ANCHORAGE — The Alaska Supreme Court has agreed with the state of Alaska that a ballot measure that would prohibit development of projects damaging waters that support migrating fish, contains some unconstitutional provisions.
According to the Alaska Attorney General's Office, Ballot Measure 1 or the "Stand for Salmon initiative" is unconstitutional because of its appropriation of state resources. The state's constitution gives broad initiative powers to voters but also puts some limitations on that power, the Attorney General's Office said.
“The Alaska Supreme Court today confirmed our understanding of the initiative power and its limitations,” Alaska Attorney General Jahna Lindemuth said in a statement. “That limitation extends to the legislature’s power to allocate the State’s resources—including fisheries and waters—among competing uses.”
The Stand for Salmon initiative's "anadromous waters" presumed all waters are anadromous unless proven otherwise, according to the attorney general.
"The Alaska Supreme Court agreed with the state that this effectively allocated use of the waters for fish to the exclusion of other uses, such as mining," the Attorney General's Office stated. "The court has instructed that the offending provisions need to be removed."
The state's Division of Elections will remove those parts of the initiative that the court ruled as unconstitutional.