Massachusetts Repeal Prohibition on "Happy Hours" Initiative (2022)
| Massachusetts Repeal Prohibition on "Happy Hours" Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2022 | |
| Topic Alcohol | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The Massachusetts Repeal Prohibition on "Happy Hours" Initiative was not on the ballot in Massachusetts as an indirect initiated state statute on November 8, 2022.
The initiative would have repealed the prohibition on "happy hours" by allowing licensed establishments to sell discounted alcoholic beverages during the calendar week.[1][2]
Text of measure
Ballot summary
The final ballot summary for the initiative was as follows.[3]
| “ |
This proposed law would expand the ways in which establishments licensed to sell alcohol for consumption on the premises can sell alcoholic beverages. The proposed law would allow such establishments to give free drinks to one or more persons; sell two drinks to one person at the same time; sell drinks at discounted prices, including at private functions; sell unlimited drinks to any person for a set time period, including at private functions; sell drinks to persons at lower prices than the general public is charged on the same day, including at private functions; sell malt beverages or mixed drinks by the pitcher to one person; increase the volume of a drink without raising the price; and host games or contests that involve drinking or the awarding of drinks as prizes. The proposed law would also allow licensed establishments to advertise, either inside or outside of the establishment, any of the eight practices listed above. Finally, the proposed law would allow the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission to issue regulations consistent with the proposed law.[4] |
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Full text
- The full text of the measure is available here.
Path to the ballot
The state process
In Massachusetts, the number of signatures required to qualify an indirect initiated state statute for the ballot is equal to 3.5 percent of the votes cast for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election. No more than one-quarter of the verified signatures on any petition can come from a single county. The process for initiated state statutes in Massachusetts is indirect, which means the legislature has a chance to approve initiatives with successful petitions directly without the measure going to the voters. A first round of signatures equal to 3 percent of the votes cast for governor is required to put an initiative before the legislature. A second round of signatures equal to 0.5 percent of the votes cast for governor in the last election is required to put the measure on the ballot if the legislature rejects or declines to act on a proposed initiated statute. Signatures for initiated statutes in Massachusetts are collected in two circulation periods. The first period runs from the third Wednesday in September to two weeks prior to the first Wednesday in December, a period of nine weeks. If the proposed law is not adopted by the first Wednesday of May, petitioners then have until the first Wednesday of July (eight weeks) to request additional petition forms and submit the second round of signatures.
The requirements to get an initiated state statute certified for the 2022 ballot:
- Signatures required (first round): 80,239 signatures
- Signatures required (second round): 13,374 signatures
- Deadline (first round): The deadline to submit the first round of signatures to the secretary of state was December 1, 2021. Signatures needed to be submitted to local registrars by November 17, 2021.
- Deadline (second round): The deadline to submit the second round of signatures was July 6, 2022.
If enough signatures are submitted in the first round, the legislature must act on a successful petition by the first Wednesday of May. The measure only goes on the ballot if the legislature does not pass it and if the second round of signatures is successfully collected.
Details about this initiative
- The initiative was filed by Nicholas Silveira on August 4, 2021.[2]
- On September 1, 2021, the attorney general cleared the initiative for signature gathering.[3]
- On November 17, 2021, the campaign announced that it did not collect enough signatures to make the ballot.[5]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Massachusetts Attorney General's Office, "Full text," accessed August 5, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Massachusetts Attorney General's Office, "List of petitions," accessed August 5, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Massachusetts Attorney General, "Final Summary," accessed September 1, 2021
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Eagle Tribune, "Variety of proposals inching toward 2022 ballot," November 18, 2021
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