Legislature Still Trying to Get the Voters Out of Their Government

Senate Bill 1244 was temporarily killed in the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, but now appears to have been revived. A similar bill is stuck in the House Transportation & Economic Development Appropriations Committee. The legislation would put onerous restrictions on petition gathering for citizen sponsored ballot initiatives - among other things it would throw out every signature of every registered voter who participated if even one signature is found to be invalid.

With the other restrictions, it would effectively eliminate the ability of voters to pass citizen sponsored initiatives. The legislation is part of the overall scheme of the legislators to take the voters out of government.

The bill is opposed by almost every group representing low income and middle class families, workers, and the environment. It is supported by business groups.