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Tipped minimum wage question heads to November ballot after opponents withdraw challenge
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While you wait for that big “whoosh” of dry air to blow over us, we have a lot of news to cover. Let’s get to it:
And then there were five: The ballot campaign to raise the tipped minimum wage in Massachusetts is headed to the November ballot after all. Opponents of the campaign announced yesterday that they are withdrawing their objection to some of the campaign’s final round of signatures. One Fair Wage, the group behind the ballot question, called the news “a crucial moment in our fight for justice.”
- The TL;DR? The news means you’ll see the tipped minimum wage question on your fall ballot, along with four other questions.
- Why was the objection pulled? The Massachusetts Restaurant Association, which continues to fight the question, says they found “a significant number of questionable signatures,” including some with “similar handwriting styles.” However, the group said it didn’t have time to compile the evidence “to offer a complete review” to the state’s Ballot Law Commission, which had planned to hold a (now-canceled) hearing today. One Fair Wage says the withdrawal shows the challenge was “baseless” from the start.
- What’s this all about again? Massachusetts’ current minimum wage is $15 an hour. But workers who regularly earn tips can be paid as little as $6.75 an hour, as long as wages and tips ultimately add up to at least $15 per hour. The ballot question would gradually raise the tipped minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2029, meaning any tips would be extra. (It would also allow employers to create “tip pools” to gather and spread out tips among all workers, including back-of-the-house employees like cooks.)
We have a deal: It took over five months, but Massachusetts lawmakers have finally hashed out their differences on what House Speaker Ron Mariano says is the state’s “most significant gun safety legislation” in a decade. The House plans to vote on the bill today, the first step on its expected path to Gov. Maura Healey’s desk.
- Catch up: While Massachusetts is already well known for its strict gun laws, Beacon Hill leaders say the Supreme Court’s decision in 2022 nudged them to made additional tweaks. “Relative success is never a cause for complacency,” Mariano said in a statement.
- What would it do? Quite a lot. The bill (mostly) bans bringing guns into schools, polling locations and government buildings. It also touches on unregistered “ghost guns,” the state’s assault weapons ban, dealer inspections, the state’s red flag law and more. State House News Service has all the details here.
Another deal: Beacon Hill leaders also say they’ve reached a compromise on the (just a bit tardy) FY25 budget. The deal is still being finalized but we should learn the details in “the coming days.”
- What to watch for: Does the Senate’s free community college proposal make the cut? What about the House’s latest push to legalize online lottery sales? Here’s a refresher on the major differences between the budget proposals.
Starting next week, low-income families in Massachusetts with school-aged kids will get $120 a week to help pay for groceries during the summer months. WBUR’s Carrie Jung reports it’s part of a federally funded program to help families cover food costs when school is out and free school meals are not accessible.
- How it works: Many eligible families will see the funds loaded automatically onto “EBT cards,” if they’re enrolled in programs like SNAP. But they can also apply online here.
Just keep swimming: Vineyard Wind announced last night that there is “an increased possibility” the rest of its damaged offshore wind turbine blade could soon detach, as debris continues to fall into the water miles south of Nantucket. (See close-up photos of the broken blade here.)
- FYI: Nantucket beaches have been reopened for swimming, but the island’s harbormaster says beachgoers should wear footwear and keep pets off the south shore beaches.
Closing time: The last inmate has left Massachusetts’ oldest men’s prison, MCI Concord. The Healey administration decided to shut down the facility earlier this year due to the decline in the state’s prison population and the cost to maintain the nearly 150-year-old prison. Yesterday, the state’s Department of Correction announced that none of MCI Concord’s 300 inmates remain.
- Now what for the 37-acre property? Unlike the shuttered prison in Norfolk, Healey says it won’t be used as a shelter. The governor suggested the prison should be redeveloped for housing or in some other way to benefit the surrounding community.
P.S.— It’s a big week for Vermont-bred musicians. Sure, Noah Kahan takes the stage tonight for the first of two concerts at Fenway Park. But also: Phish played their first-ever NPR Tiny Desk concert, complete with tiny trampolines and a tiny encore.
