2019 Alaska Statutes
Title 15. Elections
Chapter 13. State Election Campaigns
Sec. 15.13.374. Advisory opinion.
(a) Any person may request an advisory opinion from the commission concerning this chapter, AS 24.45, AS 24.60.200 - 24.60.260, or AS 39.50.
(b) A request for an advisory opinion
(1) must be in writing or contained in a message submitted by electronic mail;
(2) must describe a specific transaction or activity that the requesting person is presently engaged in or intends to undertake in the future;
(3) must include a description of all relevant facts, including the identity of the person requesting the advisory opinion; and
(4) may not concern a hypothetical situation or the activity of a third party.
(c) Within seven days after receiving a request satisfying the requirements of (b) of this section, the executive director of the commission shall recommend a draft advisory opinion for the commission to consider at its next meeting.
(d) The approval of a draft advisory opinion requires the affirmative vote of four members of the commission. A draft advisory opinion failing to receive four affirmative votes of the members of the commission is disapproved.
(e) A complaint under AS 15.13.380 may not be considered about a person involved in a transaction or activity that
(1) was described in an advisory opinion approved under (d) of this section;
(2) is indistinguishable from the description of an activity that was approved in an advisory opinion approved under (d) of this section; or
(3) was undertaken after the executive director of the commission recommended a draft advisory opinion under (c) of this section and before the commission acted on the draft advisory opinion under (d) of this section, if
(A) the draft advisory opinion would have approved the transaction or activity described; and
(B) the commission disapproved the draft advisory opinion.
(f) Advisory opinion requests and advisory opinions are public records subject to inspection and copying under AS 40.25.100 - 40.25.295, except that, if a person requesting an advisory opinion requests that the person's name be kept confidential, the person's name shall be kept confidential and the commission shall redact the name of the requester from the request and from the advisory opinion before making the request and opinion public.
