Ballot question campaigns face one of their last checkpoints Wednesday before they can officially get their proposal before voters this fall. Whether they actually do may be another matter entirely.
Campaigns have until the end of the day to turn their final batch of 12,429 signatures into local clerks, a hurdle most campaigns say they will clear.
But several questions are still tangled up in court. Others could get negotiated away on Beacon Hill before voters ever see them. One has already been knocked off completely. As of Wednesday morning, here’s the potentially record lineup of 11 measures currently barreling toward the ballot:
💸 Income tax cut: The business leaders behind a ballot question that would slash the state’s income tax from 5 percent to 4 percent say they have the signatures to get the question before voters.
It already seems to be popular with voters: 66 percent of the 500 registered voters in a Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll conducted last week said they support the question, compared to 21 percent who were opposed.
Not so much with labor unions or on Beacon Hill. House Speaker Ron Mariano expressed some interest in negotiating to keep the question off the ballot, where if approved experts estimate it could cost the state $5.1 billion in tax revenue. But lawmakers also passed legislation that would hold some other tax changes hostage if the question passes.
📈 Tax cap rewrite: It’s mostly flown under the radar so far, but this proposal, also pressed by business groups, could significantly reshape how the state crafts its budget.
The question would change the formula for Chapter 62F, the automatic tax refund rule you might remember from 2022 for delivering $3 billion back to taxpayers. That includes by counting revenue from the so-called millionaires tax in calculating what tax collections would be capped at before triggering a refund to taxpayers.
In other words, the law would likely be triggered more often — delivering taxpayers more money, but muddying the state’s budget-writing process.
🏠 Rent control: Supporters of a proposal to bring back a form of rent control say they’ve collected 33,000 signatures this round — more than twice what they would need — but two outside factors could still keep the question from going before voters this fall.
First, the courts: Opponents filed a lawsuit earlier this year claiming that the question was too ambiguous and the summary of it drafted by Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office was misleading.
There’s also the possibility that proponents could strike a deal to keep the question off the ballot. The Globe’s Andrew Brinker has more on where those conversations stand.
🗳️ All-party primaries: After vowing to increase ballot access on her way out of the governor’s race in 2022, former Democratic hopeful Danielle Allen is back with a proposal to scrap traditional party primaries and replace them with a “top two” system for state elections in which every candidate runs in the same preliminary election, regardless of party affiliation.
The campaign says it has submitted 20,000 signatures this round, though the Supreme Judicial Court is still weighing a challenge from Democratic Party leaders on whether the proposal is constitutional.
📂 Public records: State Auditor Diana DiZoglio says the campaign she’s leading to subject the governor’s office and the state Legislature to the public records law has cleared the signature hurdle.
Don’t submit your records requests just yet, though. There’s no formal opposition to DiZoligo’s latest crusade, but the state Senate sought an advisory opinion from the SJC that left the door open for the Legislature to amend the ballot proposal if it passes.
And House lawmakers have already passed legislation intended to cut the ballot question off by subjecting the Governor Maura Healey to the current public records law while carving out new requirements for themselves that would allow the public access to a specific set of “legislative” records.
🌿 Marijuana legalization repeal: The state’s highest court cleared this one for the ballot late last week, and supporters say they’ve got the signatures needed to advance.
If it reaches the ballot, voters would decide whether Massachusetts should reverse course on recreational marijuana legalization a decade after it passed a separate ballot question creating the multibillion-dollar industry here.
☑️ Same-day voter registration: Secretary of State Bill Galvin is backing a proposal allowing voters to register on Election Day. No organized opposition has emerged so far, though the concept is not popular in the House.
🏘️ Starter homes: This is another measure that appears to be cruising toward November. The proposal would make it easier to build so-called starter homes across Massachusetts by changing zoning law to allow for development of single-family homes on smaller lots. Supporters say they’ve collected about 16,000 signatures and are already gearing up for a major advertising push after Labor Day, according to the campaign’s committee chair, Andrew Mikula.
🌊 Land and water conservation: We forgive if you totally missed this one. If passed, the proposal from the “Protect Water and Nature” campaign would redirect some of the sales tax on sporting goods into a conservation fund. So far, there isn’t any formal opposition campaign.
⚖️ CPCS collective bargaining: Another deep cut on the list.
The measure would give employees at the Committee for Public Counsel Services — the state’s public defenders agency — the right to collectively bargain. SEIU Local 888 Tom McKeever, whose union is one of two locals supporting the question, said the campaign is poised to clear the next signature hurdle.
📝 Gun law repeal: There’s also a measure targeting the state’s firearms law that is heading to voters through a slightly different process and doesn’t need to clear Wednesday’s signature deadline. That measure would give voters the final word on whether to keep or toss the sweeping gun-control law lawmakers approved last session.
TURNING THE PAGE: Mass. lawmakers strike deal on major reading instruction overhaul by John Hilliard, The Boston Globe: Massachusetts lawmakers announced an agreement Tuesday on a long-awaited overhaul of the state’s reading instruction requirements that will impose new mandates on school districts. The legislation, which still must clear each chamber and be signed by Healey, would mark a major increase in state oversight of local school districts.
FUELING DEBATE: At Massport’s urging, Healey signs tax break for sustainable aviation fuel by Jordan Wolman, CommonWealth Beacon: A supplemental budget bill Healey signed last week includes the state’s first foray into so-called sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, which is made from cooking oil, plant and animal materials, or synthetic fuel, instead of petroleum. Healey approved a $10 million tax credit for each of the next three years that’s meant to nudge airlines into adopting the nascent fuel despite opposition from some environmental groups.
SEA CHANGE: The House plans to vote Wednesday on its version of Healey’s environmental bond bill, but the chamber took a knife to some of the policy proposals and funding state senators included in the version they passed in April.
The nearly $3.1 billion bottom line in authorized borrowing is scaled down considerably from the state Senate’s $3.94 billion bond bill, and the House kept a controversial provision that would redefine when a shifting beach in Massachusetts is considered public. But it cut the Senate’s long-floated plastic bag ban. The Globe’s Kate Selig has more.
DEBATE DODGER: Missed last night’s US Senate debate? You’re not alone. Incumbent Senator Ed Markey also passed on the quixotic event that featured his Democratic primary challenger, US Representative Seth Moulton, and the all-but-certain GOP nominee, John Deaton. The Globe’s Anjali Huynh has four takeaways from the cross-party faceoff.
ENDORSEMENT ALERT: The Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts rolled out endorsements for legislative candidates on Wednesday, including for a few Democratic primary challengers. The group is backing Persis Yu in her bid to unseat West Roxbury state Senator Mike Rush, and Latoya Gayle, who’s challenging South Boston state Senator Nick Collins.
NO FARE: Most Mass. voters cool to congestion pricing, saying they oppose paying more to drive into Boston with less traffic by Chris Van Buskirk, the Boston Globe: An overwhelming majority of Massachusetts residents said they would not want to pay extra to drive to downtown Boston if that meant less traffic, dealing a blow to the idea of introducing congestion pricing in New England’s largest city, according to a new Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll.
Hillary Clinton Says Biden’s Re-election Bid Was a ‘Terrible Mistake’ by Tim Balk, The New York Times.
John Kerry calls Trump’s plan to end Iran war an attempt to fix his own mistakes by Samantha J. Gross, The Boston Globe.
Kraft Sports, Patriots sue Foxborough over licensing fees by Travis Andersen, The Boston Globe.
State’s mental health department should take over Bridgewater hospital, advocates say by Katie Lannan, GBH News.
Vineyard Offshore owes $1 million in rent, landlord says in suit by Anastasia E. Lennon, The New Bedford Light.
Worcester judge gave gift to crime victim. Now defendants want new trial by Brad Petrishen, Worcester Telegram & Gazette.
Thanks for reading The Scrum.
This newsletter was edited and produced by Matt Stout.
Have a question for the team? Email us at thescrum@globe.com.
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Kelly Garrity can be reached at kelly.garrity@globe.com.