00 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 40 01 Relating to a commitment that any bill replacing an initiative that was certified to be 02 placed on the ballot not be amended for at least two years after enactment; and to a 03 commitment to refrain from passing a bill that would void an initiative to allow direct 04 elections to fill vacancies in the office of United States Senator. 05 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 WHEREAS the public's right to write and pass laws is important, especially at times 07 when it decides the legislature and governor are unwilling to solve important problems; and 08 WHEREAS the right of voters to place policy proposals in the form of initiatives on 09 the ballot is stated in art. XI, sec. 4, Constitution of the State of Alaska; and the right of 10 initiative is a form of direct democracy, and should be protected; and 11 WHEREAS the public's elected representatives sometimes do not implement policies 12 desired by the voters, and sometimes implement policies that are inconsistent with voter 13 initiatives; and 14 WHEREAS, in 2001, the legislature changed the law to give the current governor the 15 right to pick his own replacement for the United States Senate, and the governor did this after 01 his election in 2002; and 02 WHEREAS, in 2004, approximately 50,000 Alaskans signed an initiative to demand 03 the right to vote for their United States Senator the next time there is a United States Senate 04 vacancy; a bill was subsequently filed in the legislature that, if passed, would prevent 05 Alaskans from voting on this initiative in November, 2004; and 06 WHEREAS, under the Constitution of the State of Alaska, if an initiative passes, the 07 legislature may not repeal the law for a period of two years after the initiative takes effect; and 08 WHEREAS if an initiative is removed from a ballot because the legislature passes a 09 substantially similar law, some legislators will take the position that the law can then be 10 repealed or substantially amended immediately; and 11 WHEREAS, by passing a bill that has the effect of removing an initiative from a 12 ballot and then immediately amending that Act, the legislature can undermine the will of 13 Alaskans who support an initiative; in 2004, members of the house of representatives 14 introduced an amendment to prevent the legislature from doing this; and 15 WHEREAS a majority of legislators voted against this amendment, indicating that 16 they wish to preserve the power to pass laws contrary to initiatives demanded by the voters; 17 and 18 WHEREAS, in 2000 and 2001, the legislature decided not to adopt a fair minimum 19 wage law; frustrated by the inaction, voters placed an initiative on the ballot that required an 20 increase in the minimum wage to $7.15 an hour, and the initiative provided that the minimum 21 wage should increase in the future with inflation; and 22 WHEREAS, in 2002, the legislature displaced the minimum wage initiative question 23 from the ballot by passing a minimum wage law; and 24 WHEREAS, in 2003, the governor and a majority of legislators deleted the minimum 25 wage law's inflation adjustment provision, so that the minimum wage will no longer increase 26 with inflation; and 27 WHEREAS the 2003 law undermined the will of the people who signed the initiative 28 and wanted the minimum wage to rise so that wages increased with family and other 29 expenses; and 30 WHEREAS, in 2003, the governor and a majority of legislators also enacted 31 legislation voiding a voter initiative to limit campaign contributions and limit the influence of 01 lobbyists; that legislation doubled most campaign contribution limits and made it easier for 02 lobbyists to raise funds for and donate money directly to legislators; and 03 WHEREAS voters fear, based on the legislature's prior courses of conduct, that the 04 legislature may pass laws contrary to the policy stated in a pending initiative to allow 05 Alaskans to vote for their United States Senator the next time there is a vacancy in the United 06 States Senate; 07 BE IT RESOLVED that in order to protect the rights of voters to pass laws and to 08 uphold the will of Alaskans, this legislature commits to honoring future initiatives for a 09 minimum of two years; and be it 10 FURTHER RESOLVED that this legislature commits to refraining from passing any 11 bill that voids an initiative expanding the public's right to vote for a United States Senator 12 next time there is a vacancy.