The Ballot Initiative Gazette
From Ballotpedia
Ballot measure and direct democracy news headlines
No initiative petitions filed in Florida for 2012 ballot
By Eric Veram
Florida: Yesterday's signature filing deadline passed without a single public petition filing or meeting the qualifications for appearing on the ballot. This essentially means that the only measures voters will get a say in this November, are those proposed by the legislature.[1] However, those measures that did not qualify or gather enough signatures may remain in circulation for some time, with the signatures already acquired being valid for 2 years.
Currently there are 7[2] legislatively-referred measures set to appear on the November 6, 2012 state ballot and are listed below:
| Type | Title | Subject | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| LRCA | Amendment 1 | Health care | Prevents penalties for not purchasing health care coverage in order to comply with federal health care reforms |
| LRCA | Amendment 2 | Taxes | Would allow for property tax discounts for disabled veterans |
| LRCA | Amendment 3 | State budgets | Replaces existing revenue limits with a new limitation based on inflation and population changes |
| LRCA | Amendment 4 | Taxes | Would amend commercial and non-homestead property taxes |
| LRCA | Amendment 5 | Judicial reform | Would modify the existing State Supreme Court |
| LRCA | Amendment 6 | Abortion | Prohibits public funds for abortions |
| LRCA | Amendment 8 | Religion | Repeals ban of public dollars for religious funding |
Florida local measures mostly approved
Florida: Results posted for the January 31, 2012 election in Florida show that of the twenty-four measures listed eighteen of them were approved by voters. The two controversial slot questions in Gadsden County and Washington County both got approved but if the two facilities listed will actually get slot machines installed is a question that will likely be headed to court. Five of the measures dealt with exempting new businesses from paying property taxes, all five of those measures were approved. In Miami, two charter amendments had been hotly debated and only one was approved, the one extending the time period to circulate petitions for potential ballot measures. Other measures included tax increases, a bond and several charter amendments.
The next local election will be on February 7, 2012 in the state of Missouri.
Florida petition drive deadline arrives
By Eric Veram
Florida: Today marks the final day petition signatures can be submitted to the Florida Secretary of State's office, by the end of business hours, if the petition is to have any chance of appearing on a 2012 Florida ballot.
According to the Florida Division of Elections website there are 33 active petitions that may appear on a ballot this year. In order for any of these measures to be listed on a statewide ballot, 676,811 valid signatures must be be submitted. Any measure that meets this requirement and, barring any form of disqualification, makes it to the ballot will then require a supermajority, equal to 60% or more of the vote, in order to be passed.
See here to see which measures have qualified so far. Be sure to check back with us at the end of today and tomorrow for updates on which measures filed today!
The following chart lists the currently active petitions in the state:
| Type | Title | Subject | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| CICA | Renewable Energy Amendment | Energy | Mandates that 20% of energy sold by an electric utility shall be derived from renewable sources by the end of 2020. |
| CICA | Child Protection Amendment (3) | Law | Establishes terms of release for convicted child abusers, compiles list of suspected and convicted child sex offenders and requires background checks for all child care workers. |
| CICA | Trust in Government Amendment | Government | Establishes a fourth branch of state government, the political branch, which will work to establish and ensure duty and accountability in state and local governments. |
| CICA | Right to Direct Democracy Amendment | Direct democracy | Allows for the public to propose and vote on state statutes. |
| CICA | Right to Health Care Amendment (3) | Health care | Mandates that the legislature shall establish a single-payer health care system that all citizen are entitled to. |
| CICA | Billboard Amendment | Environment | Increases restrictions on billboards and makes them easier to remove. |
| CICA | Corporate Welfare Amendment | Taxes | Prohibits tax reductions being granted to businesses, as well as, restricts situations in which tax revenue might be transferred to businesses. |
| CICA | Judicial Conference Amendment | Judiciary | Would create a "judicial conference" with the responsibility of creating rules of practice and procedure in the courts. |
| CICA | Government Accountability Amendment | Government | Would give the Legislative branch power over all other branches of government, but make it subject to the Florida Commission on Ethics. |
| CICA | Growth Management Initiative | Democracy | Allows the public to call for voter approval of changes to local growth management plans made by the Legislature. |
| CICA | Medicaid Care Equality Amendment | Health care | Mandates that Florida Health Care Providers accept and treat all patients with Medicaid, Medipass, and approved Medicaid Substitution Programs equally to all other forms of insured patients. |
| CICA | Marriage Amendment | Marriage | Overturns the 2008 Amendment to the State Constitution which defines marriage as between one man and one woman. |
| CICA | Genetically Engineered Food Label Amendment | Business | Mandates that all foods that are Genetically Engineered and sold or distributed in or from Florida be labelled as such. |
| CICA | Ad Valorem Tax Cap Amendment | Taxes | Limits the power of local government to raise revenue from the ad valorem taxes. |
| CICA | Stem Cell Research Amendment | Stem cells | Prohibits state tax revenue from being spent on experimentation that involves the destruction of a live human embryo. |
| CICA | Tax Approval Amendment | Taxes | Mandates that anticipated ad valorem tax revenue increases in excess of three per cent over the previous year require referendum approval. |
| CICA | School Governance Amendment (2) | Education | Replaces district school board with parental governing councils which have authority to organize schools and determine school tax rates. |
| CICA | Right to Intimacy Amendment (2) | Intimacy | Mandates that no sexually intimate act between consenting adults will be prohibited or discriminated against. Also, allows legal partnerships to take place between unmarried consenting adults. |
| CICA | Right to Medical Marijuana Initiative | Marijuana | Grants the right to use marijuana for the treatment of certain ailments when recommended by a physician. |
| CICA | Bill of Rights Amendment | Rights | Adds a set of general rights to the Florida Bill of Rights. |
| CICA | "Save Our Schools" Amendment | Education | Protects the Florida Lottery’s Educational Enhancement Trust Fund from being misused buy the state. |
| CICA | "Fair Wage and Benefits" Amendment | Minimum wage | Establishes many different gradients of prevailing minimum wages based of the federal General Schedule Standard for Each Category of Employment Field. |
| CICA | Personhood Amendment | Abortion | Applies the term 'person' to every human being from the beginning of biological development. |
| CICA | Oil Drilling Initiative | Natural resources | Makes an offshore drilling ban part of the Florida Constitution. |
Nevada mining tax cap proposal overview
CARSON CITY, Nevada: A proposed mining tax cap amendment is currently being considered for the 2014 ballot in the state of Nevada.
Here is a brief overview of the measure:
The measure would remove a mine tax cap in the Nevada Constitution if it is sent to the ballot and enacted by voters. The tax cap had helped pass the constitution in 1864, at a time when the economy was struggling in the new state of Nevada. If the measure, also known as Senate Bill 15, is passed by the legislature, it will then be up for consideration during 2013 legislative session, where it must be approved to obtain ballot access.[3]
A majority vote is required in two successive sessions of the Nevada State Legislature to send a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment to the ballot. Nevada is one of 12 states in which proposed amendments are considered in two successive sessions of the state's legislature.
Nebraska proposals affect petitions, neighboring states
OMAHA, Nebraska: Two proposals for the Nebraska ballot have surfaced, one addressing gambling revenues and the other modifying the state's signature requirements.
State Sen. Paul Schumacher has proposed an amendment lifting the state's constitutional ban on gambling. The law would not immediately legalize gambling but grant the Legislature power to "authorize and regulate" gambling in the Nebraska.
The amendment also contains a unique provision designed to draw gambling revenues from neighboring Iowa and South Dakota. Specifically, the amendment would ban any gaming enterprise within 60 miles of a state that agrees to share gambling revenues with Nebraska. Neighboring states would have just one year to agree to share their income or face the possibility of out-of-state competition.[4]
In other news, Kent Bernbeck, a ballot measure proponent in Nebraska, has started an initiative campaign to modify Nebraska's signature requirements. In 1994, the basis for calculating the number of required signatures was changed from voters in the previous gubernatorial election to total registered voters. The decision, Duggan v Beermann, was based on an ambiguity in the Nebraska Constitution.
Since the requirement is based on the present number of registered voters, petition sponsors can't be sure of the total number of required signatures until the day they submit their signed petition. The proposed measure would restore the previous method of calculation and effectively lower the requirement. Bernbeck was involved in a successful lawsuit last year, Bernbeck v. Gale, that overturned Nebraska's residency requirement for local petition sponsors.[5]
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