Portland City Club to Discuss November Ballot Initiatives Wednesday

PHOTO: Morehouse graduates celebrate. One initiative looks at a way to pay for higher education that will leave students with less debt.

Portland City Club will make recommendations on Oregon's November ballot initiatives Wednesday. Everyone is invited to attend Ballotpalooza and hear reports on the proposed measures, but only city club members will vote. Ballotpalooza will be held from 5:30-9pm Wednesday, August 20, at the Village Ballroom, The Oregon Public House, 700 NE Dekum St.,

Committees of volunteers have spent months studying the impact of nine proposed initiatives and produced reports on each of them. Not all made the ballot this year, but may return. Listed below are the measures and the proposals that didn't get enough signatures to make the ballot, with each committee's recomendations.

From the press release

The Proposed Initiatives:

Ballot Measure 86: Higher Education Bonds

Committee Majority says: Bonds are a politically viable way to generate desperately needed higher education funding.

Committee Minority says: The proposal is an inappropriate use of general obligation bonds.

Click here to read the press release, executive summary and full report.

Ballot Measure 88: Driver Cards

Committee says: Oregon driving privileges should be based on the ability to drive safely, know the rules of the road and obtain auto insurance, not on immigration status.

Click here to read the press release, executive summary and full report.

Ballot Measure 89: Equal Rights Amendment

Committee Majority says: This measure is purely symbolic and would not increase protections already afforded to Oregonians.

Committee Minority says: The amendment is a safeguard against future legal interpretations.

Click here to read the press release, executive summary and full report.

Ballot Measure 91: Marijuana Legalization

Committee Majority says: The measure provides a workable system for licensing, taxing and regulating recreational marijuana.

Committee Minjority says: The issue is better handled at the federal level and there are regulatory shortcomings in the proposal.

Click here to read the press release, executive summary and full report.

Ballot Measure 92: GMO Labeling

Committee says: Labeling "genetically engineered" food would empower consumers to make informed decisions about the food they buy.

Click here to read the press release, executive summary and full report.