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Massachusetts Question 2, Compensation of Members of the Legislature Referendum (1962)
| Massachusetts Question 2 | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic Salaries of government officials |
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| Status |
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| Type Veto referendum |
Origin |
Massachusetts Question 2 was on the ballot as a veto referendum in Massachusetts on November 6, 1962. It was defeated.
A “yes” vote supported establishing the compensation rates for members of the General Court. |
A “no” vote opposed establishing the compensation rates for members of the General Court. |
Election results
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Massachusetts Question 2 |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 276,091 | 17.09% | ||
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1,339,234 | 82.91% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Question 2 was as follows:
| “ | Do you approve of law summarized below, which was approved by both branches of the General Court by vote not recorded? | ” |
Ballot summary
The ballot summary for this measure was:
| “ | This act increases the compensation each member of the General Court shall receive for each regular annual session from fifty-two hundred dollars to sixty-seven hundred dollars and increases the additional compensation the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall receive from fifty-two hundred dollars to sixty-seven hundred dollars. The act also increases the additional compensation the floor leaders of the major political parties in the Senate and House of Representatives, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means and the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means shall receive from twenty-six hundred dollars to thirty-three hundred and fifty dollars, and provides that a member of the General Court chosen to fill a vacancy, or who resigns his seat during a regular annual session, shall receive a per diem compensation at the increased rate of compensation for each regular annual session. | ” |
Path to the ballot
A veto referendum is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that asks voters whether to uphold or repeal an enacted law. This type of ballot measure is also called statute referendum, popular referendum, people's veto, or citizen's veto. There are 23 states that allow citizens to initiate veto referendums.
In Massachusetts, the number of signatures required for a veto referendum election is equal to 1.5% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. To suspend the law prior to the election, the number of signatures required is equal to 2% 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. Signatures for a veto referendum petition must be submitted no more than 90 days after the governor signs the targeted bill or it is enacted into law.
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
- William Francis Galvin Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "Massachusetts Statewide Ballot Measures: 1919-Present"
- Springfield Daily News, "Legal Notices," October 30, 1962
Footnotes
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State of Massachusetts Boston (capital) |
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