HPR election guide: 2016 ballot measures

By C.S. Hagen

cshagen@hpr1.com

A new president, many state leaders, and five measures will be voted on by North Dakotans come November 8. The state will soon have a new governor and perhaps a new congressman, but the measures to be voted on are more than the numbers identifying them.

The inundation of information concerning the presidential race has swallowed the importance of local legislation, and billboards rival the rumors about each measure, telling little of the facts behind each one.

Measure 1, or the North Dakota Residency Requirement for State Legislators Measure, would restrict legislative assembly members, both elected and appointed, to remain a resident in the district they are selected in, and prohibit them from serving in the legislature if they do not live in or move outside the district, if the measure is passed by voters.

Currently, the North Dakota Constitution requires state legislators to live in districts where they are elected for 30 days prior to election day, making it possible for them to move their residence to other districts at any time during their tenure. A vote “yes” will amend the Constitution so that legislators must remain residents in their legislative districts during their tenure, and they must start being a resident at least 30 days prior to the election.

A simply majority vote to refer the amendment to the ballot was overwhelmingly passed in both the state senate and the house in April 2015.

Measure 2, the North Dakota Allocation of Oil Extraction Taxes Measure, is on the November 8, 2016 ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment. The measure, if passed, would stipulate 10 percent of revenues from oil extraction taxes would be deposited into the state’s Treasury Foundation Aid Stabilization Fund.

The percentage is already deposited into the state’s fund, but this measure focuses on how these funds would be spent. Currently, funds can only be spent by gubernatorial order and only to offset school aid shortages. In short, passing the measure would expand the educational purposes for which the foundation aid stabilization fund may be used, primarily to school districts with a revenue shortage.

The measure passed unanimously in the State Senate, and passed by a 43 percent difference in the House.

Measure 3 is one of the hot topics of 2016, and is known as the North Dakota Crime Victims Rights Initiative, or Marsy’s Law, which gives more rights to crime victims. The measure is part of a nationwide effort to help crime victims, including the right to be treated with respect, to be free from harassment, and to be protected from the accused.

This constitutional measure would also provide safety to victims in bail and release decisions. Crime victims would have the right to be present at court and related hearings and to be heard on matters of the accused’s release, pleas, sentencing, parole, or pardon issues, and to be notified upon the release or escape of accused. Furthermore, victims of crime under this measure would have the right to provide information about the impact of an offender’s conduct and to receive relevant reports including pre-sentencing reports. The bill would also require a prompt return of victim’s property when no longer needed.

The constitutional measure is named after Marsy Nicholas, and is part of a national effort to strengthen victim’s rights. Marsy Nicholas was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in 1983. When he was released on bail, her family wasn’t notified. Her brother Henry said, “Right after the funeral, my mother was in the supermarket and there was my sister’s murderer, staring her down.”

“This amendment elevates crime victim’s rights and protection to the same level as the people who have been accused of hurting them,” Kathleen Wrigley, Chair of Marsy’s Law for North Dakota said. “I understand ours is a wonderful criminal justice system. I’m not knocking the system, I just want people to be better protected.”

Opponents of the measure argue that it is an attempt to fix something that is not broken.

After the bill was submitted on November 15, 2015, supporters had to collect 26,904 valid signatures by July 11, 2016. Marsy’s Law for North Dakota obtained more than 44,000 signatures on May 10, 2016, and nearly 34,000 of the signatures were vetted and accepted by the secretary of state on June 13, 2016.

Measure 4, or the North Dakota Tax Increase Initiative is a bill that will authorize a state tax increase on tobacco products from 44 cents to $2.20 per pack, and increase taxes on all other tobacco products from 28 percent to 56 percent. Tobacco products are defined to include liquid nicotine and electronic inhalation devices.

Tax revenues generated would go toward a veteran’s tobacco trust fund and a comprehensive behavioral health plan, county-level health services, and chronic illness prevention and control programs. No revenue would be allocated for tobacco prevention or cessation programs.

Only three states have lower tobacco tax rates than North Dakota.

The measure, according to opponents of the bill, is a poorly written 400 percent tax increase that gives a “blank check” to bureaucrats and benefits only those supporting it.

Proponents say it will help people stop smoking, however, national surveys conducted on the issue show that higher tax rates on cigarettes do not deter smoking, and further impoverish the poor. North Dakota already ranks number one in the country for spending on tobacco prevention.

“When you add it all up,” Mike Rud, chairman of North Dakotans Against the 400% Tax Increase, said, “this proposal is poorly written, is bad tax policy and simply isn’t how we should manage tax money.”

So far, opposition to the bill raised in excess of $3 million and supporters of the bill slightly more than $21,000.

“Our analysis of the association between cigarette taxes and adult cigarette use suggests that adult smoking is largely unaffected by taxes,” a 2012 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research reported. “At best, cigarette tax increases may have a small negative association with cigarette consumption.”

Additionally, many smokers seek alternative methods for obtaining cigarettes when the price becomes too expensive, such as the black market or interstate smuggling, according to the study.

Smoking, in nearly every country, is also more common among the less wealthy, according to Price Economics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Raising taxes on cigarettes will affect 26 out of every 100 adults living under the poverty line, where only 15 out of every 100 who live above the poverty line will be affected, according to the CDC.

Measure 5: if North Dakota follows nearly half the nation, the regulated medical usage of marijuana will be legalized on November 8. The measure is also known as the North Dakota Marijuana Legalization Initiative, and a vote “Yes” will help legalize medical marijuana to treat defined debilitating medical conditions such as cancer, AIDS, hepatitis C, ALS, glaucoma, and epilepsy.

A vote “No” for Measure 5 will mean keeping the state’s full prohibition of marijuana in force, although a short drive over the Red River of the North and medical marijuana can be obtained. If passed, prescribing marijuana will not be an imperative, but up to the doctor and the patient. Those allowed to use medical marijuana will be required to register for identification cards – with an application fee.

Nationally, the overuse and over-prescribing of synthetic drugs, painkillers, not to mention the addictions to opioids, is reaching epidemic proportions. Marijuana, according to proponents of the measure, would be an efficacious alternative to synthetic drugs. According to Medical Marijuana Inc. and the BLVD Treatment Centers, opioid overdoses are significantly lower in states with medical marijuana legislation.

Since 1996, 23 states and Washington D.C. have adopted medical marijuana legislation. In November 2015, the Drug Enforcement Administration reported drug overdose deaths are the leading cause of injury death in the United States. In 2013, more than 46,000 people died from drug overdoses, mostly caused by prescription painkillers and heroin. From 2000 to 2014 nearly half a million Americans died from drug overdoses, with opioid and pain relievers hitting record levels in 2014, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The cannabis plant would bring new jobs to the state, as many parts of the plant can be used for other purposes such as rope, fuel, maps, clothes, sails, plastics, fiberboard, paints, gasoline, furniture, oil for fuel, varnishes, and animal food, to name a few. Hemp, which comes from the cannabis plant, can also be used as a replacement for wooden materials, and its seed oil in paints and varnishes.

The measure is supported by the North Dakotans for Compassionate Care, who raised $5,609 for the cause; opponents have raised no monies.

City of Fargo Measure: extending existing flood sales tax. Also on the ballot is a proposal for extending the flood-protection-related sales tax to continue to subsidize Fargo’s flood protection infrastructure. Fargo’s City Commissioners approved the proposal on August 15, 2016.

A vote “yes” will extend the time period for the temporary 0.5% sales tax to continue Fargo’s fight against flooding from the Red River of the North.

The flood protection plan, known as the Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Area Flood Risk Management Project and as the Metro Flood Diversion Project, includes a diversion channel 30 miles long, multiple highways and railroad bridges, and two aqueduct structures, river levees, drains through town, earthen embankments, upstream retention areas, gated control structures, and recreational features.

The sales tax will not exceed one half of one percent of the sales and gross receipts from purchases within North Dakota, and will not exceed $12.50 for any single purchase. The proposed time period will end December 31, 2084, or until all debts are paid.