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Spotlight on Juneau Archived Copies "An Informed Voter Is The Best Defense Against Bad Government"
"Spotlight on Juneau" "Special Edition" March 21, 2003 Circulation: 4,237 members + unknown forward rate
Hello Fellow Voters,
Alaska Voters Organization Board of Directors issue formal resolution in support of the Alaska Public Offices Commission
Many people do not realize the Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC), which began as the Alaska Election Campaign Commission (AECC) in 1974, was the direct result of several citizen initiatives. Right after the Watergate scandal which involved President Nixon and the Republican Party, the good people of Alaska demanded our legislature pass laws to protect the public’s interest in the election process.
Additional initiatives and public pressure forced the legislature to include laws that govern campaign contribution disclosure, lobbying, legislative ethics, and public official financial disclosure. One citizen’s initiative resulted in legislation that prohibited corporate and out of state contributions to candidates.
HB 106 and SB 89 would drastically reduce the lobbyist reporting requirements and allow greater participation by lobbyists in political campaigns at all levels of government in the state.
HB 157 and SB 119 which were introduced by Governor Murkowski, would completely eliminate the APOC, and shift their responsibilities to departments under the direct supervision of the governor. This shift away from non partisan monitoring of campaigns puts party politics ahead of good honest public policy.
These attempts to significantly reduce lobbyists reporting requirements or to completely eliminate the Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC), violates the will of Alaskan voters, who spoke out on at least three separate occasions to create the very agency and regulations currently being threatened with elimination.
The public has a right to know the truth about all funds paid to influence Alaska’s legislature. 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. 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".
This resolution has been submitted as written testimony before the various House and Senate Committees hearing these bills, with copies sent to all State Legislators, the Governor and media statewide. Click here to see a copy of the resolution in support of the APOC.
A dedicated web page < http://www.akvoters.org/hotbuttonhb106sb89.htm > has been established with complete details and background information concerning changes to the APOC. This page will permanently record all actions taken, and provide an easy to use source for the public to access current information. There is also a list of email addresses, and phone numbers for all legislators hearing this bill. The web page can also be accessed from the "Hot Button Issues" section of the Alaska Voters Organization home page < http://www.akvoters.org >. Everyone should take a few minutes to become familiar with this important issue, then contact the legislature and media with an opinion. Please consider sending AK Voters a copy of your "letters to the editor" or messages to the legislature concerning this issue for possible inclusion on the Editorial page.
Please forward this message to everyone you know in Alaska, and ask them to do the same. Everyone is welcome and strongly encouraged to join AK Voters. It is absolutely FREE to join, and each member automatically receives future issues of the "Spotlight on Juneau ". Working together we CAN and WILL make a positive difference for Alaska's future! If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, send an email with QUIT written in the message box. Make sure the "reply to" address on your message is the one you want removed from our files.
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