Pubdate: Fri, 21 May 1999
Date: 05/21/1999
Source: Anchorage Daily News (AK)
Author: Dave Rudisill

Let me see if I understand this.

Alaskans qualified an initiative to reform campaign financing. The
Legislature, to prevent it from becoming law, passed substantially
similar legislation. Then the Legislature rewrites the law, gutting
it.

Alaskans passed an initiative to allow medical use of marijuana. Then
the Legislature writes new law, gutting it.

Alaskans voted on an initiative to ban wolf snaring, passed an
initiative to ban billboards and is generally threatening to pass the
laws it wants over the heads of the Legislature. So the Legislature
writes two laws making it harder to qualify initiatives and to pass
them into law.

We have a $1 billion budget deficit. The Legislature responds by
spending all but the last few days of the session cutting $40 million
from the budget (leaving only a $960 million deficit).

Clearly, the Legislature holds us in contempt. I suppose lawmakers are
aware that the feeling is mutual.

Dave Rudisill,
Anchorage