Alerts

The mid-term elections are officially over. Ballotpedia stated this week on its website that voters in 37 states decided a total of 155 statewide ballot measures. Not all, of course, were motorist related but a few certainly were. We have also included some important county or city ballot issues that asked voters to raise the sales tax or bonds to maintain and repair streets and roads or at least some of the new funding raised would be for roads.

Our friends at TheNewspaper.com released this analysis: Voters Send Mixed Message on Gas Tax Measures.

Here is a list of ballot issues on a statewide, county or city level that will affect mostly infrastructure decisions for years to come in state order.

Arizona 

• Arizona Proposition 127: Renewable Energy Standards Initiative—Failed
• Would have required electric utilities to increase the percentage of electricity from renewable resources to 50 percent by 2030.
• Pima County Proposition 463: Bond issue for roads—Failed
• Scottsdale, AZ Question 1: Transportation Project Transaction Privilege Tax—Passed

California

• California Proposition 6: Gas Tax Repeal approved by the Legislature since January 2017 If approved, would have repealed fuel tax increases and vehicle fees enacted in 2017 by the legislature including the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017 or RRAA. Also would require voter approval for the legislature to impose, increase or extend fuel taxes or vehicle fees in the future.—Failed

Here are the many other sales tax or bond issues that California city or county voters were asked to approve (P= Passed, F= Failed)

Colorado

• Proposition 109: Authorize up to $3.5 billion in bonds for statewide transportation projects. Known as “Fix our Damn Roads.”—Failed
• Proposition 110: Authorize a 62-cent increase of the sales and use tax for the next 20 years and would authorize the CO DOT to issue bonds up to $6 billion. Known as “Let’s Go Colorado.”—Failed
• Aurora, CO Measure 31: Shall the city continue the Photo Red-Light Enforcement Program? Two-thirds voted to abolish!

Connecticut

• Connecticut Amendment 1: Create a lockbox for transportation funds—Passed

Florida

• Florida Amendment 5: Supermajority Vote Required To Impose, Authorize, or Raise State Taxes or Fees—Passed
• Broward County: 1% Sales Tax Increase for Transportation Improvements—Passed
• Hillsborough County, Florida No. 2 Referendum—1% Sales Tax Increase to Fix Roads—Passed

Idaho

• Ada County—increase in vehicle registration fees for transportation mobility and safety—Failed

Louisiana

• Louisiana Amendment 4: Prohibit money form the Transportation Trust Fun to be dedicated to the state police. It would be solely dedicated to road and bridge maintenance, flood control, ports, airports and transit.—Passed

Maine

• Maine Question 3: Authorize bonds for transportation infrastructure, $106 million in general obligation bonds and can only go towards capital projects.—Passed

Missouri

• Missouri Proposition D: If approved, would increase the state’s per-gallon gas tax over four years, to 27.3 cents from a current 17.3 cents. Increase fuel tax, boost state highway patrol revenue, finance repairs, and create Emergency State Freight Bottleneck Fund (which would help finance repairs on portions of I-70 in the St. Louis area. 500 million tons of freight are carried in those 165 miles with 16 interchanges per year.)—Failed

Nevada

• Nevada Question 6: Renewable Energy Standards Initiative
• If passed, would require electric utilities to acquire 50 percent of their electricity from renewable resources by 2030.—Passed

New Mexico

• Bernalillo County, NM Bond Question NO. 4: Transportation Bond—Passed

Texas

• Austin Proposition G: Transportation Infrastructure Bond Issue—Passed

Utah

• Utah Nonbinding Question 1: Raise the state motor and special fuel tax by 10 cents to fund education and local roads—Failed

Washington State

• Washington State Initiative 1631: Carbon Emissions Fee Measure—Failed

Addendum to NMA E-Newsletter #512, To Record or Not to Record, That is the Question
It should be noted that while the newsletter provided information about motorists’ rights vs. state law regarding the right to record law enforcement, some states may draw legal distinctions between audio and video recordings. The newsletter should be supplemented by this excellent resource, Is It Legal to Film or Photograph the Police?, published by LegalMatch this past May.