Ballot Proposal Debates Concluded - 3 Approved, 1 Removed

The Michigan Supreme Court ended the seemingly endless legal and administrative battle over four major ballot proposals Wednesday, approving three for position on the November ballot and denying one.

The three ballot proposals approved for the November ballot are 1) The proposal to place the right to collective bargaining in the Constitution; 2) The proposal to require a two-thirds majority vote in both legislative chambers or statewide vote to raise any taxes; and 3) The proposal to require a statewide vote to authorize the building of any new international border crossings.

The ballot proposal to authorize eight new casinos failed to gain approval with the Court voting 4-3 to order the Board of State Canvassers not to place the item on the ballot.

Opponents of all four proposals had argued that each was in violation of Article XII, Section 2 of the Constitution that requires any proposal for amendment to include all sections of the Constitution that would be altered or abrogated. The Court determined that by merely affecting a section, a proposal does not alter or abrogate the section.

In all, voters will face six ballot questions in November. In addition to the three described above, two additional proposed constitutional amendments and one referendum had already been approved for the ballot. The referendum is on the state’s new emergency manager law, Public Act 4 of 2011. The two previously approved amendment proposals are the “25 in 25” proposal to require utilities to generate 25 percent of power from renewable sources by 2025 and the proposal to ensure the state’s home help workers can organize.

posted by PAA Online , Friday, September 7, 2012 11:39 AM
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