Colorado voters on Tuesday approved a ballot measure to make free lunches available to all public school students. But voters in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, rejected a proposed ban on new slaughterhouses, and California voted down a proposed tax on the ultra-wealthy to pay for electric vehicle programs and wildfire prevention.
Colorado’s new law will raise $100 million a year for free school lunches by increasing state taxable income on residents who make at least $300,000 a year, about 3 to 4 percent of the population. It will also boost the pay of cafeteria workers and provide grants for schools to buy foods grown, raised, or processed in Colorado, helping local farmers.
“This is a big win in the fight to end hunger in Colorado,” tweeted the nonprofit Hunger Free Colorado on Wednesday. “Thank you to everyone who voted yes & helped on the campaign.”
In South Dakota, Citizens for a Sustainable Sioux Falls gathered the signatures needed to put the anti-slaughterhouse initiative on the ballot after Wholestone Farms proposed building a 170-acre pork processing plant in the city. The pro-ban group cited concerns about wastewater discharge into the Big Sioux River as well as increased odors and traffic congestion. Gov. Kristy Noem said the ban would have sent a message that South Dakota was anti-business.
Meanwhile, in California, the rideshare company Lyft bankrolled the effort behind the failed referendum called Proposition 30 that would have paid for electric vehicle programs and wildfire prevention, according to the Los Angeles Times. Under California law, rideshare companies must transition to using electric vehicles almost exclusively by 2030. Lyft could have used the revenue from Proposition 30 to fund its transition. Gov. Gavin Newsom called Lyft’s backing of Proposition 30 “one company’s cynical scheme to grab a huge taxpayer-funded subsidy.”