Whom will lawmakers stand up for?

Frontiersman editorial

May 4, 2007

One of the more controversial bills to move through the state House is scheduled for a full vote Saturday. House Bill 164, the &#8220ocean ranger bill,” has made it through the committee process, thanks to intense lobbying by the cruise ship industry and with the help of House leadership, whose personal and party coffers have been well-greased by industry contributions.

The bill seeks to undo a major requirement of the cruise ship ballot initiative just approved by voters in August - that state monitors be stationed on cruise ships while they are in Alaska waters to ensure compliance with environmental regulations.

Given the industry's history of being a less-than-careful steward of Alaska resources, this is not an unreasonable requirement. And since it imposes no financial or other hardship on the industry, it is difficult to assume that industry's motivation for opposing it is pure.

Those who have been doing the industry's heavy lifting on this bill - Ketchikan Rep. Kyle Johansen and Fairbanks Rep. Jay Ramras, primarily, with backup from Big Lake Rep. Mark Neuman, Nikiski Rep. Mike Chenault and Anchorage Rep. Kevin Meyer, and nudges from Valdez Rep. John Harris and Fairbanks Rep. John Coghill - have tried to advance the silly and condescending notion that voters didn't know what they were doing when they OK'd the initiative last fall.

No matter how this terrible piece of legislation is spun, the bottom line remains the same - supporting it is tantamount to undermining the will of the people.

How the dust finally settles will be seen Saturday. Both sides are still jockeying for position and gathering support, and the outcome appears to be a tossup.

Palmer Rep. Carl Gatto, a longtime advocate of tighter regulation of the cruise industry, presently stands as the only member of the Valley delegation who unequivocally opposes ongoing efforts to alter the voter-approved initiative. Reps. Bill Stoltze and Vic Kohring, along with Neuman and Harris, have been less enthusiastic in their willingness to support the will of voters.

Saturday they get a chance to get it right. We encourage them - and all their House colleagues - to not take for granted those who elevated them to elected office.