By Ed Oliver
September 2002 Print Edition

State Senate Candidate Earl Henry Sholley and other volunteers collected enough signatures at the last minute to place two Public Policy Questions on the ballot in North Attleboro, and one in Franklin.

A Public Policy Question is non-binding and is directed at a particular state Rep. or Senator in the District. The Question on the ballot asks voters if the State Rep. or Senator shall be instructed to vote a certain way on an issue, and is a useful tool to communicate the interests of the voting public.

Full Disclosure On The Budget

The first Question deals with full disclosure on the budget and also addresses unfunded mandates. It will be on the ballot in North Attleboro and Franklin. It is directed at the respective State Reps. Betty Poirier and Jim Vallee.

Sholley told MassNews, "The tax dollar question is in two parts. First, it directs the State Rep. to vote for legislation that would give the average citizen a budget breakdown in layperson's terms so we can all understand it, so we don't need to hire an accounting firm or a battery of lawyers to decipher the budget. I want a full breakdown. I want to know how much the incumbent, my opponent is spending on pizzas, I want to know how much money it takes to run a full-time legislature as opposed to a part-time legislature. I want to know how much money is spent on overtime. I want to know how much money goes to furniture up at the State House.

"For example, if we are in a budget crisis, why are they still remodeling the State House and bringing in new furniture? I want to know all these things. If we have a thirty billion-dollar pension fund, I want to know how much of that money is actually paid out every year. How much of that money goes to pensioners each year and what's left over? It seems to me that we might have a ton of money there that could be quite a rainy day fund for other things or it should be returned to the taxpayers. We need to know this in layperson's terms. The process has gotten too complicated They hide too much of our money.

"The other part of that Question, which a lot of people really like, is that any mandates that come down from the State House would have to be fully funded by the state. In other words, this business about, say for example Chapter 766 Special Ed. has placed an undue burden, that and many other laws have placed an undue burden on the cities and towns of this Commonwealth."

Shared Parenting

The second Public Policy Question is mirrored after House Bill 2546 dealing with Presumptive Shared Custody, and will only be on the ballot in North Attleboro because of time restraints in gathering signatures.

The Question instructs Rep.Poirier to vote in favor of legislation mandating that in all separation and divorce proceedings involving minor children, both parents have an inalienable right to share temporary and final legal custody of the children, and the children have the right to reside and spend an equal amount of time with each parent. If equal time is not practical or possible, the right to a minimum amount of time per year for one parent shall be established and protected by the courts.

"This is a big issue for fathers and children and families-grandparents as well," said Sholley. "This affects a lot of people. Fathers are routinely discriminated against in the Family Court here in Massachusetts. This would level the playing field. Over thirty-some states have a presumptive shared custody or minimum visitation legislation, plus the District of Columbia. It's high time that Massachusetts gets in line with the rest of the country because it is in the best interest of the children."