As we previously reported, the State Legislature called it quits around 4am and due to debates over the Governor’s education bill and the capital budget, several voter initiatives will be bumped to the November ballot.
One initiative is the Bristol Bay Forever Initiative which co-sponsor Anders Gustafson detailed the amendment to the current law that protects Bristol Bay from oil and gas development.
Gustafson: “It would seek to include large scale mining in that same regards where it would also have to pass through the legislature in the form of a bill, a dually enacted law and prove beyond any doubt that there would be no danger to the fishery from any activity.”
Gustafson further explained that the permitting processes for large projects would go forward but at the end there would be an accumulative review of impacts that the residents of Alaska could be a part of.
He added that pushing initiative back may increase costs to keep it in the public eye for longer however may result in higher turnout.
Gustafson: “You’d see a big turnout if all the initiatives were on the primary, I think you’ll see a slightly larger turnout in the November because people will be back from fishing and hunting camps and all the activities that take Alaskans away from their homes in the middle of August.”