Ballot Titles: The Supreme Court may review a certified ballot title description in order to ensure that it complies with the guidelines of ORS 250.035, concerning definiteness and specificity.

The Attorney General certified the ballot title of Initiative 15, which proposes to phase out all related inheritance and estate taxes on intra-family transfers. Petitioners (two citizens) sought review of the ballot title by the Supreme Court, challenging the caption and the “yes” and “no” effects listed on the ballot description. On the issue of the caption, the Court held that it failed to communicate the dramatic change in policy Initiative 15 would cause and referred the caption for modification. The Court also referred the “yes” and “no” statements in the ballot description for modification due the statements lacking definiteness regarding what estates would be affected by the proposed changes. Ballot title referred to the Attorney General for modification.