NEWS & MEDIALatest updates from Act on Mass and the fight for transparency in the State House

“Far too often legislators lose touch with their constituents once elected and conform to the pernicious culture of Beacon Hill’s establishment. While the carrots and sticks offered by the speaker and House leadership are many, I have no doubt in my mind that Raul, Jack, and Vivian will put the needs and values of their communities above insider politics."

"Raul is the only candidate in this race committed to bringing a transparent legislative process to Beacon Hill," AOM spokesperson Erin Leahy said in a statement. "The incumbent representative has repeatedly voted against making committee votes public and against giving representatives enough time to read bills and amendments before voting on them."

"State Sen. President Karen Spilka and her counterpart in the House, Speaker Ronald Mariano, wield 'huge influence' on what legislation ultimately succeeds due to the fact that they control staffers’ salaries and committee appointments that come with lucrative stipends for lawmakers, Ella McDonald of legislative watchdog group Act on Mass said. 'That combined with the general lack of transparency means representatives and senators more accountable to the speaker or senate president than they are to the voters,' she said."

"Act on Mass, a left-leaning group that has led the pursuit of transparency-minded reforms, wants Pittsfield voters to weigh in on whether they want their representative to vote in favor of making committee votes public."

"The biennial bill-reporting deadline came and went last week, but an 11-month legislative disagreement means the public may never know how their representatives and senators voted in deliberations over whether proposals should advance or fall short. The House and Senate each supported some form of pulling back the curtain on how panels vote, but Democrats couldn’t agree on a reform plan and existing legislative rules do not require joint committees to publish any breakdown of where members stand on bills they report."

"Ella McDonald, communications director for Act on Mass, said House lawmakers have a vested interest in resisting anything that would boost turnout among populations that could challenge their grip on their seats. 'I think it's important to look critically at the fact that in a state that has a ton of protections for incumbents and one of the lowest rates in the country of primary challengers winning elections, it's really telling that we're not able to get same-day voter registration,' McDonald said."

"Ella McDonald of Act on Mass said progressive groups have come to understand the importance of transparency in areas like committee votes. 'If we can’t see how our legislators are voting, we can’t hold them accountable to any of issue we care about, and it’s causing lack of action on nearly every progressive issue,' she said."

"Some advocates say the near total reliance on phone calls or Zoom meetings has handicapped their ability to engage lawmakers. Act on Mass, a nonprofit that’s lobbied lawmakers to make their rules more transparent, said when lawmakers don’t respond to requests for Zoom meetings, it leaves few, if any, other options. 'That’s a pretty unique challenge in this completely online advocacy space,' said Ella McDonald, the group’s spokeswoman."

"'Massachusetts, as progressive as we are, has been ranked by good government groups as the least transparent in the nation,' \[Sen. Diana] DiZoglio said, according to her prepared remarks. 'I know you all agree that is unacceptable and we as Democrats need to push our Democratic-controlled Legislature to step it up and adopt these measures.'"