Coastal management initiative certified

Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell certified the citizen initiative to establish an Alaska Coastal Management Program on March 9. Sponsors filed the petition with the Division of Elections on Jan. 17 and the lieutenant governor had 60 days or until March 17 to make a final determination of proper or improper filing.

The division completed its review of signatures and determined they meet constitutional requirements for initiative petitions, the lieutenant governor’s office said.

The petition contained signatures of 29,991 qualified voters, exceeding the minimum requirement of 25,875 signatures.

The petition also contained signatures of voters in all House districts, and signatures of qualified voters in 37 House districts that equal at least 7 percent of those who voted in the prior general election.

“Now that we’ve certified the petition, the initiative will appear on a statewide election ballot, depending on whether the Legislature passes ‘substantially similar’ legislation, and when the session adjourns,” Treadwell said in a statement.

If the Legislature does not take action, the lieutenant governor must conduct two public hearings in each of the four judicial districts at least 30 days before the initiative appears on a ballot.

Alaska’s prior coastal zone management program expired July 1, 2011, after the Legislature failed to extend it.

Alaska statutes provide that once a determination of proper filing has been made, the initiative may appear on the next statewide general, special or primary election held 120 days after a legislative session has convened and adjourned and 120 days since the adjournment of the legislative session.

—Petroleum News