Author: Victoria Antram
-
Maryland voters to decide on an amendment related to eminent domain for highway or transit purposes in November
The Maryland State Legislature voted to send a constitutional amendment to voters that would authorize the state legislature to pass a law acquiring property on behalf of the state Roads Commission or the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) if the commission or MTA determines it is needed for highway or transit purposes. The owner of the…
-
Maryland State Legislature replaces an amendment related to the Commission on Judicial Disabilities with an updated version and sends changes to collective bargaining for state employees to voters in November
The Maryland State Legislature voted to refer two constitutional amendments to voters in November. The first amendment (Senate Bill 933) would repeal the amendment (House Bill 788) referred to the ballot during the 2025 legislative session. Both amendments were designed to allow the chair of the Commission on Judicial Disabilities to appoint former members to…
-
SEIU-UHW submits signatures for California ballot initiatives capping executive pay and requiring clinics to spend 90% on patient care
Service Employees International Union — United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) filed signatures for two citizen initiatives that would enact laws limiting executive pay and requiring clinics to spend 90% of their revenue on patient care. Initiative #25-0008, also referred to as the Clinic Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, would require nonprofit federally qualified health centers…
-
Kentucky voters set to decide on amendment limiting governor’s pardon power in November
The Kentucky State Legislature voted on April 1 to send a constitutional amendment to voters in November that would prohibit the governor from issuing a pardon or commuting a sentence 60 days before the gubernatorial election and up to the fifth Tuesday succeeding the election. The amendment would also change the language of the section…
-
Alabama becomes the 24th state to enact a law prohibiting foreign nationals or governments from contributing to ballot measure committees
Alabama enacted House Bill 214 (HB 214) on March 17, becoming the 24th state to pass a ban on foreign spending in ballot measure elections. HB 214 prohibits foreign nationals from making contributions related to ballot measures, prohibits recipients from accepting those contributions, and makes violations a Class C felony. It passed unanimously in the…
-
One-fourth of indirect initiatives were approved by state legislatures between 2018 and 2025; 12 currently pending before state legislatures
There are nine states that authorize indirect initiatives, either statutes or constitutional amendments, where citizen-proposed ballot measures are first presented to state legislatures. Between 2018 and 2025, 40 indirect initiatives were certified to state legislatures. Ten were approved by state legislatures, while 17 were approved and 13 were rejected by voters. For the 2026 ballot,…
-
Campaign submits signatures in California for a ballot initiative to issue bonds for a homeownership loan program
California Coalition for Homeownership submitted over 900,000 signatures to county officials for verification for a ballot initiative that would issue $25 billion in revenue bonds to fund a homeownership loan program for households with incomes that do not exceed 200% of the area median income for families of similar size. The campaign is sponsored by…
-
Reform California submits 1.3 million signatures for voter ID initiative
The organization Reform California announced on March 2 that it was submitting over 1.3 million signatures to county election officials for verification of an initiative that would require voter identification and a constitutional requirement for state and county election officials to verify citizenship of registered voters. The initiative would add a new section to the…
-
Campaign behind California’s wealth tax initiative reports collecting 25% of the required signatures to qualify for 2026 ballot
Save California Health Care and Public Education, sponsored by SEIU-UHW, has collected at least 25% of the required signatures to qualify a combined initiated constitutional amendment and state statute known as the billionaire tax for the 2026 ballot. The total number required is 874,641, which is 8% of the votes cast in the prior gubernatorial…
-
Campaign behind the initiative to require a two-thirds supermajority vote to enact local special taxes in California submits signatures after a prior proposal was blocked by state court in 2024
Protect Prop. 13, the campaign behind the initiative to require a two-thirds supermajority vote to enact citizen-initiated local special taxes in California, reported submitting over 1.3 million signatures to local county officials for verification on Feb. 25. The measure is an initiated constitutional amendment that would increase the vote threshold from a simple majority to…