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Massachusetts Question 7, Require Electric Utilities to Charge Uniform Rates Per Kilowatt Initiative (1976)
| Massachusetts Question 7 | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic Business regulations and Energy market regulations |
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| Status |
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| Type Indirect initiated state statute |
Origin |
Massachusetts Question 7 was on the ballot as an indirect initiated state statute in Massachusetts on November 2, 1976. It was defeated.
A “yes” vote supported requiring electric utility companies to charge a uniform rate per kilowatt hour, with exceptions. |
A “no” vote opposed requiring electric utility companies to charge a uniform rate per kilowatt hour, with exceptions. |
Election results
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Massachusetts Question 7 |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 608,691 | 25.34% | ||
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1,793,022 | 74.66% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Question 7 was as follows:
| “ | Do you approve of a law summarized below, which was disapproved by the House of Representatives on May 3, 1976, by a vote of 182-49, and on which no vote was taken by the Senate before May 5, 1976? | ” |
Ballot summary
The ballot summary for this measure was:
| “ | The proposed act would impose a general requirement that every electric utility company charge a uniform rate per kilowatt hour of electricity. The proposed act would except from this general rule rates charged to other electric utility companies and to residential customers who heat their principle place of residence by electricity. The Act would also permit a different rate to be charged residential customers for the first three hundred (300) kilowatt hours they consume each month, and would authorize "peak load" pricing whereby a higher rate than the uniform rate per kilowatt hour may be charged during the periods of the day or seasons of the year when consumption of electricity is the greatest. The Act would authorize the Department of Public Utilities to issue implementing rules and regulations and provides for enforcement. | ” |
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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