Byron Mallott, Lieutenant Governor of the State of Alaska, and State of Alaska, Division of Elections, Appellants…

Summary

The court held that the proposed initiative was an unconstitutional appropriation because its permitting restrictions would remove certain allocation decisions concerning state fish habitat from legislative and agency discretion. It nevertheless concluded that the offending provisions could be severed without substantially changing the initiative's purpose, requiring the remainder to be placed on the ballot. The court also determined that its prior discussion of a similar appropriation issue was dictum and unpersuasive. Justice Winfree, dissenting in part, would have severed additional habitat-protection and mitigation provisions.