The current status of each petition can be found here: http://www.mass.gov/ago/government-resources/initiatives-and-other-ballot-questions/current-petitions-filed.html .

I would hope the task force would take into account the plausibility that the sponsoring organization can effectively and successfully collect the signatures needed during a very short 2 month period this May and June, as it only becomes a useful issue in this year’s campaigns if the initiative actually appears on this year’s ballot.

Also, please note that many of the petitions certified by the attorney general are slightly differently worded versions for the same initiative, only one of which actually go forward. There are, for example, two slightly different versions of the expanded bottle bill. (This is done in case one particular wording gets rejected). Others have been dropped b/c of actions of the legislature (software sales tax, for example). The number of actually active petitions is around a dozen.

Add mention that GRP candidates will be provided with briefing materials so that they can publicize our position as the campaign.

GRP Involvement in 2014 Ballot Question Initiative Campaigns
Sponsors: Mike Heichman, Suffolk County (Shepherd), Danny Factor, Middlesex County and Frank Jackson, Middlesex County
Contact Info: [email protected] 617-265-8143
Vetting: This proposal has been vetted and supported by the Membership Comm. and ComCom. It has also been vetted by Platform Comm, which has expressed concerns.
Background:
Our party has become involved in this project in the past. We can become much more effective if we adopt a plan and calendar at our StateCom meeting on 1/11/14.
At this date, it is impossible to know which questions will appear on the November, 2014 Ballot. Below is information from the Attorney General’s website, which explains what will happen with this process this year, and a list of the current questions. Given past history, only a small number of these initiative petitions will eventually appear on the ballot in November.
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(Excerpts from the Attorney General’s website: An Overview for Interested Members of the Public ttp://www.mass.gov/ago/government-resources/initiatives-and-other-ballot-questions/initiative-petition-process.html
1. Thousands of additional voter signatures are gathered (this year, the requirement is 68,911) and filed with local election officials by late November and then with the Secretary of State by the first Wednesday in December;
2. If enough are gathered, the measure is sent to the Legislature in January of 2014;
3. The Legislature either approves or disapproves the measure, proposes a substitute, or takes no action;
4. Unless the Legislature has enacted the measure before the first Wednesday in May of 2014, the proponents gather still more signatures (this year, 11,485 signatures are required) by early July;
5. If they gather enough, the measure and any legislative substitute are submitted to the people at the next biennial state election (in this case, November of 2014).
The process is similar for constitutional amendments, but they must go through two successive sessions of the Legislature and must (unlike initiative petitions for laws) get the approval of 25% of the legislators in each session. Thus any proposed constitutional amendments submitted by August of 2013 could not appear on the ballot until November of 2016.
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Current Petitions Filed
http://www.mass.gov/ago/government-resources/initiatives-and-other-ballot-questions/current-petitions-filed.html
Titles of Potential Questions that will appear on the November, 2014 Ballot:
1. Constitutional Amendment to declare that “corporations are not people, $ is not speech.”
2. Patience Safety Act
3. Earned Sick Time
4. Raising Minimum Wage
5. Law to Prohibit Casino Gambling
6. Sales Tax
7. New Hire Incentives
8. Constitutional Amendment Extending the People’s Right of Self-Government
9. Updating Bottle Bill
10. Repeal 2013 Gas Tax Incentive
11. Genetically Modified Food Right to Know
12. Constitutional Amendment Relative to MA National Guard
13. Shared Parenting
14. Abuse Prevention
15. Whale Safe Fishing Act
16. Repeal 2013 Sales Tax on Computer and Software Technology Service
17. MA Family Sunshine Protection
18. Limit Excessive Hospital Operating Margins …
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Proposal:
I. Winter, 2014 StateCom Meeting
A. StateCom hereby creates a 2014 Statewide Ballot Task Force.
B. A small task force of at least 3 members will volunteer on 1/11 to take the lead of shepherding this proposal.
C. The Statewide Ballot Task Force will be asked to …
1. Research the potential questions. (Members of the Platform Comm. will be asked to support the project during this step.)
2. Make recommendations to the Spring, 2014 StateCom meeting on what positions (yes, no, or no position) that the StateCom should take on these questions.
II. Spring, 2014 StateCom Meeting
A. The Task Force will make its recommendations to StateCom and StateCom will decide what to do.
B. StateCom will authorize the Task Force to create GRP literature on the questions that it has taken positions. (Members of ComCom will be asked to support this project during this step.)
C. The Task Force will present its proposed literature to Adcom for approval.
III. GRP endorsed candidates, local chapters and individual members will be asked to use and distribute the literature. (The Membership Comm. will be asked to support this project during this step.)
IV. The GRP website, Facebook, e-mail and other forms of internal communication will be used to publicize our positions.
V. Budget: StateCom will authorize Adcom to spend up to $350 for this project. (Most of the estimated expenses would be for the printing of

I’d be happy to be added as a co-sponsor.

I dont have the time to put into joining this taskforce, but I think we should be as informed as possible when we decide whether to endorse a measure or not. This will empower us to do so.

2014 winter statecom proposals: GRP Involvement in 2014 Ballot Question Initiative Campaigns