According to the Juneau Empire on Sunday, Gov. Sean Parnell has signed off on House Bill 36, which sets new financial disclosure requirements for ballot initiative campaigns and gives new duties concerning initiatives to the lieutenant governor's office.

The new rules mean that ballot sponsors will have to disclose their funding sources up front, and as soon as signature-gathering begins. Previously, such disclosures were only required when an initiative made it on the ballot. The new rules grew out of the recent PR battle over an initiative regarding the proposed Pebble Mine, and they have friends (who say previous law allowed political influence and funding to be concealed) and enemies (who say the new rules amount to an attack on the initiative process itself).

Aside from the question of financial disclosure, the new rules also require the lieutenant governor's office to hold "multiple" public hearings around the state that present arguments for and against each measure in order to inform voters. The information will be very well balanced and appropriate, and that will help the general public understand the measures," said Rep. Cathy Muñoz (R-Juneau). Read much more, here.

Incidentally, given the large number of initiative sponsors and opponents who complain of (or sue over) perceived bias on the part of the lieutenant governor and/or the attorney general, we're hoping the newly required public hearings don't just dig more legal tiger pits for the executive branch to fall in.