CLT NEWS RELEASE
Friday, March 28, 2014
S. 1981, an Act to Kill the
Initiative and Referendum Process
and the new petition to end the automatic gas tax hikes
Presently in conference committee: sneak attack on the automatic gas tax
petition,
as part of the Senate version of the Election Law bill.
Citizens for Limited Taxation has for years been successfully opposing
Sen. Rosenberg’s assault on the initiative petition process (in a bill
titled “An Act to protect the integrity of initiative and referendum
petitions,” isn’t that cute?) so we haven’t been worried about his S.
332, though with his assumed ascent to the Senate Presidency, we fear
this may change.
Meanwhile, he seems to be settling temporarily on one provision that has
done serious damage to taxpayers’ ability to use the petition process in
other states, and could be used unfairly to defeat the automatic gas tax
repeal petition presently moving through the process toward the Nov.
2014 ballot.
That provision, part of the Election Law bill in conference, would
require a “fiscal impact statement” from the Secretary of Administration
and Finance be printed along with the already-required ballot titles and
Yes-No arguments (which by definition are a balance). On any taxpayer
issue, we can easily imagine the statement from a hostile governor’s
office: “If this passes civilization will end.” Or, in the case of the
gas tax question, “if this passes all the roads and bridges will
crumble; prove that they won’t.”
The provision includes an appeals process that is meant to appear fair
but has been used in other states to tie up petition advocates in court
when they need all their resources to collect signatures and prepare a
ballot campaign.
CLT has never had a problem with statements overseen by the Secretary of
State’s office, which is independent of the governor and legislative
branches, but bringing in the Governor’s Secretariat is a direct threat.
We hope the Legislature continues to honor the initiative petition
process, used by the left, right and center of the political spectrum,
as well as animal lovers and environmentalists, and that the people’s
right to make their own laws will actually be “protected.”
# # #
Citizens for Limited Taxation ▪ PO
Box 1147 ▪ Marblehead, MA 01945
▪ 508-915-3665
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