Voters approved state and local ballot initiatives in this year’s election that will direct billions of dollars to some projects, but some they rejected could cause hurdles for owners of other planned projects.
The biggest spending measures up for the vote were California’s Proposition 2 and Proposition 4. Proposition 2 authorizes $10 billion in bonds for the construction and modernization of public education facilities. With 53% of the votes counted, the measure advanced with 57% of the vote. Most of the money, $8.5 billion, would be used for public schools, career technical education programs and charter schools to finance renovations and new construction. The other $1.5 billion would go toward community college facilities.
Proposition 4, which wanted to pass with 58 percent of the votes counted so far in support, would authorize another $10 billion in bonds. The largest piece, $3.8 billion, would go to water supply and flood protection projects. Another $1.5 billion would go toward forest health and wildfire prevention, and $1.2 billion would go toward habitat protection projects and coastal restoration work.
“Both bond measures will provide the necessary funding for capital construction,” says Chris O’Connor, vice president of engagement and legislative affairs for the Associated General Contractors of California.
However, Proposition 5, which would have reduced the approval requirement for local infrastructure bonds from two-thirds to 55%, appeared unlikely to pass by ENR’s press time. He had 56% of the votes counted so far against him.
“For the construction industry, Proposition 5 would have been a long-term victory by making it less difficult to raise funds for local projects, but it seems clear that voters were in no mood to reduce the current requirements of two thirds,” O’ Connor says.
Rhode Island Advance Projects
Rhode Island voters approved three ballot questions allocating money to different projects. Question 2, which passed with 60 percent of the vote, authorizes $160.5 million in bonds to improve higher education facilities. The University of Rhode Island plans to build a biomedical sciences building with up to $87.5 million in bonds, and Rhode Island College will renovate its Institute for Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies with up to $73 million in bonds University representatives did not immediately have a timeline available for its project, but the university said in a statement that it expects to begin construction in mid-2026 and complete the project in 2028.
Question 3 authorizes $120 million in bonds to increase housing availability. He got 66% of the votes. Most of the funds are intended for the promotion of low and moderate income housing. The victory “clearly demonstrates that housing is a top priority for voters,” said Melina Lodge, executive director of the Rhode Island Housing Network and Homes RI.
“These resources are crucial to building and preserving the affordable homes that every Rhode Island community urgently needs.”
Question 4, which passed with 67 percent of the vote, authorizes $53 million in bonds for environmental infrastructure, recreation and preservation projects.
Public infrastructure pipelines and districts
South Dakota voters shot down Measure 21 with 60% voting against it. The rejection repeals state Senate Bill 201, which provides requirements to regulate carbon dioxide pipes and would have allowed counties to enact a surcharge of $1 per linear foot. Opponents of the measure say it would have shifted local regulatory control to the state Public Utilities Commission and failed to address eminent domain, a key concern.
Despite the measure’s failure, Summit Carbon Solutions is moving forward with its proposal for a carbon dioxide pipeline to five states, including South Dakota, the company told ENR. Preliminary plans show the pipeline would connect to seven ethanol plants in South Dakota, and about 459 miles of the planned 2,000-mile route would cross the state.
Summit plans to apply for a permit in South Dakota on Nov. 19, a company representative says.
“Projects like ours have successfully navigated South Dakota’s existing regulatory landscape in the past,” the company said in a statement. “We will continue to operate within the current framework, knowing that the future of ethanol and agriculture is vital to our shared success.”
Voters also rejected Oklahoma Question 833, which would have allowed municipalities to create public infrastructure districts to issue bonds to pay for public improvements. While proponents said the initiative would have helped build public housing, opponents, who got 62 percent of voters to agree, said it would allow developers to pass taxes on to future homeowners.
Washington State Pushes Gas Bans
With only 62% of the vote counted, Washington State’s Initiative 2066 was narrowly leaning toward passage, with 51% support.
If passed, the initiative requires utilities and municipalities to provide natural gas and prevents the state from discouraging or discouraging the use of natural gas, despite a building code update implemented earlier this year that aims to limit gas use in most new. or renovated buildings.
The initiative was supported by construction industry groups including Associated General Contractors of Washington, Associated Builders and Contractors Inland Pacific and Washington Aggregates & Concrete Association, as well as other business groups, which have said it would increase costs to to developers and owners.
Minimum wage and sick time
Voters in three states approved ballot measures to increase wages or other benefits for workers. Alaska’s Ballot Measure 1, which had 57 percent of the vote with 76 percent of the votes counted, raises the state minimum wage to $15 in 2027 and makes it reflect inflation after that. It also requires sick leave for many employees, if the employer is large enough.
Missouri’s Proposition A, which passed with the support of 58 percent of voters, raises the state’s minimum wage to $15 by 2026 and requires employers to provide one hour of paid leave for every 30 hours worked, except for certain government and education employers.
Nebraska’s paid sick leave initiative passed with 74% of voters. It requires employers to offer seven days of paid sick leave, or five days if they have fewer than 20 employees.
