Initiative for Texas Information Bulletin # 9

The following excerpts give an overview of recent I&R activity. 
Drop us an email if you want more info on any of these.

1) Washington, DC - [A federal judge in Washington yesterday
overturned a law prohibiting D.C. residents from circulating
or voting on a ballot initiative to legalize marijuana for medical
purposes, clearing the way for the measure to be put on the
ballot, possibly as early as November.  Proponents of the
medical use of marijuana went to court in December seeking
an injunction barring enforcement of the federal law, which
effectively blocked D.C. residents from putting the issue
before voters.  The ban was enacted by Congress in 1998
after an identical legalization initiative was placed on the
ballot and set off a home rule confrontation with federal
lawmakers.... In declaring the Barr Amendment unconstitutional,
Judge Emmet Sullivan wrote, "There can be no doubt that
the Barr Amendment restricts plaintiffs' First Amendment
right to engage in political speech."  He then ordered the
D.C. government to allow MPP's ballot drive to proceed.]
The Washington Post - March 29, 2002

2) Oregon - [A federal judge Wednesday rejected an
attempt by U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft to
punish Oregon physicians who help terminally ill patients
end their lives under the state's landmark assisted suicide law.
U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones said Ashcroft exceeded
his authority under the federal Controlled Substances Act in
November when he said assisted suicide was not a
legitimate medical practice and threatened to revoke the
licenses of doctors who prescribed lethal doses of drugs
to dying patients.]  The Oregonian - April 18, 2002

3) Oklahoma - [The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled Tuesday
that a petition to make English the state's official language
unconstitutionally restricts residents of limited English
proficiency from communicating effectively with their
government.  The court said the English-only proposal,
Initiative Petition 366, is fraught with infirmities. "It would
be a disservice to the citizens of Oklahoma to submit
a petition which could not withstand a constitutional
attack to a state-wide vote," the court said in a 7-1 opinion.]
The Oklahoman - April 2, 2002

4) Massachusetts - [As Clean Elections Law advocates
scramble to sell off their foes' office furniture, the
Massachusetts Legislature is breaking new ground by
refusing to fund a voter-approved ballot initiative.]
Telegram & Gazette - April 14, 2002

5) Oregon (Part Two) - [The Oregon Supreme Court on
Thursday threw out another ballot measure approved
by voters because it contained too many unrelated
changes to the state Constitution. It was the third
measure in four years the court has struck down
for that reason.] Statesman Journal - April 12, 2002

6) Virginia - [The General Assembly shattered the state's
famously conservative traditions of government financing
today by allowing Northern Virginians to vote Nov. 5 on
whether to raise their sales taxes and generate as much
as $5 billion for regional highway and mass transit projects
over the next 20 years.] The Washington Post - April 18, 2002

7) Florida - [Procedural Delays Force Drug Treatment Initiative
to Wait for 2004. The inability of the Florida Supreme Court to
issue a timely decision has forced sponsors of a drug treatment
ballot initiative to postpone plans to place the measure on this
November's ballot.] - Press Release - Campaign for New Drug
Policies - April 17, 2002

8) Colorado - [Colorado's highest court delivered a setback
to bilingual education opponents Monday, calling their proposed
statewide initiative "misleading" and not ready to go before the
voters in November.] Rocky Mountain News - April 9, 2002

9) New Book - "Voices of Europe: Citizens, Referendums,
and European Integration" ,by Simon Hug is a landmark
study exploring the increasingly important role that referendums
play in the process of European integration.

10) California - The Planning and Conservation League, a
California environmental group, just published a guide for
local land use initiatives (in California only).  It is called,
"Local Land Use Initiatives:  A User's Guide" and can be
ordered directly from their Web site at www.pcl.org.