Massachusetts Question 5, Opening of Retail Stores on Sundays and Holidays Initiative (1994)
| Massachusetts Question 5 | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic Business regulations and Sunday 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 8, 1994. It was approved.
A “yes” vote supported allowing retail stores to be open any time on Sundays, Memorial Day, July Fourth, and Labor Day and establishing regulations on work on these days. |
A “no” vote opposed allowing retail stores to be open any time on Sundays, Memorial Day, July Fourth, and Labor Day and establishing regulations on work on these days. |
Election results
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Massachusetts Question 5 |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
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1,100,994 | 52.65% | ||
| No | 990,057 | 47.35% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Question 5 was as follows:
| “ | Do you approve of a law summarized below, on which no vote was taken by tht Senate or the House of Representatives before May 4, 1994? | ” |
Ballot summary
The ballot summary for this measure was:
| “ | This proposed law would allow retail stores to open at any time on Sundays and on the legal holidays of Memorial Day, July Fourth, and Labor Day. It would not affect current restrictions on the sale of alcoholic beverages on Sundays and these holidays. Stores opening under the proposed law would be required to make Sunday and holiday work voluntary and would be required to pay most employees at least one and one-half times their regular rate. | ” |
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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