Matters into Their Own Hands

By Susan Tifft

Citizens weigh in on taxes, gambling and false teeth

The national passion for referendums and initiatives, grown so intense over the past decade, remains as ardent as ever. Voters in 43 states this year cast ballots on more than 200 statewide measures involving subjects that ranged from tax cuts to guidelines for vendors of false teeth. California fielded the most, with 17, followed by Arizona, 15. Originally pioneered by progressives early in the century, the proposals this year were often employed by conservatives seeking to ban state funding of abortions or permit prayer in public schools. Said Sue Thomas, executive director of the Denver-based National Center for Initiative Review: "The ballot measures represent the hope of people that they can solve their problems more quickly."

Californians in 1978 passed Proposition 13, which slashed property taxes by 51%, and cries of "tax revolt" were soon heard across the U.S. But this year voters were not in the mood for new tax-cut initiatives. In Michigan, they soundly defeated Proposal C, which was designed to roll back state and local property taxes to 1981 levels and force the state legislature to muster a four-fifths majority for income tax increases. It would also have required voter approval for all new levies. Opposing the proposition was an unusual coalition of critics, including Democratic Governor James Blanchard, the state's leading corporations (General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler), the AFL-CIO, educators and former G.O.P. Governors Wilham Milliken and George Romney. They helped persuade voters that the measure would have drastically shrunk state services, especially education.

In California, Howard Jarvis, father of the 1978 tax rebellion, failed to rally voters behind Proposition 36, an initiative to plug the loopholes local governments have used to produce revenues since Proposition 13. The Jarvis plan would have barred cities and counties from raising fees for services, such as garbage collection or street maintenance, without the approval of two-thirds of the local voters. It also provided for a property tax rebate (average amount: $300) for 40% of the state's households. The proposal attracted a diverse chorus of critics, including Republican Governor George Deukmejian and the AFL-CIO, who warned voters that Proposition 36 would batter local governments and damage the state's credit rating.

Nevada voters turned down Question 12, which would have required a two-thirds vote of the state legislature plus a majority vote of the electorate before any tax or fee, even on dog licenses, could be levied or raised. It would have put a 5% cap on property tax increases. Democratic Governor Richard Bryan and Republican Lieutenant Governor Bob Cashell were strong opponents, as were members of the state's influential gaming industry, who feared Question 12 would result in higher gambling taxes.

In Oregon, voters appeared to have rejected a proposal to limit property tax rates to 1.5% of the assessed valuation and to roll back assessments to their 1981 levels. A new wrinkle, borrowed from Jarvis' Proposition 36, would have limited the ability of officials to impose fees on various municipal services to make up for the forgone tax money.

The spiraling cost of health care emerged as a major issue in Arizona, where voters faced a confusing set of five questions. Democratic Governor Bruce Babbitt and three of the state's largest employers strongly backed two cost-containment proposals. One would have imposed a stringent pricing system on the state's $1.5 billion hospital industry, while the other would have created a three-member board empowered to veto hospital building projects. Republican legislators formed a coalition with hospitals and doctors and tried to blunt the measures by proposing three of their own ballot items that stressed competition over regulations. The two groups spent more than $3 million on publicity campaigns urging citizens to veto the other side's plans. Voters, perhaps confused by all the claims and charges, ended up rejecting all five proposals.

Initiatives on gambling were popular this year. Voters in California, Oregon, Missouri and West Virginia approved state lotteries. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia already have lotteries. Missourians, apparently in a wagering mood, also gave the nod to legal betting on horse racing. Arkansas voters, though, nixed an initiative to allow casinos in Garland County, home of the Hot Springs resort. Democratic Governor Bill Clinton, who grew up in Hot Springs at a time when illegal casinos flourished there, came out squarely against the measure. In Colorado, Democratic Governor Richard Lamm helped defeat a proposal that would have allowed the construction of casinos near the depressed steel town of Pueblo.

The nuclear freeze, which called for both the Soviet Union and the U.S. to halt the production, testing and deployment of nuclear weapons, appeared on nine state ballots in 1982. This year it was at issue only in South Dakota, where the resolution was not adopted. Voters in Ann Arbor, Mich., and Santa Monica, Calif., the home of the Rand Corp., voted not to make their communities "nuclear-free zones." But several counties in Washington and Oregon and Napa, Calif., passed such measures.

Some of the most controversial national issues were on state ballots. West Virginia easily approved a state constitutional amendment authorizing "voluntary contemplation, meditation or prayer in school classrooms." Washington voters defeated a proposal that would have forbidden state funding for abortions, but the electorate in Colorado passed a similar initiative. Maine turned down a state equal rights amendment by a large majority. Voters approved the death penalty in Oregon, making it the country's 39th to place the punishment on its books. The measure, which was supported by Republican Governor Victor Atiyeh, began as the personal crusade of a suburban housewife whose neighbor had been murdered.

A slightly less weighty issue faced voters in Montana. The Freedom of Choice in Denture Services Act proposed permitting trained professional denturists, as well as dentists, to fit and sell false teeth. Proponents argued that the proposition would save denture wearers as much as 50%, while dentists warned about health hazards. Montana voters sided with the denturists. --By Susan Tifft. Reported by Richard Woodbury/Los Angeles, with other bureaus

With reporting by Richard Woodbury