Opinion ID: 1115733
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: retroactivity of the oil tax

Text: The Oil Tax Act was signed into law on July 8, 1978. [59] Section 4 of the Act provided that it would apply retroactively to January 1, 1978. Section 5 provided the Act would be effective immediately. While the Senate voted 16 to 4 to approve section 5, the entire Oil Tax Act only passed by a vote of 11 to 9. Thus, at no time did more than 11 senators vote to approve section 4. The companies argue that the Act may not constitutionally be made applicable to income earned prior to July 8, 1978. They interpret article II, § 18 of the Alaska Constitution [60] and AS 01.10.070(a) [61] as requiring the approval of two-thirds majority of each house of the legislature to give retroactive effect to a new law. The companies argue that even though a two-thirds vote was attained for an immediate effective date, a two-thirds vote was also required to enact section 4, applying the Act retroactively to January 1, 1978. We disagree. AS 01.10.090 states that [n]o statute is retrospective unless expressly declared therein. A two-thirds vote requirement does not appear in that section, nor elsewhere in Alaska law. The legislature, however, has recognized that where retroactive application of a portion or all of a bill is desired, an immediate effective date, which does require a two-thirds vote under article II, § 18 and AS 01.10.070(a), should be used in conjunction with the retroactivity section. Legislative Affairs Agency, Manual of Legislative Drafting 11 (1977); Uniform Rules of the Alaska State Legislature, Rule 10 (May 3, 1977). Accordingly, because two-thirds of the legislature voted to make the Oil Tax Act immediately effective, a separate two-thirds vote for the Act to be retroactive was not constitutionally required. The Oil Tax was properly retroactive to January 1, 1978. The superior court's action in granting the state's motion for summary judgment is AFFIRMED. COMPTON, J., not participating.