USA - Residents to vote on fluoridation issue

Residents to vote on fluoridation issue
By JOHN LINDENBERGER
Published: Saturday, June 7, 2008 4:30 AM CDT
The North Platte Telegraph
North Platte residents will be given a chance to vote on whether to opt out of a state mandate to fluoridate the city's water supply.
Earlier this year, state lawmakers adopted a bill (LB 245) that requires any city in Nebraska with a population of 1,000 or more to fluoridate their water supply by June 1, 2010.
Any city that does not currently fluoridate its water is given the chance to opt out of this mandate through a ballot initiative that can be initiated either by the voters or by the city's governing body.
The bill was passed by the legislature on a 34-8 vote and was subsequently vetoed by Gov. Dave Heineman who indicated the bill amounted to an unfunded mandate. Lawmakers then voted 31-4 to override the governor's veto.
According to City Administrator Jim Hawks, adding fluoride to the water has been voted on twice before by local residents. In both cases, residents defeated the issue and decided to keep their water fluoride-free.
"The difference is when it was on the ballot before, it was a question of whether to or whether not to," Hawks said. "This time, the way the legislature set up the bill is you have to opt out of it."