In The News 
Secretary Reed certifies I-1082 for the ballot
Secretary of State Sam Reed certified a second initiative Tuesday for the Nov. 2 ballot. Initiative 1082 is the Building Industry Association of Washington’s proposal to let private insurers sell workers compensation policies to businesses, and it has endorsements from an array of business interests. The measure was certified after a check showed it had more than the 241,153 valid voter signatures needed to qualify for the ballot.
Liquor privatization certified for ballot
Secretary of State Sam Reed has certified one of two liquor privatization measures to the ballot. Initiative 1100 was certified Monday. Supporters turned in more than 390,000 voter signatures, well above the 241,000 required. A random check of signatures was completed Friday. If I-1100 passes, the state distribution and sales system would be abolished in favor of private businesses.
Measures on pot, pollution trail in Field Poll
Voters are poised to reject a ballot measure to legalize adults' recreational use of marijuana in California and another that would suspend the state's landmark greenhouse gas reduction law, according to a Field Poll of to be released today. The poll, which also shows that likely November voters strongly support a measure to make it easier for the Legislature to pass a budget, marks a key starting point for the final months of campaigning.
Judge Yanks Redistricting Amendment from Fall Ballot
A Tallahassee judge on Thursday knocked the Legislature’s proposed constitutional amendment dealing with redistricting standards off the ballot, saying he couldn’t easily understand what it would do so it was unreasonable to expect voters could. Amendment 7 was put on the November ballot by lawmakers earlier this year after two other amendments dealing with redistricting were cleared to go before voters.
Big money commands attention and protest in Missouri
Missouri lawmakers might take a look next year at making it harder for activists with deep pockets to pour millions of dollars into statewide initiative petition campaigns. For instance, Rex Sinquefield has sunk $6.8 million into an effort to repeal the 1 percent earnings tax in Kansas City and St. Louis. He’s expected to spend millions more.
Six citizen initiatives may make Oregon’s November ballot
Six citizen initiatives turned in enough signatures to make Oregon's November ballot by Friday's deadline -- if the signatures are found valid by the Secretary of State's office. A measure that would create a system of medical marijuana dispensaries, and one that would increase minimum sentences for sex crimes and drunk drivers turned signatures in early and are likely to make the ballot, Secretary of State Kate Brown said.
Judge upholds statute on petitions
U.S. Senate candidate Sharron Angle suffered a mild setback Wednesday in her effort to make Nevada ballot initiative laws more user friendly when a federal judge determined a statute regarding signature petitions is constitutional. But the court hearing wasn't a total loss for the Republican candidate. U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan also ordered Secretary of State Ross Miller to remove a provision that requires petition circulators to swear under oath the signatories are legally registered voters.
Petitioners see domain issue for ballot
A statewide initiative is underway to get an issue placed on the ballot for the November 2011 election. Petitions are being passed around the county as part of this effort for Initiative No. 31, which could change eminent domain in the state. Initiative No. 31, if put on the ballot and passed, will amend the state constitution to keep the government “from taking private property by eminent domain and then transferring it to other persons.”
The State’s Green Ways Are Under Attack
Californians, and especially politically liberal Northern Californians, take a lot of pride in the state’s history of aggressive environmental regulation. This is the state whose air-quality initiatives all but invented automobile emissions controls. It is a place where the high-tech industry supports stringent pollution rules, pointing to the thousands of jobs being created in the solar power business as an example of how a tech-driven industry can lead an economic renaissance — and offer cleaner air, too.
States can publicly ID petition signers
People who sign petitions calling for public votes on controversial subjects don't have an automatic right to hide their names, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday as it sided against Washington state voters worried about harassment because of their desire to repeal that state's gay rights law. The high court ruled against Protect Marriage Washington, which organized a petition drive for a public vote to repeal the state's "everything-but-marriage" gay rights law.
