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Massachusetts Question 5, Require Local Approval or State Funding for Mandated Municipal Employment Costs Amendment (1980)
| Massachusetts Question 5 | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic Local government finance and taxes and State legislative vote requirements |
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| Status |
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| Type Legislatively referred constitutional amendment |
Origin |
Massachusetts Question 5 was on the ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment in Massachusetts on November 4, 1980. It was approved.
A “yes” vote supported requiring local approval before state laws that increase municipal employment costs, such as wages, hours, or benefits, can take effect, unless the law is passed by a two-thirds legislative vote or the state agrees to cover the additional costs. |
A “no” vote opposed requiring local approval before state laws that increase municipal employment costs, such as wages, hours, or benefits, can take effect, unless the law is passed by a two-thirds legislative vote or the state agrees to cover the additional costs. |
Election results
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Massachusetts Question 5 |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
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1,401,897 | 65.99% | ||
| No | 722,425 | 34.01% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Question 5 was as follows:
| “ | Do you approve of the adoption of an amendment to the Constitution summarized below, which was approved by the General Court in joint sessions of the House of Representatives and the Senate on November 30, 1977, by a vote of 257-8, and on September 18, 1980, by a vote of 179-6? | ” |
Ballot summary
The ballot summary for this measure was:
| “ | The proposed amendment would limit the power of the legislature to impose certain costs on cities and towns. It would provide that any law which imposes additional costs upon two or more cities or towns by regulating the compensation, hours, status, conditions, or benefits of municipal employment would not be effective within a municipality until it accepts the law by vote or appropriation of money. Local acceptance would not be required if the legislature either passed the law by a two-thirds vote, or provided, during the same session in which the law was enacted, that the additional costs would be assumed by the Commonwealth. | ” |
Full Text
The full text of this measure is available here.
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the Massachusetts Constitution
A simple majority vote is required during two successive joint legislative sessions for the Massachusetts State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 101 votes in the joint session of the state legislature, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
See also
External links
Footnotes
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State of Massachusetts Boston (capital) |
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