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Massachusetts Question 1, Excise Tax on Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco for Health Fund Initiative (1992)
| Massachusetts Question 1 | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic Restricted-use funds and Tobacco and cigarette taxes |
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| Status |
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| Type Indirect initiated state statute |
Origin |
Massachusetts Question 1 was on the ballot as an indirect initiated state statute in Massachusetts on November 3, 1992. It was approved.
A “yes” vote supported providing for a new excise tax on cigarettes and smokeless tobacco to fund a new Health Protection Fund. |
A “no” vote opposed providing for a new excise tax on cigarettes and smokeless tobacco to fund a new Health Protection Fund. |
Election results
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Massachusetts Question 1 |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
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1,429,642 | 54.36% | ||
| No | 1,200,438 | 45.64% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Question 1 was as follows:
| “ | Do you approve of a law summarized below, on which no vote was taken by the Senate or the House of Representatives before May 6, 1992? | ” |
Ballot summary
The ballot summary for this measure was:
| “ |
This proposed law would establish a Health Protection Fund to pay for health programs relating to tobacco use, including distribution of information about tobacco use, to be financed by a new excise tax on cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. The Health Protection Fund would be used, subject to appropriation by the state Legislature, to supplement existing funding for the following purposes: school health education programs including information about the hazards of tobacco use; smoking prevention and smoking cessation programs in the workplace and community; tobacco-related public service advertising; drug education programs; support of prenatal and maternal care at community health centers which provide programs on smoking cessation and information on the harmful effects of smoking; and monitoring by the state Department of Public Health of illness and death associated with tobacco. The proposed law would establish a new excise tax of one and one-quarter cents per cigarette (twenty-five cents per pack of 20) and twenty-five percent of the wholesale price of smokeless tobacco. This excise would be in addition to the excise already imposed on cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. The new excise would be collected by the state Department of Revenue under the same procedures that apply to the existing tobacco excise. The proposed law would direct the State Comptroller to report annually on the revenues and expenditures of the Health Protection Fund. The proposed law states that if any of its provisions were found invalid, the other provisions would remain in effect. The proposed law would go into effect on January 1, 1993. | ” |
Full Text
The full text of this measure is available here.
Path to the ballot
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.
See also
External links
Footnotes
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State of Massachusetts Boston (capital) |
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