A ballot initiative aimed at protecting salmon habitat has cleared a significant hurdle on its track to making a November state election ballot, according to a Tuesday report from the Division of Elections.<\/p>\n
The controversial \u201cStand for Salmon\u201d initiative, as it\u2019s known, would create a more stringent permitting process for development projects on salmon habitat in Alaska. Opponents, many of them in resource extraction industries, say it\u2019s bad for business. Supporters say they\u2019re streamlining a 60-year-old law in an attempt to protect Alaska salmon.<\/p>\n
Both sides of the issue<\/a> are now one step closer to clashing on a Nov. 6 general election ballot: the initiative has satisfied its major signature requirements in an ongoing review from the Division of Elections.<\/p>\n DoE is currently reviewing each of Stand for Salmon\u2019s 43,706 signatures. To pass the review, Stand for Salmon needs only 32,127 signatures or 10 percent of those who voted in the previous general election. As of Tuesday, 38,694 signatures were verified.<\/p>\n \u201cI would say that we\u2019re excited but not surprised that we were able to collect the required number of signatures,\u201d Stand for Salmon Director Ryan Schryver said in a Tuesday phone interview.<\/p>\n Alaska law also requires a certain percentage of signatures come from 30 of the state\u2019s 40 House districts. That requirement has also been met, per DoE\u2019s report.<\/p>\n The review process has a 60-day deadline for completion. Signatures for Stand for Salmon were submitted on Jan. 16, Schryver said, so the review should be finished mid-March.<\/p>\n Once finalized and approved, more hurdles stand in the way before Alaskans will get to vote on it. It\u2019ll next find its way to the desk of Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott, who will have to approve the initiative before it\u2019s printed on the ballot.<\/p>\n Mallott previously declined to certify the initiative when it was initially applied for on Sept. 12, 2017, citing concern that it is unconstitutional because it effectively spends state resources without going through the Legislature. It\u2019s one of the few legal reasons Mallott can cite when declining to certify a ballot initiative.<\/p>\n He cited a September 2017 Department of Law review<\/a> which found the initiative unconstitutionally appropriates state resources without going through the legislative process. Money or resources \u2014 in this case, habitat \u2014 can\u2019t be spent without approval by the Legislature, according to the Alaska Constitution.<\/p>\n Stand for Salmon tweaked the initiative\u2019s language and reapplied. The law department again found the same problems. But Stand for Salmon appealed that ruling in the state superior court, which found the initiative doesn\u2019t violate the constitution<\/a>.<\/p>\n