ALASKA
VOTERS ORGANIZATION
RESOLUTION 2003-05
A
Resolution to the 23rd Alaska State Legislature in
OPPOSITION to significant changes to, or elimination of, the
Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC).
WHEREAS,
the Alaska Public Offices Commission began as
the Alaska Election Campaign Commission (AECC) in 1974; and
WHEREAS,
the incentive for campaign disclosure resulted from the Watergate
scandal and a successful citizen initiative effort, which convinced our
State Legislature to pass the Alaska Campaign Disclosure Law; and
WHEREAS,
that same year, another initiative effort
succeeded in placing Alaska’s Public Official Financial Disclosure Law
on the ballot, where it was approved by over 71% of the voters and
became law in January 1975; and
WHEREAS,
in 1976, the legislature revised state
lobbying reporting by passing Alaska’s Lobbying Law, with responsibility
for its enforcement assigned to the AECC, which was renamed the Alaska
Public Offices Commission (APOC), to reflect its newly expanded mission;
and
WHEREAS,
in 1990, the legislature responded to an
increased demand for ethics regulation and disclosure by expanding its
previous reporting requirements under the Conflict of Interest Law in
the form of a new act, Alaska's Legislative Ethics Disclosure Law, which
created the Select Committee on Legislative Ethics to hear ethics
violations; and
WHEREAS, the 1997
Alaska Campaign Disclosure Law was a response by the legislature to a
citizens’ initiative effort in 1996, which revised Alaska's 20 year-old
campaign disclosure law to include stricter limitation and disclosure
measures, including the prohibition of corporate and out-of-state group
contributions to state and local candidates; and
WHEREAS,
in 2003, legislation proposed by Governor
Murkowski and members of the State Legislature, have put party politics
ahead of good honest public policy; and
WHEREAS,
attempts to significantly reduce lobbyists reporting requirements or to
eliminate the non-partisan Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC),
violates the will of Alaskan voters, who spoke out on three separate
occasions to create the very agency and regulations currently being
threatened with elimination; and
WHEREAS,
the unfettered access to information is the foundation of a democratic
society; and
WHEREAS,
the public has a right to know the truth
about all funds paid to influence Alaska’s legislature; and
WHEREAS, Governor Murkowski and the legislature’s attempts to weaken
or eliminate APOC, promote bad public policy that will further erode the
public’s trust in our government; and
WHEREAS,
the citizens of Alaska have spoken loud and clear, “state laws should
not be relaxed to make it easier for lobbyist to influence our elected
officials”;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED
by the Alaska Voters Organization, Board of Directors, that we support
existing Alaska statutes governing campaign disclosure and registration
of lobbyists; and be it
FURTHER RESOLVED, that we oppose
all efforts to reduce the effectiveness or existence of the Alaska
Public Offices Commission (APOC).
ADOPTED BY
THE ALASKA VOTERS ORGANIZATION
BOARD OF DIRECTORS,
THIS 18th DAY OF MARCH 2003.
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