Initiative on mining moves forward

ANCHORAGE — A Wasilla man is one of three sponsors of a citizen initiative, called “Bristol Bay Forever,” that would require legislative approval for large-scale mines in the Bristol Bay Fisheries Reserve.

Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell announced this week that he has certified the initiative on the advice of Alaska Attorney General Michael Geraghty.

“In this analysis, we conclude that the application complies with the constitutional and statutory provisions governing the initiative process and we therefore recommend that you certify the application,” Geraghty said.

Petition booklets will be prepared by the Division of Elections and delivered to initiative sponsors — John Holman of King Salmon, Mark A. Niver of Wasilla, and Christina Salmon of Igiugig. Sponsors then have one year to circulate and gather voter signatures.

The booklets must be signed by qualified voters who:

• are equal in number to 10 percent of those who voted in the preceding general election;

• are resident in at least three-fourths of the house districts of the state; and

• who, in each of the House districts described in Subsection 2, are equal in number to at least 7 percent of those who voted in the preceding general election in the house district.

The Division of Elections has determined that the minimum number of qualified signatures required to meet this threshold is 30,169.

Depending on the timing of the return of those signatures and the length of the 2014 legislative session, the measure could come up for a vote on the August or November 2014 statewide ballots.