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State Ballot Measure Monthly: April 2022
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By Ballot Measures Project staff
This edition of the State Ballot Measure Monthly covers the certifications of 2022 ballot measures and a selection of notable ballot measure news from March 17 through April 14.
Overview: Nationally, 84 ballot measures have been certified in 32 states to date.
Measures removed from the ballot: Montana LR-132 was removed from the ballot on March 21
Status of indirect initiatives: In Alaska, Massachusetts, and Ohio, five indirect initiatives are certified to the legislature. Legislators have the option to approve, reject, or take no action on the initiatives. In Alaska, rejection or no action allows the initiative to appear on the ballot. In Ohio and Massachusetts, rejection or no legislative action means an additional round of signatures is required for the measures to appear on the ballot. The following are the indirect initiatives pending before state legislatures:
- Alaska State Recognition of American Indian Tribes Initiative
- Massachusetts App-Based Drivers as Contractors and Labor Policies Initiative
- Massachusetts Changes to Alcohol Retail Licensing Initiative
- Massachusetts Changes to Alcohol Retail Licensing Initiative
- Ohio Marijuana Legalization Initiative
Changes in 2022 ballot measure numbers
- See also: Ballotpedia's Tuesday Count for 2022
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Comparison to earlier years
From 2010 through 2020, an average of 89 ballot measures were certified for even-numbered year ballots in mid-April of the election year. An average of 164 total ballot measures were certified for even-numbered year ballots from 2010 through 2020.
2022 certifications
- See also: Ballotpedia's Tuesday Count for 2022
From March 17 through April 14, eight statewide measures were certified for the 2022 ballot in Alabama, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, and Nebraska. One statewide measure was removed from the ballot in Montana.
March 17:
- Alabama Incorporate Voter-Approved Amendments in New State Constitution Measure: Voters will decide whether to adopt a recompiled state constitution, known as the Alabama Constitution of 2022, in November. However, there are also nine constitutional amendments on the ballot to amend the current constitution, the Alabama Constitution of 1901. Legislators proposed a work-around that would allow these nine constitutional amendments to be incorporated into the new constitution, despite amending the existing constitution, should voters approve the ratification question. Voters need to approve the proposal to authorize the state Code Commissioner to add the amendments to the new constitution "based upon a logical sequence and the particular subject or topic of the amendment."
March 21:
- Montana LR-132, Electing Supreme Court Justices by Districts and Chief Justice Selection Measure: The Montana 2nd Judicial District Court ruled that the ballot measure was unconstitutional, and ordered Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen to remove it from the ballot. The measure would have changed how state supreme court justices are elected from statewide elections to district-based elections. Judge Peter Ohman wrote that the ballot measure, a statute, would need to be a constitutional amendment to change how supreme court justices are elected.[3] Republican legislators backed sending the proposal to voters, while Democrats opposed it.
March 23:
- Kansas Legislative Veto or Suspension of Executive Agency Regulations Amendment: The constitutional amendment would allow the Legislature to revoke or suspend rules and regulations adopted by executive branch agencies. A simple majority vote would be needed in each legislative chamber. Support for the amendment broke along party lines, with Republican lawmakers in favor and Democrats against. "When it comes to lawmaking, the buck is supposed to stop with the people’s elected representatives in the Legislature. But the reality of the modern regulatory state is that the Legislature often passes the buck by granting broad power to regulatory agencies and then has no meaningful recourse," said Attorney General Derek Schmidt, who supports the ballot measure.[4] State Rep. John Carmichael (D-92), who voted against the measure, said, "We need to have balance in our government so that there is a give-and-take, no matter if there’s a Republican governor or a Democratic governor. This constitutional amendment turns that balance on its head."[5]
April 1:
- Georgia Temporary Property Tax Change for Disaster Areas Amendment: The ballot measure would authorize local governments "to grant temporary tax relief," with additional details to be defined in statute, to properties that are damaged or destroyed due to a disaster and located within a nationally declared disaster area. It received unanimous bipartisan support in the Legislature.
- Maryland Marijuana Legalization Amendment: Maryland will be the second state where legislators asked voters to decide whether to legalize marijuana. The proposal would legalize marijuana for adults 21 years of age or older beginning in July 2023. Specifics about the use, distribution, regulation, and taxation of marijuana would require implementing legislation. Currently, 18 states have legalized marijuana for recreational purposes, 12 of which came through ballot measures. In 2020, New Jersey the first state to vote on a legislatively referred measure to legalize marijuana. Democrats voted 29-2 in the House and 93-2 in the Senate to place the measure on the ballot. All 15 House Republicans and 37 of 38 Senate Republicans voted against putting it on the ballot.
April 5:
- Alabama Notice to Victim's Family Required for Commutation or Reprieve of Death Sentences Amendment: The ballot measure would require the governor to provide notice to a victim's family, along with the attorney general, before granting a commutation or reprieve of a death sentence. Since the 1970s, only one death sentence has been commuted in Alabama. The proposal was passed unanimously in the Senate. It passed by voice vote in the House.
April 7:
- Alabama County and Municipality Economic and Industrial Development Financing Amendment: The ballot measure would add language to the Alabama Constitution specifying that counties and municipalities have the power to finance economic and industrial development through the use of public funds, bonds, and leasing to private entities. The proposal received unanimous bipartisan support in the House and Senate.
April 8:
- Maryland Requiring Howard County Circuit Court Judges to Serve on Orphan Court Amendment: The constitutional amendment would require judges of the Howard County Circuit Court to also serve as orphans' court judges. The state constitution requires that voters statewide and voters in Howard County approve the proposal.
April 12:
- Nebraska Authorize Local Governments to Develop Commercial Air Travel Service Amendment: The ballot measure would authorize cities, counties, and other political subdivisions that operate airports to spend revenue to develop commercial air travel at the airport. State Sen. Eliot Bostar (D-29) sponsored the proposal in the Legislature. He said, "Especially for small to medium-sized airports across the country, this is essentially the tool that is used to attract and expand passenger air service. I know of no other state where this cannot be utilized or isn’t being utilized."[6] The unicameral Legislature voted unanimously to place the measure on the ballot.
Headlines
New York governor’s budget bill increases November bond measure from $3 billion to $4.2 billion
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed budget legislation on April 9 that increased a statewide bond measure from $3 billion to $4.2 billion. Titled the Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act, the measure would require bond revenue to be divided between projects classified as climate change mitigation, flood-risk reduction, water infrastructure, and land conservation and recreation. In 2021, the state Legislature voted to put the measure on the ballot for Nov. 8, 2022. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) first called for the bond measure in his 2020 State of the State Address.
The revised ballot measure would require that bond issue revenue be distributed as follows:
- up to $1.5 billion for air and water pollution reduction projects; wetland protections to address sea-level rise, storm surge, and flooding; relocating or retrofitting facilities; green building projects; solar arrays, heat pumps, and wind turbines in public low-income housing areas; zero-emission school buses; street trees and urban forest programs; green roofs and reflective roofs; and carbon sequestration on natural and working lands.
- at least $1.1 billion for flood-risk reduction, coastal and shoreline restoration, relocating and repairing flood-prone infrastructure and roadways, and ecological restoration projects.
- up to $650 million for land conservation and recreation plans, programs, and projects, as well as fish hatcheries.
- at least $650 million for projects related to wastewater, sewage, and septic infrastructure; lead service line replacement; riparian buffers; stormwater runoff reduction; agricultural nutrient runoff reduction; and addressing harmful algal blooms.
The ballot measure would provide that at least 35% of bond revenue must benefit disadvantaged communities. The Climate Justice Working Group, housed within the state Department of Environmental Conservation, is responsible for defining disadvantaged communities. The 13-member working group is required to consider socioeconomic criteria, pollution and environmental hazard, and areas vulnerable to flooding, storm surge, and urban heat island effects. A draft list of disadvantaged communities was released on March 9.
Besides the $1.2 billion increase in bond amount, the revisions require that at least $500 million be used to fund zero-emission school buses and supporting infrastructure, such as charging stations, as part of the state’s goal of having a 100% electric school bus fleet by 2035.
The budget bill containing the bond revisions passed the Legislature on April 8. In the Senate, the vote was 48-15, with Democrats and five Republicans supporting the budget bill. The other 15 Republicans opposed the bill. In the Assembly, the vote was 113-35. Of the 113 in favor, 101 were Democrats, 11 were Republicans, and one was a member of the Independence Party. Four Democrats and 31 Republicans opposed the bill in the Assembly.
New York voters last decided a statewide bond measure in 2014, when they approved a $2 billion bond for education facilities and classroom equipment. Seven bond issues appeared on New York ballots between 1990 and 2021. Voters approved three (43%) and rejected four (57%) of the bond issues.
See also
- 2022 ballot measures
- Ballot initiatives filed for the 2022 ballot
- Ballot Measure Scorecard, 2022
- Ballotpedia's Tuesday Count for 2022
- List of ballot measures by state
- List of ballot measures by year
Related articles
Footnotes
- ↑ This number includes citizen-initiated measures, legislative referrals, and automatic referrals.
- ↑ The number of filed initiated measures was current as of April 1, 2022.
- ↑ KHQ, "Montana high court election changes ruled unconstitutional," March 22, 2022
- ↑ The Heartlander, "Kansas constitutional amendment would limit rulemaking – and ‘lawmaking’ – by unelected bureaucrats," March 25, 2022
- ↑ KCUR, "The Kansas Legislature is asking voters to shift regulation powers from the governor to lawmakers," March 24, 2022
- ↑ Nebraska State Legislature, "Constitutional amendment on expanded air service advanced," March 2, 2022
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