Taking the initiative: land use measures steal the show in upcoming ballot measures.It's shaping up to be a banner year for initiatives, both in terms of numbers and the issues. At press time, 74 were qualified for the ballot in the 24 states that allow them, with another three still in signature verification in Ohio. In addition, there are three popular referenda, at least 54 legislative referenda and two "other" measures that defy categorization, bringing the total number of measures on the ballot around the country to 159. The number of legislative referenda is likely to grow significantly over the next few weeks, and likely could double. THE BIG ISSUE: LAND USE This year's big issue doesn't have the draw of 2004's bans on same-sex marriage Noun 1. same-sex marriage - two people of the same sex who live together as a family; "the legal status of same-sex marriages has been hotly debated" couple, twosome, duet, duo - a pair who associate with one another; "the engaged couple"; "an inseparable but is controversial nonetheless. Land use, a real snoozer on the surface, is causing heated battles, particularly in the West. Fifteen states will vote on land use measures this year. The measures generally come in two flavors: eminent domain eminent domain, the right of a government to force the owner of private property sell it if it is needed for a public use. The right is based on the doctrine that a sovereign state has dominion over all lands and buildings within its borders, which has its origins in or regulatory takings Regulatory taking refers to a situation in which a government regulates a property to such a degree that the regulation effectively amounts to an exercise of the government's eminent domain power without actually divesting the property's owner of title to the property. . In four states (Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana), both flavors are twisted into a single initiative. In the three (all but Idaho) that require single subject initiatives, it is possible these measures will run afoul of a·foul of prep. 1. In or into collision, entanglement, or conflict with. 2. Up against; in trouble with: ran afoul of the law. the law. Nevada's initiative already faced such a challenge and the regulatory takings provisions were removed from the measure by the court, leaving only the eminent domain section on the ballot. The eminent domain measures are a direct response to the U.S. Supreme Court's 2005 Kelo v. New London New London, city (1990 pop. 24,540), New London co., SE Conn., on the Thames River near its mouth on Long Island Sound; laid out 1646 by John Winthrop, inc. 1784. decision, and tend to be less controversial than the regulatory takings measures. Six of the eight statewide questions addressing eminent domain were referred by legislatures. Oregon's comes from citizens as does North Dakota's. The regulatory takings measures are modeled on a successful Oregon initiative from 2004. Measure 37 required governments to compensate property owners when land use regulations reduced the value of a property. The price tag for this measure was potentially astronomical, and in all cases so far in Oregon, governments have taken the path of waiving zoning codes and other regulations rather than paying up. Five states are considering such measures this year--the four previously listed that combine regulatory takings with eminent domain in a single initiative, and Washington. A FLASH BACK The dramatic increase in the number of initiatives appearing on statewide ballots in the 1990s was due in large part to the success of movements to limit the terms of lawmakers and cap state taxes and spending. Both of these issues are back on the ballot this year, and tax limitations in particular are partly responsible for the bump in the numbers. The speculation last year was that the success of Colorado's Referendum C in 2005, which temporarily rolled back the fiscal limits imposed by Colorado's TABOR (Taxpayers' Bill of Rights) law, would take the wind out of the sails of similar movements in other states. That doesn't appear to have happened. Similar proposals, whether called TABOR, SOS SOS, code letters of the international distress signal. The signal is expressed in International Morse code as … — — — … (three dots, three dashes, three dots). (Stop Overspending) or TASC TASC The After School Corporation TASC The American Surrogacy Center TASC Treatment Accountability for Safer Communities TASC The Analytic Sciences Corporation TASC Transportation Administrative Service Center TASC Total Administrative Services Corporation (Tax and Spending Control), are on the ballot in Maine, Montana, Nebraska and Oregon. Efforts in at least three other states--Missouri, Nevada and Oklahoma--were derailed by court rulings. And at least one of the proposals currently on the ballot--Montana's--is facing a court challenge and could yet be pulled. Other tax limiting measures on the ballot include an effort to repeal Washington's estate tax, which is dedicated entirely to education and is expected to bring in about $480 million in revenue over the next five years. Term limits, the darling of the initiative movement in the 1990s, are back on the ballot this year. Voters in Oregon will consider re-imposing term limits on their legislators. They were first passed in 1992 but repealed by the state's supreme court in 2002. This year's version doesn't have the same problems that led to the repeal of the 1992 law, but it does have its own quirk quirk n. 1. A peculiarity of behavior; an idiosyncrasy: "Every man had his own quirks and twists" Harriet Beecher Stowe. 2. that could lead to legal battles if it passes: It's retroactive Having reference to things that happened in the past, prior to the occurrence of the act in question. A retroactive or retrospective law is one that takes away or impairs vested rights acquired under existing laws, creates new obligations, imposes new duties, or attaches a . In Colorado, where legislators' terms are already limited, voters will consider extending the limits to include judges as well. JUDGING MEASURES Term limits for judges isn't the only initiative addressing the judiciary. Oregon voters will decide whether supreme and appeals court judges should be elected by district, and Montana voters may consider whether judges should be subject to the recall process. A sweeping measure in South Dakota South Dakota (dəkō`tə), state in the N central United States. It is bordered by North Dakota (N), Minnesota and Iowa (E), Nebraska (S), and Wyoming and Montana (W). called the "Judicial Accountability Initiative" could have a huge impact if it were to pass and withstand legal challenge. It sets up a panel of 13 citizens, chosen randomly from a pool of volunteers, who are charged with creating rules for how judges, juries, prosecutors and certain local officials should make decisions. If the panel finds that an individual violates its rules, it could punish the person with fines, jail time, the loss of public insurance and the loss of up to half their public retirement benefits. And here's the kicker Kicker A right, warrant, or some other feature added to a debt instrument to make it more desirable to potential investors. Notes: The ability to trade a bond or other debt instrument in for stock may entice investors, if they feel the stock will appreciate. it's retroactive. Any decision maker still alive could be punished for a decision made years ago. MARRIAGE MEASURES Although not present on ballots in numbers in numbered parts; as, a book published in numbers. See also: Number like it was in 2004, when a total of 13 states considered same-sex marriage bans in primaries and the November election, this issue hasn't gone away. Eight states will have same-sex marriage issues on their November ballots this year. Colorado voters will face two measures--one from the legislature that would create benefits and responsibilities for couples in domestic partnerships, and a citizen initiative that would define marriage as between one man and one woman. Early in the election season this year, it looked like minimum wage would be on the ballot in many states, and was widely touted as the Democrats' answer to last year's same-sex marriage measures. That is, it was hoped that the presence of a minimum wage issue on the ballot would influence voter turnout the way that same-sex marriage did for the Republicans in 2004. Action by a number of state legislatures A state legislature may refer to a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. The following legislatures exist in the following political subdivisions: tr.v. neu·tral·ized, neu·tral·iz·ing, neu·tral·iz·es 1. To make neutral. 2. To counterbalance or counteract the effect of; render ineffective. 3. minimum wage petitions, however, and in the end, just six states will consider it. Not a number to sneeze at sneeze intr.v. sneezed, sneez·ing, sneez·es To expel air forcibly from the mouth and nose in an explosive, spasmodic involuntary action resulting chiefly from irritation of the nasal mucous membrane. n. , of course, but also not a number on par with the 13 on same-sex marriage in 2004. Other labor measures have cropped up too--Massachusetts voters will consider whether in-home child care providers should be permitted to engage in collective bargaining collective bargaining, in labor relations, procedure whereby an employer or employers agree to discuss the conditions of work by bargaining with representatives of the employees, usually a labor union. , and a workers' compensation workers' compensation, payment by employers for some part of the cost of injuries, or in some cases of occupational diseases, received by employees in the course of their work. measure is still in signature verification in Ohio. UP IN SMOKE Smoking, a topic that has grown increasingly common on statewide ballots in recent years, will be before voters again in at least seven states. Arizona, Nevada and maybe Ohio voters will see dueling smoking bans on the ballot. In each state, one is a more restrictive ban and is sponsored by health care advocates, and the second is a ban with more exceptions and is sponsored by industry. Ohio's stricter ban has qualified, but signatures are still being counted on the second measure. Florida and Idaho voters will consider how the funds from the tobacco settlement should be allocated. Voters in Arizona, California and South Dakota will consider raising tobacco taxes. The revenue generated by Arizona's tax increase would fund early childhood education and health programs. California's would fund various health care initiatives, and most of South Dakota's would go into the state's general fund. BACK TO SCHOOL Questions on education funding could be on the ballot in as many as 10 states this fall. Voters in Colorado will consider two separate measures: one is an initiative that would require school districts to spend 65 percent of their revenue on classroom expenditures. The other is a legislative alternative to the initiative that has a looser definition of "classroom expenditures." California, Idaho and South Dakota voters will consider raising taxes for K-12 education. California's is a $50 per year property tax increase, Idaho's is an addition of 1 percent to the state's sales tax sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. . And South Dakota's would come from part of the revenues generated by a tobacco tax increase. Michigan and Nevada voters will consider measures requiring that education funding be guaranteed at a certain level or be funded before anything else in the state's general fund. A measure in Ohio would allow slot machines at racetracks and put 30 percent of the revenue toward college scholarships for in-state students. OTHER HIGHLIGHTS * Drug policy will be on the ballot in three states--legalizing marijuana in Colorado and Nevada, and medical marijuana in South Dakota. * Campaign finance reform Campaign finance reform is the common term for the political effort in the United States to change the involvement of money in politics, primarily in political campaigns. will be on the ballot in California and Oregon. (It passed with 73.2 percent of the vote in Alaska's primary in August.) * Colorado and Montana voters will look at tightening lobbying and ethics regulations. * Abortion restrictions will be considered in California, Oregon and South Dakota. * Stem cell stem cell In living organisms, an undifferentiated cell that can produce other cells that eventually make up specialized tissues and organs. There are two major types of stem cells, embryonic and adult. research will be on the ballot in Missouri. * Arizona voters will consider having a $1 million lottery drawing among voters in each election, to increase voter turnout. * Renewable energy Renewable energy utilizes natural resources such as sunlight, wind, tides and geothermal heat, which are naturally replenished. Renewable energy technologies range from solar power, wind power, and hydroelectricity to biomass and biofuels for transportation. will come before voters in California and Washington. * Measures designed to combat illegal immigration "Illegal alien" and "Illegal aliens" redirect here. For other uses, see Illegal aliens (disambiguation). Illegal immigration refers to immigration across national borders in a way that violates the immigration laws of the destination country. will face voters in Arizona and Colorado. ELECTION DAY WATCH As always, State Legislatures magazine will provide in-depth analysis of all high-profile ballot measures around the country on its StateVote website, along with links to related information provided by NCSL NCSL National Conference of State Legislatures NCSL National College for School Leadership NCSL National Conference of Standards Laboratories NCSL National Council of State Legislators NCSL National Computer Systems Laboratory (NIST) and other organizations, measure proponents and opponents, news agencies and others. Our searchable database Refers to databases on the Web that are searchable by typing in a query. The term is quite redundant because all databases are searchable. In fact, that is one of their major features. of ballot measures is available at www.ncsl.org/programs/legman/ elect/dbintro.htm And you can count on us to be up all night on Election Day, tracking results as they come in and providing up-to-the-minute analysis throughout the night, with a complete run-down run·down n. 1. A point-by-point summary. 2. Baseball A play in which a runner is trapped between bases and is pursued by fielders attempting to make the tag. adj. also run-down 1. a. of results in the morning. The Big Issue--Land Use Fourteen states have some kind of land use measure on their Nov. 7 ballots. Eight come from citizens and six from legislatures. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Initiative Numbers Spike 2006 74 2004 59 2002 49 2000 69 1998 55 1996 87 1994 68 1992 62 1990 54 Note: Table made from bar graph. At 74, the number of initiatives on the Nov. 7 ballot so far this year is tied with the second highest total in recent memory. The high-water mark was 1996, when there were 87 initiatives. This year's total won't top that, but may come close. Some states have particularly crowded ballots. Arizona's looks to be the longest with 19 measures. Other lengthy ballots are in Colorado--14 measures, California--13, and Nevada and Oregon--10 each. |
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