June Hot Sheet: Education & Anti-Hunger Advocates Fight to Fill Federal Funding Gaps

06/26/2025

Welcome back to The Hot Sheet!

Here, we give you a quick rundown of what you need to know about the 2025 ballot measure landscape — the trends, analysis, highlights of what’s on the ballot, and why it all matters. 

For more in-depth analysis, our latest voter attitudes research, and information on the measures we’re tracking, head to our Ballot Measure Hub.

2025 Ballot Measure Landscape

As of June 16, there are 22 measures confirmed for the November 4 ballot in Colorado, Maine, New York, Texas, and Washington. BISC is currently tracking 20 other measures that continue to vie for the 2025 ballot and one that has been certified to the Maine legislature. 

Six measures have already appeared on statewide ballots this spring in Louisiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin. 

As of June 20, BISC is still monitoring 32 active bills across nine states and Washington D.C. related to direct democracy — at least 15 of which seek to limit the People’s Tool. 51 bills have already passed in state houses and three others have been vetoed by governors.

The Toplines

• A pair of legislatively-referred ballot measures in Colorado will ask voters to increase funding for a statewide program that provides free school meals to all students who need them.
• With the July 1 effective date for Alaska’s voter-approved minimum wage increase and paid sick leave requirement only days away, an administrative order from the governor means businesses will be implementing the benefits without official guidance.
• On order from the Missouri Supreme Court, a district court judge has effectively reinstated T.R.A.P. laws that prevent abortion clinics from providing care despite voter approval of a 2024 reproductive rights amendment.
• Proponents of a successful Montana reproductive rights initiative are back in court after an anti-abortion organization filed a lawsuit asking the state supreme court to void the voter-approved amendment.
• From pothole repairs to renter protections, communities across the country are turning to ballot initiatives to meet critical infrastructure needs that have been left unfulfilled due to political gridlock and slashed budgets.

Emerging Trend

When Federal and Local Governments Fail to Invest in Infrastructure, Citizen Initiatives Are Used to Fill The Gap: The use of citizen-led initiatives to fund public works projects and affordable housing has emerged as a grassroots response to the chronic underfunding of infrastructure at state and federal levels. As government budgets tighten and political gridlock stalls large-scale investment, communities are increasingly taking matters into their own hands through ballot initiatives, local bond measures, and participatory budgeting. These citizen-driven efforts not only secure critical funding for essential infrastructure — such as transportation upgrades, water systems, and broadband internet — but also empower residents to shape development priorities that reflect local needs related to renter protections, public works projects, and recycling, to name a few.

As infrastructure demands grow, citizen initiatives represent a vital, decentralized strategy to meet unmet needs while reinforcing local democratic participation.

Ballot Measures to Watch

Issue: Fiscal Policy

Colorado: Allow State to Retain Revenue From Proposition FF (LR) and Tax Deductions and Revenue for School Meals (LR) 

What They Do: The two measures, both referred to the November ballot by the Colorado General Assembly, would support the Healthy School Meals for All Program that was originally established by the voter-approved Proposition FF in 2022. The first is a retention measure that would allow the State to keep the excess tax revenue it collected beyond the original voter-approved estimates in order to invest that money in the program. The second is an expansion measure aiming to increase revenue for the program by reducing tax deductions for those who earn more than $300,000/year. Both measures require voter approval under Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR).

Why It Matters: Hunger Free Colorado estimates that the program saves a family as much as $1,250 per child every year. Due to its popularity, it has outpaced the initial cost estimates included in Proposition FF and with students’ reliance on it reportedly growing more than 30% over the previous year, the program now needs additional revenue in order to continue to serve schools statewide. Additionally, if at least one of the legislatively-referred proposals passes, then a program that helps schools purchase food from local farmers will be extended beyond its current 2026 sunset.

BISC Analysis: State Lawmakers & Local Advocates Fight to Fill Gaps in Federal Funding: Anti-hunger advocates have in recent months sounded the alarm about federal cuts to critical programs like the Emergency Food Assistance Program, SNAP benefits, and more. Simultaneously, public education advocates have been fighting back against proposed cuts to public education funding. Amid both fights, state legislatures and local school boards alike are pushing for ballot measures that would preserve or expand much-needed funding for these vital community services. 

The efforts mirror an emerging trend wherein citizens are taking matters into their own hands, leading ballot initiatives that ensure their communities have the services they need when governments fail to invest in them.

Updates to 2024 Ballot Measures

Issue: Economic Justice

• • Alaska Ballot Measure No. 1: Minimum Wage Increase and Paid Sick Leave  
    • Executive Threat: With the July 1 deadline for a minimum wage increase and paid sick leave requirement only days away, Alaska business owners are still awaiting clear guidance from the state’s Department of Labor. The department was expected to issue regulations for Measure 1 over the past several months but failed to do so. With his May 9 administrative order, Alaska Governor Dunleavy is using the impact of low revenue from oil production as a cover to freeze new regulation packages that don’t already have a public notice attached to them. He argues that the freeze is necessary so that agencies can focus on the state’s “core mission” of providing essential services and to “maximize operational efficiency”.

Issue: Reproductive Freedom

• • Missouri Amendment 3: Right to Reproductive Freedom 
    • Legal Block: On orders from the Missouri Supreme Court, a district court judge has officially vacated the temporary injunctions that had allowed abortion clinics to resume providing care in the state. The targeted regulations of abortion providers, or TRAP laws, are once again enforceable while reproductive rights advocates and anti-abortion activists wait to learn if there will be a new hearing on the or a new judgment on the case previously filed by Planned Parenthood Great Plains and Planned Parenthood Great Rivers.
  • Montana CI-128: Right to Abortion
    • Legal Challenge:Conservative anti-abortion group The Montana Family Foundation has filed a lawsuit seeking to void CI-128. The filing claims that because a summary of the measure was printed on the ballot rather than the entire initiative, voters who registered on Election Day weren’t able to fully evaluate the reproductive rights amendment. On those grounds, the organization is asking the Montana Supreme Court to agree that submission of CI-128 to voters was “constitutionally deficient” and “procedurally unsound.”

In Case You Missed It

BISC’s Resource Library: Our Partner Portal Resource Library houses ballot measure information ranging from campaign tools, templates, and past campaign materials (Values, MOUS, RFPs, etc.) —  to campaign debriefs and memos highlighting best practices. This library is a unique resource that can help campaigns and organizations build strategies and operationalize racial equity. To request access to the library, please email [email protected]