Category Archives: 2016 Election

With CFPB’s Future in Doubt, State AGs Prepare to Fight

In the first of what are becoming regular clashes between Democratic state attorneys general and the new President, the attorneys general of Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia sought to intervene in federal court proceedings to defend the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (“CFPA”), which created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”),… More

Summary of The Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act

On November 8, 2016, Massachusetts voters passed Initiative Petition 15-37, The Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act.  The Act: legalizes the possession of one (1) ounce or fewer of marijuana for people age twenty-one (21) and older and the personal possession of ten (10) ounces and not more than twelve (12) plants cultivated in a person’s primary residence for personal use; establishes a Cannabis Control Commission with the authority to license,… More

Update: SJC Strongly Urges Plaintiffs to File Challenges to Ballot Initiatives by February 1

Voters ballot close-upAs we anticipated in an earlier post, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court provided clear guidance on the appropriate time to challenge ballot initiatives in two July 6 decisions. The opinions, both authored by Chief Justice Gants, strongly urge plaintiffs to bring challenges to ballot initiatives by February 1 in election years.

In Dunn v. Attorney General, the plaintiffs contested the Attorney General’s certification of a petition that would make it unlawful for farms to knowingly confine certain farm animals in a cruel manner and for businesses to knowingly sell certain products from animals that have been so confined.… More

Deadlines Fast Approaching to File Initiative Petitions with Massachusetts AGO

The deadline for the first step to place a measure on the November 2016 ballot is fast approaching.  Proposed initiative petitions must be submitted to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (AGO) on or before Wednesday, August 5, 2015.  The AGO will rule on or before Wednesday, September 2, 2015 whether proposed measures meet constitutional requirements.  In addition, the AGO will prepare a fair, concise summary of each measure that is certified on that same date.… More