Wednesday was initiative petition deadline day within the Bay State, and the Lawyer Common’s workplace acquired petitions for greater than 40 potential poll questions — with topics starting from lease management and constructing inexpensive housing to new guidelines surrounding voting and conservation.
A number of of the petitions despatched to AG Andrea Campbell’s workplace take care of the identical problem, and in whole there are about two-and-a-half dozen units of proposed modifications to the regulation or state structure.
Potential modifications to state regulation could possibly be on the poll in 2026, whereas proposed constitutional amendments would go up for a vote in 2028.
Right here’s a quick rundown of a few of what was filed:
A statewide lease management petition was filed by the group Houses for All Massachusetts, and if made regulation it could restrict lease will increase to the lesser of 5% or the yearly value of residing change. Advocates say it’s wanted to assist curb the excessive value of residing in Massachusetts, however not everyone seems to be satisfied.
“Rent control is a failed, misguided policy that stifles housing creation and disincentivizes unit upkeep and maintenance. Rent control supporters continue to resurrect ineffective rent control proposals year after year, offering tenants false hope that will not solve the problem. Government price controls will only make the housing crisis worse,” Greg Vasil, CEO of the Larger Boston Actual Property Board, mentioned in an announcement.
A petition supplied by the Pioneer Institute’s Senior Fellow on Housing Andrew Mikula — appearing in his private capability — would amend state zoning legal guidelines to permit the development of houses on heaps as small as 5,000 sq. toes with no less than 50 toes of frontage and water and sewer service.
“By allowing homes on smaller lots, this petition would increase the potential number of homes able to be built in a given area while helping lower per-unit land costs in new residential development,” Mikula informed the Herald.
Two variations of a voter ID regulation have been supplied by Jeff Cohen, the chair of the Wilmington Republican City Committee, and so they each purpose to make it so voters should present ID to vote in individual, present a duplicate of their ID when voting by mail, or signal an affidavit testifying to their identification.
Secretary of State Invoice Galvin filed an initiative petition which might enable individuals to register and vote on the day of elections. Galvin has indicated his perception that the Legislature might write his petition into regulation on their very own, however he additionally supplied his doubts as to their willingness.
The Coalition for a Wholesome Democracy supplied three variations of an “Initiative Petition for a Law to Implement All-Party State Primaries,” which purpose to switch the state’s get together primaries with an open preliminary election for statewide, legislative, and federal congressional places of work. The identical group additionally filed an “Initiative Petition for a Law to Improve Access to Public Records,” which goals to unexempt the Legislature and Governor’s workplace from public information legal guidelines.
“More than half of our elections over the past decade have had only one candidate running, and we also rank last in the country in government transparency. This too often means our elected leaders are not answering to the communities they serve,” coalition spokesperson Danielle Allen mentioned.
Two variations of “Initiative Petition for a Legislation to Shield Water & Nature” have been filed by the Nature for Massachusetts Coalition and carry the assist of Mass Audubon, the Appalachian Mountain Membership, the Conservation Legislation Basis, the Kestrel Land Belief, the Massachusetts Rivers Alliance, the Mount Grace Land Conservation Belief, The Trustees, and the Belief for Public Land. The petitions purpose to create a devoted income stream “to preserve water, land, city greenspace, out of doors recreation entry, and wildlife” within the Bay State.
“By setting aside a portion of the funds generated from the existing sales tax on sporting goods, we can dedicate $100 million annually to fund conservation and meet ambitious climate goals without any increase in taxes. We’re responding to historic underfunding of land protection in Massachusetts. In the face of evaporating support from the federal government for conservation, we believe Massachusetts voters want to prioritize and protect our water quality, natural areas, forests, farmland, and parks,” the teams mentioned in a joint assertion.
Chris Anderson, president of the Massachusetts Excessive Know-how Council, filed a petition which might shut loopholes within the state’s Chapter 62F regulation — the regulation that resulted in billions being despatched again to taxpayers only a few years in the past — in order that the taxpayer rebate provision may go into impact extra typically.
“Due to loopholes and exclusions, especially the carveout for new surtax revenues, the law has only been triggered twice in 40 years. Beacon Hill always finds ways around the law as it’s currently written. This fix closes the loopholes and restores the taxpayer protections voters overwhelmingly approved,” Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance Government Director Paul Craney mentioned of the proposal.
An “Initiative Petition for a Law Relative to Reducing the State Personal Income Tax Rate from 5% to 4%” got here from James Stergios, the Pioneer Institute’s govt director, and based on Craney it could outcome straight away pay increase for each taxpayer.
“It’s really that simple. If you’re earning $50,000 a year, you just got a $500 raise,” Craney mentioned.
Petitions have been additionally filed for a proposed constitutional modification to permit for recall elections of state officers, to repeal the state’s MBTA zoning regulation, to finish the gasoline tax, and to get rid of legislative stipends, amongst others.
