If passed, Question 1 would affirm State Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s ability to fully audit the state legislature. She’s waged a contentious war with fellow Democrats on Beacon Hill for months over auditing a body she says is in dire need of sunlight.
“We are frequently ranked as one of the least transparent state legislatures in the entire nation, not subject to public records laws, not subject to open meeting laws," DiZoglio told WAMC. Bills are able to be passed in the middle of the night, sometimes with no recorded roll calls. Committee votes are not recorded. Our audit is simply one way that we can help to increase transparency and accountability regarding some of the processes and the procedures and the finances in the legislature. Taxpayers deserve to know how their tax dollars are being spent.”
Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, also a Democrat, says DiZoglio lacks the legal authority to perform a full audit.
Berkshire Democrats have for the most part sided with party leadership, including outgoing 3rd Berkshire District State Representative Smitty Pignatelli.
“I'm not a lawyer, but the attorney general has sided with the legislature," he told WAMC. "I mean, as far as I'm concerned, our books are open. I think the auditor can look at them any way she wants. It may not be an official audit under her definition, but I think it's been an open book.”
A rare exception is Governor's Council member Tara Jacobs of North Adams, who told WAMC she backs DiZoglio’s efforts.
“I support transparency in government," she said. "I believe it is incumbent upon those of us who are elected to serve to serve in a way that is clear and accountable and transparent to those who have elected us.”
Question 2 concerns removing passing the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System or MCAS standardized test as a high school graduation requirement. Supporters include the powerful Massachusetts Teachers Association, the union that represents thousands of educators across the commonwealth.
“It would allow teachers to get back to real teaching," said President Max Page. "Too much that goes on in our schools is pushed to focus on teaching to the test, because that's what students are going to have to take and pass in order to get a diploma. And these tests are narrow and not great measures of real learning and the real preparedness of our students for college and for jobs and citizenship.”
The administration of Democratic Governor Maura Healey is among the opposition, including Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler.
“We come at it from a perspective of Massachusetts being or having the best public schools in the country, in fact, some international recognition, and we got to this place by the extraordinary work that teachers do with and for students and their families each and every day, properly providing resources, financial and others to schools and to teachers to help them do their work, and importantly, a system of assessment and accountability," He told WAMC. "What's proposed in the ballot question seeks to deconstruct an important part of the success story in Massachusetts, and we don't want to see that happen.”
Question 3 deals with the rights of rideshare drivers to form unions. Massachusetts residents who drive for private companies like Uber and Lyft are considered independent contractors, not employees. If passed, the ballot question would grant them the right to organize and collectively bargain for better compensation and benefits.
Question 4 is about the limited legalization and regulation of several naturally occurring psychedelic substances. A “yes” vote would allow restricted growing, taxed sale, and use of mushrooms containing psilocybin and psilocyn and plants containing dimethyltryptamine, mescaline, and ibogaine. The substances in question would only be available from licensed entities for commonwealth residents over the age of 21. If voters back the measure, Massachusetts would form a five-member Natural Psychedelic Substances Commission and 20-member Advisory Board to oversee regulation of the psychedelics in question.
Question 5 is a measure about compensation for tipped employees.
“It is a five-year steady increase to the sub-minimum wage, and then at year five, tipped workers who were receiving the sub minimum wage, which is currently $6.75, will be at 100% of the minimum wage by 2029," said Grace McGovern, an organizer with the Yes on Five campaign and a restaurant industry worker herself. “Every other business in the state right now has to pay all of their employees at least $15 an hour. So, we want to bring restaurants up to the same standards as every other business in the state.”
Opponents say the measure will be prohibitively expensive for both employers and customers.
“Just the year one impact, the cost of dining out is going to skyrocket," said Stephen Clark, President and CEO of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association. “You're talking about $3 more per hour per tipped employee. So, if you have 20 employees that work 40 hours a week, that's $3 per hour. You're talking about $3 more per hour per tipped employee. So now you're talking about $2,000 per week, just in payroll costs. Extrapolate that out over the year- What's that going to cost for dining? There's only so many places that a menu can bring money into a restaurant, and that's what the consumer is ultimately paying is, the cost for that. Any restaurant that's doing moderately well is probably operating at a 3% to 5% profit margin right now. Most restaurants cannot afford to implement this change, as dramatic as it would be.”
McGovern says the opposition is overstating the impact of raising wages for servers and other tipped workers across the commonwealth.
“The UMass Labor Center did a policy brief on the implications of Question 5 in Massachusetts- So, specifically for the state, what it would look like," she told WAMC. "And they said that the increased labor costs could be mitigated by restaurants doing a 1% to 2% increase across the menu, which the opposition is saying, this is awful, we're going to have to increase menu prices by 2%. But 2% is really not all that much, especially to people who have been seeing inflation go crazy over the years. I mean, I've personally, just in the last year, I've seen menu prices increase at my restaurant more than 2% for different items, and I haven't seen a wage increase.”
Polls are open across Massachusetts from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Election Day.
