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Session Featured Big Bills, Less Public View

BOSTON – Not long after state lawmakers ended their formal work for 2011 with a near-midnight November session, they began congratulating themselves for an exemplary season of legislating.

Among those accomplishments: casinos with the promise of new jobs and tax revenue, a law allowing municipalities to negotiate health insurance for public workers, balancing a budget in tough economic times and stabilizing the state’s pension plan.

“I would say this was one of the most impressive sessions over the past 30 years in terms of legislation passed,” said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Association.

But how much really got done this year, and, more importantly how much of the legislative process that moved these bills to law took place in public?

Numbers can be interpreted in different ways. Of the 206 bills passed in 2011, 39 – or 19 percent – affect the entire state – many in significant ways. Another 25 percent of the bills signed by Gov. Deval Patrick established sick leave banks for public employees. The rest were administrative laws pertaining to individual cities and towns, such as alcohol licenses and land transfers.

But behind the issue of legislative productivity looms a larger question about the process that moved various bills down the road, or left them on the roadside. A survey by the Boston University Statehouse Program of 19 major legislative committees that shape and move legislation found this process increasingly takes place outside the public view.

Among the findings:

- The staff for 15 of the committees polled said some voting is done through e-mails rather than in open executive sessions. The staff of 10 committees said the votes were not available to the public. State law requires that roll-call votes in executive sessions be recorded and made public. But committee rules do not address e-mail voting.

- Minutes and other details of committee meetings were not available from 18 of the committees, according to their staff. State law does not require such documentation of legislative committees, although it is required by other Massachusetts.

- Among the lack of documentation are records of attendance by committee members. Observers say fewer committee members now show up for public hearings as the work of the committees takes place through phone discussion or e-mail polls.

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By Andrea Aldana

Since 2001, over 37,000 Massachusetts residents have served in Afghanistan or Iraq.  Now, with the official end of Iraq War, the Patrick administration wants to help returning troops find jobs.

It won’t be an easy. While the U.S. unemployment rate stood at 10 percent in March, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that unemployment for those who served after September 2001 had a rate of 11.5 percent. Veterans between ages 18 to 24 face an unemployment rate of 21.5 percent.

Those who work with veterans say finding a job is their first mission when they return home.

“The biggest [concern] they mention is obviously the segue into employment,” said Roxanne Whitbeck Plymouth’s Veterans’ Service officer.

The importance of jobs is illustrated by other numbers. Veterans represent 11 percent of the adult U.S. civilian population, but 26 percent of the homeless population, according to the Homeless Research Institute.

The Patrick Administration announced a new series of initiatives in November to support the hiring of veterans, including a task force to promote the benefits of hiring veterans and increased partnerships with potential employers through the Massachusetts Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives.

Employers can also advertise their support with a “Proud Employer of Massachusetts Veterans” plaque if they employ a veterans.

The state also has 34 one-stop free career centers with veterans’ employment representatives whose assist in job search and resume writing.

Vincent Perrone, a retired Air Force officer who is president of Veterans Inc. , said  such lessons are critical.

“When I left the military, they had a voluntary transitional assistance program, which these days are pretty much mandatory,” said Perrone, whose Worcester-based company provides aid to veterans . “I learned how to rewrite my resume. I hadn’t gone out on a job interview in 20 years.”

Lt. Gov. Tim Murray said the state is working to get the message across that veterans tend to be goal and career-oriented, as well as inform employers of tax credits they receive.

“We’re doing better on education and outreach but we can certainly do better,” he said.

The governor also created a subcommittees on veteran services for student veterans and re-employment within his advisory council .

“Fundamentally, we have an obligation. That’s something the governor and I feel strongly about,” said Murray, who chairs the Governor’s Advisory Council on Veteran’s Services, which Patrick established in April 2007.

Murray said the council grew out of meetings he and Patrick had with veterans during the 2006 gubernatorial campaign.

“In Westfield, one of the veterans talked about how it [the council] existed in the past, and it was a good opportunity to bring different veteran organizations and veterans from different wars and conflicts to talk about issues veterans were having,” Murray said.

The council works with the Department of Veteran Services, reviewing state and federal laws and programs relating to veterans.
“It’s been a great vehicle to make sure we are meeting the needs of veterans that have served in past wars and conflicts and making sure we’re prepared for the wave of coming home,” Murray said.
John Yazwinski, president and CEO of Father Bill’s & MainSpring, a non-profit organization that provides emergency shelter and workforce training for homeless veterans, works closely with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as well as the Massachusetts. Department of Veteran Services.

“We have a contract with the VA to shelter veteran families and individuals, and we have a contract with the DVS where we provide homeless veterans with workforce opportunities,” he said.

The organization, which has offices in Quincy and Brockton, assisted 200 local homeless veterans in 2010. Some 90 participated in the workforce program, according to Yazwinski. Fifty veterans found permanent employment.
The new initiatives continue the state’s leadership in veteran’s affairs. Massachusetts is the only state to offer vets financial assistance, including food, clothing and housing supplies, according to a report issued by Murray’s office.

Other benefits unique to the state include $2,000 annual payments to disabled veterans, Gold Star parents, who have lost their son or daughter during service, and Gold Star spouses, if not remarried.

Massachusetts gives $1,000 to soldiers who return from active duty in Iraq or Afghanistan as a Welcome Home Bonus. An additional $500 is given for additional tours in the war zones.

Massachusetts has also led in reducing homelessness among veterans. In 2011, there were 1,268 homeless veterans in Massachusetts, down 18 percent from the previous year. The homeless rate declined 19 percent from 2000 to 2011, compared to 12 percent in the nation, according to Paulette Song, a spokeswoman for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services.
Future plans include a $2.86 million budget proposal for fiscal year 2013, providing $700,000 for Veterans Quit Smoking Patch Initiative and extending property tax exemptions to Gold Star widows until they remarry.

“Massachusetts is second to none in the U.S. to resources for our veterans,” Yazwinski said. “We feel very confident because of the commitment we see from the VA and the Patrick-Murray administration.”

Father Bill’s & MainSpring works closely with local veterans’ service officers, providing information about services and referring those who may be at risk for homelessness.

State law requires each city and town to have a veterans’ service officer.

“They really are the point people,” said Murray. “[Secretary of Veterans Services] Coleman Nee works with them on a daily basis and they have a strong partnership statewide.”

Murray said there was a strong collaboration between the VA and veteran service officers and state government.

“We are very aggressive in acquiring federal grants and will continue to be aggressive,” he said. “It’s really been a concern of this administration to secure federal funding.”

In 2010, the state secured two homeless veterans’ reintegration program grants and one workforce investment program grant from the federal government.

Yazwinksi said he hoped the federal and state government would continue such efforts as a new wave of troops come home.
“They’ve done so many tours. They’re coming back with PTSD that we as a country need to help with,” he said.

Evaluating Productivity a Tough Job With State Comparisons List

By Krista Kano and Alyssa Moni

In which state would you rather be a constituent?

State A pays its full-time legislators over $60,000 a year, plus hefty compensations for committee chairs. Their pay reflects a smaller legislative body where each representative has a larger constituency.

State B pays its part-time legislators under $15,000 for the year with no extra compensation besides travel expenses. There are more legislators, each representing a smaller number of people.

An economical-minded constituent may opt for State B, which pays its entire legislative body what State A may pay a single chairman. But a constituent looking for a more productive legislature may choose State A. because its lawmakers put in more hours and have a considerably higher monetary incentive to serve constituents.

It’s a theoretical toss up, but in reality there are distinctly different results.

Massachusetts’ 200 legislators are each paid $61,132.99 a year; committee chairmen get $7,500 to $15,000 extra. In 2010 of the 5,363 bills that were filed, 476, less than 9 percent, were enacted into law.

New Hampshire’s 424 legislators, comprising the largest legislature in the U.S., are paid $200 a year for a six-month session running from January to June. Last year Granite State lawmakers filed 946 bills, passing 376 into law – a rate of about 40 percent.

How would you score it? Massachusetts passed more bills, but at a lower rate of bills filed. With less time and far less money, New Hampshire may seem more efficient. But there are other, less measurable factors: What was the complexity of the bills? What was the level of debate?

“The work of a legislature can be affected by many factors – such as the economy, whether it is a redistricting year, if there are any major federal or state court cases, or any disasters in the state,” says Brenda Erickson, senior research analyst at the National Conference of State Legislatures. “These are all the kinds of things that impact the productivity and priorities in a state legislature.”

One thing is for certain. Massachusetts lawmakers start out a session with a much fuller plate. The national average for bill introductions is 2,209 bills per year, according to Erickson. The average for the Massachusetts General Court, however, is over 7,000 bills.

“Massachusetts is very hard to compare when talking about bill introduction because it is the only state where anyone can introduce a bill, even just a citizen off the street,” she said.

According to John Regan, executive vice president of the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, the state’s two-year session also complicates comparisons to other states.

“The odd number years tend to be a little lighter because they’re laying the ground work which gets finalized in the second half which are the even years,” he said.

Regan, who closely follows Beacon Hill for his association, notes that what a legislature chooses not to act on is as important as what it chooses to move forward.

“There’s a balance between quantity and quality and I would argue for quality,” he said. “Just because they process a lot of bills and move a lot of bills does not make a legislature productive. It’s not like a pencil factory and we’re counting how many pencils go out and how fast. The Legislature doesn’t balance that way.”

And this year, according to Regan, quality was focused on balancing the budget.

“The amount of time you spend managing your finances is a lot more when money is tight,” he says.

Another factor is the way states handle their budgets. New Hampshire is one of 19 states that have biennial budgets, meaning the legislature debates the budget on even-numbered years. On odd numbered years, the legislature can focus all its efforts on other issues. Massachusetts and 31 other states write a new budget each year, taking up months of legislative time.

It would be expected that ideological debate would consume the legislative process in New Hampshire, which had an evenly divided House (222 Democrats, and 176 Republicans) and Senate (14 Democrats and 10 Republicans) in 2010, but it seems that that isn’t the case.

Massachusetts, with 142 Democrats and 15 Republicans in the House and 35 Democrats and five Republicans in the Senate, still does not pass as many bills as New Hampshire.

“Each state is unique,” Erickson said. “And that trickles down to the legislature. Each legislature represents a microcosm of its state’s people, traditions, and political cultures, and it can be impacted by them.”

Massachusetts Lags Behind in Legislative Public Access

By Katie Lannan and Adam Tamburin

Although the Web has made some Statehouse information and online videos of hearings a click away for interested citizens, the use of the Internet has become a double-edged sword, limiting other aspects of transparency.

Staff members on 15 of 22 major committees surveyed by the Boston University Statehouse Program said members sometimes vote via e-mail. Rules about public access to these emails results are vague. Ten of the committee staff polled said the votes were not available to the public.

Lawmakers are increasingly absent from their committee’s public hearings. Many sessions are conducted with a fraction of the committee members present. Even sponsors of legislation are often no shows.

The extent of the problem is hard to measure. Only six of 22 committees surveyed said they took attendance. Few make available the minutes of their sessions.

Some legislators and observers say shrinking and roll call voting are symptoms of a trend that concentrates the decision making to the legislative leadership.

Peter Ubertaccio, professor of political science at Stonehill College, says this trend is a natural product of a firm political majority. Democrats have overwhelming majorities in the House and Senate

“It’s probably par for the course,” he said.

Ubertaccio said committee chairs use their power to set schedules that decide the fate of a bill in conjunction with party leaders; the chair can sit on bills that are controversial or don’t fit into the leadership’s agenda.

“Typically, bills that the leadership doesn’t want to come to the floor don’t come to the floor,” he said. “They can do that in a variety of ways that are outside of the public viewing.”

There was an attempt, led by Republicans at the beginning of the session to require all committee votes be posted on the Legislature’s website. It was defeated. Rep. Dan Winslow, R-Norfolk, plans to propose new rules that would require committees to meet in person and produce records that would illuminate the process of lawmaking for Massachusetts citizens.

“It’s the democratic process. I mean, we represent people,” Winslow said. “I think it’s important for government to be open and transparent to the best [extent] that it can be.”

But it’s not just a partisan issue. Sen. Jamie Eldridge, D-Acton, is sponsoring a bill that would make more public records available online. Eldridge said government transparency is important at all levels.

“There are decisions being made every day that impact people’s lives and businesses,” Eldridge said. “That information should be as transparent as possible.”

Massachusetts residents can find the full text of a bill on the Legislature’s website and follow its status. Viewers can watch live and archived webcasts of floor proceedings and selected committee hearings.

But Massachusetts remains behind the times when compared to other states, Data from the National Conference of State Legislatures shows that all states except for Rhode Island offer live webcasts of legislative sessions, with 33 states archiving them and 35 posting live webcasts of committee hearings.

Twenty-one other states, including Connecticut and New Jersey, make it easier for interested citizens to follow the process through bill tracking email subscriptions, which send out updates when the legislature acts on a particular piece of legislation.

The National Conference of State Legislatures also says 14 states offer other email subscription services, such as Maine’s list for notification of public hearings.

Twelve states allow citizens to create personalized lists of bills they want to follow, free of charge, with another five states offering the same service for a fee. Massachusetts does not provide this service.

Eldridge said inaccessibility of information is often an unintended consequence of cutbacks. Many of the legislative aides surveyed said they don’t have the staff to keep formal minutes.

Whatever the reasons, Eldridge said a lack of openness can still foster a cynical and skeptical electorate.

“Unfortunately, the government is afraid of providing the information to the public or they don’t want to let them know all the reasons for why decisions are being made,” he said. “The fact that there have been some scandals at the government level contributes to that.”

The Journey of the “Bath Salts” Bill

By Marjorie Nesin

Schoolhouse Rock’s I’m Just a Bill jingle comes to mind when citizens of the commonwealth ponder how proposed legislation becomes a law on Beacon Hill.

But, there’s a lot more to passing a law than the little, animated Bill suggests as he trots around Washington’s Capitol Hill, lounging on the steps and staking out a committee hearing room. In the Massachusetts’ Statehouse, bills can lounge for a long time, often slipping into obscurity with little public notice.

One bill began its Beacon Hill journey this August after two Attleboro-area families spoke to their local representatives. A son in one family had suffered serious health consequences after using an over-the counter drug called “bath salts” and a daughter of another family had spent all of her money on the drug after becoming addicted.

After hearing their stories, Rep. Elizabeth Poirier, R- North Attleboro, and Rep. George Ross, R-Attleboro, sponsored legislation to criminalize the drugs that, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, act as a brain stimulant and present the danger of addiction and abuse.

Once filed, the bath salts bill started its uncertain journey.

The House clerk assigned the legislation to the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, which considers legislation involving crimes, penalties and sentencing.

The legislation had lots of company as one of nearly 1,000 proposed bills assigned to the committee this session. So far, about two dozen have made it to committee vote. The rest may not be as lucky. In the last legislative session a majority of another 1,000 bills were sent into study – a legislative limbo from which many proposals never return.

Poirier said quick action on the legislation is critical.

“The drug is legal, inexpensive and very easily accessed,” Poirier said, “So, we explained to the chairman of the committee how urgent it was to have a hearing on this bill.”

In November, the committee held its 11th hearing of the legislative session – an average of once a month – to discuss a handful of bills, including the bath salts legislation. It was the only time the legislation has been discussed in public.

Police officers, concerned family members and legislators came to the Statehouse to speak on behalf of the bill. No one spoke against it. The committee has not yet taken action on the bill.

Poirier said she has spoken to the chairmen, pushing for the passage of this legislation. She is hopeful the committee will vote on the bill in the New Year.

“It’s difficult to pass anything at this time of the year. People are scattered for the holidays and the legislature isn’t in formal session until January.” Poirier said.

Committee chairman Rep. Eugene O’Flaherty, D-Chelsea, did not return calls for comment.

The next step for the bill is to be voted on by the committee. A favorable vote would move it forward, but it could be sent to other committees or to study before the full House could vote on it. It would then be sent to the Senate, where a similar process is likely.

But, nothing can be done until the committee acts, Poirier said.

“We’ve been urging its quick passage and hopefully the committee will report it out soon,” she said.

November 28, 2011

BOSTON — State Sen. Jamie Eldridge is a hard man to ignore.

You can follow the Acton Democrat on Twitter, friend him on Facebook or read his blog, “The Dridge Report.” Avoid the Internet, and you’ll still find his columns and letters to the editor in local newspapers or hear his impassioned speeches on the Senate floor.

Behind it all is his communication director Melissa Threadgill, making sure his voice is heard.

But Threadgill sometimes wishes it was her voice.

“There are times when I’m like, ‘Oh, I wish I could be up there speaking! I would do this or say this,” she says.

It’s a wish that often becomes reality on Beacon Hill. Threadgill says it’s possible she might run for office in the future. If so, she’d be in good company: almost 20 percent of Massachusetts state lawmakers say they began their careers as legislative aides.

For now, though, Threadgill wants to keep the focus on Eldridge, not on the work she does reviewing legislation, brainstorming and filing amendments, helping the senator prepare for debate, arranging press conferences and sending media releases.

“At the end of the day, I can work so many hours, but Jamie is always working more hours than I am,” she says. “We try to encourage him to take a little more time off. We try to say, ‘Maybe Sundays, you should take Sundays off,’ but he’s always putting events on his calendar. He likes to get out there and see people.”

Getting out there and seeing people is the part of politics Threadgill shies away from, preferring the behind-the-scenes work. Even in conversation she pushes Eldridge to center stage: ask her about her typical work day and somehow she’ll seamlessly transition that answer into a description of Eldridge’s social media prowess.

Lawmakers who got their start working as legislative aides remember high stress and low pay — but a valuable introduction to state politics.

“It taught me how to create change where we can,” says Rep. Colleen Garry, D-Dracut. “It taught me how to look at things differently in terms of seeing the bigger picture, in that we are a commonwealth and not just one small community.”

It was while working for Rep. John Cox that Garry says she learned there’s more to being a legislator than showing up for votes. Like Threadgill, Garry saw the chance to meet constituents and gain knowledge of different policy areas.

For Garry and other former aides, this experience was a stepping stone.

“It was really difficult to be making $22,000 a year and living in different apartments, and living in my parents’ house, and all these different things you’ve got to do to be in the environment you want to be,” Rep. Jim Arciero, D-Westford, recalls of the years he worked as an aide after graduating from college.

“If you want to work for a position in government — or in any walk of life — that you think is going to somehow give you an opportunity to chase your dreams, then by all means do it, and eat tuna fish cans and Ramen noodles.” The dreams Threadgill is chasing aren’t of power or status or wealth.

They’re dreams she fostered as a politics student at Oberlin College, where the school motto is, “Think one person can make a difference? So do we.” It’s a maxim Threadgill maintains as a personal philosophy six years after graduating.

“I come from a very do-goodery school,” she says. “It’s just, ‘how can we make this world a better place? I’ve lived in Massachusetts for almost seven years now, how can we make Massachusetts better?’”

Crafting a brighter future for Massachusetts wasn’t the original plan for Threadgill, a native of upstate New York. She expected her political aspirations to bring her to Washington, D.C. — “because that’s what you think when you’re in politics and you’re 22″ — but a friend from Oberlin suggested Boston.

She moved to Boston in 2005 and started working on campaigns before becoming the communication director of the gay rights advocacy group MassEquality. She met Eldridge, then a state representative, through the organization and joined his staff when he was elected to the Senate in 2009.

For Threadgill, whose sentences are often delivered through a broad smile and punctuated with a cheerful laugh, the switch from grassroots advocacy to the formality of the Statehouse was a tough adjustment.

“We deal with very serious subjects here, and I think we try to treat people and their concerns and their problems very seriously,” she says. “Maybe sometimes we could probably lighten up a little bit, particularly on the bureaucratic speech.”

Threadgill says one of her longterm goals is to make government more accessible and the political process easier to understand. She’s stripping away what she calls “legislative gobbledygook” so constituents can see why she and the senator believe casinos will hurt the state, or that public records laws need updating.

“For me, communications is just a way to get at that,” she says. “I think as a whole the more informed the public is the better. If we can do a good job of explaining the good work that we’re doing up here, I think it’s better for democracy.”

By Garrett Brnger, Cape Cod Times

February 25, 2011

As a United Nations contractor, Catarina de Albuquerque travels the world to ensure that governments meet the international human right to water for drinking and sanitation. This weekend, she will be monitoring those efforts on Cape Cod.

De Albuquerque, who is scheduled to visit East Falmouth today on her mission, took part in a Statehouse hearing Friday about Cape Cod’s difficulties with current water and wastewater management.

After speaking briefly about her job and experiences in Bangladesh and Slovenia at the beginning of the meeting, de Albuquerque listened to speakers from various water policy and infrastructure groups present issues about the price, efficacy and sustainability of new water management techniques.

She learned that the central problem is the high nitrogen levels in the Cape’s water and the search for alternatives to the traditional “big pipe” sewer solution.

Alternative technologies discussed included compost toilets, oyster farms and the familiar cluster sewer systems first proposed in 2009, although none was heralded as the sole savior for the water management system.

Instead, the goal was to explore just about any solution besides the “big pipe” plan, which most called expensive.

“The likelihood is the answer will be a suite of technologies and not just one,” said Becky Smith, the water organizer for Clean Water Action, one of the meeting’s co-sponsors.

Construction of a traditional-style sewer is projected to cost $60,000 per home over 20 years, said Valerie Nelson, the director of the Coalition for Alternative Wastewater Treatment. Nelson said the entire system of water management needs to be reevaluated with the help of state funding.

“Unless we reinvent water management, we are not going to be able to provide an affordable and safe service in water and wastewater,” she said.

Former state Rep. Matthew Patrick of Falmouth said the biggest consideration for a new system would be the cost. It is no longer the case that the federal government would underwrite almost 80 percent of the cost, Patrick said. Instead, the brunt of the blow is borne by residents, many of whom are moving from the state because of high housing costs, especially on the Cape.

Paul Schwartz, Clean Water Action’s national policy coordinator, said the Cape needs to look for new technologies for the sake of sustainability.

“We’re never going to get it back to when the Pilgrims landed here in Massachusetts, and have things the way they were. But what can we expect that we can recover? What can we fix in the water cycle?” Schwartz asked.

De Albuquerque will hear more presentations along the same line in East Falmouth today at a public hearing and discussion. The co-sponsors of the meeting said one important facet of revamping the water management system is public outreach.

“Part of the role of the commission is to bring the toilet talk into the mainstream,” said Smith.

Link to article

By Garrett Brnger, Cape Cod Times

February 04, 2011

Federal grants of more than $1.18 million have been awarded to eight Massachusetts fire departments, including $38,000 to Provincetown’s fire department, which will use the money on a compressor to fill firefighters’ air tanks.

“It’s great news that another worthwhile fire department in my district has received a competitive federal grant,” U.S. Rep. William Keating said in a press release on Thursday.

“With these funds, the Provincetown Fire Department will be able to enhance their rescue capabilities and continue to provide life-saving services to the people of the Cape.”

The money comes from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Assistance to Firefighters Grants for new equipment and training.

Fire Chief Michael Trovato was not available for comment Thursday, but a fire official said the money will pay for the majority of the $40,000 air compressor.

The grant funding will supplement the all-volunteer fire department’s fiscal 2012 budget, which is already established.

Selectman Michele Couture, chairman of the board, said Provincetown residents should be grateful for the grant and the town’s firefighters, one of the few remaining volunteer fire departments in the state.

“I’m sure they’re all proud of them as volunteers, but they save us millions in taxes,” Couture said.

Other fire departments receiving grant money are Manchester, Somerville, Sharon, Bellingham, West Springfield, Mendon and Andover.

Link to article

The Boston University Statehouse Program covers government and politics for newspapers, news websites and radio stations around the state.

With Massachusetts looking at an annual budget deficit as large as $1 billion, Legislators and state officials are looking for new sources of revenue. Students investigated six of Beacon Hill’s budget “solutions” to see what they would bring to the state, and whether they could help solve the budget crisis.

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