Daily Archive
Stories Posted on September 9, 2008
In the mail: Measure 2: A rare chance to cut your own taxes
Category: Taxes · State: North Dakota · Source: Grand Forks Herald
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. Many people would like to debate which tax is the “right tax to cut,” but the simple fact is that the overall burden is the real issue. The income tax is drawn from every paycheck, and the property tax is paid in one lump sum each year. Yes, the property tax is a real problem, but the 2007 Legislature spent 78 days debating the property tax and came up with an income-tax credit.
Renewable energy initiative will be on November ballot
Category: Environmentalism · State: Missouri · Source: Missourian
Backers of a proposal requiring Missouri utilities to use more renewable energy said Monday a state judge has ordered the measure be placed on the November ballot. The secretary of state's office in August determined that supporters of the renewable energy measure had fallen short in their petition drive to place the question before voters. Missourians for Cleaner Cheaper Energy sued to challenge the finding. Jim Kottmeyer, a spokesman for the group, said Monday that a Cole County judge had sided with them. The measure would require utilities to use solar, wind, biomass and hydropower for at least 2 percent of the electricity they sell by 2011. By 2021, renewable energy sources would need to be used for at least 15 percent of electricity production - of which at least 2 percent would need to be solar power. The measure would cap any utility rate increases to comply with the mandate at 1 percent.
Alcohol measure on ballot resisted
Category: Alcohol Sales · State: Arkansas · Source: Arkansas Democrat Gazette
Two Sharp County residents have filed lawsuits in attempts to keep an alcohol issue off the county’s November ballot, including one who requested a temporary injunction Monday that would delay the referendum if a judge cannot rule on it by the Nov. 4 election. The lawsuits, filed Friday afternoon in Sharp County Circuit Court, challenge both the wording of the petition and the signatures gathered by proponents of a move to allow the sale of alcohol in the north Arkansas county. Boone and Clark counties also have alcohol measures on the ballot. No organized opposition has surfaced yet in either county. Several groups in Benton County have tried twice since 2005 to get the issue on the ballot, failing both times to gather the 36, 600 signatures — 38 percent of registered voters — needed on petitions to get a proposal on the ballot. Ruth Reynolds, a retired Cherokee Village environmentalist, said allowing alcohol sales in Sharp County would reduce vehicle emissions because people wouldn’t have to drive as far to buy spirits.