State and Local Ballot Initiatives to Watch

Tax and budget related initiatives I’m watching:

• Florida (Amendment 4) & Arizona (Prop 116) tangible personal property tax (property taxes on business equipment) reform initiatives
• Arizona Prop 204 extending 1 percent sales tax increase
• Arkansas Issue 1 imposing half-cent sales tax to improve state highway system
• California Prop 30 (Governor’s tax increases), Prop 38 (major tax increases), Prop 39 (ending multistate tax apportionment option)
• California local initiatives in El Monte (Measures C & H) and Richmond (Measure N) imposing a 1c per oz soda tax
• California – Los Angeles Measure J extends a temporary 0.5% transportation sales tax currently due to expire in 2039. Will be curious to see how voters deal with a proposal to tax transactions between 2040 and 2069
• Colorado Amendment 64 – legalizes marijuana and instructs legislature to impose an excise tax on it
• Florida Amendment 3 – a state spending limitation
• Maryland Question 7 – table games casino in DC area, reduces tax rates on other slot parlors in state
• Michigan (Proposal 1) to uphold the state’s emergency manager law, which allows the Governor to appoint administrators for financially insolvent cities to restructure their operations and obligations
• Michigan (Proposal 5) to require 2/3 supermajority in legislature to raise taxes. Governor opposes it
• Michigan (Proposal 6) would require voters to approve any new bridge to Canada. Curious how that turns out
• Missouri (Proposition B) cigarette tax increase
• Nebraska Marijuana Legalization Amendment – legalizes marijuana and instructs legislature to impose an excise tax on it
• New Hampshire (ConCon) on whether to hold a constitutional convention
• New Hampshire (CACR 13) banning an income tax in the state constitution
• New Jersey (Question 2) requiring state judges to contribute toward their health and pension benefits
• North Dakota (Measure 1) repealing the state’s poll tax (which was prohibited by the U.S. Constitution’s 24th Amendment)
• Ohio (Issue 1) calling a state constitutional convention
• Oklahoma (Question 758) capping state property tax increases to 3% per year
• Oklahoma (Question 766) repealing the state intangibles tax
• Oregon (Measure 79) banning real estate transfer taxes
• Oregon (Measure 80) legalizes cultivation and sale of marijuana, state license revenues to go to general fund
• Oregon (Measure 82) legalizing gambling and requiring 25 percent tax on casino gross revenues
• Oregon (Measure 84) repealing the estate tax
• Oregon (Measure 85) repealing the corporate “kicker” tax refund
• Washington (Initiative 502) legalizes marijuana
• Washington (Initiative 1185) reaffirming yet again the 2/3 legislative supermajority requirement for new taxes