Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

This Wednesday at the State House: First Vote on Millionaires’ Tax

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The proposed state constitutional amendment to impose an additional four percent tax on taxable incomes over one million dollars will receive its first vote in the Constitutional Convention that’s being held on Wednesday. Here’s the calendar.

To bring us up to date since Mark Bail’s October 2015 post on the subject, advocates of the proposed amendment collected 155,000 signatures (way more than twice the number required) to submit the proposal to the legislature. The Joint Committee on Revenue held a hearing in January and gave the proposal a favorable report in February.

At the Constitutional Convention on Wednesday, the amendment needs a yes vote from 1/4 of the 200 legislators in order to advance. If that happens, another yes vote of 1/4 of legislators in 2017 or 2018 will put the amendment on the ballot in November 2018.

In legislative offices, operators are standing by to hear what you think.

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    • Is the vote Wednesday done so that one can tell who votes aye and who votes nay?

      • if 35 legislators ask for one. (Rule G from the constitutional convention calendar, link in the post).

        I think it’s very likely that there will be one.

        • …constitutional amendments are among those things which IMO definitely fall into the category of significant enough that they should ALWAYS be voted by roll call without needing an express motion and sufficient second.

          • For whatever reason, this just seems like one that might somehow not get a roll call, perhaps oops accidentally.

            • …in an instance where less than a majority was considered sufficient to approve. It would seem that being able to tell whether it hit 1/4 viva voce might be a tough call, unless the yeas were overwhelming of course.

      • The Constitution requires a roll-call vote (Article 48, Initiative, Part 4, section 4):

        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.

  2. enough votes to send it to the ballot.

    There are too many people on board with this measure, which polling gives a 70% approval rating, to sweep it under the rug.

    • Chances of a roll call go way up when both sides want one, which I think is the case here

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