Title:
A.J.R. 5 passes Senate Nevada initiative system still at risk
Message:
Assembly Joint Resolution 5—which would severely restrict the initiative process—passed the Senate today by a 21- 0 vote. A.J.R. 5 now goes to a conference committee, which will reconcile the version of A.J.R. 5 that passed the Senate with the version that passed the Assembly.
Time is getting short to stop A.J.R. 5, but it is not too late. Please contact your legislators and let them know that you oppose A.J.R. 5's attempt to limit citizen initiatives.
At this point, the members of the conference committee who will deal with A.J.R. 5 are unknown. Rest assured, however, that MPP will get you this information—including ways to contact the members—as soon as it is public, so that you can continue to support the initiative process in Nevada.
Specifically, A.J.R. 5 would require a petitioner attempting to get an initiative on the ballot to collect the signatures of 10% of the voters in the last general election in each of Nevada's three congressional districts. Adopting this requirement would greatly undermine a system that has served Nevada well for 100 years. Because Nevada's 2nd Congressional District covers roughly 90% of the state, gathering signatures in this vast and sparsely populated area would greatly drive up the cost of getting an initiative on the ballot. Help stop this attempt to make the difficult nearly impossible.
Nevada already has one of the most difficult initiative processes in the nation. Passage of A.J.R. 5 would effectively remove citizens from the citizen initiative process, and leave initiatives in the hands of only the wealthiest interest groups.
Keep Nevada's government a government of the people. Join the hundreds of Nevadans who have raised their voices to defend the initiative process. Remember, without a functioning initiative process, there would not be an initiative to tax and regulate marijuana on the ballot in 2006. This is your voice; fight for it.
Thank you for supporting the Marijuana Policy Project. Please pass this message along to friends and family in Nevada so that their voices can be heard as well.
