Seven campaigns filed signatures for 2014 ballot
Bottle Bill, Nurse Care, Minimum Wage, Sick Leave, Gas Price Index among those planned, but a campaign to repeal the state's 2011 casino gambling law will have to wait until the Supreme Judicial Court rules whether it is eligible
Supporters of expanding the nickel deposit on carbonated beverages to water and juice drinks rallied in front of Ashburton Place Tuesday before filing more than 105,000 signatures with Secretary of State William Galvin. The group was one of seven campaigns that collected enough certified signatures to move forward toward the 2014 election. SHNS photo.
Seven campaigns have filed necessary signatures with the state to put them one step closer to the 2014 ballot, including an initiative to expand the state's bottle deposit law, a push to limit the number of patients a nurse can care for at one time, and a move to increase the minimum wage, as well as another for earned employee sick time.
The campaigns all turned in at least 68,911 certified signatures to Secretary of State William Galvin's office, keeping them on track for the ballot. Once the signatures are counted, Galvin's office will notify successful petitioners, who then have until July 2 to collect another 11,485 signatures before qualifying for the ballot.
Question to Repeal Gaming Law Question is doubtful
A campaign to repeal the state's 2011 casino gambling law filed close to 73,000 signatures, moving it along in the process. The Supreme Judicial Court will now rule on whether the ballot question is eligible. Attorney General Martha Coakley, who reviews all proposed questions, did not certify it last September. Coakley stated casino applicants had already invested in the licensing process and have a reasonable expectation that it will play out.
Repeal supporters secured an injunction to start collecting signatures. The SJC is expected to hear their argument early next year, according David Guarino, a spokesman for the Repeal the Casino Deal Effort.
111,758 certified signatures to raise the state's minimum wage to $10.50
Raise Up Massachusetts, a coalition of workers, unions, religious organizations and community groups, submitted 111,758 certified signatures for a initiative to raise the state's minimum wage to $10.50 an hour. The group collected 96,970 signatures for another question that would give workers the ability to earn paid sick time.
Nurses from the Massachusetts Nurses Associations delivered more than 114,000 signatures for a question that would limit the number of patients a nurse can care for at one time, and another 100,000 for a question that requires hospitals to be more transparent about financial holdings and seeks to limit the compensation of chief executive officers.
Wheeling the signatures on a gurney to Galvin's office Wednesday morning, nurses said both questions will improve patient care.
"Most people do not realize that there is no law and there are no standards in existence for the number of patients that can be assigned to a nurse at one time," said Donna Kelly Williams, president of the MNA.
Nurses have tried for years to convince the Legislature to pass standards. Kelly Williams said they can't wait for lawmakers to act. "That is why we have decided to take a different approach this year," she said.
The second question from the nurses' aims to give the public more knowledge about how hospitals spend money, in response to a proliferation of hospital mergers, consolidations and the conversion of non-profit hospitals into larger corporate networks, according to Karen Higgins, a critical care nurse at Boston Medical Center who delivered the signatures for the financial transparency question.
"The public has a right to know how and where their health care dollars are being invested," Higgins said.
The proposed initiative has four key provisions. Hospitals which pay their chief executive more than 100 times the annual compensation of the lowest paid full-time employee would be fined. A new fund called the Medicaid Reimbursement Enhancement Fund would be created, funded by fines collected for "excessive" CEO pay.
Any hospital that receives money from the state, and whose patient mix is less than 60 percent government payer, shall be subject to a civil penalty for any annual operating margin that exceeds 8 percent.
Other Ballot Questions as well
Other campaigns that continued along the path include a group opposed to tying future gas tax increases to inflation starting in 2015, which delivered 87,620 certified signatures.
Opponents of linking the gas tax to the consumer price index argue it is a "forever tax" and eliminates the responsibility of elected lawmakers from voting on and justifying tax increases. The question does not change the 3-cent gas tax increase passed by the Legislature, but removes the link between the CPI and future tax increases.
Gov. Deval Patrick earlier this week criticized opponents of the automatic gas tax increases.
"I think it was done in the right way, and I think those that are advocating that the indexing be undone need to answer for why it is they keep showing up for all the ribbon-cuttings every time there's a new bridge or a new road project done, but don't seem to want to participate in how to pay for it," Patrick said Monday.
Rep. Geoff Diehl, a Republican from Whitman who is one the question's backers, said the governor's comment speaks to a "disrespect" for legislators' jobs "if he thinks all we are interested in is going to ribbon cuttings."
Bottle Bill: Expand nickel deposit on carbonated drinks to water and juice containers
Supporters of expanding the nickel deposit on carbonated drinks to water and juice containers filed approximately 105,000 signatures. Activists looking to boost recycling argue the 30-year-old law is outdated and does not reflect the explosion of water and sports drinks. Opponents call it a tax, and are pushing for increased curbside recycling.
Before dropping off boxes of certified signatures Tuesday, proponents of a measure expanding the bottle deposit and redemption law to more types of beverages rallied outside a government office building.
Janet Domenitz, executive director of MassPIRG, said the Legislature had set up the initiative petition process as a tool for those who believe they are not represented on Beacon Hill.
"This is a sacred process," Domenitz said. "We're all honored to be a part of it."
Phil Sego of the Massachusetts Sierra Club said playgrounds, parks and rivers in Massachusetts were "choked with empty bottles and cans" because non-deposit beverages are too often discarded.
Saying less than 25 percent of non-deposit containers are recycled, Ken Pruitt of the Environmental League of Massachusetts called the proposal a "pragmatic expansion of an existing law."
Rep. Denise Provost (D-Somerville) said plastic bottles, plastic bags and plastic cups represent the "big three" threats to the environment. "This is an untenable situation," she said. "Most people realize that."
Cambridge Democrat Rep. David Rogers said the bottle law update represented "good policy and good politics." He said, "Let's get it on the ballot and get it done."
Asked after the rally about the odds of the proposal surfacing for a vote in the House, where its supporters have been unable to get a vote, Rogers said, "It's difficult to say."
Chris Flynn, president of the Massachusetts Food Association, has been leading the opposition to the bottle law expansion and pushing for expanded curbside recycling as an alternative.
"Lawmakers have rejected bottle bill expansion year after year for good reason: it would cost voters and businesses more with little environmental benefit," Flynn said in a statement. "Massachusetts will do more for the environment by improving recycling through comprehensive solutions such as expanding and improving curbside pickup and making it easier to recycle on-the-go. Bottle bill expansion would force consumers to pay an additional $60 million in deposits on containers most of us already recycle - it's not about the environment, it's simply a money grab."
Last September, Coakley certified 28 petitions, on 14 topics, and denied five petitions. Typically, only a few of the petitions certified by the AG make it all the way to the ballot. Should they choose to, lawmakers early next year will have a crack at passing alternatives to the ballot proposals.
Activists who wanted to roll the state's sales tax back to 5 percent from 6.25 percent did not file signatures by late Wednesday afternoon. The proposed question had made it through earlier rounds.
The petition was filed by Owen George Becker, a Rowley resident, and its original signers all live in Rowley, Wakefield and Peabody.
Ballot campaigns last week turned in signatures to local officials for certification. Galvin's office will now count the certified signatures to make sure there are enough for petitions to move on. There is a state constitutional requirement that no more than 17,228 signatures can be from any one county.
Once the signatures are counted, Galvin notifies successful petitioners and submits the initiatives to the House of Representatives by Jan. 2. Lawmakers have until May to act.
In the past few years, voters have passed ballot laws legalizing medical marijuana, repealing a new tax on alcohol and outlawing dog racing.
Initiative Petition campaigns keep up pace for the November 2014 ballot
Bottle Bill, Nurse Care, Minimum Wage, Sick Leave, Gas Price Index among those planned
Seven campaigns have filed necessary signatures with the state to put them one step closer to the 2014 ballot, including an initiative to expand the state's bottle deposit law, a push to limit the number of patients a nurse can care for at one time, and a move to increase the minimum wage, as well as another for earned employee sick time.
The campaigns all turned in at least 68,911 certified signatures to Secretary of State William Galvin's office, keeping them on track for the ballot. Once the signatures are counted, Galvin's office will notify successful petitioners, who then have until July 2 to collect another 11,485 signatures before qualifying for the ballot.
Question to Repeal Gaming Law Question is doubtful
A campaign to repeal the state's 2011 casino gambling law filed close to 73,000 signatures, moving it along in the process. The Supreme Judicial Court will now rule on whether the ballot question is eligible. Attorney General Martha Coakley, who reviews all proposed questions, did not certify it last September. Coakley stated casino applicants had already invested in the licensing process and have a reasonable expectation that it will play out.
Repeal supporters secured an injunction to start collecting signatures. The SJC is expected to hear their argument early next year, according David Guarino, a spokesman for the Repeal the Casino Deal Effort.
111,758 certified signatures to raise the state's minimum wage to $10.50
Raise Up Massachusetts, a coalition of workers, unions, religious organizations and community groups, submitted 111,758 certified signatures for a initiative to raise the state's minimum wage to $10.50 an hour. The group collected 96,970 signatures for another question that would give workers the ability to earn paid sick time.
Nurses from the Massachusetts Nurses Associations delivered more than 114,000 signatures for a question that would limit the number of patients a nurse can care for at one time, and another 100,000 for a question that requires hospitals to be more transparent about financial holdings and seeks to limit the compensation of chief executive officers.
Wheeling the signatures on a gurney to Galvin's office Wednesday morning, nurses said both questions will improve patient care.
"Most people do not realize that there is no law and there are no standards in existence for the number of patients that can be assigned to a nurse at one time," said Donna Kelly Williams, president of the MNA.
Nurses have tried for years to convince the Legislature to pass standards. Kelly Williams said they can't wait for lawmakers to act. "That is why we have decided to take a different approach this year," she said.
The second question from the nurses' aims to give the public more knowledge about how hospitals spend money, in response to a proliferation of hospital mergers, consolidations and the conversion of non-profit hospitals into larger corporate networks, according to Karen Higgins, a critical care nurse at Boston Medical Center who delivered the signatures for the financial transparency question.
"The public has a right to know how and where their health care dollars are being invested," Higgins said.
The proposed initiative has four key provisions. Hospitals which pay their chief executive more than 100 times the annual compensation of the lowest paid full-time employee would be fined. A new fund called the Medicaid Reimbursement Enhancement Fund would be created, funded by fines collected for "excessive" CEO pay.
Any hospital that receives money from the state, and whose patient mix is less than 60 percent government payer, shall be subject to a civil penalty for any annual operating margin that exceeds 8 percent.
Other Ballot Questions as well
Other campaigns that continued along the path include a group opposed to tying future gas tax increases to inflation starting in 2015, which delivered 87,620 certified signatures.
Opponents of linking the gas tax to the consumer price index argue it is a "forever tax" and eliminates the responsibility of elected lawmakers from voting on and justifying tax increases. The question does not change the 3-cent gas tax increase passed by the Legislature, but removes the link between the CPI and future tax increases.
Gov. Deval Patrick earlier this week criticized opponents of the automatic gas tax increases.
"I think it was done in the right way, and I think those that are advocating that the indexing be undone need to answer for why it is they keep showing up for all the ribbon-cuttings every time there's a new bridge or a new road project done, but don't seem to want to participate in how to pay for it," Patrick said Monday.
Rep. Geoff Diehl, a Republican from Whitman who is one the question's backers, said the governor's comment speaks to a "disrespect" for legislators' jobs "if he thinks all we are interested in is going to ribbon cuttings."
Bottle Bill: Expand nickel deposit on carbonated drinks to water and juice containers
Supporters of expanding the nickel deposit on carbonated drinks to water and juice containers filed approximately 105,000 signatures. Activists looking to boost recycling argue the 30-year-old law is outdated and does not reflect the explosion of water and sports drinks. Opponents call it a tax, and are pushing for increased curbside recycling.
Before dropping off boxes of certified signatures Tuesday, proponents of a measure expanding the bottle deposit and redemption law to more types of beverages rallied outside a government office building.
Janet Domenitz, executive director of MassPIRG, said the Legislature had set up the initiative petition process as a tool for those who believe they are not represented on Beacon Hill.
"This is a sacred process," Domenitz said. "We're all honored to be a part of it."
Phil Sego of the Massachusetts Sierra Club said playgrounds, parks and rivers in Massachusetts were "choked with empty bottles and cans" because non-deposit beverages are too often discarded.
Saying less than 25 percent of non-deposit containers are recycled, Ken Pruitt of the Environmental League of Massachusetts called the proposal a "pragmatic expansion of an existing law."
Rep. Denise Provost (D-Somerville) said plastic bottles, plastic bags and plastic cups represent the "big three" threats to the environment. "This is an untenable situation," she said. "Most people realize that."
Cambridge Democrat Rep. David Rogers said the bottle law update represented "good policy and good politics." He said, "Let's get it on the ballot and get it done."
Asked after the rally about the odds of the proposal surfacing for a vote in the House, where its supporters have been unable to get a vote, Rogers said, "It's difficult to say."
Chris Flynn, president of the Massachusetts Food Association, has been leading the opposition to the bottle law expansion and pushing for expanded curbside recycling as an alternative.
"Lawmakers have rejected bottle bill expansion year after year for good reason: it would cost voters and businesses more with little environmental benefit," Flynn said in a statement. "Massachusetts will do more for the environment by improving recycling through comprehensive solutions such as expanding and improving curbside pickup and making it easier to recycle on-the-go. Bottle bill expansion would force consumers to pay an additional $60 million in deposits on containers most of us already recycle - it's not about the environment, it's simply a money grab."
Last September, Coakley certified 28 petitions, on 14 topics, and denied five petitions. Typically, only a few of the petitions certified by the AG make it all the way to the ballot. Should they choose to, lawmakers early next year will have a crack at passing alternatives to the ballot proposals.
Activists who wanted to roll the state's sales tax back to 5 percent from 6.25 percent did not file signatures by late Wednesday afternoon. The proposed question had made it through earlier rounds.
The petition was filed by Owen George Becker, a Rowley resident, and its original signers all live in Rowley, Wakefield and Peabody.
Ballot campaigns last week turned in signatures to local officials for certification. Galvin's office will now count the certified signatures to make sure there are enough for petitions to move on. There is a state constitutional requirement that no more than 17,228 signatures can be from any one county.
Once the signatures are counted, Galvin notifies successful petitioners and submits the initiatives to the House of Representatives by Jan. 2. Lawmakers have until May to act.
In the past few years, voters have passed ballot laws legalizing medical marijuana, repealing a new tax on alcohol and outlawing dog racing.
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