Bismarck (AP)  Top Republican House members propose taking some earnings from the voter approved oil tax savings account for income tax relief could bridle some future pet projects pushed by the governor and fellow lawmakers, the bill’s sponsor said Tuesday.

Rep. Craig Headland, who chairs the House Finance and Taxation Committee, told The Associated Press the primary intent the bill is to allow residents to directly share in the state’s Legacy Fund by lowering their tax burden. He said the measure also could help repel potential initiated measure attempts to drain the fund that currently holds more than $6 billion.

Headland told his committee Tuesday that the bill is “a way to share some of North Dakota’s wealth with future generations … from one corner of the state to the other.”

It also would make North Dakota more competitive with other states that don’t have income tax, which would help attract workers in the state that has thousands more jobs than takers, he said.

House Majority Leader Chet Pollert and GOP Rep. Jeff Delzer, who chairs the powerful House Appropriations committee, are among the measure’s co-sponsors.

The proposal calls for using half of the earnings from the Legacy Fund, beginning in 2021, to reduce individual and corporate income taxes. The bill would only use any earnings in excess of $300 million in the next two-year budget cycle.

Headland said state income taxes likely would be eliminated over the next decade with Legacy Fund earnings.

North Dakota Tax Commissioner Ryan Rauschenberger said the tax liability for residents is about $900 a year. The state collects about $900 million every two years in income tax, with corporations accounting for only $100 million of the sum, he said.