A Citizen’s Guide

Gov. Frank Murkowski wants the November vote on a natural gas reserves tax to mean nothing.

More than 40,000 Alaskans signed a petition to put the question on the ballot. But the governor firmly and fervently believes the billion-dollar-a-year tax would hurt chances for construction of a North Slope gas pipeline, and he wants to head it off before voters have the opportunity to approve it.

He’s right; the tax is not a good idea and is not going to help get the gas line built. Winning legislative approval for a fair gas line deal before the election would be the best way to show Alaskans the punitive tax is not needed. But it doesn’t look like that is going to happen this year, so the issue will be decided by frustrated voters at the polls. Not a good situation, but it’s the one we’re stuck with.

However, subverting the will of the people before they have a chance to vote their will is worse. The governor has taken it upon himself to try negating — in advance — the ballots of tens of thousands of Alaskans. He has included a provision in the gas pipeline contract he negotiated with Exxon Mobil, BP and Conoco Phillips to protect the companies from paying the tax should voters pass it in November.

The governor must figure there is no sense taking the chance that even if a gas line contract could be signed and delivered before the election, Alaskans still might approve the tax. So let the voters do what they will, the governor says; the contract will prevail. If they decide to impose a tax on the producers for not moving fast enough to develop Alaska’s North Slope gas reserves, it won’t matter. The companies won’t pay a penny, as long as the contract is signed before the vote.

No matter how much we agree that the tax is the wrong way to get the project built, the governor’s maneuver will have done irreparable damage to public confidence in government. Gov. Murkowski needs to understand that this provision of the proposed gas line contract is the wrong way to win the battle.

He is trying to tell Alaska voters that he knows best and that his knowledge trumps the right of the people, as provided by the Alaska Constitution, to make these decisions within the law. Does the governor truly believe that Alaskans will stand for being told that he can contract away their right to an initiative?

The Alaska Legislature has shown contempt in recent years for voter initiative decisions on wolf control and for initiative-driven legislation on the minimum wage. In the case of wolf control, the Republican majority waited the bare minimum time provided under the law before passing legislation that wiped out the voter-approved ban on aerial hunting of wolves. In the case of minimum wages, legislators acted as soon as they could — the very next year — to weaken the law.

Maybe this sort of politics has emboldened the governor. The effect is likely to be a rude surprise. More Alaskans may vote for the reserves tax because of the way the governor is trying to block it before the election.

Gov. Murkowski can make a strong case against the tax, and he would have a lot of support. But he should campaign against the tax at the ballot box, not behind closed doors in gas line negotiations and not with disregard for Alaskans’ constitutional rights. He should fight the battle in the open and take his chances. If Alaskans make the wrong decision, well, they’ve done that before.