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State Ballot Measure Monthly: May 2024

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May 8, 2024

By Ballot Measures Project Staff

This edition of the State Ballot Measure Monthly covers the certifications of state ballot measures, as well as notable ballot measure news, from April 10 through May 7.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • The New York Equal Protection of Law Amendment, which would have prohibited the denial of rights to an individual based on their ethnicity, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, or reproductive status, was taken off the ballot following a ruling from one of New York's appellate courts on May 7, 2024.
  • Four campaigns in Missouri submitted signatures by the May 5 deadline. The initiatives address minimum wage and earned paid sick time, a gambling boat license on the Osage River, a state constitutional right to reproductive freedom, and sports betting.
  • The Missouri Supreme Court ordered a 2022 approved amendment to be voted on again at the general election due to an inaccurate description of the fiscal impact that was included on the 2022 ballot. The amendment is related to police funding in Kansas City.

    • 2024 ballot measures

    Overview: Nationally, 101 ballot measures have been certified in 35 states for elections in 2024.

    Signatures submitted: Signatures have been submitted and are pending verification for the following citizen-initiated ballot measures:


    Certified to the legislature: There are no indirect initiatives pending before any state legislatures.

    Changes in 2024 ballot measure numbers

    Comparison to earlier years

    So far, 101 state ballot measures have been certified for 2024. From 2012 through 2022, an average of 96 state ballot measures through the first week of May of a general election year. An average of 157 total ballot measures were certified for even-numbered year ballots from 2012 through 2022.

    2024 certifications

    See also: Ballotpedia's Tuesday Count for 2024

    From April 10 through May 7, 15 statewide measures qualified for the ballot in seven states—Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Missouri, Oklahoma, and South Carolina. One measure in New York was removed from the ballot.

    April 18

    • Maine Limit Contributions to Super PACs Initiative: The initiative would limit the amount of campaign contributions to $5,000 from individuals and entities to political action committees that make independent expenditures, also known as a super PAC. A super PAC is a political committee that can solicit and spend unlimited sums of money.
    • Maine Science and Technology Research and Commercialization Bond Issue: The bond issue would authorize $25 million in general obligation bonds on behalf of the Maine Technology Institute for research, development, and commercialization of Maine-based public and private institutions in support of technological innovation. In Maine, voter approval is required for state bond issues that exceed $2 million, with exceptions to bonds for the purpose of suppressing insurrection, repelling invasion, or for purposes of war, as well as for temporary loans paid out of money raised by taxation during the fiscal year which they are made, or for loans to be paid within 12 months with federal transportation funds.
    • Maine Historic Community Buildings Bond Issue: The bond issue would authorize $10 million in general obligation bonds for the restoration of local community buildings. It is one of the three bond issues on the November 5 ballot in Maine.

    April 22

    • Colorado Economic Impact Statements Shown with Ballot Question Initiative: This ballot initiative would require an economic impact summary to appear on the ballot with each ballot measure preceding the ballot title. The summary would need to include information on the effect the measure would have on state employment, the state's gross domestic product (GDP), and the effect on state and local government revenue, expenditures, taxes, and fiscal liabilities. The Colorado Title Board provides ballot titles (the question that appears on the ballot) for ballot initiatives in Colorado. The Legislative Council Staff prepares fiscal impact statements for all statewide ballot measures, which are published on the Legislative Council Staff website and summarized in the Colorado Blue Book, the state's voter guide.

    April 24

    • Oklahoma Public Infrastructure Districts Amendment: The legislatively referred constitutional amendment would create a new type of district within municipalities called public infrastructure districts. Public infrastructure districts could be created by municipalities if a petition is filed with the signatures of all property owners within the proposed district. The districts would have the authority to issue bonds for public improvements if approved by voters within the district. Public infrastructure districts would be governed by a Board of Trustees who would have the power to levy a special assessment of up to 10 mills on properties benefiting from any improvement projects to be used to reimburse the public infrastructure district for amounts paid by it for improvement projects.

    April 30

    May 1

    • Colorado Retain Sports Betting Tax Revenue Measure: The measure would allow the state to retain tax revenue collected above $29 million annually from the tax on sports betting proceeds. In 2019, voters approved a measure, Proposition DD, that legalized sports betting and enacted a 10% tax on sports betting proceeds. Proposition DD allowed the state to retain $29 million per year to fund state water projects through the Water Plan Implementation Cash Fund.
    • Hawaii Judicial Appointments and Confirmations Amendment: The measure would change the process for judicial appointments made by the chief justice to be the same as the process for appointments made by the governor. Currently, judges for all appellate and general jurisdiction courts in the state are chosen by the assisted appointment method, where the governor selects a nominee from a list provided by a nominating commission. Limited jurisdiction judges are appointed either by the chief justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court or by an administrative judge depending on the type of court.

    May 2

    • South Carolina Citizenship Requirement for Voting Amendment: South Carolina voters will join Iowa, Kentucky, and Wisconsin voters in deciding on ballot questions to add language to their respective state constitutions to provide that only U.S. citizens can vote in elections. All four ballot questions were placed on the November 2024 ballot by their respective state legislatures. Currently, the South Carolina Constitution says, “Every citizen of the United States and of this State of the age of eighteen and upwards who is properly registered is entitled to vote as provided by law.”

    May 7

    • Colorado Remove Constitutional Same-Sex Marriage Ban Amendment: This measure would remove the provision of the state constitution that says, "Only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state." In 2006, Colorado voters adopted a constitutional amendment, which was placed on the ballot through a citizen initiative petition, adding language to the state constitution stating that marriage is between one man and one woman. Voters approved the amendment with 55.02% of voters in favor and 44.98% opposed.
    • Colorado Initiative and Referendum Filing and Judicial Retention Filing Deadlines Amendment: This amendment would change the signature deadline for initiative and referendum signature gathering, thereby shorting the collection period by one week, as well as moving the deadline for justices and judges to file declarations of intent to run for another term by one week, in order to allow one extra week for the secretary of state to certify ballot order and content and election officials' deadline to transmit ballots.
    • Illinois Assisted Reproductive Healthcare Advisory Question: This nonbinding advisory question would advise state officials on whether to provide for medically assisted reproductive treatments, including in vitro fertilization, to be covered by any health insurance plan in Illinois that provides full coverage to pregnancy benefits.
    • Illinois Property Tax Advisory Question: This nonbinding advisory question would advise state officials on whether to amend the Illinois Constitution to create an additional 3% tax on income greater than $1 million for the purpose of dedicating funds to property tax relief. The question was referred to the ballot by the state legislature.
    • Removed—New York Equal Protection of Law Amendment: The amendment, which would have prohibited the denial of rights to an individual based on their ethnicity, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, or reproductive status, was removed by New York Supreme Court 7th Judicial District Judge Daniel Doyle ruling that the state legislature did not comply with the constitutional requirement that the attorney general has 20 days to supply an opinion on the constitutionality of the amendment before it can pass the legislature. Attorney General Letitia James (D) said, "This is a disappointing court decision, but we will appeal because New Yorkers deserve to be protected by their Constitution, especially as our basic freedoms and rights are under attack."[1]

    Headlines

    Missouri Supreme Court orders new election for state ballot measure related to Kansas City police funding, which was approved in Nov. 2022

    See also: Missouri Allow Legislature to Require a City to Increase Funding without State Reimbursement for a Police Force Established by State Board Amendment (2024)

    In Missouri, voters will decide on a constitutional amendment for a second time, after the Missouri Supreme Court ordered a new election. In 2022, voters approved a ballot measure allowing legislators to increase the minimum required funding for a state board-established police force. As of 2024, there is just one state board-established police force, the Kansas City Police Department.

    On April 30, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that the amendment, which received 63.19% of the vote, would reappear on the ballot for Nov. 5, 2024. Judge Paul C. Wilson wrote the ruling, which said the auditor's fiscal note for the measure, which is featured on the ballot, was inaccurate. He wrote, "A new election is the only remedy authorized by statute for such circumstances."[2]

    Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas (D) filed the lawsuit against the measure in 2023, saying that the fiscal note on the ballot measure was inaccurate and misled voters. He said that local officials informed the state government prior to the election that the ballot measure would cost Kansas City $39 million. The fiscal note said that "state and local governmental entities estimate no additional costs or savings related to this proposal." 

    In 2022, the Missouri State Legislature referred the amendment to the ballot. The Senate voted 23-10 to pass the amendment on March 21, 2022. In the Senate, 22 Republicans, along with one Democrat, supported the amendment, while nine Democrats, along with one Republican, opposed the amendment. The House voted 103-44 to pass the amendment on May 13, 2022. In the House, 100 Republicans, along with three Democrats, voted for the amendment, while 44 Democrats, along with three Republicans, opposed the measure.

    Mayor Lucas, who opposed the amendment, responded to the court ruling. He said, "The Missouri Supreme Court sided with what is fair and just: the people of Kansas City’s voices should not be ignored in conversations about our own safety. This is an important decision standing up for the rights of cities and their people."[3]

    Missouri State Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer (R-34), who supported the amendment, also responded, saying, "The voters of every county in this state overwhelmingly passed Amendment 4 in 2022. I’m confident they’ll do the same this November. The mayor’s radical agenda to defund the Kansas City Police Department will never take root in Missouri."[4]

    Voters in Missouri will also decide at least one other constitutional amendment on Nov. 5, 2024, which would exempt childcare establishments from property tax.

    See also

    Related articles

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Politico, "New York’s abortion rights amendment thrown off ballot, for now," May 7, 2024
    2. ↑ Supreme Court of Missouri, "Supreme Court of Missouri's decision in case number SC99931," May 1, 2024
    3. ↑ KCUR, "Missouri Supreme Court rules KCPD ballot question 'misled voters,' orders a redo election," April 30, 2024
    4. ↑ KSHB, "Missouri Supreme Court overturns amendment mandating increase to KCPD's budget," April 30, 2024
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