MASSACHUSETTS CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE Amendments
ARTICLES OF AMENDMENT
Amendment Art. I | GUBERNATORIAL VETO: LIMITING LEGISLATIVE ADJOURNMENTS' IMPACT ON BILLS
Amendment Art. II | MUNICIPAL GOVERNANCE: FRAMEWORK FOR ESTABLISHING LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
Amendment Art. III | VOTING RIGHTS: DEFINING QUALIFICATIONS FOR ELECTORAL PARTICIPATION
Amendment Art. IV | APPOINTMENT OF NOTARIES AND VACANT OFFICEHOLDERS: GOVERNANCE PROCEDURES
[In case the office of secretary or treasurer of the commonwealth shall become vacant from any cause during the recess of the general court, the governor, with the advice and consent of the council, shall nominate and appoint, under such regulations as may be prescribed by law, a competent and suitable person to such vacant office, who shall hold the same until a successor shall be appointed by the general court.] [This paragraph superseded by Amendments, Art. XVII.]
[Whenever the exigencies of the commonwealth shall require the appointment of a commissary-general, he shall be nominated, appointed and commissioned in such manner as the legislature may, by law, prescribe.
All officers commissioned to command in the militia may be removed from office in such manner as the legislature may, by law, prescribe.]
Amendment Art. V | MILITIA ELECTIONS: HISTORICAL VOTING RIGHTS OF COMPANY MEMBERS
Amendment Art. VI | OATHS OF OFFICE: AFFIRMING LOYALTY AND ACCOUNTABILITY TO THE COMMONWEALTH
"I, A. B. do solemnly swear, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and will support the constitution thereof. So help me God."Provided, That when any person shall be of the denomination called Quakers, and shall decline taking said oath, he shall make his affirmation in the foregoing form, omitting the word "swear" and inserting instead thereof the word "affirm;" and omitting the words "So help me God," and subjoining, instead thereof, the words "This I do under the pains and penalties of perjury."
Amendment Art. VII | OFFICEHOLDER REQUIREMENTS: STREAMLINED QUALIFICATIONS FOR PUBLIC ROLES
Amendment Art. VIII | OFFICE INCOMPATIBILITY: SAFEGUARDING SEPARATION OF POWERS IN GOVERNANCE
Amendment Art. IX | CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS: PROCESS FOR PROPOSAL AND RATIFICATION
Amendment Art. X | DEFINING THE POLITICAL YEAR: ADJUSTMENTS TO LEGISLATIVE TIMELINES
[The meeting for the choice of governor, lieutenant governor, senators and representatives shall be held on the second Monday of November in every year; but meetings may be adjourned if necessary, for the choice of representatives, to the next day, and again to the next succeeding day, but no further. But in case a second meeting shall be necessary for the choice of representatives, such meetings shall be held on the fourth Monday of the same month of November.] [See Amendments, Art. LXIV] [This paragraph superseded by Amendments, Art. XV].
All the other provisions of the constitution, respecting the elections and proceedings of the members of the general court, or of any other officers or persons whatever, that have reference to the last Wednesday of May, as the commencement of the political year, shall be so far altered as to have like reference to the first Wednesday of January.
This article shall go into operation on the first day of October next following the day when the same shall be duly ratified and adopted as an amendment of the constitution[; -- and the governor, lieutenant governor, councillors, senators, representatives and all other state officers, who are annually chosen, and who shall be chosen for the current year when the same shall go into operation, shall hold their respective offices until the first Wednesday of January then next following, and until others are chosen and qualified in their stead, and no longer -- and the first election of the governor, lieutenant governor, senators and representatives to be had in virtue of this article shall be had conformably thereunto, in the month of November following the day on which the same shall be in force, and go into operation pursuant to the foregoing provision.]
All the provisions of the existing constitution inconsistent with the provisions herein contained are hereby wholly annulled.
Amendment Art. XI | ELECTION OF RELIGIOUS LEADERS: PROMOTING EQUALITY AND MORALITY IN WORSHIP
"As the public worship of God and instructions in piety, religion and morality, promote the happiness and prosperity of a people and the security of a republican government; -- therefore, the several religious societies of this commonwealth, whether corporate or unincorporate, at any meeting legally warned and holden for that purpose, shall ever have the right to elect their pastors or religious teachers, to contract with them for their support, to raise money for erecting and repairing houses for public worship, for the maintenance of religious instruction, and for the payment of necessary expenses: and all persons belonging to any religious society shall be taken and held to be members, until they shall file with the clerk of such society, a written notice, declaring the dissolution of their membership, and thenceforth shall not be liable for any grant or contract which may be thereafter made, or entered into by such society: -- and all religious sects and denominations, demeaning themselves peaceably, and as good citizens of the commonwealth, shall be equally under the protection of the law; and no subordination of any one sect or denomination to another shall ever be established by law."
Amendment Art. XII | REPRESENTATION BY POPULATION: DECENNIAL CENSUS AND LEGISLATIVE APPORTIONMENT
Any town having less then three hundred ratable polls shall be represented thus; the whole number of ratable polls, at the last preceding decennial census of polls, shall be multiplied by ten, and the product divided by three hundred, and such town may elect one representative as many years within ten years, as three hundred is contained in the product aforesaid.
Any city or town having ratable polls enough to elect one or more representatives, with any number of polls beyond the necessary number, may be represented as to that surplus number by multiplying such surplus number by ten and dividing the product by four hundred and fifty; and such city or town may elect one additional representative as many years within the ten years as four hundred and fifty is contained in the product aforesaid.
Any two or more of the several towns and districts may, by consent of a majority of the legal voters present at a legal meeting in each of said towns and districts respectively called for that purpose, and held previous to the first day of July in the year in which the decennial census of polls shall be taken, form themselves into a representative district, to continue until the next decennial census of polls, for the election of a representative or representatives, and such district shall have all the rights, in regard to representation, which would belong to a town containing the same number of ratable polls.
The governor and council shall ascertain and determine within the months of July and August, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-seven, according to the foregoing principles, the number of representatives, which each city, town and representative district is entitled to elect, and the number of years within the period of ten years then next ensuing, that each city, town and representative district may elect an additional representative, and where any town has not a sufficient number of polls to elect a representative each year then how many years within the ten years, such town may elect a representative, and the same shall be done once in ten years thereafter by the governor and council, and the number of ratable polls in each decennial census of polls, shall determine the number of representatives, which each city, town and representative district may elect as aforesaid, and when the number of representatives to be elected by each city, town or representative district is ascertained and determined as aforesaid, the governor shall cause the same to be published forthwith for the information of the people and that number shall remain fixed and unalterable for the period of ten years.
All the provisions of the existing constitution inconsistent with the provisions herein contained, are hereby wholly annulled.]
Amendment Art. XIII | CENSUS AND APPORTIONMENT: STRUCTURING REPRESENTATION IN THE COMMONWEALTH
The several senatorial districts now existing shall be permanent. The senate shall consist of forty members: and in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty, and every tenth year thereafter, the governor and council shall assign the number of senators to be chosen in each district, according to the number of inhabitants in the same. But, in all cases, at least one senator shall be assigned to each district. [See Amendments, Arts. XXII, LXXI, XCII, CI and CIX].
The members of the house of representatives shall be apportioned in the following manner: Every town or city containing twelve hundred inhabitants, may elect one representative; and two thousand four hundred inhabitants shall be the mean increasing number which shall entitle it to an additional representative. [See Amendments, Arts. XXI, XXII LXXI, XCII, CI and CIX].
Every town containing less than twelve hundred inhabitants, shall be entitled to elect a representative as many times, within ten years, as the number one hundred and sixty is contained in the number of the inhabitants of said town. Such towns may also elect one representative for the year in which the valuation of estates within the commonwealth shall be settled.
Any two or more of the several towns may, by consent of a majority of the legal voters present at a legal meeting, in each of said towns respectively, called for that purpose, and held before the first day of August, in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty, and every tenth year thereafter, form themselves into a representative district, to continue for the term of ten years; and such district shall have all the rights in regard to representation, which would belong to a town containing the same number of inhabitants
The number of inhabitants which shall entitle a town to elect one representative, and the mean increasing number, which shall entitle a town or city to elect more than one, and also the number by which the population of towns, not entitled to a representative every year, is to be divided, shall be increased respectively, by one tenth of the numbers above mentioned, whenever the population of the commonwealth shall have increased to seven hundred and seventy thousand, and for every additional increase of seventy thousand inhabitants, the same addition of one tenth shall be made, respectively, to the said numbers above mentioned.
In the year of each decennial census, the governor and council shall, before the first day of September, apportion the number of representatives which each city, town, and representative district is entitled to elect, and ascertain how many years within ten years, any town may elect a representative, which is not entitled to elect one every year; and the governor shall cause the same to be published forthwith.
Nine councillors shall be annually chosen from among the people at large, on the first Wednesday of January, or as soon thereafter as may be, by the joint ballot of the senators and representatives assembled in one room, who shall, as soon as may be, in like manner, fill up any vacancies that may happen in the council, by death, resignation, or otherwise. No person shall be elected a councillor, who has not been an inhabitant of this commonwealth for the term of five years immediately preceding his election; and not more than one councillor shall be chosen from any one senatorial district in the commonwealth.]
No possession of a freehold or of any other estate shall be required as a qualification for holding a seat in either branch of the general court, or in the executive council.
Amendment Art. XIV | DETERMINING CIVIL ELECTIONS: ESTABLISHING DEMOCRATIC VOTING PROCEDURES
Amendment Art. XV | ELECTORAL TIMELINES: SCHEDULING STATEWIDE ELECTIONS
Amendment Art. XVI | COUNCILLOR ELECTIONS: REDISTRICTING AND REPRESENTATION FRAMEWORK
Amendment Art. XVII | ELECTION OF KEY STATE OFFICIALS: PROCEDURES AND CONTINGENCIES
Amendment Art. XVIII | FUNDING FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS: ENSURING TRANSPARENCY AND SECULAR ALLOCATION
Amendment Art. XIX | ELECTION OF COUNTY OFFICIALS: EMPOWERING LOCAL GOVERNANCE
Amendment Art. XX | LITERACY AND ELIGIBILITY: REQUIREMENTS FOR VOTING AND HOLDING OFFICE
Amendment Art. XXI | CENSUS OF VOTERS AND REPRESENTATIVES: EQUITABLE LEGISLATIVE APPORTIONMENT
The house of representatives shall consist of two hundred and forty members, which shall be apportioned, by the legislature, at its first session after the return of each enumeration as aforesaid, to the several counties of the commonwealth, equally, as nearly as may be, according to their relative numbers of legal voters, as ascertained by the next preceding special enumeration; and the town of Cohasset, in the county of Norfolk, shall, for this purpose, as well as in the formation of districts, as hereinafter provided, be considered as part of the county of Plymouth; and it shall be the duty of the secretary of the commonwealth, to certify, as soon as may be after it is determined by the legislature, the number of representatives to which each county shall be entitled, to the board authorized to divide each county into representative districts. The mayor and aldermen of the city of Boston, the county commissioners of other counties than Suffolk, -- or in lieu of the mayor and aldermen of the city of Boston, or of the county commissioners in each county other than Suffolk, such board of special commissioners in each county, to be elected by the people of the county, or of the towns therein, as may for that purpose be provided by law, shall, on the first Tuesday of August next after each assignment of representatives to each county, assemble at a shire town of their respective counties, and proceed, as soon as may be, to divide the same into representative districts of contiguous territory, so as to apportion the representation assigned to each county equally, as nearly as may be, according to the relative number of legal voters in the several districts of each county; and such districts shall be so formed that no town or ward of a city shall be divided therefor, nor shall any district be made which shall be entitled to elect more than three representatives. Every representative, for one year at least next preceding his election, shall have been an inhabitant of the district for which he is chosen, and shall cease to represent such district when he shall cease to be an inhabitant of the commonwealth. The districts in each county shall be numbered by the board creating the same, and a description of each, with the numbers thereof and the number of legal voters therein, shall be returned by the board, to the secretary of the commonwealth, the county treasurer of each county, and to the clerk of every town in each district, to be filed and kept in their respective offices. The manner of calling and conducting the meetings for the choice of representatives, and of ascertaining their election, shall be prescribed by law.] [Not less than one hundred members of the house of representatives shall constitute a quorum for doing business; but a less number may organize temporarily, adjourn from day to day, and compel the attendance of absent members.]
Amendment Art. XXII | CENSUS AND SENATE APPORTIONMENT: STRUCTURING LEGISLATIVE REPRESENTATION
Amendment Art. XXIII | FOREIGN BIRTH AND VOTING RIGHTS: RESIDING UNDER U.S. JURISDICTION
Amendment Art. XXIV | SENATE VACANCIES: ELECTION BY UNREPRESENTED DISTRICTS
Amendment Art. XXV | COUNCIL VACANCIES: LEGISLATIVE AND EXECUTIVE APPOINTMENT PROCEDURES
Amendment Art. XXVI | ANNULMENT OF RESTRICTIONS: VOTING RIGHTS FOR FOREIGN-BORN CITIZENS
"No person of foreign birth shall be entitled to vote, or shall be eligible to office, unless he shall have resided within the jurisdiction of the United States, for two years subsequent to his naturalization, and shall be otherwise qualified according to the constitution and laws of this commonwealth: provided, that this amendment shall not affect the rights which any person of foreign birth possessed at the time of the adoption thereof; and provided, further, that it shall not affect the rights of any child of a citizen of the United States, born during the temporary absence of the parent therefrom," is hereby wholly annulled.
Amendment Art. XXVII | HARVARD COLLEGE GOVERNANCE: ANNULMENT OF SPECIFIC OVERSIGHTS
Amendment Art. XXVIII | VOTING RIGHTS FOR VETERANS: SAFEGUARDING AGAINST DISQUALIFICATION
Amendment Art. XXIX | CONDUCTING ELECTIONS: MULTIPLE MEETING LOCATIONS FOR VOTER ACCESSIBILITY
Amendment Art. XXX | VOTING RIGHTS: TEMPORARY RESIDENCE CHANGE PROTECTION
Amendment Art. XXXI | VETERANS’ VOTING RIGHTS: REMOVING BARRIERS FOR AID RECIPIENTS
ARTICLE XXVIII. No person having served in the army or navy of the United States in time of war, and having been honorably discharged from such service, if otherwise qualified to vote, shall be disqualified therefor on account of receiving or having received aid from any city or town, or because of the non-payment of a poll tax.]
Amendment Art. XXXII | TAX PAYMENT REQUIREMENT ANNULMENT: EXPANDING VOTING ACCESSIBILITY
"and who shall have paid, by himself, or his parent, master, or guardian, any state or county tax, which shall, within two years next preceding such election, have been assessed upon him, in any town or district of this commonwealth; and also every citizen who shall be, by law, exempted from taxation, and who shall be, in all other respects, qualified as above mentioned",is hereby annulled.
Amendment Art. XXXIII | QUORUM FOR LEGISLATIVE BUSINESS: ADJUSTMENTS TO ATTENDANCE RULES
Amendment Art. XXXIV | PROPERTY REQUIREMENT ANNULMENT: BROADENING PUBLIC OFFICE ELIGIBILITY
Amendment Art. XXXV | TRAVEL EXPENSE ANNULMENT: REVISING LEGISLATIVE COMPENSATION PRACTICES
"The expenses of travelling to the general assembly, and returning home, once in every session, and no more, shall be paid by the government, out of the public treasury, to every member who shall attend as seasonably as he can, in the judgment of the house, and does not depart without leave",is hereby annulled.
Amendment Art. XXXVI | COMMISSIONERS OF INSOLVENCY: REMOVING OBSOLETE POSITIONS
Amendment Art. XXXVII | TAX PAYMENT REQUIREMENT ANNULMENT: EXPANDING VOTING ACCESSIBILITY
Amendment Art. XXXVIII | VOTING MACHINES: UPHOLDING SECRET BALLOT INTEGRITY
Amendment Art. XXXIX | EXCESS LAND ACQUISITION FOR HIGHWAYS: LEGISLATIVE AUTHORIZATION AND SALE
The legislature may by special acts for the purpose of laying out, widening or relocating highways or streets, authorize the taking in fee by the commonwealth, or by a county, city or town, of more land and property than are needed for the actual construction of such highway or street:provided, however, that the land and property authorized to be taken are specified in the act and are no more in extent than would be sufficient for suitable building lots on both sides of such highway or street, and after so much of the land or property has been appropriated for such highway or street as is needed therefor, may authorize the sale of the remainder for value with or without suitable restrictions.
Amendment Art. XL | ADDRESSING ELECTORAL CORRUPTION: EXPANDED DISQUALIFICATIONS FOR GUARDIANSHIP
Amendment Art. XLI | TAXATION FOR CONSERVATION: DEVELOPING FOREST RESOURCES IN THE COMMONWEALTH
Amendment Art. XLII | POPULAR REFERENDUM: DIRECT DEMOCRACY IN LEGISLATIVE DECISIONS
Amendment Art. XLIII | LAND MANAGEMENT FOR HOUSING: RELIEVING URBAN CONGESTION AND CITIZEN WELFARE
Amendment Art. XLIV | INCOME TAXATION: STRUCTURE, RATES, AND PROPERTY-BASED CLASSIFICATIONS
Amendment Art. XLV | ABSENTEE VOTING RIGHTS: ACCESSIBILITY FOR ABSENT QUALIFIED ELECTORS
Amendment Art. XLVI | CONSTITUTIONAL GUARANTEES: SAFEGUARDING FREEDOM, SCHOOLS, AND PUBLIC OVERSIGHT
Article XVIII.
Section 1. No law shall be passed prohibiting the free exercise of religion.Section 2. All moneys raised by taxation in the towns and cities for the support of public schools, and all moneys which may be appropriated by the commonwealth for the support of common schools shall be applied to, and expended in, no other schools than those which are conducted according to law, under the order and superintendence of the authorities of the town or city in which the money is expended; and no grant, appropriation or use of public money or property or loan of public credit shall be made or authorized by the commonwealth or any political division thereof for the purpose of founding, maintaining or aiding any other school or institution of learning, whether under public control or otherwise, wherein any denominational doctrine is inculcated, or any other school, or any college, infirmary, hospital, institution, or educational, charitable or religious undertaking which is not publicly owned and under the exclusive control, order and superintendence of public officers or public agents authorized by the commonwealth or federal authority or both, except that appropriations may be made for the maintenance and support of the Soldiers' Home in Massachusetts and for free public libraries in any city or town, and to carry out legal obligations, if any, already entered into; and no such grant, appropriation or use of public money or property or loan of public credit shall be made or authorized for the purpose of founding, maintaining or aiding any church, religious denomination or society.]
Section 3. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to prevent the commonwealth, or any political division thereof, from paying to privately controlled hospitals, infirmaries, or institutions for the deaf, dumb or blind not more than the ordinary and reasonable compensation for care or support actually rendered or furnished by such hospitals, infirmaries or institutions to such persons as may be in whole or in part unable to support or care for themselves.
Section 4. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to deprive any inmate of a publicly controlled reformatory, penal or charitable institution of the opportunity of religious exercises therein of his own faith; but no inmate of such institution shall be compelled to attend religious services or receive religious instruction against his will, or, if a minor, without the consent of his parent or guardian.
Section 5. This amendment shall not take effect until the October first next succeeding its ratification and adoption by the people.
Amendment Art. XLVII | WARTIME PUBLIC WELFARE: ENSURING ACCESS TO BASIC NECESSITIES AND SHELTER
Amendment Art. XLVIII | POPULAR INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM
I. Definition.
Legislative power shall continue to be vested in the general court; but the people reserve to themselves the popular initiative, which is the power of a specified number of voters to submit constitutional amendments and laws to the people for approval or rejection; and the popular referendum, which is the power of a specified number of voters to submit laws, enacted by the general court, to the people for their ratification or rejection.The Initiative.
II. Initiative Petitions
Section 1. Contents. An initiative petition shall set forth the full text of the constitutional amendment or law, hereinafter designated as the measure, which is proposed by the petition.Section 2. Excluded Matters. - No measure that relates to religion, religious practices or religious institutions; or to the appointment, qualification, tenure, removal, recall or compensation of judges; or to the reversal of a judicial decision; or to the powers, creation or abolition of courts; or the operation of which is restricted to a particular town, city or other political division or to particular districts or localities of the commonwealth; or that makes a specific appropriation of money from the treasury of the commonwealth, shall be proposed by an initiative petition; but if a law approved by the people is not repealed, the general court shall raise by taxation or otherwise and shall appropriate such money as may be necessary to carry such law into effect.
Neither the eighteenth amendment of the constitution , as approved and ratified to take effect on the first day of October in the year nineteen hundred and eighteen, nor this provision for its protection, shall be the subject of an initiative amendment.
No proposition inconsistent with any one of the following rights of the individual, as at present declared in the declaration of rights, shall be the subject of an initiative or referendum petition: The right to receive compensation for private property appropriated to public use; the right of access to and protection in courts of justice; the right of trial by jury; protection from unreasonable search, unreasonable bail and the law martial; freedom of the press; freedom of speech; freedom of elections; and the right of peaceable assembly.
No part of the constitution specifically excluding any matter from the operation of the popular initiative and referendum shall be the subject of an initiative petition; nor shall this section be the subject of such a petition.
The limitations on the legislative power of the general court in the constitution shall extend to the legislative power of the people as exercised hereunder.
[Section 3. Mode of Originating. - Such petition shall first be signed by ten qualified voters of the commonwealth and shall then be submitted to the attorney-general, and if he shall certify that the measure is in proper form for submission to the people, and that it is not, either affirmatively or negatively, substantially the same as any measure which has been qualified for submission or submitted to the people within three years of the succeeding first Wednesday in December and that it contains only subjects not excluded from the popular initiative and which are related or which are mutually dependent, it may then be filed with the secretary of the commonwealth. The secretary of the commonwealth shall provide blanks for the use of subsequent signers, and shall print at the top of each blank a description of the proposed measure as such description will appear on the ballot together with the names and residences of the first ten signers. All initiative petitions, with the first ten signatures attached, shall be filed with the secretary of the commonwealth not earlier than the first Wednesday of the September before the assembling of the general court into which they are to be introduced, and the remainder of the required signatures shall be filed not later than the first Wednesday of the following December.] [Section 3 superseded by section 1 of Amendments, Art. LXXIV.]
Section 4. Transmission to the General Court. - If an initiative petition, signed by the required number of qualified voters, has been filed as aforesaid, the secretary of the commonwealth shall, upon the assembling of the general court, transmit it to the clerk of the house of representatives, and the proposed measure shall then be deemed to be introduced and pending.
III. Legislative Action. General Provisions
Section 1. Reference to Committee. - If a measure is introduced into the general court by initiative petition, it shall be referred to a committee thereof, and the petitioners and all parties in interest shall be heard, and the measure shall be considered and reported upon to the general court with the committee's recommendations, and the reasons therefor, in writing. Majority and minority reports shall be signed by the members of said committee.Section 2. Legislative Substitutes. - The general court may, by resolution passed by yea and nay vote, either by the two houses separately, or in the case of a constitutional amendment by a majority of those voting thereon in joint session in each of two years as hereinafter provided, submit to the people a substitute for any measure introduced by initiative petition, such substitute to be designated on the ballot as the legislative substitute for such an initiative measure and to be grouped with it as an alternative therefor.
IV. Legislative Action on Proposed Constitutional Amendments
[Section 1. Definition. - A proposal for amendment to the constitution introduced into the general court by initiative petition shall be designated an initiative amendment, and an amendment introduced by a member of either house shall be designated a legislative substitute or a legislative amendment.Section 2. Joint Session. - If a proposal for a specific amendment of the constitution is introduced into the general court by initiative petition signed by not less than twenty-five thousand qualified voters, or if in case of a proposal for amendment introduced into the general court by a member of either house, consideration thereof in joint session is called for by vote of either house, such proposal shall, not later than the second Wednesday in June, be laid before a joint session of the two houses, at which the president of the senate shall preside; and if the two houses fail to agree upon a time for holding any joint session hereby required, or fail to continue the same from time to time until final action has been taken upon all amendments pending, the governor shall call such joint session or continuance thereof.] [Section 2 superseded by section 1 of Amendments, Art. LXXXI.]
Section 3. Amendment of Proposed Amendments. - A proposal for an amendment to the constitution introduced by initiative petition shall be voted upon in the form in which it was introduced, unless such amendment is amended by vote of three-fourths of the members voting thereon in joint session, which vote shall be taken by call of the yeas and nays if called for by any member.
Section 4. Legislative Action. - Final legislative action in the joint session upon any amendment shall be taken only by call of the yeas and nays, which shall be entered upon the journals of the two houses; and an unfavorable vote at any stage preceding final action shall be verified by call of the yeas and nays, to be entered in like manner. At such joint session a legislative amendment receiving the affirmative votes of a majority of all the members elected, or an initiative amendment receiving the affirmative votes of not less than one-fourth of all the members elected, shall be referred to the next general court.
Section 5. Submission to the People. If in the next general court a legislative amendment shall again be agreed to in joint session by a majority of all the members elected, or if an initiative amendment or a legislative substitute shall again receive the affirmative votes of a least one-fourth of all the members elected, such fact shall be certified by the clerk of such joint session to the secretary of the commonwealth, who shall submit the amendment to the people at the next state election. Such amendment shall become part of the constitution if approved, in the case of a legislative amendment, by a majority of the voters voting thereon, or if approved, in the case of an initiative amendment or a legislative substitute, by voters equal in number to at least thirty per cent of the total number of ballots cast at such state election and also by a majority of the voters voting on such amendment.
V. Legislative Action on Proposed Laws.
[Section 1. Legislative Procedure. - If an initiative petition for a law is introduced into the general court, signed by not less than twenty thousand qualified voters, a vote shall be taken by yeas and nays in both houses before the first Wednesday of June upon the enactment of such law in the form in which it stands in such petition. If the general court fails to enact such law before the first Wednesday of June, and if such petition is completed by filing with the secretary of the commonwealth, not earlier than the first Wednesday of the following July nor later than the first Wednesday of the following August, not less than five thousand signatures of qualified voters, in addition to those signing such initiative petition, which signatures must have been obtained after the first Wednesday of June aforesaid, then the secretary of the commonwealth shall submit such proposed law to the people at the next state election. If it shall be approved by voters equal in number to at least thirty per cent of the total number of ballots cast at such state election and also by a majority of the voters voting on such law, it shall become law, and shall take effect in thirty days after such state election or at such time after such election as may be provided in such law.] [Section 1 superseded by section 2 of Amendments, Art. LXXXI.][Section 2. Amendment by Petitioners. If the general court fails to pass a proposed law before the first Wednesday of June, a majority of the first ten signers of the initiative petition therefor shall have the right, subject to certification by the attorney-general filed as hereinafter provided, to amend the measure which is the subject of such petition. An amendment so made shall not invalidate any signature attached to the petition. If the measure so amended, signed by a majority of the first ten signers, is filed with the secretary of the commonwealth before the first Wednesday of the following July, together with a certificate signed by the attorney-general to the effect that the amendment made by such proposers is in his opinion perfecting in its nature and does not materially change the substance of the measure, and if such petition is completed by filing with the secretary of the commonwealth, not earlier than the first Wednesday of the following July nor later than the first Wednesday of the following August, not less than five thousand signatures of qualified voters, in addition to those signing such initiative petition, which signatures must have been obtained after the first Wednesday of June aforesaid, then the secretary of the commonwealth shall submit the measure to the people in its amended form.] [Section 2 superseded by section 3 of Amendments, Art. LXXXI.]
VI. Conflicting and Alternative Measures.
If in any judicial proceeding, provisions of constitutional amendments or of laws approved by the people at the same election are held to be in conflict, then the provisions contained in the measure that received the largest number of affirmative votes at such election shall govern.A constitutional amendment approved at any election shall govern any law approved at the same election.
The general court, by resolution passed as hereinbefore set forth, may provide for grouping and designating upon the ballot as conflicting measures or as alternative measures, only one of which is to be adopted, any two or more proposed constitutional amendments or laws which have been or may be passed or qualified for submission to the people at any one election: provided, that a proposed constitutional amendment and a proposed law shall not be so grouped, and that the ballot shall afford an opportunity to the voter to vote for each of the measures or for only one of the measures, as may be provided in said resolution, or against each of the measures so grouped as conflicting or as alternative. In case more than one of the measures so grouped shall receive the vote required for its approval as herein provided, only that one for which the largest affirmative vote was cast shall be deemed to be approved.
The Referendum.
I. When Statutes shall take Effect.
No law passed by the general court shall take effect earlier than ninety days after it has become a law, excepting laws declared to be emergency laws and laws which may not be made the subject of a referendum petition, as herein provided.II. Emergency Measures.
A law declared to be an emergency law shall contain a preamble setting forth the facts constituting the emergency, and shall contain the statement that such law is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety or convenience. [A separate vote shall be taken on the preamble by call of the yeas and nays, which shall be recorded, and unless the preamble is adopted by two-thirds of the members of each house voting thereon, the law shall not be an emergency law; but] if the governor, at any time before the election at which it is to be submitted to the people on referendum, files with the secretary of the commonwealth a statement declaring that in his opinion the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety or convenience requires that such law should take effect forthwith and that it is an emergency law and setting forth the facts constituting the emergency, then such law, if not previously suspended as hereinafter provided, shall take effect without suspension, or if such law has been so suspended such suspension shall thereupon terminate and such law shall thereupon take effect: but no grant of any franchise or amendment thereof, or renewal or extension thereof for more than one year shall be declared to be an emergency law. [See Amendments, Art. [See Amendments, Art. LXVII.]III. Referendum Petitions.
Section 1. Contents. - A referendum petition may ask for a referendum to the people upon any law enacted by the general court which is not herein expressly excluded.Section 2. Excluded Matters. No law that relates to religion, religious practices or religious institutions; or to the appointment, qualification, tenure, removal or compensation of judges; or to the powers, creation or abolition of courts; or the operation of which is restricted to a particular town, city or other political division or to particular districts or localities of the commonwealth; or that appropriates money for the current or ordinary expenses of the commonwealth or for any of its departments, boards, commissions or institutions shall be the subject of a referendum petition.
Section 3. Mode of Petitioning for the Suspension of a Law and a Referendum Thereon. - A petition asking for a referendum on a law, and requesting that the operation of such law be suspended, shall first be signed by ten qualified voters and shall then be filed with the secretary of the commonwealth not later than thirty days after the law that is the subject of the petition has become law. [The secretary of the commonwealth shall provide blanks for the use of subsequent signers, and shall print at the top of each blank a description of the proposed law as such description will appear on the ballot together with the names and residences of the first ten signers. If such petition is completed by filing with the secretary of the commonwealth not later than ninety days after the law which is the subject of the petition has become law the signatures of not less than fifteen thousand qualified voters of the commonwealth, then the operation of such law shall be suspended, and the secretary of the commonwealth shall submit such law to the people at the next state election, if thirty days intervene between the date when such petition is filed with the secretary of the commonwealth and the date for holding such state election; if thirty days do not so intervene, then such law shall be submitted to the people at the next following state election, unless in the meantime it shall have been repealed; and if it shall be approved by a majority of the qualified voters voting thereon, such law shall, subject to the provisions of the constitution, take effect in thirty days after such election, or at such time after such election as may be provided in such law; if not so approved such law shall be null and void; but no such law shall be held to be disapproved if the negative vote is less than thirty per cent of the total number of ballots cast at such state election.] [Section 3 amended by section 2 of Amendments, Art. LXXIV and section 4 of Amendments, Art. LXXXI]
Section 4. Petitions for Referendum on an Emergency Law or a Law the Suspension of Which is Not Asked for. - A referendum petition may ask for the repeal of an emergency law or of a law which takes effect because the referendum petition does not contain a request for suspension, as aforesaid. Such petition shall first be signed by ten qualified voters of the commonwealth, and shall then be filed with the secretary of the commonwealth not later than thirty days after the law which is the subject of the petition has become law. [The secretary of the commonwealth shall provide blanks for the use of subsequent signers, and shall print at the top of each blank a description of the proposed law as such description will appear on the ballot together with the names and residences of the first ten signers. If such petition filed as aforesaid is completed by filing with the secretary of the commonwealth not later than ninety days after the law which is the subject of the petition has become law the signatures of not less than ten thousand qualified voters of the commonwealth protesting against such law and asking for a referendum thereon, then the secretary of the commonwealth shall submit such law to the people at the next state election, if thirty days intervene between the date when such petition is filed with the secretary of the commonwealth and the date for holding such state election. If thirty days do not so intervene, then it shall be submitted to the people at the next following state election, unless in the meantime it shall have been repealed; and if it shall not be approved by a majority of the qualified voters voting thereon, it shall, at the expiration of thirty days after such election, be thereby repealed; but no such law shall be held to be disapproved if the negative vote is less than thirty per cent of the total number of ballots cast at such state election.] [Section 4 superseded by section 3 of Amendments, Art LXXIV and section 5 of Amendments, Art. LXXXI.]
General Provisions.
I. Identification and Certification of Signatures.
Provision shall be made by law for the proper identification and certification of signatures to the petitions hereinbefore referred to, and for penalties for signing any such petition, or refusing to sign it, for money or other valuable consideration, and for the forgery of signatures thereto. Pending the passage of such legislation all provisions of law relating to the identification and certification of signatures to petitions for the nomination of candidates for state offices or to penalties for the forgery of such signatures shall apply to the signatures to the petitions herein referred to. The general court may provide by law that no co-partnership or corporation shall undertake for hire or reward to circulate petitions, may require individuals who circulate petitions for hire or reward to be licensed, and may make other reasonable regulations to prevent abuses arising from the circulation of petitions for hire or reward.II. Limitation on Signatures.
Not more than one-fourth of the certified signatures on any petition shall be those of registered voters of any one county.III. Form of Ballot.
Each proposed amendment to the constitution, and each law submitted to the people, shall be described on the ballots by a description to be determined by the attorney-general, subject to such provision as may be made by law, and the secretary of the commonwealth shall give each question a number and cause such question, except as otherwise authorized herein, to be printed on the ballot in the following form:-In the case of an amendment to the constitution: Shall an amendment to the constitution (here insert description, and state, in distinctive type, whether approved or disapproved by the general court, and by what vote thereon) be approved?
In the case of a law: Shall a law (here insert description, and state, in distinctive type, whether approved or disapproved by the general court, and by what vote thereon) be approved?
IV. Information for Voters.
The secretary of the commonwealth shall cause to be printed and sent to each registered voter in the commonwealth the full text of every measure to be submitted to the people, together with a copy of the legislative committee's majority and minority reports, if there be such, with the names of the majority and minority members thereon, a statement of the votes of the general court on the measure, and a description of the measure as such description will appear on the ballot; and shall, in such manner as may be provided by law, cause to be prepared and sent to the voters other information and arguments for and against the measure.] [Subheadings III and IV superseded by section 4 of Amendments, Art. LXXIV.][Subheading IV superseded by Amendments, Art. CVIII.]V. The Veto Power of the Governor.
Subject to the veto power of the governor and to the right of referendum by petition as herein provided, the general court may amend or repeal a law approved by the people.VI. The General Court's Power of Repeal.
Subject to the veto power of the governor and to the right of referendum by petition as herein provided, the general court may amend or repeal a law approved by the people.VII. Amendment Declared to be Self-executing.
This article of amendment to the constitution is self-executing, but legislation not inconsistent with anything herein contained may be enacted to facilitate the operation of its provisions.VIII. Articles IX and XLII of Amendments of the Constitution Annulled.
Article IX and Article XLII of the amendments of the constitution are hereby annulled.Amendment Art. XLIX | CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES
Amendment Art. L | ADVERTISING REGULATION: RESTRICTING PUBLIC AND PRIVATE DISPLAYS
Amendment Art. LI | PRESERVATION OF HISTORICAL LANDMARKS: A PUBLIC USE MANDATE
Amendment Art. LII | LEGISLATIVE RECESS LIMITATIONS: ENSURING CONTINUITY OF GOVERNANCE
Amendment Art. LIII | MILITARY OFFICERS' APPOINTMENT: STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES
Article X. All military and naval officers shall be selected and appointed and may be removed in such manner as the general court may by law prescribe, but no such officer shall be appointed unless he shall have passed an examination prepared by a competent commission or shall have served one year in either the federal or state militia or in military service. All such officers who are entitled by law to receive commissions shall be commissioned by the governor.
Amendment Art. LIV | MILITARY ORGANIZATION: AUTHORITY OF THE GOVERNOR AND GENERAL COURT
Article VII. The general court shall provide by law for the recruitment, equipment, organization, training and discipline of the military and naval forces. The governor shall be the commander-in-chief thereof, and shall have power to assemble the whole or any part of them for training, instruction or parade, and to employ them for the suppression of rebellion, the repelling of invasion, and the enforcement of the laws. He may, as authorized by the general court, prescribe from time to time the organization of the military and naval forces and make regulations for their government.
Amendment Art. LV | GUBERNATORIAL VACANCY: SUCCESSION PROTOCOLS AND AUTHORITY
Whenever the offices of governor and lieutenant-governor shall both be vacant, by reason of death, absence from the commonwealth, or otherwise, then one of the following officers, in the order of succession herein named, namely, the secretary, attorney-general, treasurer and receiver-general, and auditor, shall, during such vacancy, have full power and authority to do and execute all and every such acts, matters and things as the governor or the lieutenant-governor might or could lawfully do or execute, if they, or either of them, were personally present.
Amendment Art. LVI | GOVERNOR'S ROLE IN LEGISLATIVE AMENDMENTS: POWERS AND RESTRICTIONS
Amendment Art. LVII | ELIGIBILITY OF WOMEN AS NOTARIES: EXPANDING PUBLIC OFFICE
Amendment Art. LVIII | RETIREMENT OF JUDICIAL OFFICERS: GOVERNOR'S AUTHORITY WITH OVERSIGHT
Amendment Art. LIX | CORPORATE CHARTERS AND FRANCHISES: RIGHTS OF AMENDMENT AND REVOCATION
Amendment Art. LX | ZONING AUTHORITY: DISTRICT-BASED BUILDING REGULATIONS
Amendment Art. LXI | COMPULSORY VOTING: PRESERVING THE RIGHT TO A SECRET BALLOT
Amendment Art. LXII | FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY: BORROWING, SPENDING, AND DEBT MANAGEMENT
Section 2. The commonwealth may borrow money to repel invasion, suppress insurrection, defend the commonwealth, or to assist the United States in case of war, and may also borrow money in anticipation of receipts from taxes or other sources, such loan to be paid out of the revenue of the year in which it is created.
Section 3. In addition to the loans which may be contracted as before provided, the commonwealth may borrow money only by a vote, taken by the yeas and nays, of two-thirds of each house of the general court present and voting thereon. The governor shall recommend to the general court the term for which any loan shall be contracted.
Section 4. Borrowed money shall not be expended for any other purpose than that for which it was borrowed or for the reduction or discharge of the principal of the loan.
Amendment Art. LXIII | STATE FINANCES: REVENUE, BUDGETING, AND APPROPRIATIONS
Section 2. The Budget. - Within three weeks after the convening of the general court the governor shall recommend to the general court a budget which shall contain a statement of all proposed expenditures of the commonwealth for the fiscal year, including those already authorized by law, and of all taxes, revenues, loans and other means by which such expenditures shall be defrayed. This shall be arranged in such form as the general court may by law prescribe, or, in default thereof, as the governor shall determine. For the purpose of preparing his budget, the governor shall have power to require any board, commission, officer, or department to furnish him with any information which he may deem necessary.] [See Amendments, Arts. LXXII and LXXV.] [Annulled by Amendments, Art. CVII.]
Section 3. The General Appropriation Bill. - All appropriations based upon the budget to be paid from taxes or revenues shall be incorporated in a single bill which shall be called the general appropriation bill. The general court may increase, decrease, add or omit items in the budget. The general court may provide for its salaries, mileage, and expenses and for necessary expenditures in anticipation of appropriations, but before final action on the general appropriation bill it shall not enact any other appropriation bill except on recommendation of the governor. The governor may at any time recommend to the general court supplementary budgets which shall be subject to the same procedures as the original budget.
Section 4. Special Appropriation Bills. - After final action on the general appropriation bill or on recommendation of the governor, special appropriation bills may be enacted. Such bills shall provide the specific means for defraying the appropriations therein contained.
Section 5. [ Submission to the Governor. - The governor may disapprove or reduce items or parts of items in any bill appropriating money. So much of such bill as he approves shall upon his signing the same become law. As to each item disapproved or reduced, he shall transmit to the house in which the bill originated his reason for such disapproval or reduction, and the procedure shall then be the same as in the case of a bill disapproved as a whole. In case he shall fail so to transmit his reasons for such disapproval or reduction within five days after the bill shall have been presented to him, such items shall have the force of law unless the general court by adjournment shall prevent such transmission, in which case they shall not be law.]
Amendment Art. LXIV | BIENNIAL ELECTIONS: TERMS FOR KEY STATE OFFICES
Section 2. No person shall be eligible to election to the office of treasurer and receiver-general for more than three successive terms. [Annulled by Amendments, Art. LXXXII.]
Section 3. The general court shall assemble every year on the first Wednesday in January. [See Amendments, Arts. LXXII and LXXV.]
Section 4. The first election to which this article shall apply shall be held on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November in the year nineteen hundred and twenty, and thereafter elections for the choice of all the officers before-mentioned shall be held biennially on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November.]
Amendment Art. LXV | CONFLICT OF INTEREST: RESTRICTIONS ON LEGISLATIVE APPOINTMENTS
Amendment Art. LXVI | STREAMLINED ADMINISTRATION: CONSOLIDATION OF STATE DEPARTMENTS
Amendment Art. LXVII | AMENDMENTS TO EMERGENCY LAW PROCEDURES
Amendment Art. LXVIII | GENDER NEUTRALITY: REMOVING 'MALE' FROM CONSTITUTIONAL TEXTS
Amendment Art. LXIX | EXPANDING OPPORTUNITIES: GENDER EQUALITY IN PUBLIC OFFICE
Section 2. Article IV of the articles of amendment of the constitution of the commonwealth, as amended by Article LVII of said amendments, is hereby further amended by striking out the words "Change of name shall render the commission void, but shall not prevent reappointment under the new name", and inserting in place thereof the following words: -- Upon the change of name of any woman, she shall re-register under her new name and shall pay such fee therefor as shall be established by the general court.
Amendment Art. LXX | TOWN GOVERNMENT REFORM: LIMITED TOWN MEETINGS FOR LARGER COMMUNITIES
Amendment Art. LXXI | REPRESENTATION REALIGNED: CENSUS-BASED APPORTIONMENT AND DISTRICTS
Article XXII of the articles of amendment is hereby annulled and the following is adopted in place thereof:
Amendment Art. LXXII | BIENNIAL SESSIONS: ADJUSTING LEGISLATIVE TIMELINES AND BUDGETS
Section 2. The budget required by Section 2 of Article LXIII of the amendments to the constitution shall be for the year in which the same is adopted and for the ensuing year."
Section 3. All provisions of this constitution and of the amendments thereto requiring the general court to meet annually are hereby annulled."]
Amendment Art. LXXIII | PARDONING AUTHORITY: GUIDELINES FOR EXECUTIVE CLEMENCY
Art. VIII. The power of pardoning offences, except such as persons may be convicted of before the senate by an impeachment of the house, shall be in the governor, by and with the advice of council, provided, that if the offence is a felony the general court shall have power to prescribe the terms and conditions upon which a pardon may be granted; but no charter of pardon, granted by the governor, with advice of the council before conviction, shall avail the party pleading the same, notwithstanding any general or particular expressions contained therein, descriptive of the offence or offences intended to be pardoned.
Amendment Art. LXXIV | REFINING INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM: STREAMLINING PETITION PROCESSES
Section 3. Mode of Originating. - Such petition shall first be signed by ten qualified voters of the commonwealth and shall be submitted to the attorney-general not later than the first Wednesday of the August before the assembling of the general court into which it is to be introduced, and if he shall certify that the measure and the title thereof are in proper form for submission to the people, and that the measure is not, either affirmatively or negatively, substantially the same as any measure which has been qualified for submission or submitted to the people at either of the two preceding biennial state elections, and that it contains only subjects not excluded from the popular initiative and which are related or which are mutually dependent, it may then be filed with the secretary of the commonwealth. The secretary of the commonwealth shall provide blanks for the use of subsequent signers, and shall print at the top of each blank a fair, concise summary, as determined by the attorney-general, of the proposed measure as such summary will appear on the ballot together with the names and residences of the first ten signers. All initiative petitions, with the first ten signatures attached, shall be filed with the secretary of the commonwealth not earlier than the first Wednesday of the September before the assembling of the general court into which they are to be introduced, and the remainder of the required signatures shall be filed not later than the first Wednesday of the following December.Section 2. Section three of that part of said Article XLVIII, under the heading "THE REFERENDUM. III. Referendum Petitions.", is hereby amended by striking out the words "The secretary of the commonwealth shall provide blanks for the use of subsequent signers, and shall print at the top of each blank a description of the proposed law as such description will appear on the ballot together with the names and residences of the first ten signers.", and inserting in place thereof the words "The secretary of the commonwealth shall provide blanks for the use of subsequent signers, and shall print at the top of each blank a fair, concise summary of the proposed law as such summary will appear on the ballot together with the names and residences of the first ten signers."
Section 3. Section four of that part of said Article XLVIII under the heading "THE REFERENDUM. III. Referendum Petitions.", is hereby amended by striking out the words "The secretary of the commonwealth shall provide blanks for the use of subsequent signers, and shall print at the top of each blank a description of the proposed law as such description will appear on the ballot together with the names and residences of the first ten signers.", and inserting in place thereof the words "The secretary of the commonwealth shall provide blanks for the use of subsequent signers, and shall print at the top of each blank a fair, concise summary of the proposed law as such summary will appear on the ballot together with the names and residences of the first ten signers."
Section 4. Said Article XLVIII is hereby further amended by striking out, under the heading "GENERAL PROVISIONS", all of subheading "III. Form of Ballot." and all of subheading "IV. Information for Voters.", and inserting in place thereof the following:--
III. Form of Ballot.
A fair, concise summary, as determined by the attorney general, subject to such provision as may be made by law, of each proposed amendment to the constitution, and each law submitted to the people, shall be printed on the ballot, and the secretary of the commonwealth shall give each question a number and cause such question, except as otherwise authorized herein, to be printed on the ballot in the following form: --In the case of an amendment to the constitution: Do you approve of the adoption of an amendment to the constitution summarized below, (here state, in distinctive type, whether approved or disapproved by the general court, and by what vote thereon)?
[Set forth summary here]
In the case of a law: Do you approve of a law summarized below, (here state, in distinctive type, whether approved or disapproved by the general court, and by what vote thereon)?
[Set forth summary here]IV. Information for Voters.
The secretary of the commonwealth shall cause to be printed and sent to each registered voter in the commonwealth the full text of every measure to be submitted to the people, together with a copy of the legislative committee's majority and minority reports, if there be such, with the names of the majority and minority members thereon, a statement of the votes of the general court on the measure, and a fair, concise summary of the measure as such summary will appear on the ballot; and shall, in such manner as may be provided by law, cause to be prepared and sent to the voters other information and arguments for and against the measure.]
Amendment Art. LXXV | REVOKING BIENNIAL SESSIONS: REINSTATING FORMER CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS
Amendment Art. LXXVI | VOTING ACCESSIBILITY: RIGHTS FOR ABSENT AND DISABLED CITIZENS
Amendment Art. LXXVII | PRESS AND SPEECH FREEDOMS: AFFIRMING THE PILLARS OF LIBERTY
Amendment Art. LXXVIII | HIGHWAY REVENUE USAGE: LIMITING EXPENDITURES TO TRANSPORTATION NEEDS
Amendment Art. LXXIX | FILLING VACANCIES: ELECTORAL AND GUBERNATORIAL APPOINTMENT PROCEDURES
Amendment Art. LXXX | BIENNIAL ELECTIONS AND TERMS: GOVERNANCE TRANSITION TIMELINES
Amendment Art. LXXXI | INITIATIVE PETITIONS: PROCESSES FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS AND LAWS
Section 5. Section 4 of that part of said Article XLVIII, under the heading "THE REFERENDUM. III. Referendum Petitions. is hereby amended by striking out the words "If such petition filed as aforesaid is completed by filing with the secretary of the commonwealth not later than ninety days after the law which is the subject of the petition has become law the signatures of not less than ten thousand qualified voters of the commonwealth protesting against such law and asking for a referendum thereon, then the secretary of the commonwealth shall submit such law to the people at the next state election, if thirty days intervene between the date when such petition is filed with the secretary of the commonwealth and the date for holding such state election. If thirty days do not so intervene, then it shall be submitted to the people at the next following state election, unless in the meantime it shall have been repealed; and if it shall not be approved by a majority of the qualified voters voting thereon, it shall, at the expiration of thirty days after such election, be thereby repealed; but no such law shall be held to be disapproved if the negative vote is less than thirty per cent of the total number of ballots cast at such state election." and inserting in place thereof the following: - If such petition filed as aforesaid is completed by filing with the secretary of the commonwealth not later than ninety days after the law which is the subject of the petition has become law a number of signatures of qualified voters equal in number to not less than one and one half per cent of the entire vote cast for governor at the preceding biennial state election protesting against such law and asking for a referendum thereon, then the secretary of the commonwealth shall submit such law to the people at the next state election, if sixty days intervene between the date when such petition is filed with the secretary of the commonwealth and the date for holding such state election. If sixty days do not so intervene, then it shall be submitted to the people at the next following state election, unless in the meantime it shall have been repealed; and if it shall not be approved by a majority of the qualified voters voting thereon, it shall, at the expiration of thirty days after such election, be thereby repealed; but no such law shall be held to be disapproved if the negative vote is less than thirty per cent of the total number of ballots cast at such state election.
Amendment Art. LXXXII | QUADRENNIAL ELECTIONS AND TERMS: GOVERNING CONSTITUTIONAL ADJUSTMENTS
Section 2. The general court shall assemble every year on the first Wednesday in January.
Section 3. The first election to which this article shall apply shall be held on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November in the year nineteen hundred and sixty-six, and thereafter elections for the choice of a governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary, treasurer and receiver-general, attorney general, and auditor shall be held quadrennially on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November and elections for the choice of councillors, senators and representatives shall be held biennially on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November.
Amendment Art. LXXXIII | EMERGENCY SUCCESSION: ENSURING CONTINUITY IN GOVERNMENTAL FUNCTIONS
Amendment Art. LXXXIV | STATE CREDIT AND FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY: LIMITS AND OVERSIGHT
Amendment Art. LXXXV | SOLICITING JUDICIAL OPINIONS: ADDRESSING LEGAL COMPLEXITY
Amendment Art. LXXXVI | GROUPED BALLOT VOTING: SIMPLIFYING PARTY REPRESENTATION
Amendment Art. LXXXVII | EXECUTIVE REORGANIZATION PLANS: RESTRUCTURING STATE AGENCIES
Section 2.
(b) After its presentation by the governor to the general court, no such reorganization plan shall be subject to amendment by the general court before expiration of such sixty days.
(c) Any such reorganization plan may provide for its taking effect on any date after expiration of such sixty days and every such reorganization plan shall comply with such conditions as the general court may from time to time prescribe by statute regarding the civil service status, seniority, retirement and other rights of any employee to be affected by such plan.
Amendment Art. LXXXVIII | INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT: PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR MUNICIPAL GROWTH
Amendment Art. LXXXIX | LOCAL GOVERNMENT RIGHTS: CHARTERS, POWERS, AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Article II.
Section 1. Right of Local Self-Government. - It is the intention of this article to reaffirm the customary and traditional liberties of the people with respect to the conduct of their local government, and to grant and confirm to the people of every city and town the right of self-government in local matters, subject to the provisions of this article and to such standards and requirements as the general court may establish by law in accordance with the provisions of this article.Section 2. Local Power to adopt, revise or amend Charters. - Any city or town shall have the power to adopt or revise a charter or to amend its existing charter through the procedures set forth in sections three and four. The provisions of any adopted or revised charter or any charter amendment shall not be inconsistent with the constitution or any laws enacted by the general court in conformity with the powers reserved to the general court by section eight.
No town of fewer than twelve thousand inhabitants shall adopt a city form of government, and no town of fewer than six thousand inhabitants shall adopt a form of government providing for a town meeting limited to such inhabitants of the town as may be elected to meet, deliberate, act and vote in the exercise of the corporate powers of the town.
Section 3. Procedure for Adoption or Revision of a Charter by a City or Town. - Every city and town shall have the power to adopt or revise a charter in the following manner: A petition for the adoption or revision of a charter shall be signed by at least fifteen per cent of the number of legal voters residing in such city or town at the preceding state election. Whenever such a petition is filed with the board of registrars of voters of any city or town, the board shall within ten days of its receipt determine the sufficiency and validity of the signatures and certify the results to the city council of the city or board of selectmen of the town, as the case may be. As used in this section, the phrase "board of registrars of voters" shall include any local authority of different designation which performs the duties of such registrars, and the phrase "city council of the city or board of selectmen of the town" shall include local authorities of different designation performing the duties of such council or board. Objections to the sufficiency and validity of the signatures on any such petition as certified by the board of registrars of voters shall be made in the same manner as provided by law for objections to nominations for city or town offices, as the case may be.
Within thirty days of receipt of certification of the board of registrars of voters that a petition contains sufficient valid signatures, the city council of the city or board of selectmen of the town shall by order provide for submitting to the voters of the city or town the question of adopting or revising a charter, and for the nomination and election of a charter commission.
If the city or town has not previously adopted a charter pursuant to this section, the question submitted to the voters shall be: "Shall a commission be elected to frame a charter for (name of city or town)?" If the city or town has previously adopted a charter pursuant to this section, the question submitted to the voters shall be: "Shall a commission be elected to revise the charter of (name of city or town)?"
The charter commission shall consist of nine voters of the city or town, who shall be elected at large without party or political designation at the city or town election next held at least sixty days after the order of the city council of the city or board of selectmen of the town. The names of candidates for such commission shall be listed alphabetically on the ballot used at such election. Each voter may vote for nine candidates.
The vote on the question submitted and the election of the charter commission shall take place at the same time. If the vote on the question submitted is in the affirmative, the nine candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared elected.
Within [ten months] after the election of the members of the charter commission, said commission shall submit the charter or revised charter to the city council of the city or the board of selectmen of the town, and such council or board shall provide for publication of the charter and for its submission to the voters of the city or town at the next city or town election held at least two months after such submission by the charter commission. If the charter or revised charter is approved by a majority of the voters of the city or town voting thereon, it shall become effective upon the date fixed in the charter. [See Amendments, Art. CXIII.]
Section 4. Procedure for Amendment of a Charter by a City or Town. Every city and town shall have the power to amend its charter in the following manner: The legislative body of a city or town may, by a two-thirds vote, propose amendments to the charter of the city or town; provided, that [1] amendments of a city charter may be proposed only with the concurrence of the mayor in every city that has a mayor, and [2] any change in a charter relating in any way to the composition, mode of election or appointment, or terms of office of the legislative body, the mayor or city manager or the board of selectmen or town manager shall be made only by the procedure of charter revision set forth in section three.
All proposed charter amendments shall be published and submitted for approval in the same manner as provided for adoption or revision of a charter.
Section 5. Recording of Charters and Charter Amendments. - Duplicate certificates shall be prepared setting forth any charter that has been adopted or revised and any charter amendments approved, and shall be signed by the city or town clerk. One such certificate shall be deposited in the office of the secretary of the commonwealth and the other shall be recorded in the records of the city or town and deposited among its archives. All courts may take judicial notice of charters and charter amendments of cities and towns.
Section 6. Governmental Powers of Cities and Towns. - Any city or town may, by the adoption, amendment, or repeal of local ordinances or by-laws, exercise any power or function which the general court has power to confer upon it, which is not inconsistent with the constitution or laws enacted by the general court in conformity with powers reserved to the general court in conformity with powers reserved to the general court by section eight, and which is not denied, either expressly or by clear implication, to the city or town by its charter. This section shall apply to every city and town, whether or not it has adopted a charter pursuant to section three.
Section 7. Limitations on Local Powers. - Nothing in this article shall be deemed to grant to any city or town the power to (1) regulate elections other than those prescribed by sections three and four; (2) to levy, assess and collect taxes; (3) to borrow money or pledge the credit of the city or town; (4) to dispose of park land; (5) to enact private or civil law governing civil relationships except as an incident to an exercise of an independent municipal power; or (6) to define and provide for the punishment of a felony or to impose imprisonment as a punishment for any violation of law; provided, however, that the foregoing enumerated powers may be granted by the general court in conformity with the constitution and with the powers reserved to the general court by section eight; nor shall the provisions of this article be deemed to diminish the powers of the judicial department of the commonwealth.
Section 8. Powers of the General Court. - The general court shall have the power to act in relation to cities and towns, but only by general laws which apply alike to all cities or to all towns, or to all cities and towns, or to a class of not fewer than two, and by special laws enacted (1) on petition filed or approved by the voters of a city or town, or the mayor and city council, or other legislative body, of a city, or the town meeting of a town, with respect to a law relating to that city or town; (2) by a two-thirds vote of each branch of the general court following a recommendation by the governor; (3) to erect and constitute metropolitan or regional entities, embracing any two or more cities or towns or cities and towns, or established with other than existing city or town boundaries, for any general or special public purpose or purposes, and to grant to these entities such powers, privileges and immunities as the general court shall deem necessary or expedient for the regulation and government thereof; or (4) solely for the incorporation or dissolution of cities or towns as corporate entities, alteration of city or town boundaries, and merger or consolidation of cities and towns, or any of these matters.
Subject to the foregoing requirements, the general court may provide optional plans of city or town organization and government under which an optional plan may be adopted or abandoned by majority vote of the voters of the city or town voting thereon at a city or town election; provided, that no town of fewer than twelve thousand inhabitants may be authorized to adopt a city form of government, and no town of fewer than six thousand inhabitants may be authorized to adopt a form of town government providing for town meeting limited to such inhabitants of the town as may be elected to meet, deliberate, act and vote in the exercise of the corporate powers of the town.
This section shall apply to every city and town whether or not it has adopted a charter pursuant to section three.
Section 9. Existing Special Laws. - All special laws relating to individual cities or towns shall remain in effect and have the force of an existing city or town charter, but shall be subject to amendment or repeal through the adoption, revision or amendment of a charter by a city or town in accordance with the provisions of sections three and four and shall be subject to amendment or repeal by laws enacted by the general court in conformity with the powers reserved to the general court by section eight.
Amendment Art. XC | DELAYS, OBJECTIONS, RE-ENACTMENTS, APPROPRIATIONS
And in order to prevent unnecessary delays, if any bill or resolve shall not be returned by the governor within ten days after it shall have been presented, the same shall have the force of a law.Section 2. Article I of the Articles of Amendment to the Constitution is hereby annulled and the following is adopted in place thereof:--
Article I. If any bill or resolve shall be objected to, and not approved by the governor, and if the general court shall adjourn within ten days after the same shall have been laid before the governor for his approbation, and thereby prevent his returning it with his objections, as provided by the constitution, such bill or resolve shall not become a law, nor have force as such.Section 3. Article LVI of the Articles of the Articles of Amendments to the Constitution is hereby annulled and the following is adopted in place thereof:--
Article LVI The governor, within ten days after any bill or resolve shall have been laid before him, shall have the right to return it to the branch of the general court in which it originated with a recommendation that any amendment or amendments specified by him be made therein. Such bill or resolve shall thereupon be before the general court and subject to amendment and re-enactment. If such bill or resolve is re-enacted in any form it shall again be laid before the governor for his action, but he shall have no right to return the same a second time with a recommendation to amend.Section 4. Article LXIII of the Articles of Amendment to the Constitution is hereby amended by striking out Section 5 and inserting in place thereof the following section: --
Section 5. Submission to the Governor. - The governor may disapprove or reduce items or parts of items in any bill appropriating money. So much of such bill as he approves shall upon his signing the same become law. As to each item disapproved or reduced he shall transmit to the house in which the bill originated his reason for such disapproval or reduction, and the procedure shall then be the same as in the case of a bill disapproved as a whole. In case he shall fail so to transmit his reasons for such disapproval or reduction within ten days after the bill shall have been presented to him, such items shall have the force of law unless the general court by adjournment shall prevent such transmission, in which case they shall not be law.
Amendment Art. XCI | VACANCIES, OVERSIGHTS, ELECTIONS
Whenever the chief justice and a majority of the associate justices of the supreme judicial court, or such other body as the general court may by law provide, transmit to the president of the senate and the speaker of the house their written declaration that the governor is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the office of governor shall be deemed to be vacant within the meaning of this Constitution.
Thereafter, in either of the above cases, whenever the governor transmits to the president of the senate and the speaker of the house his written declaration that no inability exists such vacancy shall be deemed to have terminated four days thereafter and the governor shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the chief justice and a majority of the associate justices of the supreme judicial court, or such other body as the general court may by law provide, transmit within said four days to the president of the senate and the speaker of the house their written declaration that the governor is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon the general court shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the general court within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if the general court is not in session, within twenty-one days after the general court is required to assemble, determine by a vote, taken by yeas and nays, of two thirds of each house present and voting thereon, that the governor is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the office of governor shall continue to be deemed to be vacant; otherwise such vacancy shall be deemed to have terminated and the governor shall resume the powers and duties of his office.
If a vacancy in the office of governor, as described in this Article, continues for six months and if such six-month period expires more than five months prior to a biennial state election other than an election for governor, there shall be an election of governor at such biennial state election for the balance of the unexpired four-year term.
If a vacancy in the office of governor, as described in this Article, continues for six months and if such six-month period expires more than five months prior to a biennial state election other than an election for governor, there shall be an election of governor at such biennial state election for the balance of the unexpired four-year term.
Amendment Art. XCII | DECENNIAL CENSUS
The house of representatives shall consist of two hundred and forty members. The general court shall, at its first regular session after the year in which said census was taken, divide the commonwealth into two hundred and forty representative districts of contiguous territory so that each representative will represent an equal number of inhabitants, as nearly as may be; and such districts shall be formed, as nearly as may be, without uniting two counties or parts of two or more counties, two towns or parts of two or more towns, two cities or parts of two or more cities, or a city and a town, or parts of cities and towns, into one district; provided, however, that the county of Dukes county and Nantucket county shall each be a representative district. Such districts shall also be so formed that no town containing less than six thousand inhabitants according to said census shall be divided. The general court may by law limit the time within which judicial proceedings may be instituted calling in question any such division. Every representative, for one year at least immediately preceding his election, shall have been an inhabitant of the district for which he is chosen, and shall cease to represent such district when he shall cease to be an inhabitant of the commonwealth. The manner of calling and conducting the elections for the choice of representatives, and of ascertaining their election, shall be prescribed by law.
Section 2. Each census of inhabitants required in section one shall likewise be the basis for determining the senatorial districts and also the councillor districts for the ten year period beginning with the first Wednesday in the fourth January following the taking of such census; provided that such districts as established prior to the year nineteen hundred and seventy-one shall continue until the first Wednesday in January in the year nineteen hundred and seventy-five. The senate shall consist of forty members. The general court shall, at its first regular session after the year in which said census is taken, divide the commonwealth into forty districts of contiguous territory, each district to contain, as nearly as may be, an equal number of inhabitants according to said census; and such districts shall be formed, as nearly as may be, without uniting two counties, or parts of two or more counties into one district. The general court may by law limit the time within which judicial proceedings may be instituted calling in question such division. Each district shall elect one senator, who shall have been an inhabitant of this commonwealth five years at least immediately preceding his election, and at the time of his election shall be an inhabitant of the district for which he is chosen; and he shall cease to represent such senatorial district when he shall cease to be an inhabitant of the commonwealth.
Section 3. Articles XXI and XXII of the Amendments to the Constitution, as appearing in Article LXXI of said Amendments, are hereby annulled.]
Amendment Art. XCIII | VOTING RESIDENCE REQUIREMENTS: MODERNIZING DURATION FOR ELIGIBILITY
Amendment Art. XCIV | VOTING AGE REFORM: LOWERING TO NINETEEN FOR BROADER PARTICIPATION
Amendment Art. XCV | ELIGIBILITY REFORM: REMOVING LIMITATIONS BASED ON ECONOMIC STATUS
Amendment Art. XCVI | EDUCATION LOANS: EMPOWERING ACCESS TO HIGHER LEARNING
Amendment Art. XCVII | ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS: SAFEGUARDING NATURAL RESOURCES AND PUBLIC HEALTH
The people shall have the right to clean air and water, freedom from excessive and unnecessary noise, and the natural, scenic, historic, and esthetic qualities of their environment; and the protection of the people in their right to the conservation, development and utilization of the agricultural, mineral, forest, water, air and other natural resources is hereby declared to be a public purpose.The general court shall have the power to enact legislation necessary or expedient to protect such rights.
In the furtherance of the foregoing powers, the general court shall have the power to provide for the taking, upon payment of just compensation therefor, or for the acquisition by purchase or otherwise, of lands and easements or such other interests therein as may be deemed necessary to accomplish these purposes.
Lands and easements taken or acquired for such purposes shall not be used for other purposes or otherwise disposed of except by laws enacted by a two thirds vote, taken by yeas and nays, of each branch of the general court.
Amendment Art. XCVIII | JUDICIAL TENURE: PROVISIONS FOR RETIREMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Article I. The tenure, that all commissioned officers shall by law have in their offices, shall be expressed in their respective commissions. All judicial officers, duly appointed, commissioned and sworn, shall hold their offices during good behavior, excepting such concerning whom there is different provision made in this Constitution; provided, nevertheless, the governor, with the consent of the council, may remove them upon the address of both houses of the legislature; and provided, also, that the governor, with the consent of the council, may after due notice and hearing retire them because of advanced age or mental or physical disability; and provided further, that upon attaining seventy years of age said judges shall be retired. Such retirement shall be subject to any provisions made by law as to pensions or allowances payable to such officers upon their voluntary retirement.
Amendment Art. XCIX | AGRICULTURAL LANDS: TAX ASSESSMENT BASED ON USAGE
Amendment Art. C | LOWERING THE VOTING AGE: GRANTING RIGHTS TO CITIZENS AGED EIGHTEEN
Amendment Art. CI | DECENNIAL CENSUS: STRUCTURING REPRESENTATIVE AND SENATORIAL DISTRICTS
The House of Representatives shall consist of one hundred and sixty members. The General Court shall, at its first regular session after the year in which said census was taken, divide the Commonwealth into one hundred and sixty representative districts of contiguous territory so that each representative will represent an equal number of inhabitants, as nearly as may be; and such districts shall be formed, as nearly as may be, without uniting two counties or parts of two or more counties, two towns or parts of two or more towns, two cities or parts of two or more cities, or a city and a town, or parts of cities and towns, into one district. Such districts shall also be so formed that no town containing less than twenty-five hundred inhabitants according to said census shall be divided. The General Court may by law limit the time within which judicial proceedings may be instituted calling in question any such division. Every representative, for one year at least immediately preceding his election, shall have been an inhabitant of the district for which he is chosen and shall cease to represent such district when he shall cease to be an inhabitant of the Commonwealth. The manner of calling and conducting the elections for the choice of representatives, and of ascertaining their election, shall be prescribed by law.
Section 2. [Each such census of inhabitants required in section one shall likewise be the basis for determining the senatorial districts and also the councillor districts for the ten year period beginning with the first Wednesday in the fourth January following the taking of such census; provided that such districts as established based on the census in the year nineteen hundred and seventy-one shall terminate on the first Wednesday in January in the year nineteen hundred and seventy-nine.] The Senate shall consist of forty members. The General Court shall, at its first regular session after the year in which said census is taken, divide the Commonwealth into forty districts of contiguous territory, each district to contain, as nearly as may be, an equal number of inhabitants according to said census; and such districts shall be formed, as nearly as may be, without uniting two counties, or parts of two or more counties, into one district. The General Court may by law limit the time within which judicial proceedings may be instituted calling in question such division. Each district shall elect one senator, who shall have been an inhabitant of this Commonwealth five years at least immediately preceding his election and at the time of his election shall be an inhabitant of the district for which he is chosen; and he shall cease to represent such senatorial district when he shall cease to be an inhabitant of the Commonwealth. The manner of calling and conducting the elections for the choice of senators and councillors, and of ascertaining their election, shall be prescribed by law.
Section 3. Original jurisdiction is hereby vested in the supreme judicial court upon the petition of any voter of the Commonwealth, filed with the clerk of the supreme judicial court for the Commonwealth, for judicial relief relative to the establishment of House of Representatives, councillor and senatorial districts.
Section 4. Article XCII of the Amendments to the Constitution is hereby annulled.
Amendment Art. CII | LEGISLATIVE RECESSES: LIMITING BREAKS TO THIRTY DAYS
Article LII. The General Court, by concurrent vote of the two houses, may take a recess or recesses amounting to not more than thirty days.
Amendment Art. CIII | PUBLIC FUNDS AND RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS: REVISING USE RESTRICTIONS
Section 2. No grant, appropriation or use of public money or property or loan of credit shall be made or authorized by the Commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof for the purpose of founding, maintaining or aiding any infirmary, hospital, institution, primary or secondary school, or charitable or religious undertaking which is not publicly owned and under the exclusive control, order and supervision of public officers or public agents authorized by the Commonwealth or federal authority or both, except that appropriations may be made for the maintenance and support of the Soldiers' Home in Massachusetts and for free public libraries in any city or town and to carry out legal obligations, if any, already entered into; and no such grant, appropriation or use of public money or property or loan of public credit shall be made or authorized for the purpose of founding, maintaining or aiding any church, religious denomination or society. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to prevent the Commonwealth from making grants-in-aid to private higher educational institutions or to students or parents or guardians of students attending such institutions.
Amendment Art. CIV | HIGHWAY AND TRANSPORTATION REVENUE: LIMITING USE TO SPECIFIC PURPOSES
Amendment Art. CV | VOTING ACCESSIBILITY: PROVISIONS FOR ABSENTEE AND DISABLED VOTERS
Amendment Art. CVI | EQUALITY UNDER THE LAW: PROTECTING RIGHTS REGARDLESS OF SEX, RACE, OR CREED
Amendment Art. CVII | STATE BUDGET: GOVERNOR'S RESPONSIBILITIES IN FINANCIAL PLANNING
Amendment Art. CVIII | INFORMATION FOR VOTERS: ENHANCING TRANSPARENCY ON BALLOT MEASURES
IV. Information for Voters.
The secretary of the commonwealth shall cause to be printed and sent to each person eligible to vote in the commonwealth or to each residence of one or more persons eligible to vote in the commonwealth the full text of every measure to be submitted to the people, together with a copy of the legislative committee's majority reports, if there be such, with the names of the majority and minority members thereon, a statement of the votes of the general court on the measure, and a fair, concise summary of the measure as such summary will appear on the ballot; and shall, in such manner as may be provided by law, cause to be prepared and sent other information and arguments for and against the measure.Amendment Art. CIX | ADJUSTING CENSUS STANDARDS: ALIGNING WITH FEDERAL GUIDELINES
Amendment Art. CX | CONSERVATION TAXATION: SUPPORTING FOREST AND WILDLIFE PRESERVATION
Amendment Art. CXI | EQUAL EDUCATIONAL ACCESS: PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Amendment Art. CXII | PROPERTY TAX CLASSIFICATION: DIFFERENTIATED RATES BASED ON USAGE
Amendment Art. CXIII | EXTENDED APPROVAL TIMELINES: EIGHTEEN-MONTH PERIODS FOR LOCAL GOVERNANCE
Amendment Art. CXIV | PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION: PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF HANDICAPPED INDIVIDUALS
Amendment Art. CXV | MUNICIPAL COSTS: LEGISLATIVE OVERSIGHT ON ADDITIONAL EXPENDITURES
Amendment Art. CXVI | CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: LEGAL AUTHORIZATION FOR THE DEATH PENALTY
Amendment Art. CXVII | FEDERAL CENSUS: ADJUSTING TIMELINES FOR LEGISLATIVE REDISTRICTING
Section 2. Section 2 of said Article CI of said Articles of Amendment is hereby amended by striking out the first sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence: - Said federal census shall likewise be the basis for determining the senatorial districts and also the councillor districts for the ten year period beginning with the first Wednesday in the [fifth] January following the taking of such census.
Amendment Art. CXVIII | LEGISLATIVE COMPENSATION: MEDIAN INCOME-BASED ADJUSTMENTS
Amendment Art. CXIX | REVISED CENSUS IMPLEMENTATION: UPDATED REDISTRICTING TIMEFRAMES
Amendment Art. CXX | VOTING RIGHTS RESTRICTION: FELONY INCARCERATION AND ELECTORAL ELIGIBILITY
Amendment Art. CXXI | ADDITIONAL TAX FOR PUBLIC SERVICES: FUNDING EDUCATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
To provide the resources for quality public education and affordable public colleges and universities, and for the repair and maintenance of roads, bridges and public transportation, all revenues received in accordance with this paragraph shall be expended, subject to appropriation, only for these purposes. In addition to the taxes on income otherwise authorized under this Article, there shall be an additional tax of 4 percent on that portion of annual taxable income in excess of $1,000,000 (one million dollars) reported on any return related to those taxes. To ensure that this additional tax continues to apply only to the commonwealth’s highest income taxpayers, this $1,000,000 (one million dollars) income level shall be adjusted annually to reflect any increases in the cost of living by the same method used for federal income tax brackets. This paragraph shall apply to all tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2023.
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