CommonWealth: A New Year’s Resolution

PM Issues Committee chair Jonathan Cohn and Act on Mass co-founder Matt Miller penned an editorial for CommonWealth calling on progressive state reps to stand for more roll call votes:

THERE WAS SOMETHING different about the start of this legislative session in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. It wasn’t the composition: Yes, Democrats did manage to flip two seats, but a slightly more overwhelming super-majority isn’t much of a sea change.

It was that Democrats were actually willing to stand up and demand a recorded vote on something.

On January 30, a handful of Democrats committed to demand recorded votes on a series of transparency amendments from Rep. Jon Hecht of Watertown. The content of the amendments would have been noncontroversial to the average voter—giving representatives more time to read bills and amendments, publishing the testimony that interest groups submit on bills, and posting the roll call votes taken behind closed doors in committees online. Simple, right?

Representatives spoke both in favor and against each amendment, and they took a roll call vote. Although the amendments unfortunately went down, the public process is how most people imagine that democracy works: Legislators debate vigorously and then go on record for what they believe in.

But that has become exceedingly rare.

CommonWealth: Don’t let corporations limit our policy ambitions

PM Issues Committee chairman Jonathan Cohn penned an editorial for CommonWealth on the need for the MA Legislature to be bolder in its policy ambitions, especially around taxes and housing. Read the full piece here and an excerpt below:

LAST SESSION, one of the only significant bills that Massachusetts legislators passed before budget season was sweeping legislation to raise their own pay. By contrast, this year, the Legislature has already passed important bills to lift a retrograde welfare cap and ban the homophobic and abusive practice of conversion therapy.

This could be a sign that the Legislature is interested in being more proactive this session, and that would be a welcome change indeed.

There are plenty of issues that the Legislature can—and should—tackle this session, all of which require bold and comprehensive policy solutions and all of which face the same risk: that the Legislature lets the business lobby set the limits of its ambitions.

MetroWest Daily News: “Robinson’s transparency pledge a necessity for Legislature”

“Robinson’s transparency pledge a necessity for Legislature” — Jonathan Cohn, MetroWest Daily News (1/14/2019)

The Massachusetts Legislature often touts its status as the second oldest deliberative body in the world. If only it lived up to that description. Unfortunately, public deliberation in our supposedly-deliberative body, especially the House of Representatives, has become exceedingly rare.

Consider, for example, the frequency with which state representatives withdraw their amendments. When a bill is brought to the floor, representatives have the opportunity to offer amendments. With most negotiations taking place behind closed doors among a small number of high-ranking members, this is the first and only chance for most representatives to affect the language being proposed. When an amendment is filed, however, its sponsor faces intense pressure from leadership to withdraw it. Hundreds of amendments are filed, only to be withdrawn without a second of debate.

Read the rest here.

CommonWealth: House’s Trump working group hasn’t done much

“House’s Trump working group hasn’t done much” — Jonathan Cohn, CommonWealth (7/6/2018)

LAST MARCH, a self-described “deeply worried” Speaker Robert DeLeo created a nine-member working group to guide responses to the “unprecedented actions” of the Trump administration.

The group, led by House Majority Leader Ron Mariano of Quincy and House Speaker Pro Tempore Pat Haddad of Somerset, consisted of Assistant Majority Leader Byron Rushing of Boston, Ways and Means Chair (and then Health Care Financing Chair) Jeffrey Sanchez of Boston, and an assortment of other chairs and vice chairs. Its mandate? Zeroing in on “impacts on economic stability, health care, higher education, and the state’s most vulnerable residents.”

The end of the legislative session is just a few weeks away. Setting aside the catch-all of “economic stability” for now, what has the House been up to on these key areas?

Read the full op-ed here.

Boston Globe: Should any increases in major state taxes be on the table in budget talks for next year? (Redux)

“Should any increases in major state taxes be on the table in budget talks for next year?” — Boston Globe [opinion] (2/16/2018)

YES

Lynne C. Hartley

Chelmsford resident, member of Progressive Massachusetts

I have lived in Massachusetts my whole life. I am so proud of the many “firsts” that we have claimed, such as legalizing gay marriage and providing universal health coverage. So, when I hear that the Legislature will consider no increases to major taxes or fees for the upcoming fiscal year, I just don’t understand it.

As great as our state is, it is in need of many improvements to remain competitive and a place where people want to live and work. We need major infrastructure improvements to our buildings, roads, and highways. We need a complete overhaul of much of the MBTA. Most importantly, we need additional funding for our public schools.

If we cannot increase state revenues, we will never be able to pay for all the improvements we need. Massachusetts will not only be unable to fix what’s broken, but those deficiencies will continually get worse. We have to face the facts that this will require increased revenue.

Our state’s moniker of “Taxachusetts” is a relic of the 1970s. Since then, Massachusetts has reduced taxes by more than all but one other state. That lost revenue isn’t a mere abstraction. We can see it in MBTA service delays, roads and school buildings in disrepair, and a myriad of other results of chronic disinvestment.

I always like to use an analogy to the home budget. What if your car needed extensive work to keep it on the road, and you don’t have the money? Would you not even discuss the possibility of earning more money: working overtime or getting a temporary part-time job?

Currently Massachusetts already runs a deficit for spending vs. tax revenue. According to the PEW Charitable Trusts, our revenue totaled 96 percent of expenses with deficits in 10 out of 15 years, fiscal 2002 to 2016. That gap will continue to increase, putting the fiscal well-being of Massachusetts at risk. Under Governor Charlie Baker’s reserve policies, our bond rating was downgraded in 2017. We cannot afford to continue believing the fairy tale that somehow the money is going to magically appear.

I hope Speaker Robert DeLeo reconsiders his position against considering more taxes because more revenue is necessary to keep Massachusetts the safe, free, and progressive state it is.

Boston Globe: Should any increases in major state taxes be on the table in state budget talks for next year?

“Should any increases in major state taxes be on the table in state budget talks for next year?” — Boston Globe  [opinion] (2/2/2018)

YES

Ted Steinberg

Needham resident, community organizer, former Congressional aide, member of Progressive Massachusetts

It’s déjà vu on Beacon Hill.

The decades-long hostility towards raising additional revenue strikes again. It was just last fall that the Legislature let stand $210 million of the $320 million Governor Charles Baker vetoed from the fiscal 2018 budget. The slashing of that crucial spending was, unfortunately, a predictable byproduct of the Legislature’s refusal to implement new taxes or fees in fiscal 2017.

Even with those cuts, this year’s state budget is again facing a potential deficit. The government was forced to rely on temporary revenues and the underfunding of essential programs – like MassHealth, services for homeless families, and snow and ice removal – all while hoping there will somehow be an end-of-the-year surplus. No wonder US News and World Report ranks Massachusetts 48th for balancing its budget.

Budgets are supposed to reflect priorities, but instead of thinking big and investing in our future, we are stuck playing catch-up from previous shortages. The Commonwealth has a variety of complex problems requiring investment. Our transit system malfunctions regularly (even when it’s warm outside), schools grapple with overcrowding, affordable housing remains woefully insufficient, and the opioid crisis continues to devastate our communities.

But we also want to do more than put a band-aid on wounds that require surgery. We want to expand MBTA service, strengthen our schools, provide shelter for struggling families, and move towards universal health care. The last thing we need to do is shut the door on sources of much-needed revenue.

As we look to improve upon state services and protect the laws that make Massachusetts feel like home, we should look for creative opportunities to increase spending capabilities. Whether it be from pollutant fees or new corporate taxes, marijuana sales or tax-deductible donations to government institutions, there are innovative ways to generate sufficient revenue for a responsible budget that won’t hurt the people’s pockets. It would be irresponsible not to even consider, let alone refuse to explore new potential sources of revenue or raising existing ones.

House Speaker Robert DeLeo should work on a game plan rather than punt the ball on first down. Tax increases should definitely be on the table as we look to fix our broken budget.

CommonWealth: Fiscal irresponsibility from Mass Fiscal Alliance

“Fiscal irresponsibility from Mass Fiscal Alliance” — Jonathan Cohn, CommonWealth (12/27/2017)

IN DECEMBER, when you open your mailbox, you’re used to the usual flow of holiday cards from relatives and old friends, as well as end-of-year fundraising solicitations. However, residents of towns from Pittsfield to Hull recently got something else: an incendiary mailer attacking select legislators for their support of the Safe Communities Act and warning of the flood of “illegal immigrants” into their cities and towns. And they weren’t talking about Santa Claus and his elves.

That would have, at least, been closer to the truth.

The source of these mailers was the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, an organization sometimes quoted as a nonpartisan source of “fiscally responsible” expertise in the press, perhaps best known as a thorn in the side of the state’s Democratic Legislature on budgetary affairs. As a supporter of robust public goods, I’m used to disagreeing with Mass Fiscal when it comes to how much we should be investing in our schools, our roads, our public transit, our health care infrastructure, etc. It isn’t that often that I see Mass Fiscal arguing for greater city and state spending, but that’s exactly what’s happening here.

You can read the full article here.

CommonWealth: Make National Voter Registration Day worth celebrating

“Make National Voter Registration Day worth celebrating” — Jonathan Cohn, CommonWealth (9/26/2017)

TODAY IS National Voter Registration Day. It also happens to be the day of Boston’s preliminary election.

But there’s one way that Boston residents won’t be able to celebrate today’s holiday: registering at the polls.

That’s because Massachusetts remains an outlier in New England in not embracing same day registration. Maine has allowed people to register at the polls since the 1970s; New Hampshire, since the 1990s; Vermont and Connecticut joined in more recently. Even Rhode Island has a form of same day registration—albeit just for presidential elections. If our fellow New England states can manage same day registration, so can we.

Read the full article here.

CommonWealth: Democratic supermajority not so super

“Democratic supermajority not so super” — Jonathan Cohn, CommonWealth (5/27/2017)

IN THE YEAR FOLLOWING a presidential election, the Massachusetts Democratic Party updates its platform. A party platform can stand as a defiant statement of goals and ideals, and a roadmap for a legislative agenda and priorities. In today’s national political climate, such aspirational declarations are especially important as they offer voters something to fight for and something to vote for.

The platform released just last week contains new planks on paid family and medical leave, a $15 minimum wage, automatic voter registration, and the elimination of mandatory minimum sentences, bolstering what was already, by and large, a progressive document.

On Saturday, June 3, delegates from across the state will convene in Worcester to approve the platform, perhaps with a few amendments to make it stronger.

On Monday, June 5, if the past is any guide, our overwhelmingly Democratic Legislature will proceed to completely ignore it.

Read the full article here.

Boston Globe: Should higher taxes be off the table when legislators discuss next year’s state budget?

“Should higher taxes be off the table when legislators discuss next year’s state budget?” — Boston Globe [opinion] (1/22/2016)

NO

Kevin Loechner

Hull resident, Democratic activist, member of Progressive Massachusetts

House Speaker Robert DeLeo recently declared that the House will propose no new taxes or fees for fiscal 2017. He stated that taxes are “off the table,” a position shared by Governor Charles Baker. This politically driven stance effectively cuts off debate on new sources of revenue to fund state government and strained municipal budgets across the Commonwealth, including this region.

Apparently, this no-new-fees position did not apply to mass transit commuters. MBTA fare increases are coming in July — up to 12 percent on commuter boats, as high as 10 percent on commuter rail. Crunching the data, I calculated that under the maximum fare increase, the last four years will have seen increases of 39 percent to 55.6 percent for train, boat, and bus commuters in the region, not including parking fee increases. And the latest fare increases will not improve service and barely cover the operating deficit.

State aid to local governments has still not recovered to pre-Great Recession levels. For example, Hull’s net state aid in fiscal 2002 was $7.38 million; in fiscal 2016 it was more than 26.6 percent lower, at $5.42 million. Without sufficient local aid, communities have had to seek fee increases or overrides — Weymouth tried and failed this year — or defer capital maintenance, which has been the case in Hull. Constant complaints about increased taxes for diminished services can be found on social media pages across the region.

Opponents of tax increases will talk about waste, fraud, and abuse, or that wealthier people will leave due to increased taxes. But there is not as much waste as conventional wisdom states, and the costs of stopping all fraud and abuse outweighs any savings we would gain. Data also shows that state taxes have little impact on interstate moves. And we have had reforms to state government in recent years, but the resulting financial benefits have fallen short of what is actually needed.

Even those who oppose increased taxes should agree that this is a discussion worth having for maintaining and building a strong Commonwealth. Please consider contacting your legislators and ask them to not take this option off the table in the name of political expediency.