Bill H.4454 186th (2009 - 2010)

2010 ]               HOUSE – No. 4454               2

No. 4454

HOUSE     .     .    .    .    .    .    .

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

——————

INITIATIVE PETITION OF FRANK J. ANZLOTTI AND OTHERS.

                                                                      OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY.                                                                       BOSTON, JANUARY 4, 2010.

Steven T. James
Clerk of the House of Representatives
State House
Boston, Massachusetts 02133

    Sir: - I herewith transmit to you, in accordance with the requirements of Article XLVIII of the Amendments to the Constitution, an Initiative Petition for An Act to Repeal the Sales Tax on Alcohol, signed by ten qualified voters and filed with this department on or before December 2, 2009, together with additional signatures of qualified voters in the number of 83,171, being a sufficient number to comply with the Provisions of said Article.

                                                                      Sincerely,

WILLIAM FRANCIS GALVIN,

Secretary of the Commonwealth.

AN INITIATIVE PETITION.

    Pursuant to Article XLVIII of the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth, as amended, the undersigned qualified voters of the Commonwealth, ten in number at least, hereby petition for the enactment into law of the following measure:

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

——————

In the Year Two Thousand and Ten.

——————

An Act TO REPEAL THE SALES TAX ON ALCOHOL .

              Be it enacted by the People, and by their authority, as follows:

SECTION 1.   Section 1.               Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, alcoholic beverages subject to the excise tax imposed by Chapter 138 of the General Laws shall be exempt from sales tax, and to that end, Section 6(g) of Chapter 64H of the General Laws, as most recently amended by St. 2009, c. 27, § 55, is hereby amended by striking out the words “and 64F” and inserting in place thereof the following words: -64F and 138.

SECTION 2.               Section 1 shall take effect on January 1, 2011.

FIRST TEN SIGNERS

Summary of 09-01.

              This proposed law would remove the Massachusetts sales tax on alcoholic beverages and alcohol, where the sale of such beverages and alcohol or their importation into the state is already subject to a separate excise tax under state law. The proposed law would take effect on January 1, 2011. Insert the Attorney General’s summary of the petition here.

CERTIFICATE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.

September 2, 2009.

Honorable William Francis Galvin
Secretary of the Commonwealth
One Ashburton Place, Room 1705
Boston, Massachusetts 02108

RE:               Initiative Petition No. 09-01: An Act to Repeal the Sales Tax on Alcohol.

Dear Secretary Galvin:

              I accordance with the provisions of Article 48 of the Amendments to the Massachusetts Constitution, I have reviewed the above-referenced initiative petition, which was submitted to me on or before the first Wednesday of August of this year.

              I hereby certify that this measure is in proper form for submission to the people; 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 that are related or are mutually dependent and which are not excluded from the initiative process pursuant to Article 48, the Initiative, Part 2, Section 2.

              In accordance with Article 48, I enclose a fair, concise summary of the measure.

Cordially ,
MARTHA COAKLEY,
Attorney General.