Oregon's fall ballot crowded with new measures
10:26 AM PDT on Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Measures that will appear on Oregon's Nov. 4 general election ballot. The first eight are citizen initiatives, and the remaining four were referred to the ballot by the Legislature.
-- Reduce state tax burden by making federal taxes fully deductible on state income-tax returns.
-- Encourage immigrants to learn English by requiring that students be taught in a language other than English for no more than two years.
-- Remove requirement for building permit for minor improvements to property, up to $35,000.
-- Prohibit public resources from being used to collect union dues or other funds for political purposes.
-- Impose minimum prison sentences for offenders convicted of some property and drug crimes.
-- Tie teachers' pay and job security rights to "classroom performance."
More: More on teacher pay initiative
-- Dedicate 15 percent of lottery profits for crime prevention, investigations and prosecutions.
-- Replace partisan primary elections with a single primary open to all candidates and all voters, regardless of party.
-- Give 18-year-olds the right to vote in school board elections. They already qualify to vote in state and federal elections.
-- Allow legislators to complete elected terms if they find themselves in new districts as a result of redrawn boundaries after a census.
-- Exempt May and November property tax elections from 50 percent voter turnout requirement.
-- Impose mandatory minimum sentences for certain repeat drug offenders and property crimes, and include drug treatment for offenders. Billed as a less costly alternative to the initiative measure dealing with same subject.
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