Proposal 6, otherwise known as the Stop Over Spending proposal, failed to qualify for the November 7 statewide ballot because supporters submitted massive numbers of illegal and fraudulent signatures, the Board of State Canvassers determined last week.
The proposal would have been a significant blow to the state’s infrastructure and transportation industries. If enacted, the law would have required a statewide vote of any gas tax increase and require municipal-wide votes for even small neighborhood special assessments for drains, sewers, roads and others.
This summer MITA joined a coalition of more than 100 Michigan-based business, labor, public safety, health care, education and human service organizations to fight the measure. MITA helped fund the legal challenge to the petition signatures—money that proved to be a wise investment. Although the matter is likely to be entangled in the courts for some time, it appears that opponents of the measure have avoided a multi-million dollar media campaign in the fall.
The Board of Canvasser’s review of the ballot petitions found that one in every six signatures on the petitions was a duplicate. Witnesses also cited one instance where the same person signed Proposal 6 petitions 19 times. The four-member Board of State Canvassers voted unanimously not to certify the proposed amendment, versions of which are being circulated in many states.
Even if the measure does not make it on the 2006 election ballot, opponents of the measure expect to see it surface again in the future. If you have any questions please contact Mike Nystrom, Vice President of Government and Public Relations at mikenystrom@mi-ita.com; or Keith Ledbetter, Director of Legislative Affairs at keithledbetter@mi-ita.com; or by calling the MITA office at (517) 347-8336.
