Mallott v. Stand for Salmon

I. INTRODUCTION

The Lieutenant Governor declined to certify a proposed ballot initiative that would establish a permitting requirement for activities that could harm anadromous fish habitat, reasoning that the initiative effected an appropriation of state assets in violation of article XI, section 7 of the Alaska Constitution. The initiative sponsors filed suit, and *161 the superior court approved the initiative, concluding that the proposal would not impermissibly restrict legislative discretion. We conclude that the initiative would encroach on the discretion over allocation decisions delegated…