Pima County voters will see 20 ballot propositions on their Nov. 7 ballots. Here are our recommendations on 11 measures that would directly impact business in Southern Arizona:

101 n Rebase government tax limits n Yes

Just because Arizona has enjoyed a boom in real estate values in recent years shouldn’t mean government is automatically entitled to a windfall. Vote Yes.

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104 n Municipal debt n Yes

As long as voters agree, governments should be allowed to borrow money for public safety, roads and parks. Vote Yes.

105 & 106 n State trust lands n No and No

The purpose for state trust land is to manage it for its “highest and best use” with the proceeds going to finance education. In a state that so poorly finances education, why would we erode that? Vote No on 105 and No on 106.

107 n Protect Marriage Arizona n No

University of Arizona President Robert Shelton and his predecessor Peter Likins both say provisions in this measure would hurt the university’s recruitment efforts. The UA is a huge economic driver for Tucson and what’s bad for the UA is bad for Tucson. Vote No.

201 & 206 n Anti-smoking laws n Yes and Yes

With all of the evidence of the harm caused by second-hand smoke and the health costs associated with treating those who do smoke, this goes beyond smokers’ personal freedoms. Prop. 206 would allow a bar owner to permit smoking. Vote Yes on 201 and Yes on 206. If they both pass, whichever gets more votes wins.

202 n Minimum Wage n No

In a free-market economy, a minimum wage is an artificial invention. There is no evidence to show a minimum does anything good or bad. So why have one? Particularly one that bumps up each year based on inflation. This would only offer false hopes to low wage earners who would continue to struggle near the poverty level. Vote No.

203 n First Things First

for Arizona’s Children n No

Try to follow this logic: Raise the tax on cigarettes to fund more early childhood education programs. Sure, smokers are an easy target, but what’s the correlation? A cigarette tax is a declining revenue stream that won’t adequately fund these programs in the future as smokers quit or die. It’s screwy logic. Vote No.

207 n Private Property Rights n Yes

Last year the U.S. Supreme Court expanded big government’s free-wheeling ability to be a bully by taking privately owned land for whatever whim might strike a bureaucrat or politician, including things that are not strictly of public value. This would put the brakes on that kind of thinking. Vote Yes.

400 n Joint Technological

Education District n Yes

Eleven school districts in Pima County want to pool resources to provide state-of-the-art career and technological courses for high school students. It includes a property tax that will be $10 a year on a $200,000 home. Students who don’t go to college need to be able to meet new technological challenges. Vote Yes.

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