Get a load of this:
“Such a plodding pace is not new on Beacon Hill; just two years ago, one national study deemed the Massachusetts Legislature the least effective state legislative body in the country. Tension and power dynamics among lawmakers also contribute to glacial policy making, leading this session to divorced joint committees and backroom infighting over committee rules that, at times, have spilled into the public eye.”
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say the Boston Globe was coming for my Scoop-writing job!
And I couldn’t be happier about it; in this same must-read article, the Globe reports that the Legislature has only taken 70 roll call votes thus far this session – half as many as they took by this time four years ago, and nearly a third of their average over the last ten years.
What does it mean that our legislators are taking a fraction of the recorded votes that they used to? It means a lot of things, and none of them good: 1) more and more decisions are being made behind closed doors, 2) fewer bills are being passed, 3) policy is increasingly passed through omnibus mega-bills where individual issues don’t get individual votes, and last but certainly not least, 4) voters get less information about their representatives’ positions on the issues they care about.
In other words, the frequency of recorded votes in a legislature is something of a vital sign for our democracy. And our patient is flatlining.
FiscalNote’s report that Massachusetts is the least effective legislature in 2023.
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State House Scoop
Using power ceded to them by Dems, Republicans block supplemental budget bill
The House and Senate finally came to a compromise this week on the $3.1 billion supplemental budget bill that includes $250 million for emergency shelters and pay raises for state employees. The compromise version includes the House’s requirement that the Healey administration use $50 million of the $250 million to set up an overflow site for families on the shelter wait list – the issue at the heart of the intra-chamber disagreement.
Sounds good, right? Well, don’t get too attached to the idea: because the Dems couldn’t come to an agreement by the end of formal sessions for the year (November 15th), this bill now must be passed through informal sessions where a single person can block a bill. In other words, they handed Republicans, who otherwise have no power in the Democratic supermajority-held Legislature, final say.
It came as no surprise, then, when the House attempted to pass the bill in informal sessions earlier this week, a member of Republican leadership blocked it – twice. Who could have predicted this kind of behavior from a party who already voted against this bill in both chambers?! 🙄
The House is reportedly convening for a rare Saturday session later today to try again. Say what you will, you gotta admire their can-do attitude. Who knows, maybe the third time’s a charm!
House Democratic leadership is blaming Republicans for their inability to pass this critical bill. In a prompt press statement, House Speaker Mariano said the Republicans maneuver was “‘incredibly disappointing’ and accuses them of being ‘willing to jeopardize’ the entire bill, including state employee raises, over shelter money to help the ‘vulnerable.’”
This messaging is as cynical as it is predictable. Frankly, it’s even a little comical: the Democrats have a supermajority trifecta. They don’t need a single Republican vote to pass anything, and they can override any veto. Healey filed this bill in September. They knew the deadline. Nobody made them procrastinate until the last minute, nobody made them adjourn without a compromise before midnight on November 15th. Massachusetts voters elected a supermajority of Democrats so they can pass their agenda, not so they can turn power back over to the minority party and play the noble victim.
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Missed a Scoop or two? You can find a full archive of all past Saturday Scoops on our blog.
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Donate today to keep our movement going strong in 2023!
Act on Mass has big plans for 2023. With the Auditor’s initiative petition to audit the Legislature, transparency and accountability will be on the ballot in November. This is an unprecedented opportunity to tackle our broken State House, and the power is squarely in the hands of the people. In other words, in our hands.
This isn’t the time to scale down – it’s the perfect time to ramp up. Keep Act on Mass fully-funded and help us grow our movement by donating today:
KEEP ACT ON MASS STRONG IN 2024 >>
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Take Action
Write a LTE for The Sunlight Agenda
Thank you to everyone who came out to our Letter to the Editor Workshop this past Thursday! Weren’t able to make it? Fear not! We’ve got all the resources you need to get caught up:
Writing an op-ed or a letter to the editor in your local paper is a powerful way to spread the word and let your community know why you’re committed to fighting for transparency. It’s also a great way to let your elected officials know what’s important to you, since they keep track of what’s going on in the district through local media!
If you’d like eyes on your piece before you send it out to your local paper, or if you’d like more support in the LTE process, email Brenna at brenna@actonmass.org.
Save the Date! Act on Mass teams up with IMC for a lobby day
It’s finally happening: we’re going under the golden dome! Save the date for Tuesday, January 23rd, from 10am-2pm, for our first ever Lobby Day! We’re teaming up with our friends at Indivisible Mass Coalition and the ACLU of Massachusetts to lobby for a slate of pro–democracy bills, including the Sunlight Bill, S.1963.
What: Lobby Day
Who: Indivisible Mass & Act on Mass
When: Tuesday, January 23rd, 10am-2pm
Where: State House, Room 428
Stay tuned for more details, including the link to RSVP. And in the meantime, mark your calendars!
Families for Justice as Healing Canteen Drive
After years of organizing led by directly impacted people, No Cost Calls legislation was recently signed into law. But incarcerated people still have to purchase the basic things they need to survive such as food and personal items at grossly inflated prices. Affording canteen items is a struggle for incarcerated people who make less than $1 a day if they are able to work — especially during the holidays when families have additional expenses. Our friends at Families for Justice as Healing have begun their annual Holiday Canteen Drive, a beloved community tradition to show solidarity and care for incarcerated people enduring terrible treatment and conditions in the DOC.
The isolation and deprivation imposed by incarceration can feel even harder during the holidays. Show your love and solidarity by signing up for the Canteen Drive today:
SIGN UP FOR THE CANTEEN DRIVE >>
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Now, I know that there was a lot of bad, frustrating news this week, but hear me out: the fact that major media outlets are covering and investigating the Legislature’s ills with increasing frequency is a great sign, and a testament to our movement. We already know from our nonbinding ballot question that 87% of Massachusetts voters want more transparency on Beacon Hill. We also know from the Auditor’s ballot question push that the Democratic Party supports this mission. The dominos are lining up. It’s up to us to knock them down.
In solidarity,
Erin Leahy
Executive Director, Act on Mass