Massachusetts Legislative Stipend Calculation and Payment Rules Initiative (2026)
| Massachusetts Legislative Stipend Calculation and Payment Rules Initiative | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic Salaries of government officials |
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| Status Signatures submitted |
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| Type Indirect initiated state statute |
Origin |
The Massachusetts Legislative Stipend Calculation and Payment Rules Initiative may be on the ballot in Massachusetts as an indirect initiated state statute on November 3, 2026.
The ballot initiative would change the method of calculating the stipends that state legislators receive in addition to their base salaries.[1] Under the initiative:
- the Senate President and Speaker of the House would receive a stipend up to 75% of their base salary;
- the majority and minority party leaders of the House and the Senate, as well as the chairs of the House and Senate Ways and Means Committees would receive a stipend of up to 50% of their base salaries;
- the majority and minority party assistant and second assistant floor leaders of the House and Senate, the third assistant floor leaders of the majority party in the House and the Senate, the vice chairs and ranking minority members of the House and Senate Ways and Means Committees would receive a stipend of up to 33% of their base salaries; and
- members of eligible committees would receive a stipend of up to 20% of their base salaries.
The initiative would also define what legislators are eligible for multiple stipends and the terms for the payment of legislative stipends.[1]
Text of measure
Full text
The full text of the ballot initiative can be read here.
Polls
The following poll did not ask respondents about their support or opposition to the proposal itself.
Suffolk University Political Research Center/The Boston Globe surveyed 500 registered voters between November 19 and November 23, 2025. The survey's margin of error was 4.4%. The question was: "Currently, 3 in 4 Massachusetts Legislators receive extra stipends known as 'leadership pay.' This includes stipends for roles like committee vice chairs, which are at the lower end, and for positions like the House Speaker and Senate President, who receive the highest additional compensation. This additional pay can add between $7,000 to more than $100,000 to a lawmaker's salary. Proposed ballot questions would reform the stipend system or end it entirely. Would you support ending or changing the current stipend system for legislative pay? Here are three options:
- Support ending extra stipends
- Support changing extra stipends
- Oppose all changes"[2]
Of those surveyed:[2]
- 30.0% selected "Support ending extra stipends;"
- 47.6% selected "Support changing extra stipends;"
- 11.6% selected "Oppose all changes;"
- 9.8% were undecided; and
- 1.0% refused to answer.
Path to the ballot
Process in Massachusetts
An indirect initiated state statute is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends state statute. There are nine (9) states that allow citizens to initiate indirect state statutes.
While a direct initiative is placed on the ballot once supporters file the required number of valid signatures, an indirect initiative is first presented to the state legislature. Legislators have a certain number of days, depending on the state, to adopt the initiative into law. Should legislators take no action or reject the initiative, the initiative is put on the ballot for voters to decide.
In Massachusetts, the number of signatures required for an indirect initiated state statute is equal to 3% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. Massachusetts also has a distribution requirement that requires no more than 25% of the certified signatures on any petition can come from a single county.
The state Legislature has until the first Wednesday of May in the election year to pass the statute. If the legislature does not pass the proposed statute, proponents must collect a second round of signatures equal to 0.5% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. The Legislature also has the power to place an alternative measure alongside the proposed statute via a simple majority vote of the state legislature.
A simple majority vote is required for voter approval. However, the number of affirmative votes cast for the measure must be greater than 30% of the votes cast in the election.
The requirements to get an initiated state statute certified for the 2026 ballot:
- Signatures (first round): 74,574
- Signatures (second round): 12,429
- Deadline (first round): The deadline to submit the first round of signatures to the secretary of state was December 3, 2025.
- Deadline (second round): The deadline to submit the second round of signatures is July 8, 2026.
Stages of the ballot initiative
The following is the timeline of the initiative:[3]
- August 7, 2025: The Massachusetts Attorney General announced that the initiative had been filed.
- September 3, 2025: The Massachusetts Attorney General announced that the initiative had been cleared and that supporters could begin gathering signatures for the initiative.
- November 19, 2025: Jonathan Hecht announced that the campaign had gathered more than 90,000 signatures in support of the initiative.[4]
External links
See also
View other measures certified for the 2026 ballot across the U.S. and in Massachusetts.
Explore Massachusetts's ballot measure history, including citizen-initiated ballot measures.
Understand how measures are placed on the ballot and the rules that apply.
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Mass.gov, "An Act to reform and regulate legislative stipends," accessed September 5, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 SUPRC/The Boston Globe, " Massachusetts Statewide Issues with The Boston Globe marginals," accessed December 5, 2025
- ↑ Mass.gov, "Ballot Initiatives Submitted for the 2026 Biennial Statewide Election (proposed laws) and 2028 Biennial Statewide Election (proposed constitutional amendments)," accessed August 6, 2025
- ↑ WBUR, "Ballot questions on rent control, all-party primaries and legislative stipends expected to move forward," accessed November 19, 2025
