MADISON, Wisconsin: This edition of The Executive Summary features a breakdown of the current partisan count and takes a look at recent action involving an office that normally sees little news coverage – the state auditor.

Partisan count

Ballotpedia currently covers 13 major state executive official positions across the country, totaling 729 officials. As of today, May 16, Republicans hold 214 (29%) of those seats, Democrats hold 128 (17.5%), 1 (0.13%) is an Independent, and 385 (52.9%) are officially non-partisan.

Looking at just the 344 seats that are partisan affiliated, Republicans control 57.6 percent, Democrats 40.1 percent, and Independents hold 0.52 percent. In each position Republicans hold more seats than Democrats, with the exception of Attorney General, where Democrats hold 26 and Republicans 24, and Controller and Natural Resources Commissioner, where the two parties are tied.

In the top four offices – Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and Secretary of State – Republicans hold 110 seats (57.6%), Democrats have 78 (40.1%), and Independents have 1 (0.5%).

Note: The partisan office of Florida Lieutenant Governor is currently vacant.

Here’s a full breakdown by position.

Office	Democratic	Republican	Independent	Nonpartisan	Total seats
Governor	19	30	1	0	50
Lieutenant Governor	14	29	0	0	44
Secretary of State	19	27	0	1	47
Attorney General	26	24	0	0	50
Treasurer	17	19	0	12	48
Auditor	11	14	0	11	36
Superintendent of Schools	3	6	0	41	50
Insurance Commissioner	5	7	0	38	50
Controller	5	5	0	3	13
Agriculture Commissioner	1	11	0	38	50
Natural Resources Commissioner	1	1	0	46	48
Labor Commissioner	0	3	0	47	50
Public Services Commissioner	7	38	0	148	193
Total	128 (17.5%)	214 (29%)	1 (0.14%)	385 (52.9%)	729

Click here to read the full report.

[edit] Weekly highlight

As of today, all 50 states have kicked off their 2013 sessions. Here is a rundown of the issues the Louisiana State Legislature hopes to address this session:^[1]

• Taxes: Gov. Bobby Jindal‘s tax plan has received much speculation and criticism recently, and will finally be up for consideration. The proposal would completely eliminate income and corporate taxes, but compensate with a higher sales tax and expanding that tax to include goods and services that are not currently taxed. The plan is a package of eleven bills that are all tied together and unable to be passed separately.

• Education: The legislature will reconsider a package of bills passed in last year’s session but currently being challenged in the Louisiana Supreme Court. The ultimate aim of the legislation is to expand the voucher system used in New Orleans to the rest of the state. Passed last session as two bills, the legislation will be broken up into eight smaller parts this year.

• Budget: Jindal’s $24.7 billion budget is expected to be a hot topic of debate in the legislature. Roughly $1 billion smaller than last year’s budget, the plan will privatize public hospitals currently run by Louisiana State University in order to make up the difference. The budget also includes nearly half a billion dollars in non-recurring income from events, such as the future sale of state properties, for the state’s colleges and universities.

• Medicaid: Medicaid is expected to be another divisive issue in the legislature. Jindal has rejected the expansion of federal Medicaid, but five lawmakers have filed bills requiring Louisiana to comply with the Affordable Care Act by January 1, 2014. Rep. Paul Hollis (R) has filed a constitutional amendment to prevent any law from requiring participation in the health care system by providers, individuals, or employers.

Click here to read the full report.

Weekly highlight

As of today, 49 states have kicked off 2013 sessions. Here is some news making headlines across state legislatures this week:

• Maryland: The Maryland State Legislature is currently considering a bill endorsed by Gov. Martin O’Malley to allow residents to register and vote on the same day during early voting. The bill would also extend early voting from six to eight days, and create an investigative panel to find a solution for long voting wait times on election day. A point of contention in the legislation is language that would allow absentee voters to receive ballots online instead of through the mail. This pleases advocates for voters with disabilities, but technology experts are concerned the system could be exploited en masse and jeopardize the integrity of the system.^[1]

• Missouri: The House Crime Prevention and Public Safety Committee recently advanced two separate bills looking to change the way the sex offender registry works in the state. The first, sponsored by Don Phillips, would remove minor offenses from the registry and allow almost a third of the 14,000 currently on the list to petition for removal in the next 20 years. Dave Hinson‘s bill would allow every offender to eventually petition for removal with a time table based on individual psychological assessments. Republican leaders will decide which piece of legislation to present to the full House.^[2]

Nevada: Rep. Steven Brooks (D) became the first member expelled from the Nevada House of Representatives on March 28.^[3] The process began on March 26 with a special bipartisan subcommittee voting to recommend his expulsion 6-1. The only representative to vote no, Dina Neal, said she preferred suspension over expulsion.^[4] Following his expulsion, Brooks was arrested following a fifteen-mile high speed chase with police and charged with forcefully resisting an officer, evading arrest, throwing objects from a motor vehicle, and harming a police dog.^[5] This follows two previous arrests in January and February

Click here to read the full report.

The popularity and approval rating of local ballot measures is on the rise. Last year there were 4,650 local ballot measures proposed in the eleven states followed closely by Ballotpedia and 74% of those measures were approved by voters.^[1] The availability of local ballot measure information, however, is scarce.

In cities, counties and school districts all over the country changes concerning a multitude of important issues were made directly by the voice of the people. Term limits were imposed, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) were banned, pension plans were reformed and over $22 billion in school bond money was approved in just 14 states.^[2] Despite this, information about how to initiate local ballot measures and records of local ballot measure elections can be hard to find.

In honor of Sunshine week, Ballotpedia published a new report on the availability of local ballot measure information on the state level. Through a combination of contacting state offices directly and researching state websites, the authors of the report compiled information regarding which states provide centralized information about the local direct democracy in its cities, counties and school districts and the comprehensiveness of the information.

Only 19 states were found to have government websites with general election databases that included information about local ballot measures. Of these state agency databases, 16% were not kept up-to-date. Several only archived election results for the most recent years or only maintained information for even numbered years. In addition, several government archives were far from complete, only covering state-conducted local ballot measure elections or the local measures that were specifically submitted by the cities or counties. Three additional states featured education department websites with databases exclusively for school bond and tax measures. This left 28 states in which no centralized government information about local ballot measures could be found.

The private sector picked up the slack a little. Non-government databases for election results and information about school bond and tax measures were found in six additional states and two more states featured archives for more general finance measures. But even with the help of private agencies, 20 states have no easily accessible local ballot measure information archives on the state level.

This leaves it largely up to individual counties to store and provide local ballot measure information. Last year, Ballotpedia writers published a report evaluating County websites and found that, out of the the sample of 738 counties in the 11 states reviewed, 32% did not have local websites that displayed election information.

Below is a chart listing the 19 states that have general local ballot measure information posted on a state website. Note: States not listed below were identified as not having local measure information at the state level. Read the full report here to see which states have private organizations that track and collect information about local measures, as well as the state-by-state analysis.

Local Ballot Initiatives: How citizens change laws with clipboards, conversations, and campaigns

States with state agency that provides local ballot measure data
States:	Agency	Has Ballot Text	Has Election Result Details	Link
Alabama	Secretary of State			Archive
Alaska	Division of Elections			Archive
Connecticut	Secretary of State			Archive
Florida	Department of State			Archive
Georgia	Secretary of State			Archive
Hawaii	Office of elections			Archive
Idaho	Secretary of State			Archive
Illinois	Board of Elections			Archive
Indiana	Secretary of State			Archive
Louisiana	Secretary of State			Archive
Massachusetts	Department of Elections			Archive
Minnesota	Secretary of State			Archive
Nevada	Secretary of State			Archive
North Carolina	Board of Elections			Archive
North Dakota	Secretary of State			Archive
Ohio	Secretary of State			Archive
Rhode Island	Board of Elections			Archive
South Carolina	Election Commission			Archive
Virginia	Secretary of State			Archive

There have been no new certifications since we last reported, however, a legislative referral for the 2014 ballot in South Dakota may see approval today! See the Ballot Law Update for details.

The big news this week is the filing of a veto referendum in Wyoming.

The subject of the referendum is Senate File 104, also known as the “Hill bill,” and was signed by Governor Matt Mead on January 29, 2013.

The bill created an education department director and transferred many of the state superintendent of public instruction’s duties to the new position. Many voters are upset because the primary difference between the two position is that the superintendent is an elected office while the new education department director is not.

Cindy Hill is the current superintendent and filed a lawsuit challenging the law the day it was signed, however, she is not responsible for the initiated veto effort. That claim goes to the Wyoming Constitution Party, and according to the group’s chairperson, Jennifer Young, the effort has bipartisan support.

According to Young, the effort is not about Hill directly but rather legislation in violation of the state constitution. In a statement made to the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, she said, “People are incensed at the violation of the Wyoming Constitution. People all over the state are incensed at the power grab and the complete disregard for the will of the people.”

Wyoming is widely recognized as having a steep road to the ballot for citizen initiatives. This veto effort will require 37,605 signatures by May 28, 2013. If the referendum successfully makes it to the ballot in 2014, it will be the first in the state since 1996.^[1]

In Ohio, same-sex marriage supporters say they are positive they will have gathered the required 385,245 signatures by the July 3, 2013, deadline to place the Ohio Same-Sex Marriage Amendment on this fall’s ballot.

However, just because they have the names for this year doesn’t mean they will file them. The measure’s sponsor, FreedomOhio, says that their decision of whether to file for the 2013 general election or the one in 2014 will depend on a number of factors.

According to Ian James, the group’s co-founder, the decision rests on summer polling data and available resources. He does, whoever, believe that attitudes in the state have shifted since a ban on the practice was passed in 2004. In statements made to media outlets, James pointed to President Barack Obama endorsement of same-sex marriage and the Democratic party adding its nationwide adoption to its convention platform.

James also believes that the measure’s clause maintaining the right of religious institutions to not recognize or perform same-sex marriages is important to garnering public support.^[2]

2014 watch

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Marijuana turned out to be an incredibly popular ballot topic in 2012 and shows no sign of slowing down in the near future.

Florida has seen both renewed efforts on the part of medical marijuana supporters to place an amendment on the 2014 ballot and action from the legislature to legalize it even sooner.

The amendment is known as the Florida Right to Medical Marijuana Initiative and was first approved by the Florida Secretary of State in 2009. So far, the amendment has not yet gathered the signatures necessary, 683,149, to be exact, for ballot placement.

If the amendment does reach the ballot, it will require a 60% majority approval to pass. A recent study conducted by the People United for Medical Marijuana suggests that seventy percent of Florida’s voters approve of the amendment.

Alternatively, a bill filed by Senator Jeff Clemens could get the job done sooner. Sen. Clemens’s bill, SB 1250, or the “Cathy Jordan Medical Cannabis Act,” would authorize a qualifying patient to possess and use medical cannabis the paraphernalia required. The bill would also require that medical marijuana be obtained only from a licensed dispensary or a medical marijuana farm.^[3]

If passed, the law would take effect July 1, 2013.

Maine is also seeing increased legislative action regarding the drug, in a proposed legislative referral that would legalize its casual use. According to reports, Representative Diane Russell-Natera introduced an “Act to Tax and Regulate Marijuana.”

Medical marijuana is already legal in the state, but Rep. Russell-Natera’s bill would go further by allowing for the possession of up to two and half ounces of cannabis and the cultivation of up to six plants. In a statement made to BangorDailyNews.com, Rep. Russell-Natera said, “We have retail establishments that grow and supply [medical] marijuana to responsible consumers. We have proven here in Maine that this can be done for medicinal purposes and it’s now time to institute that same strict regulatory infrastructure for responsible adult recreational consumers.”^[4]

If the measure passes the legislature, voters in Maine would see it on the November 2014 statewide ballot.

Quick hits

• North Dakota Senate approves an anti-abortion amendment directly challenging Roe V. Wade: On the 7th of February, the North Dakota Senate voted 26 to 21 in favor of putting a person-hood amendment before the voters that is very similar to an amendment that was defeated in Mississippi in 2011. If the House also approves this measure, voters will decide in November 2014 whether to legally define life to begin at conception.^[5]

• Georgia Senate votes today on a fireworks legalization amendment: If both the Georgia Senate and House pass the proposed amendment with a 2/3 majority, it will be presented to the voters for the final decision. This measure would amend the Georgia Constitution to make the sale of fireworks legal throughout the state. If it is approved, the tax revenue from fireworks sales is estimated to be anywhere from $2.5 million to $10 million per year and would go to trauma care and firefighter services. “We lose millions of dollars of revenue because people go out of state to buy fireworks,” Jeff Mullis sponsored the amendment and, concerning fireworks, he said, “They’re dangerous, but so is walking across the street. Let’s regulate it and make it as safe as possible.”^[6]

Spotlight

It is election day in California: California voters are deciding on Mayoral races, school board races and local ballot measures in today’s election.

Most of the races are taking place in Los Angeles County, where six cities, including the City of Los Angeles, are choosing Mayors. Elections for three seats on the Los Angeles Unified School District Board are also taking place today. Races for positions in districts 2, 4 and 6 will be decided. In addition, there are 15 local measures on the ballots across the state, 12 of which are in Los Angeles County.

Notably, a Burbank Unified School District measure is requesting the voters to authorize the district to borrow $110 million to make improvements and upgrades to school facilities and equipment. This measure requires 55% voter approval for it to pass.

There is a lot of controversy over a Redondo Beach rezoning measure that would seek to force AES to shut down a power plant located on waterfront property. Supporters of the measure argue that “this is our only chance to rid our waterfront of a power plant. Times have changed since the first plant was built in Redondo Beach. This site is now tightly surrounded by dense residential development, senior housing, hotels, restaurants, offices and a harbor. This is no place for a new power plant.”^[7] While those who oppose the measure argue that rezoning privately owned land without consulting the owner is unjust, that Measure A will be ineffective in removing the power plant and that the possible harmful effects of recreational use to the economy and environment are unknown.^[8] Harry Munns, a columnist for the website “Building the Best Redondo Beach”, opposes the initiative, writing that the measure is ” short-sighted, ill-conceived and potentially dangerous”.^[9]

Follow Ballotpedia’s March 5, 2013 California Election page to see the election results for these races.

Ballot Law Update

Initiatives in Arizona could see larger hurdles in the near future: Last week, the Arizona legislature began deliberation on constitutional amendments that would make it much more difficult to place citizen initiatives on the state ballot. One of the proposed measures would require petitioners to gather names from at least five different counties, and at least twenty-five percent of those names would need to come from outside Maricopa and Pima counties. The other amendment under consideration would bump up the deadline for turning in signed petitions from July to May on election years. Both changes will require approval from voters in 2014 before going into effect.^[10]

South Dakota House considers supermajority requirement for tax related ballot measures: The South Dakota House of Representatives is currently deciding whether or not to pass the Two-Thirds Majority for Tax Increases Amendment on to voters. A supermajority in the legislature is already required for the approval of new taxes, tax increases, and tax extensions, but the current proposal would extend that requirement to citizen initiatives. A final decision from the house on the amendment is expected very soon, possibly as early as this afternoon. The measure is sponsored by Senator Corey Brown.^[11]

Weekly highlight

As of today, 49 states have kicked off 2013 sessions. Here is an overview of Florida’s agenda as it convenes this week:^[1]

• Election Reform: Lawmakers are targeting a 2011 election bill for reform after the state saw hours-long lines at polling stations in its most populous county and was ultimately the last state to declare a Presidential winner. Initial proposals include expanding the early voting period to 14 days, allowing early voting the Sunday before elections, and allowing county supervisors to select their own early voting locations. Additional avenues of reform being pursued are limiting the summaries for constitutional amendments on ballots, raising campaign contribution limits, and eliminating fundraising groups known as Committees of Continuous Existence.

• Education Spending: Legislators are hoping to increase pay for teachers with this year’s new appropriations bill. Gov. Rick Scott has already proposed his own education budget, including $1.2 billion in additional money for K-12 schools, a $2,500 salary increase for teachers, and almost $400 million for state universities. Lawmakers have show a preference for merit-based pay increases for teachers instead, but any pay raise would be welcome by Florida teachers, who have not seen a raise in nearly six years.

• Health Care: One of the first orders of business in the new session will be Medicaid expansion. Although he initially opposed the expansion of Medicaid as part of the federal health care reform law, Gov. Scott has recently shown support for expansion. The Senate has shown more support for a bill, while House leadership remains unsupportive. Florida’s Medicaid program currently costs $21 billion and supports around 3 million citizens.

Read the full report here.

A total of 38 states and the District of Columbia allow some form of recall. In 2012, voters took advantage of the right to recall by launching 211 separate recall campaigns against 370 elected officials. Of the 370 office holders targeted for recall, an equal number of officials – 54 – were retained and recalled. A total of 24 officials resigned in the face of recall campaigns.

A total of 14.5% of targeted officials were successfully recalled, while another 14.5% of targeted officials survived recall elections. That means 70% of officials who faced recall did not have to take part in a recall election. A small percentage of these officials were the beneficiaries of judicially invalidated recalls, while the majority of these thwarted recall campaigns were due to a lack of sufficient signatures. In addition, 6.5% of targeted officials chose to resign rather than face a recall election.

Two states, California and Michigan, were responsible for almost half of the recall action that took place in 2012. In California, 87 officials were targeted for recall, while in Michigan, 79 officials faced removal. Oregon, Texas, and Colorado round out the top five states for the use of recall.

All told, officials in 19 different states were recalled in 2012.

2012 recall statistics

Since the beginning of the year, we have tracked 125 proposed laws in 31 states affecting the initiative and referendum process. The Ballot Law Update is released on the last Wednesday of each month. Stay tuned to the Tuesday Count for weekly ballot law news.

Recent news

South Dakota legislature proposes amendment aimed at limiting ballot measures’ effect on taxes: A proposed constitutional amendment, sponsored by Senator Corey Brown would limit voters’ ability to pass new taxes or raise existing ones via the the ballot measure process. The amendment would require a two-thirds majority to do so, the same requirement the legislature must meet in order to increase taxes. The measure was passed on to the full state senate by a 6-1 vote from the Senate Tax Committee. If approved by both chambers, the measure would move on to the 2014 general election ballot.^[1]

A Democratic supermajority in the California legislature might mean changes to the initiative process: According to reports, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg has several initiative reforms in the works and may unveil some of them by the end of February. One proposed reform would involve removing the current requirement of a two-thirds majority to place tax increases on the ballot. Another proposed reform is re-instigating a process known as “indirect initiative.” This form of initiative would allow the state legislature to amend initiatives or pass their own versions if the measures’ proponents agree to it. Sources have also mentioned a possible proposal to restrict the current trend of high-donor financing of ballot measures. Supporters of the reforms say that they would make the initiative process more streamlined and would create a better process for passing state budgets.^[2]

Proposal in Michigan seeks to open up more bills to referendum: On Friday, February 15, the Board of State Canvassers approved the petition of an initiated constitutional amendment that would remove the protection currently afforded bills containing appropriations that protects them from being subject to referendum. The measure was filed by the group Voters for Fair Use of Ballot Referendum. The measure is a response to a series of controversial bills passed late 2012 which had appropriations added to them in order to circumvent popular repeals similar to the referendum campaign that did away with Public Act 4. The “right-to-work” law and the revised emergency manager law were among legislation passed after the general election in 2012 that included appropriations making them referendum-proof. According to reports, the effort has little financial backing and will depend primarily on grassroots efforts to collect the required 322,609 by July 2014.^[3]

North Dakota legislature debates amendment regulating initiatives: A proposal is currently in committee in the North Dakota House of Representatives that would greatly affect the initiative process in the state. Coming on the heels of a scandal last year involving signature fraud committed by paid petition circulators, the proposal, HCR 3011, would prohibit paid petitioners, raise the number of signatures required for referrals and initiatives, and require a minimum number of signatures from 50% of the counties in the state. Another notable aspect of the amendment is that it requires that any measure determined to have a fiscal impact of $20 million or more be submitted during a general election. If the proposal clears the legislature, it will go to voters in 2014.

Missouri sees push to re-establish campaign contribution limits: Voters in Missouri first approved limits on how much could be donated to political campaigns in 1994 with Proposition A. That law was repealed, however, by the Republican-controlled legislature in 2008. Though many members of the legislature are not in favor of reinstating the limits, Governor Jay Nixon has declared his intentions to pursue a ballot initiative doing just that if lawmakers don’t. Representative Kevin McManus has filed a bill that would limit the amount of cash that can be spent by lobbyists on gifts, meals, and trips for public officials, but it remains to be seen how far it will go.^[4]

Court actions

Federal judge upholds Minnesota law outlawing lying in political campaigns: On January 25, U.S. District Judge Ann Montgomery ruled in favor of upholding the Minnesota Fair Campaign Act. The law makes it a gross misdemeanor for anyone to intentionally disseminate campaign information, including that related to ballot measures, that they know is false. The law was challenged in 2008 by 281 CARE Committee and the Citizens for Quality Education who claimed that free-speech rights were violated, as well as their ability to participate in political debate. Initially the lawsuit was dismissed, but a reversal by the 8th Circuit Court brought it back before a federal district judge. Judge Montgomery ruled against the group saying, “Over a century ago, the Minnesota legislature implemented minimal, narrow restrictions against knowingly false speech about political candidates in an effort to protect the debates between honestly held beliefs that are at the core of the First Amendment. For nearly a quarter of a century, these restrictions have also applied to statements regarding ballot initiatives. The ballot provisions in Minn. Stat. § 211B.06 reflect a legislative judgment on behalf of Minnesotan citizens to guard against the malicious manipulation of the political process. The court finds that the provisions at issue are narrowly tailored to serve this compelling interest.”^[5]

[edit] Bills to watch

North Dakota considers harsher penalties for petition fraud: North Dakota Secretary of State Al Jaeger has proposed a bill that would enact harsher punishments for those caught committing signature fraud in the state. The bill, which is sponsored by Representative Patrick Hatlestad, would increase the maximum allowable punishment from one year in jail and a $2,000 fine to five years in jail and a $5,000 fine. The proposal is in response to a scandal in 2012 where both the Medical Marijuana Initiative and the Oil Taxes for Wildlife Projects Amendment were declared invalid after Jaeger discovered that several members of the North Dakota State University football team had forged signatures on submitted petitions. Jaeger compared committing petition fraud to voter disenfranchisement, saying, “A group worked their tail off to put something before the voters and had a small group take that away from them.”^[6]

Alabama legislature considers implementing recall process: The Alabama legislature is currently considering is currently considering placing a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would allow for legislation to be drafted that would permit the recall of elected state officials. Unlike the majority of other states that permit the recall of state officials, Alabama’s proposed law would not allow recalls without evidence of wrongdoing. According to reports, a recall under the proposal could only be initiated if the incumbent was charged with any of the following: Malfeasance or nonfeasance, lack of physical or mental fitness, incompetence or violation of an oath of office. The measure is sponsored by Senator Roger Bedford (D-Russellville) and can be found here.^[7]

Approved legislation

So far, no initiative and referendum related legislation has been approved this year. This section will be updated as the year progresses.

Edited by Eric Veram

We now have our first official ballot measure certification for 2013 – the New Jersey Minimum Wage Increase Amendment!

In addition to the certification, recent developments reflect continuing fallout from last year’s election in states such as Michigan and North Dakota.

Keep reading for the details on recent-ballot related events!

Tuesday Count weekly news…

Last week, we mentioned that a certain measure was moving on to consideration by the full chamber in New Jersey. Then, on Valentine’s Day, the New Jersey General Assembly voted 46-31 in favor of approving another amendment, which will now go on to seek the final approval of voters in this November’s election. The amendment sets the state minimum wage at $8.25 with annual adjustments for inflation. Currently, minimum wage in New Jersey is $7.25, an amount which also happens to be the federal minimum wage.^[1]

The decision to attempt to put the increase on the ballot comes after a series legislative battles, and a veto as recent as January 28, with Governor Chris Christie over the issue. Typically, the governor sought a more conservative approach to the increase and vetoed a proposal in January that would have set minimum wage at $8.50. If voters approve the amendment, employers will be required to comply beginning January 1, 2014. This date is one difference between the legislature’s plan and governor’s recent counter proposal to phase the increase in over a number of years. The other major contrast is that the governor’s plan does not include automatic adjustments.

The measure is now set to appear on the ballot on November 5 of this year. It remains to be seen whether this will result in a notable campaign battle throughout the year.

Across the country, in Washington, another interesting ballot measure has been filed with the Washington Secretary of State. The measure was filed by Democracy Workshop and would prevent the state from tolling federal interstates that cross Washington. The measure comes as a response to a study being conducted by the Washington Department of Transportation on the possibility of charging to use I-90 in order to generate revenue for the State Route 520 bridge.

Opponents of the state’s plan plan to gather 350,000 signatures by July. Director of Democracy Workshop, Elizabeth Campbell, believes that keeping the interstate free from tolling is vital to the economic health of the state. In a statement to the press, she said, “The interstate’s a little different from state roads. They’re the spine of the economic and commerce that goes through our area and it’s important to keep those free.”^[2]

2014 watch

The debate over the use of horizontal hydraulic fracturing, also known as “fracking,” to harvest natural resources from deep underground, is returning this year to Michigan. On Friday, February 15, the Board of State Canvassers approved a petition filed by the Committee to Ban Fracking in Michigan thatwould ask voters to abolish the mining practice.^[3]

The group made a similar attempt at placing a ban on the 2012 ballot as an initiated constitutional amendment but fell short of gathering the required number of signatures. This time around, the group is making it considerately easier on themselves by writing their proposal as an initiated state statute, a form of initiative which will require over 80,000 fewer signatures than an initiated constitutional amendment to secure a place on the ballot.^[3]

It should be noted, however, that the Board of State Canvassers’s approval of the petition is just that and not an approval of the measure’s language. This means that the initiative could still be the subject of various legal challenges if opposition heats up.

The Michigan Board of State Canvassers did approve another petition for circulation on Friday related to the current rule that prevents bills containing appropriations from being the subject of popular referendums. Read more about this potential ballot measure in the Ballot Law Update section.

Several more initiatives have been discovered in Oregon, including one measure seeking a ban on trapping in the state and another attempting to place language prohibiting using public funds to pay for abortion in the state constitution.

The Oregon Trapping Ban Initiative would not only ban trapping, but also poisoning animals and trading in fur/body parts of trapped animals. The measure is an initiated state statute sponsored by Trap Free Oregon and requires 87,213 signatures to go up for a vote.

The Oregon Prohibition on Public Funding of Abortions Amendment essentially places a ban on the use of public funds to pay for abortion procedures. The measure is being proposed as a constitutional amendment and, therefore, requires 116,284 names before it can be certified for the ballot. The amendment is sponsored by the group Stop Taxpayer Funding for Abortion.

Quick hits

• Same-sex marriage appears again in Minnesota in a different form: In November 2012, Minnesota voters decided to reject a measure that would have defined marriage as between one man and one woman in the state. Now, a state lawmaker is trying to legalize same-sex marriage via a bill that was introduced to the lawmaking body recently. State Senator Scott Dibble, who plans to introduce the measure, stated, “It’s just simply an amendment that removes the restriction that disallows some couples from getting married. My strong sense, even from folks in greater Minnesota, is that they’re comfortable with this, they know that Minnesota has changed a lot and is continuing to change at a very rapid pace.”^[4]

• Signature gatherers for two Washington 2013 initiatives under investigation: Following a probe by the Washington Elections Division, it was confirmed that three signature gatherers for two2013 Initiatives to the Legislature collected over 8,000 signatures in which multiple names and addresses did not match those on file. The information will be turned over to the State Patrol for potential prosecution, which could result in up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Secretary of State Kim Wyman stated that the petition fraud developments could lead to tougher restrictions. The two initiatives are still considered valid because supporters gathered more than enough signatures to meet the requirement threshold.

Spotlight

Golf Elementary School District 67 takes another stab at tax increase: On February 26, voters in District 67 of Cook County will once again decide whether to grant the district’s long sought after tax levy increase.

This proposed referendum would allow the district to raise the tax levy rate beyond the current limits of 5 percent or the rate dictated by the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower. Approval of this question on the twenty-sixth would allow the district to raise the tax levy up to 16.3 percent which would increase tax revenue for the district by about $1.14 million a year.^[5][6]

This same request was made of voters in November of 2012 but was decisively defeated by about a 20 percent margin and in March of 2012 a question asking for a similar tax increase was defeated by 112 votes.

The district, however, says they plan to use the money to restore programs cut in an effort to reduce expenses such as all-day kindergarten and Superintendent Reilly responded to Tobin’s accusation of “greedy District 67 government teachers and bureaucrats” by saying that her superintendent’s salary is the lowest among her peers in Niles Township and the second-lowest in Cook County. Reilly also said that she was not concerned by the Taxpayers United of America press release since the district had already disseminated information regarding the referendum.^[5]Chicago-based Taxpayers United of America sent out a release contending that the money from a tax hike will go toward teacher and administrator salaries and encouraging the rejection of this tax increase. The release includes a quote from Taxpayers United president, Jim Tobin, saying, “This is the only property tax increase referendum on the February ballot in the entire state of Illinois. Homeowners in District 67 twice before defeated such a referendum at the ballot box, but these greedy District 67 government teachers and bureaucrats are back for a third try.”^[7][5]

To find out whether this third attempt will be successful or not follow Ballotpedia’s coverage of this referendum here.

The Tuesday Count Spotlight highlights notable developments from local ballot measures across the country as well as international ballot measures. 

Ballot Law Update

Proposal in Michigan seeks to open up more bills to referendum: On Friday, February 15, the Board of State Canvassers approved the petition of an initiated constitutional amendment that would remove the protection currently afforded bills containing appropriations that protects them from being subject to referendum. The measure was filed by the group Voters for Fair Use of Ballot Referendum. The measure is a response to a series of controversial bills passed late 2012 which had appropriations added to them in order to circumvent popular repeals similar to the referendum campaign that did away with Public Act 4. The “right-to-work” law and the revised emergency manager law were among legislation passed after the general election in 2012 that included appropriations making them referendum-proof. According to reports, the effort has little financial backing and will depend primarily on grassroots efforts to collect the required 322,609 by July 2014.^[8]

North Dakota legislature debates amendment regulating initiatives: A proposal is currently in committee in the North Dakota House of Representatives that would greatly affect the initiative process in the state. Coming on the heels of a scandal last year involving signature fraud committed by paid petition circulators, the proposal, HCR 3011, would prohibit paid petitioners, raise the number of signatures required for referrals and initiatives, and require a minimum number of signatures from 50% of the counties in the state. Another notable aspect of the amendment is that it requires that any measure determined to have a fiscal impact of $20 million or more be submitted during a general election. If the proposal clears the legislature, it will go to voters in 2014.

A new update will be released next week. Click here for past Ballot Law Update reports!

By Maresa Strano

SALEM, Oregon: Lack of confidence in the progressive climate prevented the activist group Basic Rights Oregon from mounting a initiative campaign to reverse the state’s legal prohibition of same-sex marriage heading into the 2012 elections. But in the wake of Obama’s expression of support for same-sex marriage and the success stories of similar initiatives in Maine, Washington, and Maryland last November, the Oregon group felt inspired to finally launch the campaign – on Valentine’s Day no less, with current Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber and predecessor Barbara Roberts present to lend their support for the cause and do ceremonial signings of sponsorship petitions the organization needs to advance the initiative.^[1] Two days earlier, Basic Rights Oregon filed two separate initiatives with the Oregon Secretary of State which seek to overturn a state ban on gay marriage, approved 57-43 by voters in 2004. According to group spokeswoman Amy Ruiz, the two measures have only minor differences in wording and that the group will campaign for whichever one receives the favorable ballot title from the secretary of state.^[2]

The two governors’ sponsorship signatures already secured, Basic Rights Oregon needs to bring the figure up to 1,000. A further 116,284 signatures will then be required for November 2014 ballot qualification.^[1]

The Oregon Family Council, a group which opposes same-sex marriage, has announced that it has plans to analyze the measure for possible openings for legal challenges.^[2]