Energy and environment
3 tracked measures relating to energy and environment, in 3 states.
Topic labels are applied by this site to group related measures. They are a navigation aid, not a legal classification, and they are not assigned by any state.
California
1 measure
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On the ballot
Proposition 45 would amend the California Environmental Quality Act to speed environmental review for named categories of projects, including most housing, transportation, water, health…
Colorado
1 measure
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On the ballot
This initiated constitutional amendment would create a right in the Colorado Constitution for consumers to purchase natural gas for cooking or heating in homes or businesses, and for…
Massachusetts
1 measure
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On the ballot
Question 6 would create a Nature for All Fund in the state treasury for natural resource conservation, administered by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs with a…
About energy and environment ballot measures
This tag covers measures about how a state produces and uses energy and how it manages land, water, air, and wildlife. Typical subjects include renewable or clean-energy purchase requirements for utilities, retail electricity market structure, drilling and mining setbacks and permits, water rights and allocation, conservation funding, waste and packaging rules, and emissions or pollution standards written into state law.
Two structural features recur. The first is the deadline: many energy measures set a percentage target tied to a calendar year, and the target date, not the percentage, determines how disruptive the change is. The second is the delegation — most of these questions establish a goal and hand implementation to a public utilities commission or an environmental agency, so the measure's text is short and the rules that follow are not. A question can also create a dedicated fund, which raises the separate matter of where the money comes from and whether it may be diverted later.
Worth checking in the text: whether the requirement binds investor-owned utilities only or also municipal and cooperative providers; whether there is an off-ramp — a cost cap, a waiver, or a compliance-payment alternative — and who may grant it; whether existing permits, leases, or facilities are grandfathered; and what the state's fiscal analysis says about rate and budget effects, which is quoted on each measure page where a fiscal note exists.
Wording, numbering, and certification status are set by each state and can change up to the printing of the ballot. Every summary above links to the records it was built from; where those records disagree with this page, the records govern. Confirm the final ballot text with your state or county election authority before you rely on it.