Proposed Mass. Ballot Questions Challenge Gas Tax, Minimum Wage

Sarah Birnbaum is WGBH Radio’s political and State House reporter. When she’s not on the campaign trail, she loves telling stories about health care and education policy, and all the issues that come through the Legislature that matter to voters.

August 07, 2013

Updated January 09, 2016

The 2014 election is more than a year away but Wednesday is the first deadline for Massachusetts residents to submit their proposed ballot questions.

Activists are filing a ballot initiative to roll back a portion of the new transportation law that calls for automatic increases in the gas tax indexed to inflation.

Marty Lamb, a former Republican candidate for Congress from Holliston, is the lead supporter.

"As the consumer price index goes up, the tax will go up automatically without a vote," Lamb said. "And I think the legislators need to be accountable to the people each and every time a tax goes up."

A couple more proposed ballots questions are coming from a consortium of unions and interfaith groups called Raise Up Massachusetts. One would increase the Massachusetts minimum wage from $8 per hour – where it is now – to $10.50 per hour. The other would require most businesses to provide five days of paid sick leave a year.

Harris Gruman, of the SEIU, asid the questions are aimed at helping people earn a living in a high cost state:

“We are a strong state with a strong economy. We should be doing right by people and making sure that work pays.”

To get their issues on the 2014 ballot, supporters must gather more than 80,000 signatures from registered voters. But first, they must submit the petition language to the Attorney General’s office, so she can decide if the questions pass constitutional muster.