Four ballot petitions clear first hurdle, gather enough signatures

Questions will tackle taxes, marijuana laws, developers, dog racing
By Lisa Wangsness
Boston Globe
Nov. 26, 2007

Advocates of decriminalizing marijuana, banning greyhound racing, repealing the state income tax, and stripping out major portions of a major state development law appear to have cleared a major hurdle in their effort to hold statewide referendums on their issues next year.

The proponents had to gather at least 66,593 certified signatures by Nov. 21, equal to 3 percent of the total ballots cast in the 2006 gubernatorial election; each of the four groups appears to have done so, said Brian McNiff, a spokesman for the secretary of state's office.

The state's town and city clerks have until Monday to certify the signatures, and Secretary of State William F. Galvin has until Wednesday to count them.

But the burden for the advocates doesn't end there. If Galvin determines an initiative to have the requisite number of signatures, the Legislature has until the first Wednesday in May to make the proposals law. If lawmakers do not act, proponents have to gather another 11,099 signatures - half of 1 percent of the ballots cast in the 2006 gubernatorial election - by June 18.

Despite the difficult road ahead, supporters of the petitions that seemed likely to advance were jubilant.

"I think this was the real reason why the ballot process was created; this is a common-sense policy that is going to save $24.3 million a year in arrests and booking charges by creating a civil penalty system," said Whitney A. Taylor, chairwoman of the Committee for a Sensible Marijuana Policy, who said her group had collected more than 105,000 signatures in 349 of the state's 351 cities and towns.

The marijuana initiative would replace criminal penalties with civil penalties for people caught with an ounce or less of marijuana. She said 11 other states, including New York and Maine, have enacted similar laws.

Michael Cloud of the Committee for Small Government said his group collected about 100,000 signatures for the income tax repeal, "enough of a cushion to blow back any challenge." When it last appeared on the ballot in 2002, the initiative received more than 45 percent of the vote. Cloud predicted it would pass next year, adding that the group plans to spend $500,000 on ads for the initiative campaign, compared with just $90,000 five years ago.

The initiative would decimate the state budget, chopping it from about $28 billion to $17 billion, which was about the size of the state's 1995 budget, according to Cloud. He said the average household's savings would be about $3,600 a year.

"If the legislators feel like they need more money, they can make their case to the people," he said.

John V. Belskis of Arlington, chairman of Repeal 40B, the group behind a petition to strip four major affordable housing provisions out of the state's comprehensive permitting law, said his group has been working for years to get the Legislature to make improvements to the law, known as Chapter 40B. The law was designed to increase the availability of affordable housing by speeding permitting for developers looking to build such structures.

Belskis's group contends that the law is fundamentally flawed, saying it has lined the pockets of developers and bankers and disempowered communities, whose local zoning laws get pushed aside. The group says 40B has failed to create much affordable housing.

The Legislature has ignored the group's pleas, Belskis said.

"If we repeal these four sections," he said, "they're going to have to do something to fix it - and they're not doing it of their own volition.'

The greyhound racing ban would make wagering on dog racing in Massachusetts illegal, punishable by a $20,000 civil penalty. Massachusetts has two dog tracks - Wonderland Greyhound Park in Revere and Raynham Park in Raynham. Advocates for the ban could not be reached for comment yesterday.

At least four petitions appear to have fallen short of the signature requirement, including one that sought to eliminate the auto excise tax and cut the 2.5 percent cap on communities' property tax increases to 1 percent. A second effort that failed to gather enough signatures would have tried to amend the state constitution and make it easier for the United States to join an international federation of democratic nations - should one ever exist.

Paul Anderson of the South End, one of those involved in that ballot initiative, said: "We may try again in two years."