State Feed: North Dakota

North Dakota: Bottle rocket sales proposed with ballot measure

Fri, 28 May 2010 15:28:48 -0400

Secretary of State Al Jaeger says a proposed ballot measure to allow bottle rocket sales in North Dakota is ready for circulation. The initiative said anyone who is at least 18 years old may buy bottle rockets in North Dakota. It would reverse a ban on bottle rocket sales that the Legislature approved last year.

Read the story from The Jamestown Sun

This Is What It Is All About

Mon, 17 May 2010 11:01:39 -0400

I ran across this opinion piece in The Bismarck Tribune this morning and wanted to share it here. It’s a short but great piece that talks about the usefullness and success of an open & accessible ballot initiative process in the state of North Dakota. The author’s closing statement is particularly good:

North Dakota: Abortion measure proposed

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 11:00:26 -0400

A proposed ballot measure supporters say is intended to restrict abortions in North Dakota would make it a felony to decapitate or crush the skull of a fetus. Secretary of State Al Jaeger said the proposed initiative petition was turned in to his office late Tuesday. He has until April 22 to review the measure and approve it for circulation.

Read the story from WKRG 5

North Dakota: Measure to get rid of property taxes approved for circulation

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 14:02:49 -0400

Supporters of abolishing North Dakota property taxes may begin gathering petition signatures to put the idea on the ballot. Secretary of State Al Jaeger has approved the ballot initiative for circulation. It would change the North Dakota Constitution to eliminate property taxes, starting in January 2012. The Legislature would have to use state taxes to replace the property tax income of local governments, and figure out a way to distribute the replacement money. The measure needs almost 26,000 petition signatures by Aug. 4 to get a spot on the November general election ballot.

North Dakota: Circulation time for "read the bill" initiative

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:15:35 -0400

A group trying to force legislators to read bills before they vote to pass them has had its initiated measure approved for circulation. Honor in Office will now need to get almost 26,000 signatures before such a measure can get on the ballot. The group’s executive director, Jerrol LeBaron, said he and a group of more than 20 volunteers will be hitting up fairs and county events as well as advertising the petition in local businesses.

North Dakota: Petition for college nickname change

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 12:47:57 -0400

A petition with 1,004 signatures on it calling for a vote on UND’s Fighting Sioux nickname on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation is now in the hands of tribal Chairman Charles W. Murphy, the chairman confirmed Monday. Nickname supporters from the tribe, following the earlier example of their compatriots at the Spirit Lake Dakotah Nation, produced the petition.

Read the story from the Grand Forks Herald

North Dakota: "Read the bill" initiative can begin circulation

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:06:54 -0400

A voter initiative that would require North Dakota lawmakers to read bills before they vote to approve them is ready for circulation. Secretary of State Al Jaeger approved the initiative petition on Thursday. Supporters need almost 13,000 signatures by Aug. 4 to put the measure on North Dakota’s November ballot. The initiative requires lawmakers to promise that they’ve read and understand a bill before they vote to approve it. They don’t have to read a bill if they oppose it. The requirement doesn’t apply to legislative committees.

North Dakota: Responses to possible initiative requiring lawmakers to read bills

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:54:41 -0500

A proposed ballot measure that would require North Dakota legislators to read all bills and post them on the internet 4 days before final votes are taken is receiving mixed opinions from several local legislators. Retired Bismarck businessman, David Wolfer, is chairman of the initiative’s sponsoring committee. He says the idea will ensure legislators are more familiar with state laws they’re putting on the books.

Read the story from KXMC TV

North Dakota: Initiative making officials read bills before passing still in the works

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:26:26 -0500

A proposed North Dakota ballot measure that requires state lawmakers to read bills before they vote on them will be turned in to the secretary of state on Tuesday. Jerrol LeBaron has been promoting the measure, and he says retired Bismarck businessman Dave Wolfer has agreed to be chairman of the initiative’s sponsoring committee. The measure says lawmakers have to certify that they’ve read a bill before they vote to approve it. Finished versions of bills also have to be posted on the Internet for at least four days before there’s a final vote.

North Dakota: Initiative would require legislators to read bills before voting

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 14:43:54 -0500

A proposed North Dakota ballot measure would require lawmakers to swear they’ve read and understood any bill before they’re allowed to vote to approve it. The initiative would require North Dakota legislators to sign a sworn statement before they could vote on any bill. The statement would say they hadn’t been influenced by bribes or vote trading. The proposal says the text of a bill would have to be posted on the Internet for four days before the Legislature could vote on it.

Read the story from KX Net

Process started for pharmacy ballot measure

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:31:53 -0400

After a similar measure was defeated by state lawmakers earlier this year, a proposed ballot initiative filed with the state on Thursday will seek to repeal the state’s pharmacy ownership law. The initiative was submitted to Secretary of State Al Jaeger, who will review the petition and decide whether to approve it for circulation later this month. To get on the 2010 ballot, supporters will need at least 12,844 signatures from North Dakota voters.

Hunting measure gathering signatures in North Dakota

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 12:59:24 -0400

Supporters of a ban on so-called “fenced hunting” in North Dakota are trying again to put the issue to a statewide vote. The ballot measure would outlaw fenced game preserves where visitors pay for the right to shoot deer, elk and other big-game animals. Roger Kaseman of Bismarck is chairman of the initiative campaign. He says fenced hunting is unethical and will undermine support for legitimate hunting. Opponents of the proposal say it will violate private property rights.

Read the story from KXMB 12

Attorney General issues opinion on North Dakota ballot initiative law

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:31:38 -0400

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem says North Dakota law does not allow the spending of state money in a campaign on a ballot measure. Three Republican legislators asked Stenehjem for a legal opinion on the question. Stenehjem`s opinion says taxpayer money should not be used in a ballot measure campaign without legal authority to do so.

Read the story from KFYR 5

Ballot measures beyond voters

Mon, 18 May 2009 11:47:02 -0400

In the last days of the 2009 session, the Legislature ended its revolt and decided to honor the decision of the voters to use tobacco lawsuit money to fight tobacco addiction. The Legislature justified its temporary rebellion with the argument that the voters didn’t know what they were doing when they voted on the measure.

Fargo Approves Sales Tax Ballot Measure

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 13:17:01 -0400

Fargo, ND city commissioners approved a ballot measure that would raise the city’s sales tax by a half-cent to 7%. The money would go to flood protection measures. Citizens will vote on the measure in a June 30 special election.

Read the story from the Forum of Fargo-Moorhead

Ballot Measure Would Create Fund for North Dakota Tobacco Money

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 10:17:28 -0400

A proposed state constitutional amendment would create a fund to hold monies from a recent tobacco settlement. A ballot measure that provides more state support for tobacco prevention will be trumped by this amendment if it passes.

Read the story from the Dickinson Press

Supreme Court Denies Arizona's Appeal in Circulator Residency Case

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:28:04 -0400

The Unites States Supreme Court denied Arizona’s request for an appeal in the case Nader v. Brewer. Last year the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Arizona’s law requiring petition circulators to be state residents. Thirteen other states had asked the high court to overturn the decistion. Similar laws in Ohio and Oklahoma were invalidated last year in the 6th and 10th Circuit Courts of Appeal.

Stem cell critics sue over Missouri ballot measure

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 16:07:36 -0500

Critics of embryonic stem cell research have accused three top Missouri officials of conspiring to prepare an unfair ballot summary for a proposal to bar use of public funds for abortion and human cloning.

The claim is asserted in a lawsuit by Missouri Roundtable for Life seeking a new ballot summary and cost estimate for a proposed amendment to the Missouri Constitution that proponents hope to put on the 2010 ballot.

House panel endorses finance reporting bill

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 12:43:45 -0500

A South Dakota House committee has endorsed a measure intended to make more organizations report where they get the money they use to influence the outcome of public votes on ballot measures.

The State Affairs Committee voted unanimously to approve HB1233, which says any organization that spends more than half its annual revenue to influence a ballot measure must file a campaign finance report disclosing where it got the money…. (READ MORE)

In the mail: Measure 2: A rare chance to cut your own taxes

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 15:41:47 -0400

Recently, Measure 2 officially was certified for the Nov. 4 ballot. Voters will have a historic opportunity to vote on guaranteed tax relief, thanks to the work of 65 North Dakotans who helped put Measure 2 on the ballot.

Every month, we hear new estimates of just how big the surplus will be. The latest number by the Office of Management and Budget pegs the projected surplus just less than $1.3 billion, with more than $450 million of that excess revenue occurring outside of the oil-tax windfall the state has enjoyed.