It is being fought hard by a well-funded coalition of unions, local governments, nonprofits and business groups. They say it would block many Alaskans from lobbying government and having a voice in political campaigns.
Backers, who organized as Clean Team Alaska, say they want to go after sweetheart deals and curb undue influence by government contract holders and unions. They say governments shouldn't use public funds to lobby for more. They want to stop what they call "pay to play" politics.
Opponents, organized as Stop the Gag Law, are running a $1 million campaign to defeat Measure 1. They say they are against corruption too but that the proposal overreaches.
Not only would a government snowplow contractor be unable to make campaign contributions, neither would the contractor's grandparents, stepchildren and a host of other relatives. A village mayor whose community was being battered by storms couldn't go to Juneau at public expense to ask for help, opponents say.
Backers say it wouldn't go that far.
The state attorney general's office says the ballot measure would prevent public money from being spent for political campaigns and lobbying. It would bar people with government contracts from making campaign contributions and extend that prohibition to relatives, the analysis says. The initiative defines relatives broadly as including in-laws, grandparents and grandchildren, nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles. Legislators and their aides would be barred from working for a government contract holder for two years.
Violating its provisions would amount to a crime.
The Clean Team Alaska group includes activists for limited government led by former state legislator Dick Randolph of Fairbanks. Clean Team abandoned its campaign in June just as the state was pushing for its main financial donor, another political group, to reveal where it was getting its money.
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