Voters made decisions on car repairs, assisted suicide and medical marijuana in the statewide election.
Question 1: Right to Repair Voters approved the “Right to Repair” ballot question, which would give consumers more choices when fixing a car in today's election. According to numbers on boston.com, 85 percent of voters approved the question, with 51 percent of the state reporting at 10:15 p.m. The initiative requires automakers to make computer software codes for repairs more accessible to independent repair shops and car owners by 2015. But in July, state legislators devised a compromise that would give carmakers until 2018 to comply with the new law, according to a Boston Globe report. By approving Question 1, voters trumped that compromise and enacted the “Right to Repair” act as written on the ballot. “Voters sent a clear message to …
Find out what your vote on Question 1 will mean.
On Nov. 6, Massachusetts voters will be asked to vote on three questions along with the state and federal political races. Question 1, also known as Right to Repair, is asking voters whether all owners should have access to repair manuals and diagnostic information for their vehicles. "This proposed law would prohibit any motor vehicle manufacturer, starting with model year 2015, from selling or leasing, either directly or through a dealer, a new motor vehicle without allowing the owner to have access to the same diagnostic and repair information made available to the manufacturer’s dealers and in-state authorized repair facilities," the Massachusetts Secretary of State's website says. According to the website, a "yes" vote on Question 1 …
Find out what a yes or no vote on Question 3 will mean.
On Nov. 6, Massachusetts voters will be asked to vote on three questions along with the state and federal political races. Question 3 is regarding the legalization of medical marijuana. "This proposed law would eliminate state criminal and civil penalties for the medical use of marijuana by qualifying patients. To qualify, a patient must have been diagnosed with a debilitating medical condition," the Massachusetts Secretary of State's website says. According to the website a "yes" vote would allow for patients to smoke marijuana if it is prescribed by a doctor. A "no" vote would make no change to the current law and keep the practice illegal.
The car owner's group wants the ballot passed in spite of recent compromise legislation.
Even though both sides of the "Rght to Repair" question came together in September to urge voters not to vote on the initiative next month, Southern New England AAA is still pushing the measure. But in light of a compromise bill passed July 31, both sides of the "Right to Repair" debate had begun a campaign to urge voters not to vote on the ballot question next month. "Although it was too late to take this question off the ballot, people can feel confident that the issue has been addressed by the Legislature," Art Kinsman, the spokesman for the Right to Repair Coalition, said at the State House. Under the bill, automakers will be required make available to independent mechanics by 2018 all repair codes and other diagnostic information. …
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Advocates on both sides of the issue are urging voters not to override the compromise bill passed this summer.
In light of a compromise bill passed July 31, both sides of the "right to repair" debate have begun a campaign to urge voters not to vote on the ballot question next month. Though the Legislature passed a compromise bill, the deadline for removing the question from the ballot had passed weeks earlier, on July 3. "Although it was too late to take this question off the ballot, people can feel confident that the issue has been addressed by the Legislature," Art Kinsman, the spokesman for the Right to Repair Coalition, said at the State House last week. Under the bill, automakers would be required make available to independent mechanics all repair codes and other diagnostic information but have time to satisfy a mandate that all new cars …
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Votes will be asked in the November election to vote on Question 2, which if passed, would allow physicians to prescribe medicine to end a terminally ill patient's life.
As part of the November election, voters will have a chance to move in favor or against a question regarding medication for terminally ill patients. The proposed law would allow a physician licensed in Massachusetts to prescribe medication, at a terminally ill patient’s request, to end that patient’s life, according to Secretary of State William F. Galvin's website. To qualify, a patient would have to be an adult resident who is determined, medically, to be mentally capable of making and communicating health care decisions; be diagnosed by attending and consulting physicians as having an incurable, irreversible disease that will, within reasonable medical judgment, cause death within six months; and voluntarily expresses a wish to die and …
10:06 am on Sunday, November 4, 2012
In reading these posts I have yet to see anyone address the patient's rights. I have worked in Hospice for 8 years and watched many patients and families suffer. One thing that all healthcare workers, patients, and families have in common is the idea of patient choice. As healthcare workers we are obligated to be patient advocates. However, it seems that most practitioners are circumstantial … more ›
Diana
9:26 am on Saturday, November 17, 2012
Whine whine whine. But hey, it's your free time. Do with it as you will. more ›