VOTERS IN 19 STATES FACE 53 INITIATIVES

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Voters in 19 different states will decide on a total of
53 citizen-inspired initiatives and referendums Tuesday, including whether
to make extreme animal cruelty a felony or give as much as $10,000 in
incentives to college graduates for staying in North Dakota.

Many of the initiatives address national issues, such as education policy
and animal rights, and have attracted big out-of-state donors and sponsors.
The measures will be on ballots in states where citizens collected a
certain number of signatures and submitted petitions.

North Dakota, consistently one of the slowest-growing states in the
country, has been experiencing an extensive brain drain. Proponents of the
measure say that each year the state loses more than 4,000 people with
college degrees.

To shore up the dam, the "Youth Investment Initiative" would allow
residents younger than 30 an income tax credit and forgive portions of
their student loans if they stay in the state.

Roger Johnson, the state's agricultural commissioner and one of the
principal sponsors of the proposal, said North Dakota ranks first in the
nation in both high school graduation rates and the number of those
graduates who advance to college. But, he said, despite that and the
thousands of dollars North Dakotans invest in their students, the state
ranks 34th in the number of residents with college degrees.

"Doesn't it make sense to invest a little bit as an incentive to say to
them, consider building your future here?" he said.

The plan would cost about $20 million each year, he said, but over time if
people remained in the state and pumped money into the economy, the measure
would pay for itself.

A chief opponent of the initiative, former Gov. Ed Schafer, said the plan
has good intentions but would cost too much and wouldn't create any jobs.

Anti-smoking measures are proposed in several states. Voters in Missouri
and Arizona will decide whether to raise cigarette taxes by 55 and 60
cents, respectively, with additional revenue earmarked for tobacco research
and prevention programs. In Michigan and Montana, ballot initiatives call
for the redirection of national tobacco settlement funds to health
care-related activities.

In Florida, restaurant patrons might no longer face the standard "smoking
or non-smoking" question. Hundreds of local, state and national
anti-smoking groups are sponsoring a constitutional amendment on the
state's ballot that would ban smoking in "enclosed indoor workplaces."

Smoking in restaurants

The initiative primarily targets restaurants, said April Herrle, a
spokeswoman for Smoke-Free for Health, a group created to push for the
proposal. She said restaurants make up the largest number of workplaces
where people are exposed to second-hand smoke.

"Other people's decision to smoke should not be allowed to harm our own
health," she said.

But initiative opponents, including the Florida Restaurant Association, say
the measure would rob business owners of the freedom to run their
restaurants as they see fit.

"Basically you're telling them who they can and who they cannot serve,"
said association spokeswoman Lea Crusberg. "Who knows what's next? There
could be another ballot initiative several years from now that bans a
certain food item. It concerns us."

An anti-tax initiative on the ballot in Washington would limit license tab
fees to $30 and would bar local governments from approving any increases.
The state recently adopted a law setting the fee at $30, but several
metropolitan counties collect additional tab charges that finance local
road projects and construction of a light-rail system.

Initiative supporters contend the measure would help diminish an already
hefty tax burden on all Washingtonians. But detractors say the initiative
would cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars in road and transit funds.

Laura McClintock, an organizer with the "No on I-776" opposition group,
said voters in the counties that charge additional tab fees chose to tax
themselves at higher rates to reduce local traffic congestion. She said the
initiative would strip those voters of that right.

"That's the price you pay to keep buses on the street, the roads fixed and
the potholes filled," she said.

Particularly ambitious and radical initiatives are on the ballot in Oregon,
a state with a history of approving controversial measures, such as the
nation's only law allowing physician-assisted suicide.

One measure would raise the state's minimum wage to $6.90, which is $1.75
more than the national figure. Another would establish the country's first
universal health care plan.

Opponents of that initiative say the proposal could cost as much as $20
billion, which would exceed the state's budget and cause residents and
businesses to flee the state. Those championing the effort argue that the
elimination of premiums and deductibles would offset the prescribed
increases in payroll and income taxes.

An initiative in Colorado would limit campaign donations to state
candidates, and one in Arkansas would make extreme acts of animal cruelty
felonies.

Drug policies

But some of the most intense campaign contests involve changes in drug policy.

An Ohio measure would require treatment rather than jail time for people
convicted of drug possession. A proposal in South Dakota would allow
criminal defendants to argue the merits and validity of laws of which they
are accused, an idea backed by drug decriminalization advocates.

Perhaps the biggest battleground will be in Nevada. Voters there will
decide whether to make it legal for adults to use and possess as much as 3
ounces of marijuana and require the state to create "pot marts," or
regulated markets where people could buy the drug. The measure, if
approved, would have to be on the ballot and be adopted again in 2004
before taking effect.

Sandy Heverly, a spokeswoman for a Nevada opposition group, blasted the
proposal, saying it could increase the number of traffic crashes and could
make the state the "Amsterdam of the United States," particularly for
youngsters.

"Anybody with an ounce, or three ounces, of common sense would certainly
realize that [kids are] not going to have a problem getting hold of
marijuana," Heverly said. "Our position isn't just 'no,' it's 'hell no.' "

But Bruce Mirken, with the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project
that is a principal sponsor of the initiative, said research has not shown
any link between relaxed penalties and increased drug use. He said several
countries -- such as Canada and Great Britain -- are considering or have
already scaled back their drug laws, choosing to focus on "behavior that
causes problems or harm."

"The U.S. is several steps behind the rest of the world," Mirken said.
"Eventually the stupidity of our current policies cannot stand."