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Edited by Al Ortiz
In a relatively slow week for measure certifications for the 2012 ballot, the Tuesday Count crawled up by one proposal. The total is now at an even 90 measures in 30 states.
The state with the newly-added ballot question was in Arizona, courtesy of the state legislature who voted in favor of placing a business tax break option in the November 6 election. The legislatively-referred constitutional amendment would give businesses in the state a break on property taxes on newly acquired equipment.
Arizona residents will now face three ballot measures this fall, joining two other legislative referrals. The other statewide questions can be found here.
Although the legislature has the power to place amendments and statutes on the ballot, state citizens can also do the same. As of today, May 1, there are a total of 22 ballot initiative efforts circulating petitions in order to submit signatures by the July 6 petition drive deadline. Therefore, the statewide ballot measure total could potentially grow.
Unlike Arizona, signature collection for ballot initiatives in Idaho must cease today. The May 1 petition drive deadline has arrived, as initiative sponsors must submit petitions by the end of the business day.
Initiative supporters must collect at least 47,432 valid signatures from registered voters in order to place their proposals on the ballot. This equals to 6% of the qualified electors of the state at the time of the last general election.
Currently there are three measures that are circulating for ballot access. Since Idaho citizens cannot propose constitutional amendments, all circulating petitions are potential state statutes. Proposed initiatives include a measure to legalize medical marijuana in the state, a proposal to make animal cruelty a felony, and an initiative to cut the sales tax in the state from 6 to 5 percent.
According to early reports, however, the animal cruelty effort has fallen short of the required amount of signatures. Supporters of the effort, a coalition called Idaho 1 of 3, stated they had collected more than 30,000 signatures as of the deadline.[1]
According to reports, the details of the law would include: defining the specifics of animal torture, increasing misdemeanor fines to $400 for a first offense, $600 for a second, and would make a third charge in a 15-year span a felony. The punishments for the third offense would be between six months and three years in prison and, at most, a $9,000 fine. Idaho is one of three states that does not consider animal cruelty a felony, hence the name of the supporting coalition. Read more about this measure, and recent legislative action that brought controversy to the subject, here.
Also, stay tuned for updates from Ballotpedia on who filed signatures by the deadline in Idaho.
The next statewide ballot measure petition drive deadline is in Missouri on May 6. Last week's Tuesday Count report highlighted the dilemma surrounding state ballot initiatives.
In short, on February 28, Cole County Circuit Court Judge Jon Beetum struck down a law that directs the state auditor to prepare fiscal analysis for proposed ballot initiatives.[2]
According to reports, Beetem stated that the law was in violation of the Missouri Constitution. Specifically, the ruling stated that the 1997 statute conflicts with a constitutional provision that prohibits laws mandating the state auditor to perform duties unrelated to overseeing the spending and receiving of public money. Ballot initiatives must have the official financial summary included with submitted petition signatures, making it unclear as to what will happen to proposed ballot initiatives for the time being.
In other initiative news, California residents could find themselves voting on the state's "three strikes" law, as sponsors submitted more than 830,000 signatures to the California Secretary of State's office on April 26. Proposed initiated constitutional amendments only need 807,615 valid signatures to make the ballot. Read more about that measure here.
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