Nevada
A state judge in Carson City threw out a proposed ballot initiative Friday that sought to define a person as “everyone possessing a human genome,” saying the language was too vague and violated state law that limits questions to one subject. The Nevada Personhood initiative proposed to amend the state Constitution by defining a person and extending due process rights from the beginning of biological development through end of life.
Nevadans for Sensible Marijuana Laws will submit an initiative petition to the Secretary of State on Wed, Jan. 6, and discuss the details of a 2012 ballot initiative that would establish a taxed and regulated marijuana market for adults 21 years of age and older in the state of Nevada.
A liberal advocacy group will go after gold miners’ state tax deductions, in an effort to raise more than $200 million a year for state coffers. The board of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada voted last month to pursue a statutory initiative to eliminate most of the deductions that reduce the taxes paid by gold mining companies. Liberals have argued for years that mining does not pay its fair share in tax ”” an argument that has gained traction as gold prices have soared to record levels while the state’s general fund has faced massive budget shortfalls.
A state judge in Carson City has scheduled a Jan. 8 hearing for arguments challenging the description of a proposed ballot initiative that seeks to define a person and override Nevada’s abortion laws. The Nevada “personhood” initiative seeks to amend the state constitution by defining a person and extending due process rights to “everyone possessing a human genome” from the beginning of biological development through end of life.
Four groups that for more than 30 years have fought for anti-abortion legislation say they are opposed to a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at banning abortions. Janine Hansen, president of Nevada Eagle Forum, says that while the backers of the initiative petition have good intentions it will not stop abortions.
Las Vegas conservative activist and 2004 Republican U.S. Senate candidate Richard Ziser filed an initiative petition Wednesday that seeks to outlaw abortion in Nevada. Ziser organized a committee called Personhood Nevada to campaign for the petition, which would amend the Nevada Constitution to read “the term person applies to every human being.” The petition says human being would be defined as anybody “possessing a human genome.”
Nevada is one of the the 26 states in the US that has some form of statewide initiative & referendum rights. The process in the state has been used for many different issues over the years. To read more about the process in Nevada you can check it out here.
The Nevada Secretary of State’s office says petition initiatives to amend the state’s constitution need about 60 percent more signatures to get on the ballot in 2010. The state agency says more than 38,000 more signatures will be required from the state’s three congressional districts because of turnout in the 2008 election. Legislators changed the law this year to make supporters collect signatures by congressional district instead of by county.
While searching through countless bills across the nation in an attempt to provide an open and accessible voting process, I continually stumble across legislation that begs the question, “What were they thinking?” Most recently Nevada Senate Bill 212, which passed through the Legislature this year and was signed into effect on June 4th. As it turns out, this bill makes a change that has been struck down in federal court twice!
Voters in Nevada are under attack by their state legislature.
Recently the Nevada legislature voted to make the ballot initiative process much, much harder. New legislation would effectively shut out regular citizens out of the process.
In his daily commentary, Common Sense, Paul Jacob discusses the actions in Nevada in A Law to Be Named Later. He writes:
Danny Thompson, executive secretary-treasurer of the 200,000-member Nevada AFL-CIO, says the Legislature exhausted all its cost-cutting options this session and has no choice but to reform the state’s tax structure in 2011. Thompson said the state AFL-CIO was exploring the option of putting the idea of a gross-receipts business tax to voters by sponsoring a ballot initiative.
A bill changing rules for qualifying questions for the ballot, which prompted concerns about interference with Nevadans’ constitutional rights, has been signed into law without comment by Gov. Jim Gibbons. Critics of SB212 said it’s favored by interest groups fearful of the initiative process, and its vague wording could lead to more obstacles for citizens trying to petition for change.
A last-minute maneuver to revive part of an indoor smoking bill succeeded on Monday, the final day of the 2009 Nevada legislature. The plan to roll back a voter-approved smoking ban so that tobacco trade conventions are exempted was amended into AB309, which deals with the crime of stalking. The change was approved by the Assembly and the Senate after many rounds of negotiations. The measure now goes to Gov. Jim Gibbons for final approval.
Today, Citizens in Charge Foundation, a transpartisan national voter rights group focused on the ballot initiative and referendum process, presented Nevada State Senator Terry Care with the June 2009 John Lilburne Award. Senator Care is being recognized for standing up for the rights of Nevada voters and trying to stop legislation that would shut Nevadans out of the ballot initiative process.
Yesterday, Senator Care cast the only vote against Senate Bill 212 aimed at stifling the ballot initiative process.
A bill aimed at restricting citizen ballot initative use in Nevada passed the state Senate Sunday. Senate Bill 212 will require signatures to be collected in each of the state’s three congressional districts until 2011. The Legislature would then come up with some undefined “petition district” from which signatures would have to be collected.