Medicaid
Voters in three states – Florida, Oklahoma, Missouri – could see proposals to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act on their 2020 ballots.
In Florida, sponsors of a citizen-driven petition effort withdrew their proposal for possible placement on the 2022 ballot, but Sen. Annette Taddeo has pre-filed a bill asking legislators to put the proposed measure on the 2020 ballot.
Missouri’s prospective Medicaid expansion measure also includes a provision to require state funding of Planned Parenthood if federal funding is discontinued.
Washington voters may see a measure that creates the Whole Washington Health Trust, which would ensure all state residents can enroll in nonprofit health insurance coverage “providing an essential set of health benefits" funded through premiums, and taxes on employers, wages, and capital gains.
Firearms
At least nine prospective firearms-related measures could make the 2020 ballot in six states, including proposed “assault weapon” bans in Florida and Oregon, and a universal background check constitutional amendment in Ohio.
Voters in Massachusetts and Oregon could be asked to approve measures imposing secure storage standards on gun-owners.
As opposed to gun control measures, proponents are seeking to get measures that expand or confirm gun rights in three states.
Permit-less open-carry proposals could be presented to voters in Oklahoma and Washington, while in Oregon, a measure to affirm the constitutional right to own a semiautomatic firearm is seeking space on the 2020 ballot, perhaps alongside the prospective “assault weapons” ban.
Minimum Wage
Voters in two states could see proposed constitutional amendments seeking to raise their state’s minimum wage on the 2020 ballot – to $15 an hour in Florida by 2024, and to $12 an hour in Idaho by 2024.
In Arizona, a prospective ballot measure would enact a minimum wage standard for hospital workers, while in Missouri voters could see a proposal to prohibit state preemption of local minimum wage ordinances.
Environment
At least 10 possible ballot measures addressing environmental issues could be presented to voters in six states in 2020, including “carbon tax initiatives” in Oregon and Utah.
The prospective measure in Oregon would direct the Legislature to create a carbon tax on large businesses while decreasing the state gas tax from 34 cents per gallon to 18 cents per gallon.
Arizona voters could see measures that would impose restrictions of agricultural chemicals and a ban on fracking.
Possible California ballot measures would create bonds for “Climate Resiliency Projects” and include hydroelectric energy generation with the state’s Renewable and Zero-Carbon Resource initiative.
In Ohio, a prospective ballot measure would ask voters to overturn House Bill 6 and restore surcharges for nuclear and coal-generated energy and subsidies for solar energy.
Missouri voters, meanwhile, could be asked to approve a capital gains tax for solar and wind energy projects.
Oregon voters may also see a ‘Forest Waters Initiative,’ which would prohibit clearcut logging and limit aerial spraying of pesticides on forestland managed by the state.
Slavery Bans
Apparently, slavery is not officially banned in all state statutes.
And so, Nebraska and Utah voters will be asked to clean obsolete language from state statutes, specifically to remove slavery as a punishment for specific crimes.