OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Moves to repeal the estate tax and enact a property rights measure both failed at the ballot box, while Washington voters approved a constitutional amendment that would increase the exemption on personal property.

With about 33 percent of the expected vote counted, property rights Initiative 933 failed, 57 percent to 43 percent.

I-933 would have forced state and local government agencies to either compensate private landowners for regulations that harmed the value of private property, or waive those laws. It was aimed at land use rules adopted since 1996.

It was one of a group of initiatives on the ballot in Western states based on Measure 37, adopted in Oregon two years ago.

Supporters argued the measure was necessary to protect private landowners from overly restrictive government regulations, but opponents argued it would have compromised critical environmental protections and opened up rural areas to voracious housing developers.

They also pointed to a state budget office study that said the measure could force the government to pay more than $8 billion in claims over the next six years.

"Voters confirmed they care about protecting neighborhoods from irresponsible development, protecting farmland and they care about protecting the environment," said Aaron Toso, spokesman for the No on I-933 campaign.

But Dan Wood, with the Washington Farm Bureau that supported 933, said his group was outspent by opponents but expected the issue to be addressed during the next legislative session.

Voters also rejected Initiative 920, the estate tax repeal, 62 percent to 38 percent.

Lawmakers approved the tax last year after the state Supreme Court threw out the state's previous practice of keeping part of the estate tax revenue that otherwise would have gone to the federal government - something that was permissible before Congress voted in 2001 to begin phasing out the federal estate tax.

The tax applies to about 215 estates per year. Taxes range from 10 percent to 19 percent of the amount over the $2 million threshold. Family farms and timber lands are exempt.

The estate tax is projected to bring in close to $100 million a year.

Supporters of I-920 said that the failure of the measure will encourage businesses to leave the state, but opponents said voters were right to reject "an unnecessary tax break for multimillionaires.

"Voters saw through the hype and the exaggeration and the misinformation," said Sandeep Kaushik, spokesman for the No on I-920 campaign.

A measure that was too close to call was Initiative 937, which would require the state's large utility companies to increase renewable energy sources to 15 percent of their supply by 2020. Early returns showed it held a slight lead, 52 percent to 48 percent.

Opponents contend the measure is unneeded, pointing to the fact that dams produce as much as three-quarters of the region's relatively cheap and clean electricity. The initiative does not let hydropower alone count as renewable energy, although efficiency upgrades to existing hydro plants would count.

Voters did approve a constitutional amendment that would increase the exemption on personal property for heads of family from $3,000 to $15,000. That measure won overwhelmingly, 79 percent to 21 percent.