Christensen v. Gale , 917 N.W.2d 145 ( 2018 )


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    Nebraska Supreme Court A dvance Sheets
    301 Nebraska R eports
    CHRISTENSEN v. GALE
    Cite as 
    301 Neb. 19
    M ark R. Christensen and Lydia Brasch, appellants,
    v. John Gale, Secretary of State of the
    State of Nebraska, et al., appellees.
    ___ N.W.2d ___
    Filed September 12, 2018.   No. S-18-825.
    1.	 Summary Judgment: Appeal and Error. In reviewing a summary
    judgment, an appellate court views the evidence in the light most
    favorable to the party against whom the judgment was granted, giv-
    ing that party the benefit of all reasonable inferences deducible from
    the evidence.
    2.	 Statutes: Appeal and Error. Statutory interpretation presents a ques-
    tion of law, for which an appellate court has an obligation to reach
    an independent conclusion irrespective of the decision made by the
    court below.
    3.	 Judgments: Jurisdiction. A jurisdictional question that does not involve
    a factual dispute is a matter of law.
    4.	 Judges: Evidence: Appeal and Error. The exercise of judicial discre-
    tion is implicit in determining the relevance of evidence, and a trial
    court’s decision regarding relevance will not be reversed absent an abuse
    of discretion.
    5.	 Constitutional Law: Initiative and Referendum. The power of initia-
    tive in article III, § 1, of the Nebraska Constitution is “[t]he first power
    reserved by the people” under article III, § 2.
    6.	 ____: ____. The right of initiative is precious to the people and one
    which the courts are zealous to preserve to the fullest tenable measure
    of spirit as well as letter.
    7.	 Initiative and Referendum: Statutes. Statutory provisions authorizing
    initiative petitions should be construed in such a manner that the legisla-
    tive power reserved in the people is effectual and should not be circum-
    scribed by restrictive legislation or narrow and strict interpretation of the
    statutes pertaining to its exercise.
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    CHRISTENSEN v. GALE
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    301 Neb. 19
    8.	 Initiative and Referendum. The sworn statement provision of Neb.
    Rev. Stat. § 32-1405(1) (Reissue 2016) is mandatory.
    9.	 Initiative and Referendum: Statutes: Words and Phrases. “Sponsoring
    the petition” in the context of Neb. Rev. Stat. § 32-1405(1) (Reissue
    2016) means assuming responsibility for the initiative or referendum
    petition process.
    10.	 Initiative and Referendum: Words and Phrases. Defining sponsors
    as those who assume responsibility for the petition process serves the
    dual purposes of informing the public of (1) who may be held respon-
    sible for the petition, exposing themselves to potential criminal charges
    if information is falsified, and (2) who stands ready to accept responsi-
    bility to facilitate the referendum’s inclusion on the ballot and defend
    the referendum process if challenged.
    11.	 Initiative and Referendum: Statutes. The statutory scheme governing
    initiative and referendum petitions requires filings with the Secretary of
    State identifying the persons or entities taking legal responsibility for
    the petition process, while the Nebraska Political Accountability and
    Disclosure Act focuses on identifying those persons or entities finan-
    cially supporting the petition process.
    12.	 ____: ____. Limiting the category of “sponsors” for purposes of Neb.
    Rev. Stat. § 32-1405 (Reissue 2016) to those persons or entities who
    have specifically agreed to be responsible for the petition process and
    serve in the capacities the statutes require of sponsors, lends clarity and
    simplicity to the petition process, thereby facilitating and preserving
    its exercise.
    13.	 ____: ____. A non-named person or entity’s motivation to decline to
    be a named sponsor is irrelevant to the question of who must be listed
    pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 32-1405(1) (Reissue 2016).
    14.	 Constitutional Law: Initiative and Referendum: Intent. The control-
    ling consideration in determining the singleness of a proposed amend-
    ment is its singleness of purpose and the relationship of the details to the
    general subject.
    15.	 ____: ____: ____. The controlling consideration in determining the
    singleness of a subject for purposes of article III, § 2, of the Nebraska
    Constitution is its singleness of purpose and relationship of the details to
    the general subject, not the strict necessity of any given detail to carry
    out the general subject.
    16.	 Initiative and Referendum: Statutes: Intent. Whether the elements
    of complex statutory amendments can be characterized as presenting
    different policy issues, the crux of the question is the extent of the dif-
    ferences and how the elements relate to the primary purpose.
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    CHRISTENSEN v. GALE
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    17.	 Courts: Justiciable Issues. Ripeness is a justiciability doctrine that
    courts consider in determining whether they may properly decide a
    controversy.
    18.	 Courts. The fundamental principle of ripeness is that courts should
    avoid entangling themselves, through premature adjudication, in abstract
    disagreements based on contingent future events that may not occur at
    all or may not occur as anticipated.
    19.	 Initiative and Referendum: Justiciable Issues. Unlike challenges to
    the form of a ballot measure or the procedural requirements to its place-
    ment on the ballot, which are challenges to whether the measure is
    legally sufficient to be submitted to the voters, substantive challenges to
    proposed initiatives are not justiciable before the measures are adopted
    by voters.
    20.	 Judges: Evidence: Appeal and Error. The exercise of judicial discre-
    tion is implicit in determining the relevance of evidence, and a trial
    court’s decision regarding relevance will not be reversed absent an abuse
    of discretion.
    21.	 Judges: Words and Phrases. An abuse of discretion in a ruling on
    the admissibility of evidence occurs when the trial judge’s reasons
    or rulings are clearly untenable, unfairly depriving a litigant of a
    substantial right and denying just results in matters submitted for
    disposition.
    Appeal from the District Court for Lancaster County: Darla
    S. Ideus, Judge. Affirmed.
    J.L. Spray and Ryan K. McIntosh, of Mattson Ricketts Law
    Firm, for appellants.
    Douglas J. Peterson, Attorney General, and Ryan S. Post for
    appellee John Gale.
    Andre R. Barry and Shawn D. Renner, of Cline, Williams,
    Wright, Johnson & Oldfather, L.L.P., for appellees Insure the
    Good Life, Sarah Amanda Gershon, Kathy Campbell, and
    Rowen Zetterman.
    H eavican, C.J., Cassel, Stacy, Funke, and Freudenberg,
    JJ.
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    CHRISTENSEN v. GALE
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    Freudenberg, J.
    NATURE OF CASE
    This case presents a challenge to an initiative petition seek-
    ing to expand Medicaid coverage. The district court granted
    summary judgment in favor of the defendant sponsors and the
    Secretary of State. The court concluded that the measure did
    not violate the single subject rule, because the maximization
    of federal funding for the expanding of Medicaid eligibility
    had a natural and necessary connection to the expansion. The
    court also concluded that the list of sponsors was not incom-
    plete under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 32-1405(1) (Reissue 2016). One
    of the sponsors, “Insure the Good Life,” was both a political
    committee and a service mark. While the controlling members
    of the committee were named sponsors, the nonprofit organi-
    zation holding the service mark was not. The court reasoned
    that because the nonprofit organization did not assume respon-
    sibility for the initiative process, it was not a sponsor. The
    court found that further challenges to the proposed measure
    as being an unconstitutional delegation of legislative author-
    ity and an improper appropriation were not ripe for review.
    We affirm.
    BACKGROUND
    An initiative petition to expand coverage in the Medical
    Assistance Act1 was filed with Secretary of State John Gale.
    The petition proposed the addition of “Section 2” to that
    act, with five subsections and the general object to “expand
    eligibility to cover certain adults ages 19 through 64 whose
    incomes are one-hundred-thirty-eight percent (138%) of the
    federal poverty level or below . . . and to maximize federal
    financial participation to fund their care.”
    Specifically, the subsections of proposed section 2 would: (1)
    expand Medicaid to adults ages 19 through 64 whose income
    1
    Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 68-901 to 68-991 (Reissue 2009, Cum. Supp. 2016 &
    Supp. 2017).
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    is equal to or less than 138 percent of the federal poverty
    level, (2) direct the Department of Health and Human Services
    (DHHS) to submit a state plan amendment and all other neces-
    sary documents seeking required approvals or waivers to the
    federal centers for Medicare and Medicaid services, (3) direct
    DHHS to take all actions necessary to maximize federal finan-
    cial participation in funding medical assistance pursuant to sec-
    tion 2, (4) require that no greater burdens or restrictions may
    be imposed on persons eligible for medical assistance under
    section 2 than any other population eligible for medical assist­
    ance, and (5) require that section 2 shall apply notwithstanding
    any other provision of law or federal waiver.
    The sworn statement filed with the Secretary of State
    listed four sponsors of the petition: Sarah Amanda Gershon,
    Kathy Campbell, Dr. Rowen Zetterman, and Insure the Good
    Life (the named sponsors). Insure the Good Life is both a
    ballot question committee and a service mark registered by
    Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest
    (Appleseed).
    Mark R. Christensen, a former member of the Nebraska
    Legislature and a parent of a child who received Medicaid
    benefits, and Lydia Brasch, a current member of the Nebraska
    Legislature, brought an action for declaratory judgment under
    Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 25-21,149 to 25-21,164 (Reissue 2016)
    and injunctive relief pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 32-1412(2)
    (Reissue 2016) against the named sponsors of the petition and
    Gale in his capacity as Secretary of State. They alleged that
    (1) the initiative violated the single subject rule of article III,
    § 2, of the Nebraska Constitution; (2) the initiative failed to
    contain a sworn statement containing the names and addresses
    of every person, corporation, or association sponsoring the
    petition, as required by § 32-1405(1); (3) the proposed amend-
    ment constituted an unconstitutional delegation of legislative
    authority2; and (4) the proposed amendment failed to meet the
    2
    See Neb. Const. art. II, § 1.
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    CHRISTENSEN v. GALE
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    criteria set forth in Neb. Rev. Stat. § 49-804 (Reissue 2010),
    for appropriations.
    Specifically, Christensen and Brasch alleged that the ini-
    tiative violated the single subject rule, because the expan-
    sion of Medicaid eligibility and the maximization of federal
    financial participation in funding Medicaid are two separate
    and distinct subjects. They alleged that the initiative violated
    the mandate of § 32-1405(1), that it list every person, cor-
    poration, or association sponsoring the petition, because it
    failed to include Appleseed. They alleged that the proposed
    amendment unconstitutionally delegated legislative power by
    directing DHHS to develop a plan for implementation of the
    amendment without sufficient statutory guidance or limita-
    tions. And they alleged that the proposed amendment was an
    appropriation, because it “requires DHHS to expand medical
    assistance to thousands of additional individuals at a cost of
    millions of dollars,” and such appropriation did not satisfy the
    criteria of § 49-804.
    The Secretary of State and the named sponsors moved
    to dismiss the complaint pursuant to Neb. Ct. R. Pldg.
    § 6-1112(b)(1) and (6), for failure to state a claim and lack of
    jurisdiction. Christensen and Brasch moved for a “Judgment on
    the Complaint” or, alternatively, for summary judgment.
    At the hearing on the motions, the Secretary of State offered,
    and the court received, exhibits 1 and 2. Exhibit 1 is a copy of
    the petition sponsor’s sworn statement, the object statement,
    the proposed text of the statutory initiative petition, and the
    sample initiative petition form. Exhibit 2 is a certification by
    the Secretary of State that Insure the Good Life was registered
    as a service mark by Appleseed on September 28, 2015, with
    the stated purpose of being used on materials distributed to
    support expansion of Medicaid in the sale or advertising of
    services. These exhibits were also attached to the complaint.
    The parties agreed that the receipt of these exhibits, alone, did
    not convert the motions to dismiss into motions for summary
    judgment. But both parties offered further exhibits.
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    CHRISTENSEN v. GALE
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    301 Neb. 19
    Christensen and Brasch offered exhibits 3 and 4. Exhibit 3
    was a certified copy of proposed 2017 Neb. Laws, L.B. 441,
    with attached fiscal analyst notes from the 105th Legislature,
    First Session. The court sustained the sponsors’ and the
    Secretary of State’s relevancy objections, as L.B. 441 was a
    bill that did not pass. The bill sought to expand Medicaid, and
    the attached fiscal analyst notes estimated the increased state
    expenditures that would result.
    Exhibit 4 is an exhibit by Christensen and Brasch’s attorney,
    averring that he had personally observed Appleseed’s social
    media accounts displaying the Insure the Good Life logo.
    Several posts were attached. The Secretary of State objected
    on relevancy. The sponsors objected on relevancy and hearsay
    grounds. For purposes of the motion to dismiss, the spon-
    sors also objected that it was evidence outside the pleadings.
    Christensen and Brasch renewed the offer of exhibit 4 with the
    understanding that the motions to dismiss would be considered
    motions for summary judgment. The court received exhibit 4
    into evidence.
    The sponsors then offered exhibits 5 through 8 for purposes
    of summary judgment. The exhibits contain records of the
    Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission.
    Exhibit 5 is a statement of organization of a political com-
    mittee, stating that Insure the Good Life is such a committee.
    The statement of organization lists Noelle Obermeyer as the
    treasurer of the committee and names Gershon, Campbell, and
    Zetterman as the controlling individuals of the committee.
    Exhibits 6 through 8 are Insure the Good Life’s campaign
    statements filed with the commission. Christensen and Brasch
    objected to exhibit 5 on relevancy and foundation grounds
    and to exhibits 6 through 8 on relevancy. Exhibit 7 shows that
    Insure the Good Life disclosed to the commission contributions
    by Appleseed. The court overruled the objections and entered
    exhibits 5 through 8 into evidence.
    Treating the motions to dismiss as motions for summary
    judgment without any objection by the parties, the court
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    CHRISTENSEN v. GALE
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    ultimately entered summary judgment for the named spon-
    sors and the Secretary of State. The court concluded that the
    initiative did not violate the single subject rule because the
    maximization of federal financial participation in the Medicaid
    expansion had a natural and necessary connection to the expan-
    sion. The court reasoned that even viewing the evidence in a
    light most favorable to Christensen and Brasch and concluding
    that Appleseed supported the initiative through a public rela-
    tions campaign and posts on social media accounts, such facts
    would not make Appleseed a sponsor of the petition under
    § 32-1405(1), because Appleseed did not assume responsibility
    for the initiative process. The court found that the remaining
    separation of powers and appropriations claims were not yet
    ripe for review. Christensen and Brasch appeal.
    ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR
    Christensen and Brasch assign, summarized and restated,
    that the district court erred by (1) dismissing as unripe and
    failing to find merit to its claims that the ballot measure was
    an unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority and did
    not meet the criteria set forth in § 49-804 for appropriations,
    (2) failing to determine that the initiative petition was consti-
    tutionally deficient because it contained more than one subject,
    (3) failing to determine that the initiative petition was constitu-
    tionally deficient because it did not list Appleseed as a sponsor,
    and (4) excluding exhibit 3 from the evidence.
    STANDARD OF REVIEW
    [1] In reviewing a summary judgment, an appellate court
    views the evidence in the light most favorable to the party
    against whom the judgment was granted, giving that party
    the benefit of all reasonable inferences deducible from the
    evidence.3
    3
    City of Fremont v. Kotas, 
    279 Neb. 720
    , 
    781 N.W.2d 456
    (2010), abrogated
    on other grounds, City of North Platte v. Tilgner, 
    282 Neb. 328
    , 
    803 N.W.2d 469
    (2011).
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    CHRISTENSEN v. GALE
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    [2] Statutory interpretation presents a question of law, for
    which an appellate court has an obligation to reach an inde-
    pendent conclusion irrespective of the decision made by the
    court below.4
    [3] A jurisdictional question that does not involve a factual
    dispute is a matter of law.5
    [4] The exercise of judicial discretion is implicit in deter-
    mining the relevance of evidence, and a trial court’s deci-
    sion regarding relevance will not be reversed absent an abuse
    of discretion.6
    ANALYSIS
    [5-7] Raising issues of statutory and constitutional inter-
    pretation, Christensen and Brasch seek to invalidate an initia-
    tive petition that received enough signatures to be placed on
    the November 2018 ballot. The power of initiative in article
    III, § 1, of the Nebraska Constitution is “[t]he first power
    reserved by the people.”7 The right of initiative is precious
    to the people and one which the courts are zealous to pre-
    serve to the fullest tenable measure of spirit as well as letter.8
    Statutory provisions authorizing initiative petitions should be
    construed in such a manner that the legislative power reserved
    in the people is effectual and should not be circumscribed by
    restrictive legislation or narrow and strict interpretation of the
    statutes pertaining to its exercise.9
    Sponsors
    [8,9] Christensen and Brasch first contend that the initiative
    is invalid because Appleseed was a “sponsor” of the initiative
    4
    Hargesheimer v. Gale, 
    294 Neb. 123
    , 
    881 N.W.2d 589
    (2016).
    5
    Loontjer v. Robinson, 
    266 Neb. 902
    , 
    670 N.W.2d 301
    (2003).
    6
    State v. Swindle, 
    300 Neb. 734
    , 
    915 N.W.2d 795
    (2018).
    7
    Neb. Const. art. III, § 2.
    8
    See Hargesheimer v. Gale, supra note 4.
    9
    See 
    id. - 28
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    and was not listed in the sworn statement as required by
    § 32-1405(1). Section 32-1405(1) provides:
    Prior to obtaining any signatures on an initiative or ref-
    erendum petition, a statement of the object of the peti-
    tion and the text of the measure shall be filed with the
    Secretary of State together with a sworn statement con-
    taining the names and street addresses of every person,
    corporation, or association sponsoring the petition.
    The sworn statement provision of § 32-1405(1) is mandatory.10
    Section 32-1405(1) and related statutes do not provide defini-
    tions for the word “sponsor” or the phrase “sponsoring the peti-
    tion.” But we held in Hargesheimer v. Gale11 that sponsoring
    the petition means assuming responsibility for the initiative or
    referendum petition process.
    [10] In Hargesheimer, we explained that defining sponsors
    as those who assume responsibility for the petition process
    serves the dual purposes of informing the public of (1) who
    may be held responsible for the petition, exposing themselves
    to potential criminal charges if information is falsified,12 and
    (2) who stands ready to accept responsibility to facilitate the
    referendum’s inclusion on the ballot and defend the referendum
    process if challenged.13 The initiative petition statutes impose
    several responsibilities upon named sponsors once the initia-
    tive process has commenced, and we indicated that the primary
    purpose of the “sworn statement containing the names and
    street addresses of every person, corporation, or association
    sponsoring the petition” in § 32-1405(1) is to identify those
    individuals agreeing to accept such responsibilities.14
    10
    Loontjer v. Robinson, supra note 5.
    11
    Hargesheimer v. Gale, supra note 4.
    12
    See Neb. Rev. Stat. § 32-1502 (Reissue 2016).
    13
    Hargesheimer v. Gale, supra note 4.
    14
    See Loontjer v. Robinson, supra note 5 (Hendry, C.J., concurring in result;
    Gerrard, J., joins). See, also, e.g., §§ 32-1405(2) and 32-1412(2) and Neb.
    Rev. Stat. § 32-1409(3) (Reissue 2010).
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    We specifically rejected the argument that sponsors must
    include all financial contributors to the petition, so that the
    public has notice of who such persons are. We explained that
    not only did amendments to § 32-1405(1) remove language
    including as sponsors all individuals or entities “‘“contributing
    or pledging contribution of money or other things of value,”’”15
    the public has access to the identity of all financial contribu-
    tors through reports filed with the Nebraska Accountability and
    Disclosure Commission.16
    [11] We summarized that the statutory scheme governing
    initiative and referendum petitions17 requires filings with the
    Secretary of State identifying the persons or entities taking
    legal responsibility for the petition process, while the Nebraska
    Political Accountability and Disclosure Act18 focuses on iden-
    tifying those persons or entities financially supporting the peti-
    tion process.19
    [12] We also explained that limiting the category of “spon-
    sors” for purposes of § 32-1405 to “those persons or entities
    who have specifically agreed to be responsible for the petition
    process and serve in the capacities the statutes require of spon-
    sors,” lent clarity and simplicity to the petition process, thereby
    facilitating and preserving its exercise.20 To interpret the term
    more broadly would make “compliance with the statute more
    precarious” by “inject[ing] ambiguity” and “expos[ing] the
    petition process to procedural challenges and the risk of defects
    unrelated to the substance of the petition.”21
    15
    Hargesheimer v. Gale, supra note 
    4, 294 Neb. at 132
    , 881 N.W.2d at 596-
    97 (emphasis omitted).
    16
    See, generally, Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 49-1401 to 49-14,141 (Reissue 2010,
    Cum. Supp. 2016 & Supp. 2017).
    17
    Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 32-1401 to 32-1417 (Reissue 2016).
    18
    §§ 49-1401 to 49-14,141.
    19
    See Hargesheimer v. Gale, supra note 4.
    20
    
    Id. at 134-35,
    881 N.W.2d at 598.
    21
    
    Id. at 134,
    881 N.W.2d at 598.
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    Christensen and Brasch attempt to distinguish this case
    from Hargesheimer by focusing on the novel fact that Insure
    the Good Life was a service mark registered by Appleseed.
    They do not address the fact that Insure the Good Life is also a
    registered political committee and that all its controlling mem-
    bers were named in the sworn statement as sponsors.
    [13] A “[s]ervice mark” is “any word, name, symbol, or
    device or any combination thereof used by a person, to iden-
    tify and distinguish the services of one person, including a
    unique service, from the services of others.”22 To be licensed
    to use a service mark is to have the right or permission to use
    it.23 Christensen and Brasch argue that Appleseed was a spon-
    sor not because of its involvement in financing or promoting
    the petition, but because it purposefully attempted to deceive
    voters by participating in the initiative process under a serv­
    ice mark without listing its corporate identity. They argue
    that because Insure the Good Life was a sponsor, Appleseed
    must also be a sponsor. Christensen and Brasch’s arguments
    are not meaningfully different than the arguments that were
    made in Loontjer v. Robinson, of hiding behind a “‘sham
    committee.’”24 In the course of setting forth the definition
    of sponsor that we later expressly adopted in Hargesheimer,
    Chief Justice Hendry found those arguments unpersuasive. A
    non-named person or entity’s motivation to decline to be a
    named sponsor is irrelevant to the question of who must be
    listed pursuant to § 32-1405(1).
    We rejected in Hargesheimer the concept of analyzing a
    person or entity’s involvement in financing or promoting the
    petition, because doing so would inject ambiguity, making
    compliance with the statute more precarious and exposing the
    22
    Neb. Rev. Stat. § 87-128(8) (Reissue 2014). See, also, Neb. Rev. Stat.
    §§ 28-618(19) (Reissue 2016) and 87-301(22) (Cum. Supp. 2016).
    23
    See Neb. Rev. Stat. § 59-1714.01 (Reissue 2010).
    24
    Loontjer v. Robinson, supra note 
    5, 266 Neb. at 916
    , 670 N.W.2d at 312
    (Hendry, C.J., concurring in result; Gerrard, J., joins).
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    petition process to procedural challenges and the risk of defects
    unrelated to the substance of the petition.25 To inject into the
    sponsorship analysis questions of intent, as Christensen and
    Brasch suggest we ought, would inject even more ambiguity
    into the petition process than the test suggested and rejected by
    this court in Hargesheimer. This would unnecessarily under-
    mine the first power reserved by the people.
    Again, the sponsor is nothing more than the person or entity
    identifying himself, herself, or itself as willing to assume
    statutory responsibilities once the initiative process has com-
    menced. Under the definition adopted in Hargesheimer, Insure
    the Good Life, Gershon, Campbell, and Zetterman are the
    sponsors, and there are no other persons or entities who are
    sponsors. The issues raised by Christensen and Brasch con-
    cerning the public’s need to know who or what entity might be
    “hiding” their involvement are addressed through the Nebraska
    Political Accountability and Disclosure Act and Appleseed’s
    disclosure of its contributions to Insure the Good Life, a ballot
    question committee.
    We agree with the district court that the list of sponsors in the
    sworn statement is complete and does not violate § 32-1405(1).
    Single Subject
    Second, Christensen and Brasch challenge the initiative
    as violating the single subject rule. Article III, § 2, of the
    Nebraska Constitution provides, among other matters related
    to initiatives, that “[i]nitiative measures shall contain only one
    subject.” A purpose of this language is to avoid voter confusion
    and logrolling, which is the practice of combining dissimi-
    lar propositions into one proposed amendment so that voters
    must vote for or against the whole package even though they
    would have voted differently had the propositions been submit-
    ted separately.26
    25
    See Hargesheimer v. Gale, supra note 4.
    26
    See State ex rel. Loontjer v. Gale, 
    288 Neb. 973
    , 
    853 N.W.2d 494
    (2014).
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    [14] We, like the majority of jurisdictions, follow the natu-
    ral and necessary connection test: “‘[W]here the limits of a
    proposed law, having natural and necessary connection with
    each other, and, together, are a part of one general subject, the
    proposal is a single and not a dual proposition.’”27 The control-
    ling consideration in determining the singleness of a proposed
    amendment is its singleness of purpose and the relationship
    of the details to the general subject.28 The general subject is
    defined by its primary purpose.29
    In State ex rel. Loontjer v. Gale,30 we held that a pro-
    posed ballot measure violated the separate-vote provision of
    article XVI, § 1, of the Nebraska Constitution, which imposes
    the same requirements as the single subject provision under
    article III, § 2. The proposed ballot measure asked vot-
    ers to amend the state Constitution, which permitted only
    live and simulcast horseracing wagers, in order to allow
    for slot-machine-type gambling on replayed horseraces.31
    Additionally, as to both live and replayed horseracing, the
    measure proposed directing the tax revenues to property tax
    relief and education funding, thereby redirecting the live
    horseracing tax revenue which was at that time going else-
    where.32 The proposed amendments did not otherwise address
    live horseracing.
    We said that the legalization of a new form of horseracing
    lacked a natural and necessary connection to the measure’s
    proposal to the use tax revenues for property tax relief and
    education.33 We explained:
    27
    
    Id. at 999,
    853 N.W.2d at 513. See, also, Munch v. Tusa, 
    140 Neb. 457
    ,
    
    300 N.W. 385
    (1941).
    28
    See State ex rel. Loontjer v. Gale, supra note 26.
    29
    See 
    id. 30 Id.
    31
    See 
    id. 32 See
    id.
    33
    See 
    id.
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    The appropriation proposal’s only connection to the
    wagering proposal was to enhance the odds that voters
    would approve the new form of wagering. Many voters
    who might oppose proposals for new forms of wager-
    ing, standing alone, might nonetheless want new funding
    for property tax relief and kindergarten through 12th
    grade education. But they would be presented with a
    take-it-or-leave-it proposition. And this type of proposi-
    tion is at the heart of the prohibition against logrolling.
    Conversely, even voters who would support the new type
    of wagering might prefer that the parimutuel tax rev-
    enues continue to be credited to the state’s general fund,
    instead of devoted exclusively to property tax relief
    and education.34
    In the case before us, we do not view the funding proposal
    in section two of the proposed initiative language as being
    only to enhance the odds that voters would approve Medicaid
    expansion. And furthermore, in contrast, in City of Fremont v.
    Kotas,35 we held that an initiative petition did not violate the
    single subject rule. Despite several components of the pro-
    posed measure dealing with the subjects of occupancy, licens-
    ing, electronic verification, government uses, resources, and
    penalties, and the application to both landlords and employers,
    we held that these subjects had a natural and necessary con-
    nection with each other and were part of the general subject of
    regulating illegal immigration. The proposed measure was not
    confusing or deceiving to the voters.36
    Christensen and Brasch argue that there were two distinct
    subjects in the initiative: (1) the expansion of Medicaid and
    (2) whether such expansion would be funded, as much as
    possible, by the federal government. While they argue for
    the first time on appeal that the initiative also contained the
    34
    
    Id. at 1004,
    853 N.W.2d at 515.
    35
    City of Fremont v. Kotas, supra note 3.
    36
    See 
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    separate subject of “delegat[ing] to the executive branch
    the obligation to amend the State’s Medicaid plan adopting,
    accepting and assenting to all applicable provisions of Title
    XIX and Title XXI of the federal Social Security Act,” they
    did not raise this contention below.37 Therefore, we will not
    address it.38
    We agree with the district court that the expansion of
    Medicaid and its funding have a natural and necessary con-
    nection with each other and, thus, a singleness of purpose. The
    general subject is Medicaid expansion, and maximizing federal
    funding for that expansion is a detail related to the singleness
    of purpose of expanding Medicaid.
    [15] This ballot measure is not like the one in State ex rel.
    Loontjer. It is more akin to Kotas, where several subelements
    related to the single subject of regulating illegal immigra-
    tion. The single subject test is not, as Christensen and Brasch
    propose, whether the initiative could theoretically have pro-
    posed the expansion of Medicaid without also proposing that
    federal funding is maximized in order to do so; i.e., whether
    federal dollars are absolutely “necessary” to effectuate an
    increase in Medicaid. The controlling consideration in deter-
    mining the singleness of a subject for purposes of article III,
    § 2, of the Nebraska Constitution is its singleness of purpose
    and relationship of the details to the general subject, not
    the strict necessity of any given detail to carry out the gen-
    eral subject.39
    [16] Because its parts all relate to the same general sub-
    ject, the initiative petition does not create voter confusion and
    logrolling. Christensen and Brasch assert that some voters
    might be in favor of Medicaid expansion but not in favor of
    expanding federal funding and that the measure presents “two
    separate, large substantive police [sic] issues with a single
    37
    Brief for appellants at 12.
    38
    See, e.g., Friedman v. Friedman, 
    290 Neb. 973
    , 
    863 N.W.2d 153
    (2015).
    39
    See State ex rel. Loontjer v. Gale, supra note 26.
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    vote.”40 Whether the elements of complex statutory amend-
    ments can be characterized as presenting different policy
    issues, the crux of the question is the extent of the differences
    and how the elements relate to the primary purpose.
    The voters considering the initiative petition here at issue
    are unlikely to be confused and persuaded to vote for the pri-
    mary purpose of expanding Medicaid in order to obtain, more
    generally, federal funds. The subject of federal funding does
    not present a level of dissimilarity that creates a risk of confu-
    sion and logrolling.
    We agree with the district court that the initiative did not
    violate the single subject rule.
    R ipeness
    [17,18] Likewise, we agree with the district court that
    Christensen and Brasch’s remaining two challenges are not
    ripe for review. Ripeness is a justiciability doctrine that courts
    consider in determining whether they may properly decide a
    controversy.41 The fundamental principle of ripeness is that
    courts should avoid entangling themselves, through prema-
    ture adjudication, in abstract disagreements based on contin-
    gent future events that may not occur at all or may not occur
    as anticipated.42
    [19] Unlike challenges to the form of a ballot measure or
    the procedural requirements to its placement on the ballot,
    which are challenges to whether the measure is legally suf-
    ficient to be submitted to the voters, substantive challenges
    to proposed initiatives are not justiciable before the measures
    are adopted by voters.43 An opinion on the substantive chal-
    lenge based on the contingent future event of the measure’s
    passage would be merely advisory. Furthermore, preelection
    40
    Brief for appellants at 14.
    41
    State ex rel. Loontjer v. Gale, supra note 26.
    42
    
    Id. 43 See,
    id.; City of Fremont v. Kotas, supra note 3.
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    judicial review of substantive challenges to initiatives tends to
    lessen the effectiveness of the constitutional initiative power
    “reserved by the people,”44 and, regardless of the merits of
    the proposed initiative, inappropriately injects the courts into
    political debates.45
    Christensen and Brasch rely on State ex rel. Brant v.
    Beermann46 to argue that a challenge to the measure for its
    substantive defects, at least where those defects touch upon the
    requirements of article III, § 2, of the Nebraska Constitution,
    is ripe when patently clear. In State ex rel. Brant, we refused
    to issue a writ of mandamus requiring the Secretary of State to
    place a measure on the ballot, after the Secretary of State had
    determined that the measure was a mere statement of position
    and had no semblance of a law within the initiative provisions
    of the constitution. But we did not specifically address ripe-
    ness, and in State ex rel. Loontjer, we expressly recognized
    that our holding in State ex rel. Brant had been abrogated by
    Duggan v. Beermann.47
    We said in State ex rel. Loontjer that we had “assumed
    [in State ex rel. Brant] the Secretary [of State] could reject
    a proposed ballot measure for its substantive constitutional
    defects.”48 But in Duggan, we had made clear that substantive
    defects are not ripe for review.49
    A substantive challenge to a ballot measure is not ripe until
    the measure is voted into law. Both Christensen and Brasch’s
    challenges to the proposed law as an unconstitutional del-
    egation of legislative authority and as violating the criteria
    44
    Neb. Const. art. III, § 2.
    
    45 Stew. v
    . Advanced Gaming Tech., 
    272 Neb. 471
    , 
    723 N.W.2d 65
    (2006).
    46
    State ex rel. Brant v. Beermann, 
    217 Neb. 632
    , 
    350 N.W.2d 18
    (1984).
    47
    Duggan v. Beermann, 
    249 Neb. 411
    , 
    544 N.W.2d 68
    (1996). See State ex
    rel. Loontjer v. Gale, supra note 26.
    48
    State ex rel. Loontjer v. Gale, supra note 
    26, 288 Neb. at 987
    , 853 N.W.2d
    at 505.
    49
    See, 
    id. (citing Duggan
    v. Beermann, supra note 47).
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    for appropriations set forth in § 49-804 are substantive chal-
    lenges to the initiative. These substantive challenges are not
    ripe for judicial review, and we express no opinion on any
    of them.
    Exhibit 3
    [20,21] Finally, Christensen and Brasch assert that the dis-
    trict court erred in sustaining the Secretary of State and named
    sponsors’ relevancy objection to exhibit 3. The exercise of
    judicial discretion is implicit in determining the relevance of
    evidence, and a trial court’s decision regarding relevance will
    not be reversed absent an abuse of discretion.50 An abuse of
    discretion in a ruling on the admissibility of evidence occurs
    when the trial judge’s reasons or rulings are clearly untenable,
    unfairly depriving a litigant of a substantial right and denying
    just results in matters submitted for disposition.51 Christensen
    and Brasch assert that exhibit 3 was relevant to demonstrate
    the extent of the expenditure that the proposed measure would
    entail. In other words, they assert that exhibit 3 was relevant
    to their appropriations challenge. Because that challenge was
    not ripe, the court did not abuse its discretion in determining
    that exhibit 3 was not relevant.
    CONCLUSION
    For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the judgment of the
    district court, which dismissed Christensen and Brasch’s com-
    plaint with prejudice.
    A ffirmed.
    Miller-Lerman, J., participating on briefs.
    Papik, J., not participating.
    50
    State v. Swindle, supra note 6.
    51
    Worth v. Kolbeck, 
    273 Neb. 163
    , 
    728 N.W.2d 282
    (2007).