Coalition to Reform our Legislature hosted “People’s Hearing” June 17th on Bills for Legislative Reform
What: The Coalition to Reform our Legislature (CROL) held a People’s Hearing to address two bills, filed by CROL’s members and allies, that would improve the way that our legislature operates. The bills were filed consistent with House and Senate rules, yet both chambers bypassed the typical process of holding formal hearings on them, leaving the public in the dark on their benefits.
When: Tuesday, June 17 1:30-3 PM
Where: Church on the Hill, 140 Bowdoin St., Boston
Who: The hearing featured testimony from advocates, former legislators, and members of the public.
Why: CROL is a politically diverse coalition of groups and individuals committed to making the Massachusetts legislature more accountable, effective, and transparent. CROL proposed two bills to accomplish those objectives.
One bill would establish independent legislative research and fiscal analysis bureaus to provide legislators with the tools necessary to craft legislation based on objective data, rather than reliance on special interests. The second bill would reform the stipend system which presently gives leadership extraordinary control over legislators’ salaries, replacing it with a less costly and less leadership-controlled stipend system that rewards performance, rather than loyalty.
CROL held this hearing to advance public debate on our dysfunctional legislature.
List of speakers: Jay Kaufman, Jeanne Kempthorne, Jonathan Hecht, Jennifer Nassour, Scotia Hille, Danielle Allen, Michael Widmer, Amy Carnevale, Barbara Anthony, Evan MacKay (reading a statement from Vick Mohanka), Mary Ann Stewart, Jay Kaufman (reading a statement from Barney Frank), Jordan Berg Powers
Watch the the recording of the hearing:
“For them to pass [six] bills in five months when we’re facing a crisis of unprecedented levels from the federal administration, it boggles the mind,’ said Scotia Hille, executive director of Act on Mass, a progressive advocacy organization.”
“Looking to keep pressure on what they deem an untransparent and ineffective Massachusetts Legislature, a coalition of unlikely allies is considering whether to bring two ‘good governance’ measures straight to voters via the ballot.
The coalition of former lawmakers, activists, and civic groups gathered Tuesday at Church on the Hill, across from the State House, for a ‘people’s hearing’ to spotlight reform bills they say state legislators have ignored.
‘Legislators in Massachusetts are financially dependent on leadership, and dependency breeds deference. Legislators wait to be told what to do. Acting openly and independently risks losing significant income,’ said Jonathan Hecht, a former Democratic representative from Watertown.”
“Enter the Coalition to Reform Our Legislature, a bipartisan coalition of good government advocates that can fit both former U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, a Democrat, and state Republican Party Chairperson Amy Carnevale under its big tent.
On Tuesday, the group gathered at the Church on the Hill, across the street from the State House, to hold what it described as a ‘People’s Hearing’ to shine a light on a pair of bills calling for reforms that it filed in January and that Beacon Hill’s establishment has effectively banished to the Island of Misfit Legislation.
‘Both the House and Senate failed to assign the bills to a committee for a hearing and consideration. Unfortunately, it appears our Constitutional rights were reduced to filing a bill in the bottom drawer of a file cabinet in the [House and Senate] clerks’ offices,’ Peter Enrich, an emeritus law professor at Northeastern University, who sits on the coalition’s steering committee, said in a statement.”