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Massachusetts Question 4, Gasoline Tax for Road Funding Referendum (1924)
| Massachusetts Question 4 | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic Fuel taxes and Highways and bridges |
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| Status |
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| Type Veto referendum |
Origin |
Massachusetts Question 4 was on the ballot as a veto referendum in Massachusetts on November 4, 1924. It was defeated.
A “yes” vote supported providing for a two-cent-per-gallon excise tax on gasoline and motor fuel to fund highway construction and maintenance. |
A “no” vote opposed providing for a two-cent-per-gallon excise tax on gasoline and motor fuel to fund highway construction and maintenance. |
Election results
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Massachusetts Question 4 |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 281,631 | 33.97% | ||
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547,460 | 66.03% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Question 4 was as follows:
| “ | Shall a law (Chapter 454 of the Acts of 1923) which provides for the raising of funds toward the cost of the construction and maintenance of highways by means of an excise tax of two cents on each gallon of gasoline and other fuel used for propelling motor vehicles on the highways of the Commonwealth, said tax to be paid by the purchaser to the distributor, who, in turn, pays It to the Commonwealth, and the money to be credited to a fund to be known as the gasoline-highway fund, out of which reimbursement is to be made to purchasers, who shall consume the gasoline or other fuel in any manner except in the operation of motor vehicles on the highways, and the expenses of carrying out the act are to be paid, fifty per cent of the balance of said fund to be distributed to the cities and towns of the Commonwealth, in proportion to the amounts which they contribute to the State tax, and this fifty per cent to be expended in construction or improvement of public ways within the city or town limits, and the other fifty per cent to be expended by the State Department of Public Works on such highways as it may select, which law was approved by both branches of the General Court by votes not recorded, and was approved by His Excellency the Governor, be approved? | ” |
Path to the ballot
Before 1952, citizen-initiated ballot measures in Massachusetts required a fixed number of signatures. In 1950, voters approved a constitutional amendment changing this to a percentage-based system, tying the number of required signatures to ballots cast in the most recent gubernatorial election. Before 1952, the signature requirement for veto referendums was 15,000 for general legislation and 10,000 for emergency legislation.
See also
External links
- William Francis Galvin Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "Massachusetts Statewide Ballot Measures: 1919-Present"
- The Springfield Daily Republican, "Legal Notices," Oct 28, 1924
Footnotes
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