Massachusetts voters to ponder questions ranging from magic mushrooms to rideshare drivers

Ballot initiatives could be resolved before November election if lawmakers act on proposals, pass legislation by May. Otherwise, it will be a scramble for almost 13,000 additional signatures by July

BOSTON – At one point, it seemed as if Massachusetts voters would face a bumper crop of ballot questions to ponder and decide this election cycle. But what was once a list of 45 proposals has declined to just 10, with five of them different versions of the same query.

“At this point, all the questions are before the state Legislature,” said Debra O’Malley, a spokeswoman for Secretary William Galvin.

Galvin’s office oversees and regulates statewide elections in Massachusetts, including elections to state and federal office, governor’s council, county commissioners, district attorney, clerk of the courts and registrar of deeds. Only municipal elections are not regulated through Galvin’s office.

Community organizers, politicians and even corporate figures flooded the Attorney General last year with a list of 45 initiatives they sought to have included statewide on the November ballot. They filed the paperwork, hit the streets and set about to collect signatures, each belonging to a registered voter.

What is the process for getting questions on ballot?

The first step in proposing a new law is to write it. The second step: Get at least 10 signatures from registered voters. These are submitted, along with the proposed law, to the office of the Attorney General by the first Wednesday in August. The AG reviews the language to determine if it is an “acceptable subject for an initiative.” If it is considered acceptable, the AG writes a “fair and concise” summary of the issue and returns it to the individual or group proposing the question.

The group then presents the packet to the Secretary of the Commonwealth. That office prints the summary and the petitioners then hit the streets to collect the signatures needed to qualify for inclusion on the ballot: 3% of the voter turnout in the preceding gubernatorial elections. This year, that’s 74,574 signatures of registered voters.

And the signers cannot all be from the same town or even the same county. Regulations stipulate that only 25% of signatures can be from the same county.

Once Galvin’s office certifies the signatures, all proposals are submitted to the Legislature for review and action.

When does Legislature get into the act?

Lawmakers can pass the initiative by April 30, pass legislation pertaining to a question or proposal or sit on their hands. A rarely used move allows the Legislature to formulate its own proposal to include on the ballot as an alternative choice.

If the Legislature does not act on the proposal, the question can be placed on the ballot once proponents have collected an additional 12,429 certified signatures, no more than 25% collected from one county.

This year, because of the number of proposed ballot questions, 10 in total, lawmakers have opted to create a special commission to review them.

In a statement from the offices of Senate President Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, and House Speaker Ronald Mariano, D-Quincy, both bodies have agreed to the creation of a special commission to “review the initiatives.”

“The State Constitution tasks the Legislature with considering each initiative petition, and with giving interested parties the ability to provide feedback on the policy changes being sought at the ballot box,” according to the release. “Given the number of questions that were submitted this session, including competing versions of the same question, the House and Senate will act to establish a special joint committee.”

The body will be “especially equipped to tackle the unique challenges presented by the legal and policy intricacies of the questions this year. The Legislature looks forward to a fair, balanced and informed public process for the consideration of all initiative petitions.”

One group, backed by several corporate entities, that is seeking to have app-based rideshare drivers classified as independent contractors rather than employees filed nine different version of their proposal. Four of those versions have made it to Galvin’s desk.

The proposal would define and regulate the relationship between network companies Uber, Lyft, Instacart and others, and their app-based drivers. The corporate-backed proposal would establish app-based drivers as independent contractors, not employees, and the companies that control the apps would not be their employers (90,112 certified signatures).

A competing question would create a pathway for app share drivers to form a union and bargain as a collective (83,788 certified signatures).

What are other proposed questions?

Other questions that could make it to the ballot in November:

A proposal to allow the state auditor to audit the Legislature (94,404 certified signatures collected).

A proposal that makes school districts responsible for certifying that high school students have mastered the “skills, competencies and knowledge” of state standards for MCAS graduation requirements (101,511 certified signatures). The measure would replace MCAS testing with local certification.

A proposal to pay tipped workers the state’s full minimum wage, $15 an hour (84,804 certified signatures collected).

A petition for the regulation and taxation of psychedelic, natural plant-based medicines (92,277 certified signatures).

Lawmakers have filed legislation in support of some of these proposals and in opposition to others. Sen. Patricia Jehlen, D-Somerville filed a bill to increase tipped workers to the prevailing minimum wage in Massachusetts over the course of several years.

And several bills filed in both the Senate and House would establish a clear relationship between rideshare drivers and the companies that control the applications the drivers use to obtain jobs.

The proposal to regulate and tax natural plant medicine in Massachusetts would establish a special commission, similar to the Cannabis Control Commission, to oversee the business of administration and use of psychedelics and natural medicines.

Currently, small businesses in certain communities offer therapy with psychedelics to treat substance use disorders, PTSD and other mental health issues for minimum amounts of money. Jehlen has filed legislation that would decriminalize the possession and use of magic mushrooms for anyone over 18 and allow for sharing the substances for no financial gain.

Now it’s up to the Legislature to decide whether it wants to decide the questions or leave them up to the voters.