What is the most important bill your local jurisdiction needs a vote on?

[PeppyGPhiB]

Originally Posted by Kevin

I'm really not sure what their aim was... our legislature is filled with a bunch of minimally educated numbnuts who generally dance to the beat of the lobbyists' drum.

My guess here is that a pro-hunting group proposed this, perhaps as a means to preempt any anti-hunting animal rights legislation proposals. Maybe they felt the need to fire an opening salvo in the legislative battle that doesn't exist.

So yeah... like... status quo.

Did I mention just how very much I hate all but a handful of my legislators? These guys are bona fide morons. Rednecks and Bible thumpers all around. Thank God we have a governor who is smart enough to veto the unconstitutional crap which comes out of that body.

Is it a proposition (offered for a vote from the legislature), or an initiative (offered for a vote from private citizens)?

We always have plenty of interesting things on our ballots up here, but this election is a big one for us. Not only are we voting for president and governor (the same two candidates that were only separated by about 150 votes six years ago), but we're also voting on a "Death with Dignity" initiative similar to what Oregon has. There's also an initiative from a guy who's made it his mission to take down any tax in our state.

Oh, and we had a trapping initiative or proposition several years ago in Washington. Most types of trapping are illegal now here.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

Is it a proposition (offered for a vote from the legislature), or an initiative (offered for a vote from private citizens)?

We always have plenty of interesting things on our ballots up here, but this election is a big one for us. Not only are we voting for president and governor (the same two candidates that were only separated by about 150 votes six years ago), but we're also voting on a "Death with Dignity" initiative similar to what Oregon has. There's also an initiative from a guy who's made it his mission to take down any tax in our state.

Oh, and we had a trapping initiative or proposition several years ago in Washington. Most types of trapping are illegal now here.

This comes from the legislature. We do have the initiative petition, but we don't have any of those this time 'round.

The next ballot should be interesting. We have something called the "HOPE" Act. Something which would force the legislature to appropriate about $1,100+more per pupil in our schools than they presently are, i.e., raise funding from ~$6,900 per student to the regional average which rings up at ~$8,000 per student.

That, coupled with a current on-the-books part of the Oklahoma Constitution which requires a vote of the people to raise taxes should lead our state government into instant fiscal disaster.

Should be fun to watch!

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by Kevin

I think we have about the most worthless Constitutional Amendment I've ever seen up on the ballot this go-round.

Section 36. A. All citizens of this state shall have an inherent right to engage in hunting, trapping, fishing, and taking game and fish, free of state laws which explicitly or implicitly effectively prohibit the ability of citizens to engage in such activities. Hunting, trapping, fishing and the taking of game and fish are a valued part of our heritage and will forever be preserved for the people. The Wildlife Conservation Commission shall be vested with the power and authority to approve methods, practices and procedures for hunting, trapping, fishing and the taking of game and fish.
B. Nothing in this section shall:
1. Be construed to prohibit reasonable regulation of the hunting, trapping, fishing and taking of game and fish; or
2. Operate to repeal or invalidate any laws or rules in existence on the effective date of its adoption.

Could they at least name this amendment after the SNL Mother-humping Moose?

[Benzgirl]

Issue 6 - A casino down by Dayton -- can't tell which side is lying
Issue 5 - Limiting how much interest Pay Day lenders can charge -- VOTE YES, OHIOANS!!!!

[PeppyGPhiB]

Originally Posted by Benzgirl

Issue 6 - A casino down by Dayton -- can't tell which side is lying
Issue 5 - Limiting how much interest Pay Day lenders can charge -- VOTE YES, OHIOANS!!!!

I'm curious about this casino prop/initiative. What is it they're asking the voters to decide? We have sooo many casinos here due to all of the indian reservations, but I've never seen anything up for vote on them before.

[CrackerBarrel]

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

I'm curious about this casino prop/initiative. What is it they're asking the voters to decide? We have sooo many casinos here due to all of the indian reservations, but I've never seen anything up for vote on them before.

Indian casinos are - I think - legal everywhere since they are considered to be on land belonging to the Indian nation and not technically part of the state. To have casinos on non-Indian land you have to either legalize casino-style gambling in your state overall or pass an exception for that specific place (or type of place if you're voting to allow slot machines at horse/dog tracks or something).

[PeppyGPhiB]

Originally Posted by CrackerBarrel

Indian casinos are - I think - legal everywhere since they are considered to be on land belonging to the Indian nation and not technically part of the state. To have casinos on non-Indian land you have to either legalize casino-style gambling in your state overall or pass an exception for that specific place (or type of place if you're voting to allow slot machines at horse/dog tracks or something).

You'd probably have to come up here to understand, but we've got casinos right next to the freeways in all the major metropolitan areas and in all the major cities' limits. The tribes run them, but as far as I know, the land is no longer owned by the tribes. Some are little casinos, some are big resort casinos.

[RaggedyAnn]

Originally Posted by CrackerBarrel

Indian casinos are - I think - legal everywhere since they are considered to be on land belonging to the Indian nation and not technically part of the state.

That is incorrect. The Narragansett Indian Tribe can't open up a casino on their land.

[Kevin]

CB: I believe that for Indian Casinos to be legal, the tribes have to compact with the state. While the states don't usually exercise direct regulatory authority, they usually have as a contractual obligation of the compact the payment of certain taxes and fees (which is fair because the casinos take a helluvalot of infrastructure to get going.

I know that there's at least one casino in southern Oklahoma which is currently raking in huge profits because Texas hasn't compacted with its tribes.

Another interesting thing the tribes can do is buy regular land, i.e., a downtown city block, and deed it into a certain kind of trust administered by the feds. That has the effect of making that land the same as tribal land.

In Oklahoma City right now, a landless tribe, the Shawnee I think, bought a very well-situated piece of land right off of I-35, between Edmond and Oklahoma City (Edmond, being a suburb to the north of OKC, generally a pretty well-off place). They've been trying to deed that land into a trust so that they can build a HUGE resort/casino, complete with a performance hall, bowling alley, casinos, hotel, etc. Very controversial stuff.

[Scandia]

Like in many other places, there is a marriage protection amendment. I plan to vote NO on it.