Our State Legislature
recently introduced special interest legislation of the worst kind.
HB-106 and SB-89 clearly favor lobbyists over Alaskans, and will
enable politicians to accept campaign contributions from most of
them, which is currently prohibited. This promotes special interest
legislation for the highest bidder. Once again the majority of
voters in Alaska will get a BAD deal!
State law should not be
relaxed, making it easier for lobbyists to influence our
legislators. Every boondoggle that gets funded through the efforts
of lobbyists, municipal representatives, or special interest groups
takes limited resources away from essential government services.
The public has a right to know the truth about everyone paying to
obtain our legislators’ favor. Alaskan laws should protect the
public’s interest, not hide the trail of influence that rewards
cooperation between lobbyists and politicians.
Our legislature
intentionally limited public debate to a minimum number of committee
hearings. Few people outside of the government/lobbyist circle will
have the opportunity to testify in opposition to this legislation.
While this may be a clever maneuver on the part of legislators and
lobbyists pushing this bill, it has not gone unnoticed by the
public. The web page www.akvoters.org/hotbuttonhb106sb89.htm has
been established to track and permanently record legislative actions
taken on this bill.
This is clearly BAD
legislation favoring a few privileged players in Juneau, at the
expense of every Alaskan. Putting special interest groups and big
campaign contributors before our citizen’s best interests is bad
public policy. The Legislature’s focus must shift toward public
NEEDS, instead of special interest wants. Please contact your
representatives and demand NO votes on HB-106 and
SB-89!
Return to Editorial Index Page
