The Voter’s Speakeasy

Results of 2009 Spending/Tax/Bonds Ballot Measures:

Maine

Question 4, An Act to Provide Tax Relief, failed on November 3rd, only receiving 39.8% of Yes votes. This bill would have imposed expenditure limitations on state and local government while requiring voter approval of certain state tax increases. For a complete reading of the ballot measure, click here.

Question 6 – Bond Issue passed on November 3rd. This Act authorizes the State to issue bonds in an amount not to exceed $71,250,000 to raise funds for a variety of projects, as described below. The bonds will run for a period not longer than 10 years from the date of issue and will be backed by the full faith and credit of the State. Fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) of the bond proceeds will be placed in the Highway Fund and the remainder would be in the General Fund. A breakdown of how the money will be spent is as follows:

The Department of Transportation will expend $69,750,000 of the bond proceeds for the following types of projects:

• $55,000,000 for highway and bridge improvement projects statewide
• $5,750,000 for improvements to the ports at Eastport and Searsport
• $4,000,000 for improvements to state-owned rail lines and investments in the Industrial Rail Access Program and the Critical Rail Corridors Program
• $2,000,000 for improvements to publicly owned airports
• $1,000,000 for ferry facilities
• $1,000,000 for the LifeFlight Foundation, a non-profit foundation that supports a statewide medical helicopter service used to transport critically ill and injured patients to hospitals
• $400,000 to continue development of the Acadia Gateway Intermodal Center in Trenton
• $400,000 for improvements to island airports
• $200,000 for upgrades to the Augusta airport

The Department of Economic and Community Development will expend the remaining $1,500,000 of the proceeds of sale of the bonds to rebuild a bulkhead and wharf at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland.

New Jersey

The Public Question on the 2009 New Jersey Ballot was passed on November 3rd, also known as the Green Acres, Water Supply and Floodplain Protection, and Farmland and Historic Preservation Bond Act of 2009, if you don’t prefer brevity. The measure authorizes the State to issue bonds in the amount of $400 million to provide moneys for (1) the acquisition and development of lands for recreation and conservation purposes, including lands that protect water supplies, (2) the preservation of farmland for agricultural or horticultural use and production, (3) the acquisition, for recreation and conservation purposes, of properties that are prone to or have incurred flood or storm damage, and (4) funding historic preservation projects; and providing the ways and means to pay the interest on the debt and also to pay and discharge the principal thereof, with full public disclosure of all spending.

The initiative also funds park improvements and facilities. Of the total sum authorized: (1) $218 million will be used for Green Acres; (2) $146 million will be used for farmland preservation purposes; (3) $24 million will be used for the “Blue Acres” program by which the State may purchase from willing sellers, for open space preservation purposes, properties that are prone to or have incurred flood or storm damage; and (4) $12 million will be used for historic preservation purposes. All spending of the authorized bond proceeds will be subject to full public disclosure.

Ohio

Issue 1 passed in Ohio on November 3rd. This proposed amendment authorizes the state to issue up to $200,000,000 of bonds to provide compensation to Ohio veterans of the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq conflicts, and to pay for the administration of the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Conflicts Compensation Bond Retirement Fund and the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Conflicts Compensation Fund.

The State will provide $100 per month, up to $1000, for Ohio veterans who served in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq conflicts. Furthermore, the State will provide $50 per month, up to $500, for veterans who served elsewhere during those conflicts. In addition, family members of qualified deceased veterans can apply for a $5,000 death benefit.

Issue 3, a ballot measure to allow casino gaming in four major Ohio cities, passed on November 3rd. A 33% tax of gross revenue will be levied on the four casino operators. The tax will be distributed as follows:

• 51% among all 88 counties in proportion to such counties’ respective populations. Half of each county’s distribution will go to its largest city if that city’s population is above 80,000
• 34% among all public school districts
• 5% among all host cities
• 3% to the Ohio casino control commission
• 3% to the Ohio state racing commission fund
• 2% to a state law enforcement training fund
• 2% to a state problem gambling and addictions fund

For a complete reading of the ballot measure from the state of Ohio, click here.

Texas

Proposition 1, Authorizing City and County Financing to Buy Buffer Areas Near Military Installations, passed on November 3rd. The constitutional amendment authorizes the financing, including through tax increment financing, of the acquisition by municipalities and counties of buffer areas or open spaces adjacent to a military installation for the prevention of encroachment or for the construction of roadways, utilities, or other infrastructure to protect or promote the mission of the military installation.

Proposition 2, Requiring Appraisal of Residence Homesteads Based Solely on their Homestead Value, also passed on November 3rd. The constitutional amendment authorizes the legislature to provide for the ad valorem taxation of a residence homestead solely on the basis of the property’s value as a residence homestead.

Proposition 4, Establishing the National Research University Fund, was passed on November 3rd. The National Research University Fund will be established to provide state funding to tier-1 research universities. For a complete reading of the ballot measure, click here.

Proposition 6, Renewing Veterans’ Land Board Bond Authority for Land and Mortgage Loans, passed on November 3rd. The constitutional amendment authorizes the Veterans’ Land Board to issue general obligation bonds in amounts equal to or less than amounts previously authorized.

Proposition 8, Authorizing the State to Contribute Resources to Veterans’ Hospitals, passed on Tuesday, November 3rd. Proposition 8 will add Texas Constitution, Art. 16, sec. 73 to authorize the state to contribute money, property, and other resources to establish, maintain, and operate veterans’ hospitals in Texas. Click here for the Texas House Research Organization’s summary of the ballot measure.

Washington

Initiative Measure 1033, concerning state, county and city revenue, failed in Washington on November 3, 2009. This measure aimed to limit growth of certain state, county and city revenue to annual inflation and population growth, not including voter-approved revenue increases. Revenue collected above the limit would have reduced property tax levies. To read the official text of the failed Initiative Measure, click here.

-Stefan Johansson, Research

Summary and Results of 2009 Environment/Energy Ballot Measures:

New Jersey

The Public Question on the 2009 New Jersey Ballot was passed on November 3rd, also known as the Green Acres, Water Supply and Floodplain Protection, and Farmland and Historic Preservation Bond Act of 2009, if you don’t prefer brevity. The measure authorizes the State to issue bonds in the amount of $400 million to provide moneys for (1) the acquisition and development of lands for recreation and conservation purposes, including lands that protect water supplies, (2) the preservation of farmland for agricultural or horticultural use and production, (3) the acquisition, for recreation and conservation purposes, of properties that are prone to or have incurred flood or storm damage, and (4) funding historic preservation projects; and providing the ways and means to pay the interest on the debt and also to pay and discharge the principal thereof, with full public disclosure of all spending.

The initiative also funds park improvements and facilities. Of the total sum authorized: (1) $218 million will be used for Green Acres; (2) $146 million will be used for farmland preservation purposes; (3) $24 million will be used for the “Blue Acres” program by which the State may purchase from willing sellers, for open space preservation purposes, properties that are prone to or have incurred flood or storm damage; and (4) $12 million will be used for historic preservation purposes. All spending of the authorized bond proceeds will be subject to full public disclosure.

New Jersey citizens passed similar legislation by voting Yes on Public Question 3 in the 2007 General Election. Related ballot measures in other states include:

• Florida: Constitutional Amendment 4 (2008) – Requires Legislature to provide a property tax exemption for real property encumbered by perpetual conservation easements or other perpetual conservation protections, defined by general law.
• Maine: Question 4-Bond Issue (2007) – A $35,500,000 bond issue to invest in land conservation, water access, wildlife habitat, outdoor recreation opportunities, including hunting and fishing, farmland and working waterfront and to invest in state parks, historic sites and riverfront, community and farm infrastructure to be matched by at least $21,875,000 in private and public contributions.
• Ohio: Issue 2 (2008) – Authorizing the state to issue up to $200,000,000 of bonds for conservation and preservation of natural areas, open spaces and farmlands and other lands devoted to agriculture, including by acquiring land or interests in land; provision of state and local park and recreation facilities, and other actions that permit and enhance the availability, public use and enjoyment of natural areas in the state; and land, forest, water and other natural resource management projects.

Maine

On November 3rd, Question 2 – Citizen Initiative, a Maine ballot measure to Decrease the Automobile Excise Tax and Promote Energy, failed to pass.

This bill aimed to decrease the excise tax imposed on motor vehicles for the first year from 24 mills** to 12 mills, for the 2nd year from 17 1/2 mills to 8 mills and for the 3rd year from 13 1/2 mills to 4 mills and imposes a 4 mills rate for the 4th and succeeding years.  This bill would have also exempted from the excise tax imposed on motor vehicles the first 3 model years of a hybrid gasoline-electric vehicle, a fuel-cell-fueled or hydrogen-fueled vehicle or a highly energy efficient vehicle that has a highway fuel economy estimate of at least 40 miles to the gallon.

• **PVS Fun Fact – When referring to taxation, a “mill” is equivalent to one-tenth of a cent ($0.001). Therefore the “mill rate” is the tax per dollar of assessed value of property (i.e. 24 mills).

New York

On November 3rd, voters in New York passed Proposal 1-Constitutional Amendment, an amendment to section 1 of article 14 of the Constitution, in relation to the use of certain forest preserve lands by National Grid to construct a 46 kV power line along State Route 56 in St. Lawrence County. The bill authorizes the Legislature to convey up to six acres of forest preserve land along State Route 56 in St. Lawrence County to National Grid for construction of a power line. In exchange, National Grid will convey to the State at least 10 acres of forest land in St. Lawrence County, to be incorporated into the forest preserve. The land to be conveyed by National Grid to the State must be at least equal in value to the land conveyed to National Grid by the State.

The ballot measure passed with a necessary two-thirds majority vote. For a detailed reading of Proposal 1, visit the official elections page of the state of New York by clicking here.

-Stefan Johansson, Research

Follow Up on the Results of the 2009 General Election:

The New Jersey State Assembly will hardly change in composition as a result of the election (see our winner’s list). Incumbents ran for re-election in 72 of the 80 seats up for election, winning all of these races. Of the eight open seats, seven were won by a member of the same political party as the incumbent. In District 4, unofficial election results seem to indicate that Republican Dominick DiCicco won an open seat formerly held by a Democrat (freshman Assembly Member Sandra Love). As a result, once the newly-elected officials are sworn in, the party composition of the Assembly will change from 48 Democrats-32 Republicans to 47 Democrats-33 Republicans. While the Democrats will still hold a majority in the Assembly, New Jersey will be losing two key Democratic officials: Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts, who withdrew from the 2009 election, and Governor Jon Corzine, who lost his seat to Republican Chris Christie.

The Virginia House of Delegates had more turnover than the New Jersey State Assembly, but incumbents running for reelection were still victorious 89% of the time (see our winner’s list).  Eight of the Democratic incumbents lost their seats to Republican candidate (Districts 3, 21, 23, 32, 34, 51, 67, and 83), while only one of the Republican incumbents lost their seat to a Democrat (District 93). In addition, one Democratic incumbent lost in the primary election, but the seat was ultimately retained by a Democrat. Of the ten open seats, only one switched to a different party than that of the incumbent: District 52 went from Republican (Jeffrey Frederick) to Democrat (Luke Torian). Though some recounts are still pending, as the results stand now, it appears that Republicans will have a net gain of six seats in the House of Delegates, changing the party composition from 53 Republicans-43 Democrats-2 Independents-2 Vacant Democratic Seats to 59 Republicans-39 Democrats-2 Independents.

Virginia statewide elections also went in favor of the Republican party.  The open Gubernatorial seat, currently held by term-limited Democrat Tim Kaine was handily won by Republican Bob McDonnell with nearly 59% of the vote. The seat of Lieutenant Governor was retained by Republican Bill Bolling and the open seat for Attorney General remained Republican, with current State Senator Ken Cuccinelli set to replace Bill Mims.

In total, there were 185 federal and state seats up for regular election on November 3, 82% of which were retained by incumbents (153 total). Of the 164 incumbents running for reelection, 153 (93%) won. Both independent incumbents won reelection, giving them a 100% win percentage. Only 1 of the 78 Republican incumbents did not win reelection (99% win percentage), while 10 of the 84 Democratic incumbents did not win reelection (88% win percentage).

Special Elections

The open seat for Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court swung Republican with the election of Joan Orie Melvin. Previously, Democrats had 4-3 majority on the court; it is now 3-4, in favor of the Republicans.

The Special Election for the U.S. House seat in New York District 23 resulted in Bill Owens (endorsed by the Democratic Party and Working Families Party) winning a seat previously held by Republican John McHugh. U.S. House District 10 in California (previously held by Democrat Ellen Tauscher) will remain Democratic, with the election of current Lieutenant Governor of California, John Garamendi. Before the election, the party composition of the U.S. House was 256 Democrats-177 Republicans-1 Vacant Republican Seat-1 Vacant Democratic Seat; it is now: 258 Democrats-177 Republicans.

Summary of Party-Changing Seats in this Election:

-1 of 1 Republican U.S. House seats went Democratic (special election)
-2 of 2 Democratic Gubernatorial seats went Republican
-the new office of Lieutenant Governor in New Jersey went Republican
-1 of 1 Democratic State Supreme Court Justice went Republican (special election)
-9 of 93 Democratic House/Assembly seats went Republican
-2 of 85 Republican House/Assembly seats went Democratic

-Kristen Vicedomini, Research Director

Follow-Up on Same-Sex Unions Ballot Measures:

In Maine, the voting populace successfully vetoed the legalization of same-sex marriage (Question 1 on the November 3rd Ballot).  As of yet, no state has passed such a measure by popular vote,  according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

It is doubtful that legislation legalizing same-sex marriage would be signed into law in New Jersey or Virginia once the newly-elected governors take office.   New Jersey Governor-elect Chris Christie has stated:

“While, I have no issue with same sex couples sharing contractual rights, I believe that marriage should remain the exclusive domain of one man and one woman.  If a bill legalizing same sex marriage came to my desk as Governor, I would veto it.” (see the complete text of this issue position)

Virginia Governor-elect Bob McDonnell’s 2009 campaign website lists his position as follows:

“Bob McDonnell believes marriage is the union between one man and one woman.   As a legislator, Bob McDonnell was chief sponsor and author of a constitutional amendment protecting traditional marriage (Chief Patron, HJ 187, 2004).  As Attorney General, Bob supported Virginia’s marriage amendment and wrote an official opinion explaining that it would not affect the current legal rights of unmarried persons.”  (see the complete text of this issue position)

Washington’s Referendum 71, on the other hand, seems to have passed by a slim margin.  This will effectively treat domestic partnerships as equal to marriage under the law, except in name.

-Kristen Vicedomini, Research Director

Unofficial results have been coming in across the country for the November 3rd election.  Here are the winners, state-by-state:

California: Congressional District 10

Maine: Ballot Measures

New Jersey: Governor and State Assembly, Ballot Measures

New York: Congressional District 23, Ballot Measures

Ohio: Ballot Measures

Pennsylvania: Justice of the Supreme Court

Texas: Ballot Measures

Virginia: Governor and State House

Washington: Ballot Measures

There are twenty-six statewide Ballot Measures up for election on November 3rd, which are spread among six states: Maine, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, and Washington.  Six of these are initiatives, two are citizen referenda, and eighteen are legislative referenda.   If enacted, seventeen would amend state constitutions, seven would change state law, and two would allow the state to issue bonds for certain projects.

There are three constitutional amendments proposed that would directly affect elections and officials themselves:

• Question 7 on Maine’s ballots would extend the amount of time local officials have to certify direct initiative petitions by five days.   To accomplish this, the final deadline for submitting petitions to the Secretary of State would be pushed back by 10 days, and other deadlines would be redefined.  Depending on which day of the week the deadline falls and if there are any legal holidays, petitioners could have up to 2-4 additional days to submit signatures.  This amendment would also change the  deadline of submitting signatures for a people’s veto from 5 days before the final deadline to 3 business days before the final deadline.
• Proposition 7 in Texas would “allow an officer or enlisted member of the Texas State Guard or other state militia or military force to hold other civil offices.”
• Texas’s Proposition 10 would extend the terms of elected members of the governing boards of emergency services districts from two years to four years.  There were also efforts in South Dakota this year to extend term lengths for elected officials.   SJR3 in South Dakota proposed to change state senate terms from two years to four years for those whose term of office begins in a year that ended in a 3 or 7.  While this passed in the state senate, the state house rejected it.  Had it received a majority in both houses of the legislature, this would have appeared as a ballot measure as well. 
  

-Kristen Vicedomini, Research Director

The Political Courage Test was due last week for state legislative and gubernatorial candidates from New Jersey and Virginia.  The processed Tests are now available on the Project Vote Smart website.  The Test asks one central questions, “Are you willing to tell citizens your positions on the issues you will most likely face on their behalf?”  Following recent trends, the candidates in New Jersey and Virginia answered with a resounding “No.”  Neither Virginia gubernatorial candidate Democrat Creigh Deeds nor Republican Robert McDonnell, after five contacts by Project Vote Smart staff, were willing to tell Virginians where they stand on the issues.  New Jersey gubernatorial candidates faired slightly better with 25% of their crowded field responding.  Only 17% of candidates running for the Virgina state legislature turned in a Political Courage Test.  New Jersey state legislative candidates had a return rate of 14%.  As usual, the failure to tell citizens where they stand on the issues was a bi-partisan affair.

Sometimes, an official dies.

Sometimes, the deceased win elections.

Sometimes, an official resigns.

Sometimes, 29 public officials are arrested in one day.

Sometimes, a person is appointed to fill a vacancy.

Sometimes, a person is appointed to an office, but a question of the constitutionality of the appointment and a restraining order prevent him from taking office until the highest court of the state rules otherwise.

We track them all.

-Kristen Vicedomini, Research Director

The 2007 editions of the National Political Awareness Test (NPAT) for New Jersey and Virginia have been sent to all candidates for office in these states.

The National Political Awareness Test asks candidates one central question: “Are you willing to tell citizens your positions on the issues you will most likely face on their behalf?” If they answer “yes” we ask them to prove it by responding to a series of questions about these issues.

The Virginia and New Jersey versions of the NPAT included questions regarding the use of eminent domain for the purpose of private development, the employment of undocumented immigrants, smoking bans in the state, the death penalty, access to health care and the licensing of gun possession.

To view the entire Virginia State NPAT please visit: The Virginia State NPAT

To view the entire New Jersey State NPAT please visit: The New Jersey State NPAT

Unfortunately, for the past 10 years response rates to the NPAT have fallen drastically. Until now, we have relied entirely on mainstream media organizations to pressure candidates into responding to the NPAT. This year though, we are hoping to bombard candidates with these requests, from a variety of sources, including bloggers and individual citizens.

The New Jersey version of the NPAT is particularly exciting because for the first time ever the test can be filled out on our website.

I am writing today to encourage you, if you’re from Virginia or New Jersey, or follow Virginia or New Jersey politics to call the candidates for office that are seeking your support and ask them to fill out the NPAT.

The contact information for all of the candidates for office in Virginia can be found at: Virginia State Candidates.

The contact information for all of the candidates for office in New Jersey can be found at: New Jersey State Candidates.