22 questions closer to making 2016 election ballot

After receiving certification from Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, 22 petitions are one step closer to gaining spots on the November 2016 election ballot.

Twenty of the petitions are proposed laws and two are constitutional amendments, according to a Sept. 2 press release. The petitions span 16 topics including recreational marijuana use, public funding for abortion, fair access to public charter schools , expanded gambling and improved public records access.

Thomas Harvey, a lawyer that filed the amendment prohibiting future abortion-funding legislation, explained that getting the amendment on the ballot is a long process.

“It is a four-step procedure. The first step is requiring 64,750 certified signatures, which is 3 percent of registered voters in the last governor’s election,” Harvey said. “The second step is that it must be brought before the state legislature and one-fourth must vote in favor and then it goes back to the next elective legislature and again needs one-fourth and then it goes on the ballot and requires a majority vote.”

Groups sponsoring the petitions will need the signatures from voters by Dec. 2, 2015, for consideration by the Massachusetts legislature, according to the release. If not enacted, more signatures are required to place the petition on the November 2016 ballot, the release stated.

Harvey said he hopes to see his amendment on the 2018 ballot if it does not make it to the 2016 ballot.

Thirty-five petitions were originally submitted to Healey’s office and were certified to proceed, according to the release. Ten did not make the cut, two were withdrawn and one was deferred.

William Luzier, campaign manager for the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, filed the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act. He described the petition as beneficial.

“The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol is about ending marijuana prohibition and regulating marijuana, which will pay taxes, create jobs and take commerce away from gangs and cartels,” Luzier said.

Luzier said the campaign will also allow those over the age of 21 to purchase marijuana and possess up to 10 ounces in their homes, as long as at least 9 ounces are kept hidden.

“We also want to establish a Cannabis Control Commission, similar to the Alcohol Control Commission, that would regulate everything,” he said. “Marijuana prohibition has been an abject failure, as much as a failure as alcohol prohibition. People who use a substance less damaging than alcohol should not be thrown in jail.”

John Gannon, chairman of Bay Staters for Energy Independence, filed the Initiative Petition for a Law Relative to Renewable Energy. Gannon said the goal is to have the commonwealth running solely on renewable energy resources by 2050.

“This is a very big issue for many groups of people and at the end of the day we’re going to see a coalition of all of us together, all of us millennials who see climate change as a big issue,” he said.

Gannon said he was inspired by the efforts by the state of Hawaii to increase renewable resources by 100 percent by 2045.

Several residents said they are interested some of the initiatives that might make the 2016 ballot.

Elsa Sze, 28, of Allston, said recreational marijuana can be of importance to young adults.

“I think a lot of young people don’t think it’s wrong to use pot and it’s a really interesting idea to regulate pot like alcohol,” she said. “I’m interested to see what happens when it actually lands on the ballot, to see what happens with the older generation as well.”

Geoff Ferry, 67, of Brighton, said all of the petitions matter, but not without getting people to show their support by voting.

“It’s more an issue of getting people to actually vote, but hopefully if most of the petitions are about issues like the ones you’re mentioning then people will get why it matters,” he said. “I would want to see something though about healthcare because that’s something that’s really important right now and really need to be talked about by everyone.”

Steven Siwy, 35, of Allston, said topics such as abortion and marijuana will attract those with “strong opinion[s].”

“With climate change, a lot of people have an opinion, but some people try to ignore it more than like abortion or marijuana,” he said. “I’m interested to see what will happen. Most people are going to vote for regulation of marijuana or public funding for abortion, but I guess you never know.”