Massachusetts
Voters in Provincetown will be voting on both a permanent and temporary tax increase in the May 5th town elections. Under Massachusetts law, local governments are prevented from raising their tax rates by more than two and one-half percent.
Ten qualified voters may draw up and sign an original
petition on which they put forward the full text of the law they want
enacted. Each of the ten original signers must obtain certificates of voter
registration from the board of registrars or election commission in the city
or town where they are registered voters. The certificate of voter
registration must be signed by at least three registrars. These certificates
and the original petition must be submitted to the Attorney General no
later then the first Wednesday of August 2001.
Date initiative language can be submitted: September 2, 2009
Signatures are tied to vote of which office: Governor
Next Gubernatorial election: 2010
Votes cast for governor in last election: 2,243,835 (2006)
You have full Initiative & Referendum rights. Citizens can pass laws they write or suspend a statute passed by the Legislature by collecting enough petition signatures to place the statute on the statewide ballot for a decision by the voters. Voters can also initiate constitutional amendments by Initiative.
Coalition for an Open & Accessible Initiative Process:
Massachusetts’ Populist Party adopted a resolution in 1895 calling for
statewide initiative and referendum. In 1900, State Representative Henry
Stirling introduced one of the first I&R proposals; Socialist State
Representative James Carey introduced another in 1901. In 1905, Mrs. Ella
0. Marshall organized the Massachusetts Referendum League to push for
I&R, but results were slow to come.
Not satisfied with the city’s response to its petition drive, citizen group Glosta Tea Party filed a lawsuit against Gloucester officials on Friday, Feb. 6 asking for a suspension of the tax incentive plan brokered between the city and developers of Gloucester Crossing.
A hearing set for Tuesday, Feb. 10, in Salem’s Essex Superior Court was delayed until March 18 after the city requested more time to prepare its case.
Jamie O’Hara, a lead organizer of Glosta Tea Party, said his group was caught off guard by the city’s move.
Students who spearheaded a new teen center in Fillmore will help stage its grand opening Saturday to display its activities and give thanks for the community’s support.
The One Step Center opened in September for teens 13-19 but was not fully operational until this week, when several student assistants joined the staff and the center spread out, now occupying two rooms in Trinity Episcopal Church’s parish hall.
“It’s someplace where kids can go and not worry about being judged,” said Stephanie Gonzalez, 17, secretary of One Step’s all-teen board of directors.
A grainy video posted on YouTube shows an octet of lean greyhounds speeding around the track at the Raynham-Taunton Greyhound Park. Suddenly, one dog skids and collides with another before tumbling end over end and hitting a wall.
A hideous finale, but not the end of the line for the fallen greyhound. In a second video, now being promoted as a counterargument by track owners, the dog is back in action, competing again at Wonderland Park in Revere.
Backers of a pro-marijuana ballot initiative charged today that 11 district attorneys from Massachusetts violated campaign finance laws and twisted the truth about the question.
Whitney Taylor of the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy said the DAs raised and spent money to oppose the question before forming their Coalition to Save Our Streets. Campaign finance laws require groups to form a committee before raising and spending money.