Richard Heller, Appellant v. State of Alaska, Department of Revenue, Appellee

Summary

The court affirmed the denial of Heller’s 2007 Permanent Fund Dividend because he had lived in Alaska for only 59 days before deploying to Iraq and therefore could not satisfy the statutory requirement of six consecutive months of residency immediately before claiming a military allowable absence. The court held that the requirement is a bona fide residency measure, subject to rational-basis review under federal law, and survives both federal and Alaska equal-protection analysis. WINFREE, J., joined by STOWERS, J., dissenting in part, agreed that Heller failed the statutory eligibility requirement but would have held the requirement unconstitutional as a durational residency rule and awarded the dividend.