Election Results
2007 Ballot Measures

Updated November 7, 2007

Results of yesterday's ballot measure elections provided few surprises.  One each of the two citizen initiatives and popular referenda on the ballot passed, as did 83% of the measures proposed by state legislatures (including nine of the ten statewide bond measures).  For a full listing of all of these results, visit NCSL's ballot measures database.

Citizen-Initiated Measures

This year, there were two citizen initiatives (a proposed law or constitutional amendment placed on the ballot by voters through a petition drive) and two popular referenda (voter consideration of a bill passed by the legislature, placed on the ballot by voters through a petition drive). 

Initiatives

Maine voters rejected a proposal for a new tribal commercial harness racing track.  Washington voters approved Measure 960, which expands and clarifies an existing requirement that any tax increase proposed by the legislature must be approved by a two-thirds vote.  Specifically, it includes in the definition of "raises taxes" any legislative action that increases state tax revenue deposited in any fund, budget, or account, but would not include revenue neutral tax shifts.  It will also require legislative approval of any new fees or fee increases, removing state agencies' authority to impose or increase fees by administrative action.  The measure requires that, for any legislative proposal that would increase tax or fees, the office of financial management must prepare a ten-year project of its cost to taxpayers, providing the projection both to the legislature and to the public via a press release.  Finally, the initiative requires an advisory vote of the people on any legislative action raising taxes if the action is not already subject to a referendum vote.  The estimated cost of implementing this measure is $1.8 million annually, with local governments bearing the majority of the cost in order to hold advisory vote elections.

Popular Referenda

Utah voters rejected a school voucher bill passed by the Utah Legislature in February 2007.  HB 148 established a program providing scholarships of $500 - $3,000, depending on family size and income, for private school tuition.  Implementation of this bill was put on hold when the referendum petition was filed, and with the results of yesterday's election, will now not take effect.

In Washington, voters approved a health insurance reform bill passed by the legislature in the 2007 session.  SB 5726 addresses unfair and deceptive insurance practices by prohibiting insurers from unreasonably denying a claim for coverage or benefits.  It permits claimants to sue in superior court for up to three times the amount of actual damages. 

Legislative Referenda

The remaining 30 questions on statewide ballots this year were referred to voters by state legislatures, and 25 of the 30 (83.3%) passed this year.  The five that voters rejected include a term limits extension in Maine, a stem cell funding measure and property tax relief in New Jersey, a cigarette tax increase in Oregon, and a Washington measure that would have removed the supermajority vote requirement for school district excess levy elections.

Voters approved just over $10 billion in statewide bond proposals.  Other high profile legislative measures approved by voters include a rollback of Oregon's controversial Measure 37, a 2004 initiative that removed most land use regulation in the state, a Texas measure denying bail in felony and family violence cases, a constitutional amendment requiring that the votes of the Texas legislature be recorded and publicized on the Internet, a major cancer research funding measure in Texas and a Washington measure creating a rainy day in the state's budget.

Recurring Themes:  Term Limits, Property Rights and Tobacco Taxes

Voters expressed their continuing support for term limits in Maine, and rejected unrestricted land use and a tobacco tax hike in Oregon.

Maine - Term Limits:  Voters rejected, by a margin of two-to-one, a measure to extend the state's legislative term limits from eight to 12 years in each chamber.  The legislatures in Arkansas and Montana saw similar results when they put term limits extension measures on the ballot in 2004.  Proponents of a California initiative to modify term limits, scheduled for the February 2008 presidential primary ballot, are likely hoping the Maine vote doesn't predict the future for them.  Regardless of what numerous academic studies have said about the effects of legislative term limits, it's clear that voters still like them.

Oregon - Property Rights:  Oregon provided the inspiration for many of the property rights measures that were on the ballot in 2006, but Oregon voters this year chose to roll back the restrictive measure they passed in 2004.  Measure 37, the  2004 initiative, stipulated that if a government regulation (such as a zoning restriction, for example) reduced the value of a piece of property, citizens could demand compensation from the government for the lost revenue.  In lieu of paying compensation (which would have run into the billions in Oregon), governments may opt to waive the land use regulation in question.  This was the result of every regulatory takings claim in Oregon in the two years after Measure 37's implementation. 

Under the provisions of Measure 49, approved in yesterday's election, landowners will have the right to build a limited number of homes on their property as compensation for land use regulations imposed after they bought their property.  The measure also prohibits subdivisions on high-value farmlands, forests and groundwater-restricted lands, and specifies that claimants may not use Measure 37 to override zoning laws prohibiting commercial and industrial developments on land reserved for homes, farms and forests.

Visit NCSL's Natural Resources page for more information on the Oregon vote

Oregon - Tobacco Taxes:  Oregon voters rejected a proposed cigarette tax hike of 84.5 cents a pack.  Of the total 19 tobacco tax increases proposed between 1990 and 2006, just five have failed to pass.  The new revenue generated by the tax would have provided health care to children, low-income adults, and other medically underserved Oregonians, and prevented tobacco use.  Proponents of the tax hike, including Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski, claim the $12 million spent by the tobacco industry in opposition to the measure, a record amount for an Oregon initiative campaign, led to its demise.

Tax Measures

New Jersey - Property Tax Relief:  A surprise result of yesterday's elections was the rejection of Public Question 1 in New Jersey.  It would have dedicated a portion of the revenue generated by the state's sales and use tax to a Property Tax Relief Fund.  The state's sales tax was increased last year from six to seven percent.  This year's Question 1 was intended to set aside half the proceeds of the revenue produced by the tax increase and dedicate it to property tax relief.  Homeowners would have seen a property tax cut of up to 20 percent had the measure passed.

New Jersey:  Stem Cell Research:  Another surprise in New Jersey came in the form of voters' rejection of a $450 million bond measure for state-funded stem cell research.  This is the first time a state's voters have rejected a stem cell research proposal.  Voters in California approved a funding proposal in 2004, and Missouri voters did the same in 2006.

Bond Measures

A full third of the legislative referenda on the November 6 ballot were bond measures.  All together, this year's statewide bond measures total in excess of $10.5 billion.  The only bond measure rejected in yesterday's election was New Jersey's stem cell proposal.  However, while they didn't want to spend state money on stem cell research, New Jersey voters did approve a $200 million bond measure for land conservation.

Statewide Bond Measures on the 2007 General Election Ballot
State	Purpose	$ Amount	Status
Maine	Economic development, job creation	$55 million	Passed
Maine	Education facilities	$43.5 million	Passed
Maine	Land conservation	$35.5 million	Passed
New Jersey	Stem cell research	$450 million	Failed
New Jersey	Farm land, natural resource and historic preservation	$200 million	Passed
Texas	Student loans for higher education	$500 million	Passed
Texas	Facilities improvement, repair and construction; equipment purchase	$1 billion	Passed
Texas	Highway improvement	$5 billion	Passed
Texas	Cancer prevention and research	$3 billion	Passed
Texas	Sewer and water supply	$250 million	Passed
Total		$10,534,000,000
Total Approved		$10,084,000,000

Source:  National Conference of State Legislatures, November 2007

Legislatures

Proposition 11, passed in Texas, will require that certain votes taken in the legislature be recorded, archived, and made available to the public on the Internet for at least two years.

Criminal Justice

Proposition 13, passed in Texas, will deny bail in felony and family violence cases.  SJR 8212 in Washington will allow the state to contract with private companies to provide inmate labor, as long as privately-run inmate labor programs do not compete with Washington businesses.

Home Equity Loans

Proposition 8, passed in Texas, will clarify procedures and protections for home equity loans, and will change the written disclosure provided to borrowers at closing.

Budgets

Washington voters approved SJR 8206, creating a Budget Stabilization Account in the state treasury.  One percent of general state revenue in each fiscal year will be transferred to the account.  Use of the funds in the account will be limited to protecting life and safety in states of emergency, or in the event of a decline in forecasts for job growth.  The legislature can also appropriate money from the account with a three-fifths vote, or by majority vote for education construction projects in the event the balance of the account exceeds ten percent of general state revenues.

For More Information

For more information on initiative and referendum, contact Jennie Drage Bowser in NCSL's Denver office at 303-364-7700.