A freshman at UAF, Meston said he knew many people out of state with scholarships that would be unaffected by losing their dividend.

"It would be a bonus that would allow them to do what most Alaskans do anyway, which is to spend it on some frivolous purchase."

Natasha Allen, 21, said that although the annual check is nice to have, she thought the legislation sounded good.

"It actually holds you to a commitment of coming back."

Allen, a junior Army ROTC  cadet, said it would not hurt her to not receive it until her service is complete. She added that her sister is currently in Missouri but still gets a dividend.

Republican Gov. Frank Murkowski noted Tuesday during a visit at UAF that although out-of-state Alaskans must sign a declaration that they will retire in Alaska to receive their check, there is no way to enforce it or to ensure that dividend money remains in-state.

"The legislature can change that if it wishes," he said.

Although Seaton does not expect that the Finance Committee will pass the bill given how late in the session it is, he plans on readdressing the idea next year.

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