This article by Elon Glucklich appeared in The Register-Guard, March 9th, 2108.

A proposed ballot measure to ban the aerial spraying of herbicides across Lane County can’t proceed to a vote because it is too broadly written, a Lane County Circuit Court judge has ruled.

The ruling by Judge Karsten Rasmussen on Wednesday said the ban ­proposed by local activists for the May ballot violates what’s known in Oregon law as the “separate vote requirement.”

The groups pushing for the ban, including Community Rights Lane County and the Lane County Freedom From ­Aerial Herbicides Alliance, plan to ­appeal Rasmussen’s ruling to the Oregon Court of Appeals.

“The chief petitioners will appeal the decision they see as an illogical, possibly unconstitutional decision that stands out as yet another hurdle to the people’s initiative power to protect themselves from corporate harm,” ­attorney Ann Kneeland said. MORE…