With enough signatures to proceed to the next phase, interest groups supporting various initiatives are closer to placing their questions on the 2016 election ballot.
The groups needed to collect approximately 65,000 signatures by Dec. 1, said Brian McNiff, spokesman for Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin. The petitions that did meet the requirements are now eligible to a vote by the State House of Representatives by the end of the legislative session on Jan. 5, he said.
Geoffrey Yalenezian, CEO of Brennan’s Smoke Shops, began a campaign to eliminate double taxation on the sale of tobacco products. The petition serves as a challenge to the “loop of oppressiveness” within current tobacco sales, he said.
“[I] realized that tobacco users in Massachusetts have been paying taxes upon taxes for years,” Yalenezian said. “And nobody has ever represented the consumers in the Massachusetts State House, so I took it upon myself to lobby up on Beacon Hill [against the excessive taxing].”
Placing “a tax on a tax,” Yalenezian said, harms not only the residents of Boston, but also the state itself.
“In my opinion, taxing a tax is stealing, taxing a tax on a tax is highway robbery,” Yalenezian said. “The tax code in Massachusetts is set in a way where we cannot compete with our surrounding and neighboring states.”
Of the 35 petitions filed with the Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey’s office, 22 were certified, according to a Sept. 2 press release.
The amendment must then be brought before the state legislature and one-fourth must vote in favor of it. This process is repeated before the amendment is officially put on ballot and potentially voted for, The Daily Free Press reported Sept. 9.
Tim Foley, vice president of SEIU 199 United Healthcare Workers East, proposed the Massachusetts Fair Health Care Pricing Act. Foley said that the measure is expected to surpass the required signature threshold and earn a ballot position.
“Massachusetts consumers will save hundreds of millions of dollars on insurance premiums each year by reining in expensive medical centers through the Massachusetts Fair Health Care Pricing Act,” Foley said in a release. “The bill will also provide a major boost to community hospitals, which provide excellent patient care and are major economic engines for Massachusetts cities and towns.”
Foley said the threat of losing health care institutions would decrease if voters support segregating excessive payments to select medical centers.
“Across the Commonwealth, voters recognize that their communities are at risk of losing more of these vital institutions unless we take immediate steps to rein in excessive payments to a few large, expensive medical centers,” Foley said. “That’s why healthcare workers are excited to see an overwhelmingly supportive response, so far has yielded more than the signature threshold necessary to ensure the petition reaches the ballot.”
Several residents spoke out about the various petitions.
Dinh Phan, 28, of Allston, discussed the Initiative Petition for a Law Relative to Ending Common Core Education Standards and described this petition as “extreme and abrupt.”
“I personally don’t think that ending Common Core is the solution,” she said. “[The solution to the issues with Common Core is] about greater transparency between different stakeholders in education, like having more conversations, and having school leaders be really clear about how these standards are improving student learning.”
Sarah Swett, 33, of South Boston, expressed support for Yalenezian’s petition.
“Taxes though are already pretty high and to double tax anything seems a little ridiculous,” she said. “I would definitely be in support of avoiding double taxation.”
Will Tieste, 36, of Kenmore, said people who smoke have the right to, and they shouldn’t be forced to pay double taxation.
“So smoking tobacco products is not illegal,” he said. “Yes we all know it’s not great for your health, but if it’s legal and it’s already being taxed, there is no need to double it.”
