Author: Victoria Antram
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Campaign behind an initiative to repeal California’s Private Attorneys General Act submitted signatures
On June 9, Californians for Fair Pay and Accountability submitted over 638,000 signatures for a ballot initiative that would repeal the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), which allows employees to sue employers and collect a share of monetary penalties for state labor law violations, and replace it with a new law to litigate and penalize…
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California initiative to require additional funding for K-12 art and music education qualifies for the ballot
On June 8, the California Secretary of State announced that an initiative to require additional funding for K-12 art and music education had qualified for the ballot. Californians for Arts and Music Education in Public Schools, the campaign sponsoring the initiative, submitted 1,030,221 signatures for verification in April. Counties conducted a random sample, and the…
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Initiative campaign submits signatures to disqualify Oregon state legislators from re-election after a legislative walkout
On May 27, the sponsors of an Oregon ballot initiative to disqualify state legislators from re-election after a legislative walkout submitted 183,942 unverified signatures. The initiative is a constitutional amendment that would exclude legislators from re-election following the end of their term if they are absent from 10 legislative floor sessions without permission or excuse.…
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Montana voters in Lewis and Clark County will decide on two local-option marijuana taxes on June 7
On June 7, voters in Lewis and Clark County, Montana, will decide on two local-option excise taxes on medical and recreational marijuana sales. The first ballot measure would impose a 3% tax on recreational marijuana sales and related products. The second ballot measure would also impose a 3% tax on medical marijuana sales and related…
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Initiative to increase medical malpractice lawsuit caps in California withdrawn after legislative compromise reached
On May 19, the sponsors of an initiative to increase California’s cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits withdrew the ballot measure from the 2022 ballot after reaching a legislative compromise with legislators. In 1975, the cap was set at $250,000. The ballot initiative would have required an annual adjustment of the cap based…
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Initiative to increase the income tax to fund zero-emission vehicles and wildfire prevention programs in California files signatures
The California secretary of state reported that Clean Air California, the campaign behind initiative #21-0037, submitted signatures on May 16. The number of signatures required to place the initiative on the November ballot is 623,212, which is equal to 5% of the votes cast in the 2018 gubernatorial election. The initiative proposes a new law…
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$18 minimum wage campaign collects 1 million signatures for California initiative
On May 12, Yes on the California Living Wage Act, the campaign behind an initiative to increase the state’s minimum wage to $18, announced that they had collected over 1 million signatures. The initiative would enact a law to increase the minimum wage at different intervals depending on whether an employer has 26 or more…
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The campaign behind California dialysis initiative files signatures for a place on the November ballot
Californians for Kidney Dialysis Patient Protection filed 692,521 raw signatures to place an initiative on the November ballot. The measure would enact staffing requirements, reporting requirements, ownership disclosure, and closing requirements for chronic dialysis clinics. The ballot initiative would also prohibit clinics from refusing to care for a patient based on the patient’s form of…
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Texans approve property tax amendments; Austin voters decriminalize marijuana
Texans approved two statewide constitutional amendments reducing the property tax limit for school taxes on homesteads of the elderly and disabled and increasing the property tax exemption from $25,000 to $40,000 for all households. According to unofficial results on election night, Proposition 1 was approved by a margin of 86.98% to 13.02%. Proposition 2 was…
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Ballot initiative proponents turn in 1.5 million signatures for income tax to fund a new pandemic prevention institute in California
The proponents behind Californians Against Pandemics submitted 1.5 million signatures for a ballot initiative that would increase the income tax by 0.75% for individuals with income over $5 million for 10 years and dedicate 50% of funds to the California Institute for Pandemic Prevention, 25% to the Community Pandemic Response Fund, and 25% to the…