California's governor wants limits to unfair competition laws

There are 163 measures across 34 states on issues ranging from a rise in the minimum wage to a tax on millionaires.

California leads the way with 16 topics listed on the 2004 ballot papers.

The outcome of the referendums will directly affect corporate giants such as software maker Microsoft, drug firm Pfizer, and retailer Wal-Mart.

Consumer power

One of the headline issues is set to be decided in California.

Residents will vote on proposals to amend an existing law so that only people who have suffered personal loss will be able to sue firms over unfair practices.

The state's governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, believes the current legislation makes it too easy for people to file lawsuits against companies.

Firms including Pfizer and Microsoft have helped fund TV advertisements to persuade California voters to back the changes.

However, consumer groups and trade unions say they want the law to remain unchanged.

California is also seeking authorisation for a $3bn (�1.63bn) bond issue to finance stem cell research.

If passed, the state could become the world centre in the field, with funding worth $295m a year for firms involved in stem cell research over the next decade.

Health costs

Retail giant Wal-Mart has been dragged into the vote on whether California law should require firms with more than 20 employers to provide health insurance to its staff.

Wal-Mart had been maintaining a neutral stance, but ended up donating money to an opposition campaign after supporters of the bill aired advertisements featuring the retailer.

The Employment Policies Institute (EPI), a Washington-based non-profit research organisation dedicated to studying public policy issues, believes that if the bill is passed it could cost businesses up to $12.9bn a year, and result in as many as 150,000 lost jobs in California.

"The staggering price tag to business will lead to tremendous job loss to California's least-skilled workers, while an overwhelming number of uninsured will remain without coverage," says EPI Research Director Craig Garthwaite.

A further 41 measures in 18 states concern taxes and state funding.

The only initiative in the US featuring income tax, however, is also taking place in California.

This would see a 1% tax surcharge imposed on millionaires, with the revenue earmarked for mental health services.

Tobacco and gambling

Voters in Alabama, Oklahoma, Colorado and Montana are being asked to consider whether to increase tobacco taxes, with the money in the latter two states being set aside for health services.

Gambling has changed from a moral to an economic issue John Matsusaka, IRI president

In Florida a proposal to create a minimum state wage of $6.15 a hour - a dollar higher than the federal minimum wage - is on the ballot.

And gambling remains a hot topic in six US states, with 13 proposals being considered.

These range from a vote on a state lottery in Oklahoma, to the proposed establishment of casino complexes on native American land in California, Oklahoma and Washington.

More than 50 gambling initiatives have appeared on US election ballots since 1980, and almost two-thirds of these have been passed, says the Initiative and Referendum Institute (IRI) at the University of Southern California.

"Gambling has changed from a moral to an economic issue," says IRI president John Matsusaka.