2004 ballot measures: everything but the kitchen sink: there's a host of initiatives and referenda on the ballot this year, but nothing like the highs of the mid-'90s.

The list of measures to go before voters this fall won't finally shape up until later this month, but so far at least 41 citizen-initiated measures and 57 legislative referenda have qualified for the ballot. At least 18 additional initiative petitions have been turned in and are presently undergoing signature verification.

If historical trends hold true, the number of legislative referenda will probably top out somewhere around 130. The number of initiatives is harder to predict this early in the process. Since the mid-1990s, when the initiative experienced a resurgence in popularity, the number of measures on the ballot has tended to be higher in presidential election years than in off years. In 2002, there were 53 citizen-initiated measures on the ballot; expect the number to be roughly the same or slightly higher this year.

The array of issues on the ballot range from some new and controversial measures to some oldies-but-goodies.

GAY MARRIAGE

Same-sex marriage is the big ballot issue this year and probably the most controversial. Measures amending state constitutions to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman are likely to appear on the ballot in 11 states, and that number could climb as high as 13. It's definitely on the ballot in seven states where legislatures referred constitutional amendments to the voters. Initiative proponents in three more states turned in more than enough signatures to qualify for the ballot and signatures are being verified in three others. All of these states already have laws on the books outlawing same-sex marriage; these measures, however, seek to place the ban in the state constitution.

EDUCATION FUNDING

The puzzle of how to adequately fund public education weighs heavily on the minds of voters in several states this year. The Arkansas legislature is proposing a property tax increase to pay for schools. In Oklahoma, the Legislature is asking voters to approve a new lottery earmarked for education. A South Dakota measure would extend services like transportation, food service and textbook loans to all school-age children. Two competing initiatives mandating certain levels of education funding are on the ballot in Nevada. Measures increasing the sales tax to pay for education are pending in Missouri and Washington. A measure to repeal the state's mandatory school funding levels is still circulating in Colorado, as is a second measure to repeal the state's mandatory student testing program. And in Washington, voters will have the chance to approve or reject a measure passed by the Legislature to create charter schools.

ELECTION REFORM

The confusion over the 2000 presidential election made reform a key issue in state capitols over the past four years. That issue has carried over to the ballot initiative front, as well. Measures appearing on the ballot include dealing with vacancies in the office of U.S. senator, primary elections and the initiative process itself. Colorado and Missouri may decide on measures to change their current winner-take-all system for allocating presidential electoral votes to proportional or district systems. Proposed changes to the initiative process include two measures in Arizona. One restricts the time during which signatures must be gathered and makes the deadline for turning in petitions earlier. A second requires initiatives proposing to spend state money to identify a funding source for the proposal. Proposed initiatives in Colorado and Nebraska would decrease state regulation of the process, make it easier to put measures on the ballot and more difficult for the legislatures to amend any law passed by initiative. A legislative referendum in Florida would set a filing deadline for proposed initiative constitutional amendments.

HEALTH CARE

Health care will be another big issue this year with proposals addressing a wide array of issues. California voters will decide on several health measures, including bond issues to fund children's hospital projects and stem cell research, an income tax increase to pay for mental health services, and a telephone surcharge for emergency medical services. They will also have the chance to approve or reject a law passed by the Legislature in 2003 that requires employers with +20 or more workers to provide health care benefits. Montana and Oklahoma voters will decide whether to increase the sales tax on cigarettes to help fund health care. A similar initiative is still circulating in Colorado. A measure requiring alternative dispute resolution or panel review before a medical malpractice suit can be filed is on the ballot in Wyoming. Oregon voters also will deal with medical malpractice this fall.

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GAMING

This year will continue the trend toward an increase in the number of gaming issues on the ballot. In 2002, there were seven on statewide ballots, compared with three in 2000 and just two in 1998. So far this year, five measures have qualified. Several more appear likely to make the ballot. The qualified measures include two initiatives in California requiring a renegotiation of state-tribal gaming compacts; and a proposed new lottery and state-tribal gaming compact in Oklahoma. Measures still pending include a requirement for voter approval of new gambling enterprises in Michigan. There are proposals for new gambling enterprises in Missouri, Nebraska (where five are circulating) and Washington.

PERENNIAL FAVORITES: TERM LIMITS, TAXES, POT AND HUNTING

The darlings of the initiative movement are back again this year. Term limits, one of the issues whose popularity caused the surge in the number of initiatives on ballots back in the early 1990s, is still around in 2004. This time, in most states, the tables are turned: Legislatures in Arkansas and Montana are asking voters to increase the current limit on terms to 12 years in each chamber. A Nebraska initiative still circulating would ask voters to repeal term limits altogether. The only proposal to create new term limits would have been in Oregon where term limits were overturned by the courts in 2002, but that measure failed to gather enough valid signatures.

Anti-tax activists continue to pursue policy goals via the ballot. Maine voters will consider a limit on property taxes. A South Dakota initiative would exempt food from sales and use taxes. A similar measure failed to pass in Arkansas in 2002. Tax-limiting initiatives are still circulating in Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada and North Dakota. A second measure circulating in Colorado would partially undo the Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR), a limit on how much revenue state and local governments can collect and keep. TABOR was originally passed by initiative in 1992, and along with mandatory school funding, has become increasingly controversial as the state's economy declined in recent years.

A number of drug policy changes will be posed to voters. An Alaska initiative would decriminalize and regulate the use of marijuana. A similar measure in Nevada (which was the scene of another highly controversial proposal to legalize marijuana in 2002) failed to qualify. This year's proposal would have dedicated the tax revenue gathered from the sale of marijuana to alcohol and drug treatment and education programs. Medical marijuana is on the ballot in Arkansas and Montana. A measure to amend Oregon's existing medical marijuana law--increasing the amount patients may possess, allowing sales and creating dispensaries--also is on the ballot.

Animal rights activists are another group that seized on the initiative process as a way to advance their cause in the early 1990s. This year, both sides will be represented on the ballot. Restrictions on bear hunting will be on the ballot in Alaska and Maine. A legislative referendum recognizing and preserving the right to hunt and fish will be on the ballot in Montana. An initiative that would permit the state's Division of Wildlife to override any voter-mandated restriction on hunting or fishing, as well as executive orders, is circulating in Colorado. A second measure would require the division to obtain voter approval for any increase in resident hunting and fishing fees.

OTHER MEASURES OF NOTE

Some of the following measures have qualified for ballot status. Mining practices continue to be controversial in Montana, with a measure allowing the else of cyanide in gold and silver mining. Measures in Montana and Nevada would increase regulation of the insurance industry and decrease vehicle insurance premiums. A proposal in North Dakota would restrict the planting of genetically modified wheat in the state. Measures in Florida, Nevada, Oregon and Wyoming would cap medical malpractice awards. Florida and Nevada may raise the minimum wage.

2004 BALLOT MEASURES

ISSUE                   ON THE BALLOT

Same-Sex Marriage Ban   Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana
                        (September election), Michigan *, Mississippi,
                        Missouri (August election), Montana, North
                        Dakota *, Ohio *, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah

Education               Arizona, Arkansas, Missouri *, Nevada, New
                        Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota,
                        Washington

Election Reform         Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado *,
                        Florida * Missouri *, Nebraska, Nevada *,
                        New Mexico, Washington, Oregon

Health Care             Arkansas, California, Colorado *, Florida *,
                        Missouri *, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon,
                        Wyoming

Gaming                  California, Florida *, Michigan *, Missouri *,
                        Nebraska *, Oklahoma, Washington *

Drug Policy             Alaska, Arkansas, Montana, Oregon

Term Limits             Arkansas, Montana, Nebraska *

Hunting                 Alaska, Maine, Montana

Taxes                   Arizona *, Arkansas, Maine,
                        Montana, Nebraska *, Nevada *, North Dakota *,
                        Oklahoma, South Dakota

* Not yet qualified.

Jennifer Drage Bowser is NCSL's expert on campaign finance, initiatives and referenda, and term limits. For up-to-date information go to: www.ncsl.org/programs/legman/elect/ dbintro.htm