CLT NEWS RELEASE
Tuesday, May 22, 2014


— Memo to the State Senate —
Re: The Election Laws bill that is on its way to the Senate floor


 

To:  Members of the Massachusetts Senate

The State House News Service reports: “One section added by Rosenberg’s committee would require, starting in 2015, that the voter guides mailed to citizens prior to an election include a brief note written by the Executive Office of Administration and Finance explaining the expected impact of a ballot question on state and municipal government finances.”

As we successfully argued when this provision was defeated in the House, this provision could make it unnecessarily difficult for almost any group to pass almost any initiative petition, since a hostile governor could direct his A&F Secretary to write a note claiming that “the initiative would cost too much; prove that it wouldn’t.”

This provision reflects Sen. Rosenberg’s ongoing determination to kill the initiative petition process, which he apparently sees as a threat to one-party rule, bringing in the electorate itself (your constituents) as it does. We are asking Senators to remove this provision, which has already been rejected by the House.

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Citizens for Limited Taxation  ▪  PO Box 1147  ▪  Marblehead, MA 01945  ▪  508-915-3665

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