City of Fairbanks v. Fairbanks Convention & Visitors Bureau

OPINION

COMPTON, Justice.

In 1979 the City of Fairbanks (city) enacted a motel and hotel tax (bed tax) as part of its municipal code. 1 Up to seventy percent of the revenues from this tax supports the Fairbanks Convention and Visitors Bureau (FCVB). In 1989 the city certified for inclusion on the general election ballot a voter initiative to create a new arrangement for allocating the bed tax revenues. FCVB sought declaratory and in- junctive relief against the initiative in superior court, and was granted a preliminary injunction barring the initiative from appearing on the ballot. The court…