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Massachusetts Question 5, Uniform Statewide Motor Vehicle Insurance Rate Setting Initiative (1950)
| Massachusetts Question 5 | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic Insurance policy and Vehicle and driver regulations |
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| Status |
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| Type Indirect initiated state statute |
Origin |
Massachusetts Question 5 was on the ballot as an indirect initiated state statute in Massachusetts on November 7, 1950. It was defeated.
A “yes” vote supported requiring the Commissioner of Insurance to annually set "fair and reasonable classifications of risks and adequate, just, reasonable and nondiscriminatory premium charges" for motor vehicle liability insurance, applied uniformly across the state without using geographic districts or zones. |
A “no” vote opposed requiring the Commissioner of Insurance to annually set "fair and reasonable classifications of risks and adequate, just, reasonable and nondiscriminatory premium charges" for motor vehicle liability insurance, applied uniformly across the state without using geographic districts or zones. |
Election results
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Massachusetts Question 5 |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 376,636 | 22.80% | ||
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1,275,431 | 77.20% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Question 5 was as follows:
| “ | Do you approve of a law summarized below which was disapproved in the House of Representatives by a vote of 77 in the affirmative and 139 in the negative and in the Senate by a vote of 13 in the affirmative and 25 in the negative? | ” |
Ballot summary
The ballot summary for this measure was:
| “ | The proposed measure strikes out the first sentence of section 113B of chapter 175 of the General Laws (Tercentenary Edition) as most recently amended by section 4 of chapter 459 of the acts of 1935, and inserts in place thereof a sentence which provides that the Commissioner of Insurance shall annually, on or before September fifteenth, after due hearing and investigation, fix and establish fair and reasonable classifications of risks and adequate, just, reasonable and nondiscriminatory premium charges to be used and charged by insurance companies in connection with the issue or execution of motor vehicle liability policies or bonds, as defined in section 34A of chapter 90 of the General Laws, for the ensuing calendar year or any part thereof, but said classifications and premium charges shall be uniform throughout the Commonwealth and shall not be fixed or established according to districts or zones. | ” |
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 indirect initiated state statutes was 20,000, with an additional 5,000 if the Legislature rejected the proposal and proponents wanted it placed on the ballot.
See also
External links
- William Francis Galvin Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "Massachusetts Statewide Ballot Measures: 1919-Present"
- The North Adams Transcript, "Legal Notice!" October 20, 1950
Footnotes
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