To underscore the importance of this Coalition’s efforts to reform the Massachusetts Legislature, we think it is valuable to share the growing media coverage of the Legislature’s dysfunction. Here is a list of recent articles, reports, editorials, and opinion pieces, including links to them.
1. The Boston Globe | June 29, 2023: Beacon Hill bungles budget, again | The Editorial Board
For the seventh year in a row, the Legislature has not passed the annual budget on time. This deepens cynicism about government and creates unnecessary problems for state agencies and any entity that gets state funding. Only two other states failed to enact a budget by the start of their fiscal year.
2. The Boston Globe | June 27, 2023: Communities beg for a new tool in the housing toolbox | The Editorial Board
More than a dozen communities have sent home rule petitions to the Legislature asking for permission to impose a real estate transfer tax to fund affordable housing. Boston submitted its petition in late 2019; Provincetown has been filing its since 2011. The Legislature has not even held a hearing on any of these requests. Meanwhile, the housing crunch has escalated to a full-blown crisis.
3. CommonWealth Magazine | June 15, 2023: Rules feud leads to 2 takes on committee hearing | Bruce Mohl
Because the House and Senate can’t agree on the rules for making decisions in joint committees, the House and Senate have held separate, and therefore repetitive, hearings on some bills. The House has more members on each joint committee and is pushing for making decisions by majority vote, which would give it control. The Senate wants equal weight in committee decisions.
4. The Boston Globe | May 31, 2023: Shifting landscape may finally lift sex education bill, cosponsor says | Sam Drysdale
There’s hope that a bill to improve sex education in Massachusetts might pass after 10 years where it’s failed to make progress in the House. Fourteen states and D.C. have better sex education policies than MA.
5. The Boston Globe | May 29, 2023: Lawmakers show little concern over sleepy start | Matt Stout
The current legislative session is the least productive session in over 40 years; just 10 bills had passed by the end of May. This reflects, in part, that power has been increasingly funneled to a few top leaders.
6. CommonWealth Magazine | May 26, 2023: Sad state of affairs on Beacon Hill | Jerry Berger
The annual budget passed in the House without any significant public debate. House leaders have tightened their grip so that rank-and-file legislators are rarely willing to challenge them.
7. The Boston Globe | May 26, 2023: Legislature does the people’s work behind closed doors | Letter to the Editor, Jonathan Hecht
A huge tax package passed in the House with no notice and no debate. A corporate tax cut costing Massachusetts at least $79 million annually was slipped into the package via a back channel without public or legislative scrutiny or participation.
8. The Boston Globe | May 22, 2023: It’s time to restore legislative democracy on Beacon Hill | The Editorial Board
Virtually all policy in the Legislature comes from the top down. Power is essentially vested in four offices: the House Speaker, the Senate President, and the two Chairs of the Ways & Means Committees.
9. The Boston Globe | May 19, 2023: Reading the tax relief tea leaves, November 5, 2022: Tax relief gets short shrift on Beacon Hill | The Editorial Board
As pandemic relief assistance was winding down in early 2022, the Legislature promised low- and moderate-income households in Massachusetts tax relief to make life more affordable, especially in the face of high inflation. Over a year later, taxpayers are still struggling with the cost of living and are still waiting for tax relief as the Legislature dawdles.
10. CommonWealth Magazine | May 15, 2023: Fight erupts over committee rules on Beacon Hill | Bruce Mohl
Rare public exposure of the power struggle between the House and Senate occurred in a battle between the House and Senate Chairs of the joint energy committee.
11. The Boston Globe | February 20, 2023: The state Senate goes astray on limits for its leader | The Editorial Board
A member of the Senate’s leadership team succeeded in getting the 8-year term limit for the Senate President repealed.
12. WGBH News | February 16, 2023: The Mass. Legislature doesn’t see the world like the rest of us – and it doesn’t have to | Adam Reilly
There were two examples recently of the Legislature’s belief that it has a right to evade public scrutiny. First, the House, on a voice vote, refused to publish details of votes in committees. Second, the Senate voted, with very little notice or discussion, to abolish the term limit for the Senate president.
13. Provincetown Independent | February 15, 2023: New House rules increase access but reject committee transparency | Amelia Roth-Dishy
Legislative transparency in Massachusetts, particularly in the House, is worse than in most other states. The House recently adopted rules that will continue hybrid committee hearings, with remote access enhancing public access. However, it voted against (in 45 seconds without debate) releasing members’ votes in committees. This makes it hard for constituents to hold representatives accountable for their votes.
14. The Boston Globe | February 20, 2023: With zero public debate, Mass. Senate votes to abolish term limits for chamber president | Matt Stout
With no public debate, the MA Senate voted overwhelmingly to eliminate a 30-year old rule limiting the Senate president to 8 years in the office. This enhances the power of an already powerful position, which some argue will undermine democracy and Senators’ abilities to represent their constituents due to fear of the consequences of not following the lead of the powerful president.
15. Commonwealth Magazine | February 2, 2023: Under new rules, House returns to in-person sessions | Colin A. Young and Sam Doran
Committee hearings will be hybrid, but basic rules reforms — including a requirement to publish full committee votes — were rejected on a voice vote without debate.
16. The Boston Globe | January 25, 2023: Open the State House — and legislators’ votes and committee proceedings | Jonathan Hecht and Dan Winslow
The Legislature operates in an undemocratic fashion, favoring insiders and lobbyists. Committee votes are not publicly available, allowing leadership to minimize committees’ influence and frustrating legislators’ ability to participate and represent their constituents’ interests.