By Bob Katzen

Secretary of State Bill Galvin announced last week that petitions for four more potential ballot questions have been determined to contain the 74,754 certified signatures needed to advance another step toward going on the November 2026 ballot for voters to decide. With these four certifications, Galvin’s office has now cleared nine proposals for possible advancement toward the 2026 statewide ballot.

Two additional proposals are still being reviewed by Galvin’s office to see if they contain sufficient signatures. One would place sales tax revenue from sporting goods like golf clubs, RVs and camping gear into a new “Nature for All Fund” that could generate $100 million annually for water and nature conservation and restoration efforts. A second one is designed to make it easier for residents to purchase a home by updating zoning rules.

Here are the four proposed laws that were certified last week and the number of certified signatures collected by each group supporting the proposed laws.

1. Improve Access to Public Records (89,013) – Would make most records held by the Legislature and the governor’s office public records under the Massachusetts Public Records Law. It exempts documents related to the development of public policy and communications between legislators and their constituents, if those communications are reasonably related to a constituent’s request for assistance in obtaining government-provided benefits or services or interacting with a government agency.

2. Change and Regulate Legislative Stipends (96,797) – Make changes to the system under which lawmakers receive extra pay for serving in a leadership position and as committee chairs. The Legislative Effectiveness and Accountability Partnership, the sponsor of the proposal, says that the legislative leadership uses stipends to deliver millions of dollars to favored legislators and calls the money “loyalty pay” intended to bind lawmakers to the wishes of leadership.

3. Allow Public defenders to collectively bargain (86,153) – Would allow employees of the Committee for Public Counsel Services, which oversees the state public defender system for indigent criminal defendants, to engage in collective bargaining with their employer.

4. Limiting State Tax Collection Growth and Returning Surpluses to Taxpayers (85,588) – Would change the limit on how much revenue the state can collect in a given year. The proposal would limit annual state revenue to the net amount of state revenue from the prior year, increased by a rate equal to the average growth of wages and salaries in Massachusetts over the most recent three years. If revenue exceeds the limit, the excess amount would be refunded to taxpayers the following year.

The proposals must be sent by the secretary of state to the Legislature by January 7, 2026 and if not approved by the Legislature by May 6, 2026, proponents must gather another 12,429 signatures by July 1, 2026, in order for the question to appear on the November 2026 ballot.