Taxes No, False Teeth Yes

Voters were making laws last week as well as choosing lawmakers. On the ballots of 38 states were hundreds of referendums, giving voters an opportunity to speak out on a variety of issues.

Tax and government-spending questions dominated the plebiscites. Almost everywhere, the antitax forces won. Idaho and Nevada placed constitutional ceilings on property taxes, and Arizona limited state spending to 7% of its residents' total personal income. Texans not only cut property taxes by about $500 million, but also barred their legislators from increasing outlays faster than the state's economic growth. Massachusetts overwhelmingly approved a complex measure designed to prevent sharp boosts in residential property taxes. Declared Arizona State Senator Ray Rottas, the G.O.P. sponsor of his state's winning proposal: "The message is simple. Taxpayers want rampant spending brought under control."

Indeed, the antitax spirit often seemed strong even where measures were technically defeated. Michigan voters refused to okay a 50% rollback in property levies, but approved a modest limit on state spending. Tax relief failed in Oregon, but only because voters split their support almost equally between two anti-tax amendments; as a result, neither polled the simple majority required for passage. Only in Nebraska, Colorado and Maryland were antitax and spending proposals clearly rejected.

Homosexuals won key ballot victories in two Western states. Californians followed the advice of civil liberties groups and conservatives and rejected Proposition 6, which would have enabled local school boards to fire teachers who are gay or who advocate homosexuality. Said Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley: "It was a measure against not just the rights of gay teachers but the civil rights of us all." In Seattle, voters retained a law that bars landlords and employers from discriminating against homosexuals. But in Florida, Miami-area voters refused to endorse a gay rights bill.

Voters generally were in no mood to bet on gambling. New Jersey refused to permit wagering on jai alai. Virginia nixed parimutuel betting on horse races, and Florida balked at allowing casinos along Miami Beach. More permissive was California's attitude toward smoking. Partly swayed by a campaign of $5.3 million by tobacco companies. Californians solidly rejected Proposition 5, which would have banned smoking in most public places. In Montana the drinking age was raised from 18 to 19, and in Michigan it jumped from 18 to 21.

Law-and-order won on a number of ballots. California, for instance, made more types of murder punishable by death, and Oregon reinstated capital punishment for premeditated murder. But perhaps the referendum with the most bite was in Oregon. There voters approved an attempt to cut dental bills by allowing the state to license anyone with six months' training to fit and sell false teeth.

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