CLT UPDATE
Monday, October 24, 2011
Beacon Hill's Heroes and Good Guys
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A freshman Republican lawmaker staged a nine-hour
standoff with House leadership Thursday, holding up a spending bill
and refusing to give up on a House-approved amendment he had
sponsored that would require the Patrick administration to provide a
detailed breakdown of different types of public benefit recipients.
Rep. James Lyons (R-Andover) remained in
the House chamber for most of Thursday and into the night, waiting
for a lightly attended informal session to resume. He was joined by
Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Pembroke) as they waited for Speaker
Robert DeLeo’s deputies to put the bill before the House.
The stalemate started around 11:30 a.m., when
lawmakers planned to adopt a Senate version of the supplemental
budget, according to Rep. Paul Donato (D-Medford). Lyons was called
to the State House to talk about his amendment, which was not
included in the Senate bill....
The disagreement held up the supplemental budget,
which allocates an estimated $480 million surplus that remained at
the end of fiscal 2012 and includes funds to advance shovel-ready
infrastructure projects. The budget spends $154 million and deposits
$350 million into the state's rainy day fund.
Lyons’ plan, which was adopted by the full House,
would require the Patrick administration to detail public benefits
in four categories: spending on benefits for U.S. citizens in
Massachusetts, spending on benefits for green card holders in
Massachusetts, spending on benefits for people whose residence
cannot be verified, and spending on benefits for "all other
persons."
Lyons told the News Service, after several hours
of sitting in the chamber, that he planned to wait it out until he
could get the House to hold a formal session on the issue and ask
for a recorded vote. He said he was adamant about staying put to
demand more “transparency in government.” ...
Lyons said he planned to hold out for as long as
it took to get a formal session to debate the issue. Late in the
evening he was reaching out to other Republican lawmakers with phone
calls, trying to garner support. One lawmaker, [Daniel Webster,
R-Pembroke], who sat with him most of the night, said he agreed that
the amendment was important because “taxpayers deserve to know how
their money is spent.”
“I give Rep. Lyons credit for insisting the House
come back into session and debate the issue before we take a vote on
concurrence,” Webster said.
State House News Service
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Spending bill held up as Andover Rep insists on benefit breakdown
plan
A freshman Republican House lawmaker has
abandoned a one-man maneuver to delay a state spending bill and
allowed the measure to move forward Friday after winning a verbal
agreement from Gov. Deval Patrick's administration.
Rep. James Lyons of Andover had held vigil in a
virtually empty House chamber for 17 hours over the past two days as
he pushed for an amendment calling for a detailed breakdown of state
spending.
His presence had frustrated efforts by Democratic
leaders to send back to the Senate a supplemental budget that would
deposit $350 million to the state's rainy day fund and set aside
money for other purposes, including $10 million for cities and towns
affected impacted by deadly tornadoes on June 1.
Because the House is meeting in informal session,
it takes an objection from only one member to prevent a bill from
being passed.
Associated Press
Friday, October 14, 2011
GOP lawmaker ends vigil blocking Mass. budget bill
A late-afternoon phone call on Friday from
Secretary of Health and Human Services Judy Ann Bigby defused a
two-day standoff in the House over a $480 million mid-year spending
bill, clearing the way for the bill to reach Gov. Deval Patrick’s
desk next week, lawmakers and the Patrick administration confirmed.
Rep. James Lyons, a freshman Republican from
Andover, had held up the bill for two days, drawing concern from
both Democrats and Republicans over the prospect of a lengthy delay
in critical funding for cities and towns....
Lyons was able to singlehandedly block the bill
because the House had been meeting in an informal session when few
members show up and a single member can block any bill or even force
the session to shut down. Roll call votes are not permitted during
informal sessions, and typically only non-controversial or local
matters are advanced.
The standoff also meant that Lyons had been
forced to remain in the chamber all day Thursday and Friday to
prevent House leaders – and supportive Republicans – from advancing
the bill over his objection.
Rep. Marc Lombardo (R-Billerica) and
Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Pembroke) attended portions of Thursday
and Friday’s sessions in support of his effort. Lombardo manned the
chamber to give Lyons a breather on Friday, while more than a
handful of Democrats cycled in and out of the chamber throughout the
day, along with senior aides to Speaker Robert DeLeo and House
clerks, waiting for an opportunity to pass the bill....
Lombardo, also a freshman Republican, called
[Democratic Party Chairman John] Walsh “way off base,” reminding the
party chairman that it was Republicans who sponsored the budget
amendment that guaranteed the additional $65 million in local aid.
“I think Mr. Walsh may want to do some homework
before he starts throwing out charges like that,” Lombardo told the
News Service. “There’s a very easy solution to this. I’m sure Mr.
Walsh would encourage transparency in government and having the
people of Massachusetts understand where there tax dollars are going
so we can have this done in a formal vote. That’s why we were all
elected to put our voice and vote into action and have it recorded
instead of trying to put through a $500 million spending bill on a
voice vote with three people in the House.”
Aside from Lombardo [and Webster], Lyons found
little support for his tactics among Republicans....
State House News Service
Friday, October 14, 2011
Standoff in House over spending plan defused by call from Sec. Bigby
An upstart freshman lawmaker’s threat to
occupy his State House seat and stall approval of the $500
million supplemental budget bill bent the Patrick administration
to his will, forcing an accounting of state benefits for illegal
immigrants and out-of-staters.
Channeling Jimmy Stewart in the iconic “Mr.
Smith Goes to Washington,” Andover Republican Rep. Jim Lyons,
58, stood his ground for more than 24 hours starting Thursday
afternoon, camping out in the House chambers to push for the
numbers or force Democrats, some of whom had supported his
demand in earlier tallies, to take a roll call vote.
“My taxpayers, my district is asking a very
simple question, ‘Where are our tax dollars going?’” Lyons said.
After extracting a promise from state Health
and Human Services Secretary JudyAnn Bigby last night, Lyons
stepped aside and allowed final passage of the budget....
Bigby spokeswoman Jennifer Kritz promised a
quick response. “I would say days. Soon.”
Lyons said he was willing to end his protest,
believing Bigby’s commitment. “It looks like people are starting
to see it’s taxpayers’ money and not the bureaucrats’” he said.
The Boston Herald
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Rep sits tight, wins duel over budget
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Chip Ford's CLT
Commentary
It's not often in
this space that we get to write about a stand-up event from
legislative heroes and good guys that gets the attention of the
media. Usually the bad guys are getting away with the wrong thing,
while others go-along-to-get-along. This is what can be done with a
small band of taxpayer brothers, and a hint of what more can be done
if we elect more to their ranks next year.
In the House, "upstart freshman" Representative
Jim Lyons (R-Andover) — supported by
another freshman, Rep. Marc Lombardo (R-Billerica) and Rep. Daniel
Webster (R-Pembroke) — stood up to the
entire House of Representatives, including their own party
leadership, and stared down the Patrick administration. The
administration blinked first and, if it keeps its word (I'm not
holding my breath), we'll soon learn how much the state is spending
on public benefits for U.S. citizens in Massachusetts, benefits for
green card holders in Massachusetts, benefits for people whose
residence cannot be verified, and on benefits for "all other
persons."
See:
Where's the outrage over Bay State's health care giveaway?
by Barbara Anderson
The Salem News ● April 6, 2011
On the state Senate side, there were the four
pro-taxpayer amendments filed during its debate on casino gambling
by Sen. Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester), the Senate Minority Leader, to
require some gaming revenue to be dedicated to tax reduction ("Twenty-two
years of waiting for maybe . . .") and potentially fully
implementing our income tax rollback. All of them were summarily
rejected by the Democrat majority, but there were some surprises: A
handful of Democrats bucked the status quo majority and voted in
favor of at least two of them, where there was a roll call vote.
Amendment 34 was rejected on
September 27 by a 6-32 vote.
The six in favor were all four Republicans: Sen. Bruce Tarr
(R-Gloucester), Sen. Michael Knapik (R-Westfield), Sen. Richard Ross
(R-Wrentham), and Sen. Robert Hedlund (R-Weymouth), and;
Democrats Sen. Steven Baddour (D-Methuen) and Sen.
James Timilty (D-Walpole).
Amendments 78 and 82 were rejected on voice votes, so there are no
fingerprints or record.
Amendment 87 was rejected on October 6th on Roll Call Vote #89 by a
9-27 vote.
The nine in favor were all four Republicans: Sen.
Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester), Sen. Michael Knapik (R-Westfield), Sen.
Richard Ross (R-Wrentham), and Sen. Robert Hedlund (R-Weymouth),
and; Democrats Sen. Steven Baddour (D-Methuen),
Sen. Eileen Donoghue (D-Lowell), Sen. Michael Moore (D-Milbury),
Richard Moore (D-Uxbridge), and Sen. James Timilty
(D-Walpole).
It's refreshing to see what even a small turnover
in the Legislature can accomplish, in Massachusetts a relative
tsunami. Last November the Republicans doubled their number in the
House, and that put a shot across the bow of entrenched Democrats:
"It can happen to me too!" The "upstarts" from among us are
fresh and invigorated, still idealistic and doing what they said
they'd do if given a chance to serve.
We need more of them come next November.
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Chip Ford |
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State House News Service
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Spending bill held up as Andover Rep insists on benefit breakdown
plan
By Colleen Quinn
A freshman Republican lawmaker staged a nine-hour standoff with
House leadership Thursday, holding up a spending bill and refusing
to give up on a House-approved amendment he had sponsored that would
require the Patrick administration to provide a detailed breakdown
of different types of public benefit recipients.
Rep. James Lyons (R-Andover) remained in the House chamber
for most of Thursday and into the night, waiting for a lightly
attended informal session to resume. He was joined by Rep. Daniel
Webster (R-Pembroke) as they waited for Speaker Robert DeLeo’s
deputies to put the bill before the House.
The stalemate started around 11:30 a.m., when lawmakers planned to
adopt a Senate version of the supplemental budget, according to Rep.
Paul Donato (D-Medford). Lyons was called to the State House to talk
about his amendment, which was not included in the Senate bill.
Just before 9 p.m., the latest the House may meet under its rules
without a recorded vote to continue, Donato put the bill before the
House and Lyons doubted the presence of a quorum. With few of the
House’s 160 members present there was not a quorum and the session
was adjourned until Friday at 10 a.m. Since Friday’s session is also
an informal one, where any member can prevent a bill from advancing
or end the session by questioning a quorum, the stalemate may
continue.
The disagreement held up the supplemental budget, which allocates an
estimated $480 million surplus that remained at the end of fiscal
2012 and includes funds to advance shovel-ready infrastructure
projects. The budget spends $154 million and deposits $350 million
into the state's rainy day fund.
Lyons’ plan, which was adopted by the full House, would require the
Patrick administration to detail public benefits in four categories:
spending on benefits for U.S. citizens in Massachusetts, spending on
benefits for green card holders in Massachusetts, spending on
benefits for people whose residence cannot be verified, and spending
on benefits for "all other persons."
Lyons told the News Service, after several hours of sitting in the
chamber, that he planned to wait it out until he could get the House
to hold a formal session on the issue and ask for a recorded vote.
He said he was adamant about staying put to demand more
“transparency in government.”
“I have been asking the governor for months for this information.
They have refused to even get back to us,” Lyons said shortly before
7:30 p.m. Thursday. “The taxpayers have a right to know how their
tax dollars are being spent. It is about transparency.”
House leaders said not passing the supplemental budget will delay
local aid disbursements to communities, disaster relief funds for
towns hit by Tropical Storm Irene in June, and hold up money for
social programs. The comptroller also needs to close the books on
fiscal 2011 by Oct. 31, they said.
“Further delay of this supplemental spending bill will delay funds
for essential social programs, disaster relief, and municipal local
aid,” Donato, who presided over the all-day session, said after the
House recessed for the night. “Once the comptroller can close the FY
’11 books, he can certify that there are excess funds, likely $65
million, from FY ’11 which will then be distributed as unrestricted
local aid.”
Lyons said he planned to hold out for as long as it took to get a
formal session to debate the issue. Late in the evening he was
reaching out to other Republican lawmakers with phone calls, trying
to garner support. One lawmaker, Webster, who sat with him most of
the night, said he agreed that the amendment was important because
“taxpayers deserve to know how their money is spent.”
“I give Rep. Lyons credit for insisting the House come back into
session and debate the issue before we take a vote on concurrence,”
Webster said.
After Lyons arrived at the State House around 2 p.m., House leaders
stayed in recess all afternoon, anticipating that once the session
resumed Lyons would doubt the presence of a quorum - a
session-stopping move during an informal session. For most of the
day, a handful of lawmakers and legislative staff on hand sat by
idly, chatting with each other, talking on their phones or reading
emails.
Lyons, who runs a family-owned retail flower and ice cream business,
defeated four-term incumbent Barbara L’Italien (D-Andover) in
November 2010.
Associated Press
Friday, October 14, 2011
GOP lawmaker ends vigil blocking Mass. budget bill
By Bob Salsberg
BOSTON (AP) -- A freshman Republican House lawmaker has abandoned a
one-man maneuver to delay a state spending bill and allowed the
measure to move forward Friday after winning a verbal agreement from
Gov. Deval Patrick's administration.
Rep. James Lyons of Andover had held vigil in a virtually empty
House chamber for 17 hours over the past two days as he pushed for
an amendment calling for a detailed breakdown of state spending.
His presence had frustrated efforts by Democratic leaders to send
back to the Senate a supplemental budget that would deposit $350
million to the state's rainy day fund and set aside money for other
purposes, including $10 million for cities and towns affected
impacted by deadly tornadoes on June 1.
Because the House is meeting in informal session, it takes an
objection from only one member to prevent a bill from being passed.
"I've asked for a full formal session where we can debate the
amendment and vote up or down on it," Lyons said earlier in the day.
He sat alone in the back of the chamber but was occasionally joined
by other Republican colleagues, including freshman Rep. Marc
Lombardo of Billerica.
Rep. Paul Donato, D-Medford, a member of Speaker Robert DeLeo's
leadership team, waited patiently behind the speaker's rostrum for
much of the day, apparently hoping that Lyons would end his vigil.
Then late in the day, Secretary of Health and Human Services Dr.
JudyAnn Bigby called Lyons and promised to provide him with the
information.
Lyons agreed to abandon his vigil, allowing the supplemental budget
to move forward.
"They decided that they had made their point," Donato told reporters
after he sent the bill back to the Senate for final action before it
goes to Patrick. "It was time to go on to other things,"
Lyons conceded that he'd decided to hold the vigil over the
objections of Republican state Rep. Brad Jones, minority leader in
the Massachusetts House.
"I'm new to the game," Lyons said. "People have different opinions."
Democratic leaders wanted to pass the budget quickly. If the
parliamentary standoff had continued, the House would have had to
call a formal session to pass the bill. There were no formal
sessions of the House scheduled for next week.
Lyons' amendment called for the administration to provide a detailed
breakdown of how public benefits are distributed, including benefits
that go to immigrants who hold green cards and those who may be in
the country illegally.
"It's about transparency," Lyons said.
The amendment was added to the budget during an earlier vote in the
House, but was later stripped from the spending bill by the Senate.
John Walsh, chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, had
issued a statement Friday accusing Lyons and his Republican
colleagues of "holding hostage" funds needed for education and other
projects around the state.
"What he is doing is so much like the political games being played
by the Republicans in Washington. It's not even funny," said Walsh.
Lyons was unapologetic.
"I was happy to spend some time with you," Lyons joked with Donato
as he left the empty chamber Friday.
State House News Service
Friday, October 14, 2011
Standoff in House over spending plan defused by call from Sec. Bigby
By Kyle Cheney and Matt Murphy
A late-afternoon phone call on Friday from Secretary of Health and
Human Services Judy Ann Bigby defused a two-day standoff in the
House over a $480 million mid-year spending bill, clearing the way
for the bill to reach Gov. Deval Patrick’s desk next week, lawmakers
and the Patrick administration confirmed.
Rep. James Lyons, a freshman Republican from Andover, had held up
the bill for two days, drawing concern from both Democrats and
Republicans over the prospect of a lengthy delay in critical funding
for cities and towns.
The proposal includes $350 million for the state’s rainy day fund,
millions of dollars in disaster relief for communities affected by
flooding, tornadoes and an ice storm in recent years, and millions
of dollars more for “shovel-ready” infrastructure projects. Its
passage will also close the ledger on the previous fiscal year,
which would unleash an estimated $65 million in local aid to cities
and towns.
Lyons held up the bill in protest of plans by legislative leaders to
scrap a provision that would require the Patrick administration to
release a detailed breakdown of benefit spending for citizens, legal
residents and “others” – including undocumented residents and those
whose residential status cannot be verified. The proposal passed the
House earlier this month but was removed in the Senate, which passed
the bill last week. Lyons called the proposal an effort to force
transparency in government.
Lyons, who had requested similar data in a letter to the
administration earlier this year, insisted that his amendment be
included in the final bill. He backed down, he said, when Bigby
called him and promised to provide him the data he had sought in his
letter.
“We had sent a letter requesting very similar information that was
in our amendment and they told us, and I’m sure they’re going to
provide us the information next week through the leader’s office, so
it was a combination of the administration working with the
Republican leadership to get this done,” Lyons said after House
adjourned for the day.
A Patrick administration official confirmed Lyon’s account.
“We’re processing Rep. Lyons’s data request,” said Paulette Song, a
spokeswoman for Bigby. “We hope to have the data to him early next
week.” Song described the conversation between Lyons and Bigby as
“positive.”
Lyons was able to singlehandedly block the bill because the House
had been meeting in an informal session when few members show up and
a single member can block any bill or even force the session to shut
down. Roll call votes are not permitted during informal sessions,
and typically only non-controversial or local matters are advanced.
The standoff also meant that Lyons had been forced to remain in the
chamber all day Thursday and Friday to prevent House leaders – and
supportive Republicans – from advancing the bill over his objection.
Rep. Marc Lombardo (R-Billerica) and Rep. Daniel Webster
(R-Pembroke) attended portions of Thursday and Friday’s sessions
in support of his effort. Lombardo manned the chamber to give Lyons
a breather on Friday, while more than a handful of Democrats cycled
in and out of the chamber throughout the day, along with senior
aides to Speaker Robert DeLeo and House clerks, waiting for an
opportunity to pass the bill.
Lyons’s hold on the proposal drew a partisan rebuke from Democratic
Party Chairman John Walsh on Friday afternoon, who blamed Lyons for
holding up “urgent” funding and declined to call on Democrats to
convene in a formal session to take up the bill.
“The truth is, citizens of Massachusetts have watched with disgust
these tactics taking hold in Washington as a method to grind the
good works of government to a halt by a small, dedicated radical
minority who are using small bore procedural tactics in order to
block good things and advance their political agenda,” Walsh said in
a phone interview. “The people who need tornado relief can sit on
their hands for a while, while these radical, right-wing Republicans
are trying to make a point.”
Lombardo, also a freshman Republican, called Walsh “way off base,”
reminding the party chairman that it was Republicans who sponsored
the budget amendment that guaranteed the additional $65 million in
local aid.
“I think Mr. Walsh may want to do some homework before he starts
throwing out charges like that,” Lombardo told the News Service.
“There’s a very easy solution to this. I’m sure Mr. Walsh would
encourage transparency in government and having the people of
Massachusetts understand where there tax dollars are going so we can
have this done in a formal vote. That’s why we were all elected to
put our voice and vote into action and have it recorded instead of
trying to put through a $500 million spending bill on a voice vote
with three people in the House.”
Aside from Lombardo, Lyons found little support for his tactics
among Republicans.
Rep. Paul Donato (D-Medford), a member of Speaker Robert DeLeo’s
leadership team, emphasized the Democratic leaders had the support
of Republicans in working to convince Lyons to back down.
“I do want to compliment the minority leadership who have been
attempting to assist the speaker and the Democratic leadership in
trying to convince the rogue representative – the rogue Republicans
– that this is not the right method in which to do this,” Donato
told the News Service.
House Minority Leader Bradley Jones said in a phone interview that
[he] doesn’t disagree with the intent of Lyons’s amendment but
disapproves of his tactics.
“I have offered that I think there are other ways of making the
point,” said House Minority Leader Bradley Jones. “The House can
either dispose of it on a voice vote or dispose of it on a roll call
vote … I personally think that Rep. Lyons and the Republicans
achieved a victory in offering this and getting it included in the
supplemental budget. This isn’t in my opinion the one and only
opportunity to highlight the issue.”
Jones also worried that delaying the supplemental budget could
jeopardize an attempt to send $65 million in unspent funds back to
cities and towns as local aid, a policy that Republicans sponsored
and won support for during budget talks in the spring and summer.
Lyons acknowledged “differing opinions” with House Republican
leadership about “how things can get done,” but applauded the
combined effort that produced a desire result.
“We have different opinions, but we’re all on the same team looking
to get the same type of results and we worked together and we got it
done,” Lyons said.
The Boston Herald
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Rep sits tight, wins duel over budget
By Gary J. Remal
An upstart freshman lawmaker’s threat to occupy his State House seat
and stall approval of the $500 million supplemental budget bill bent
the Patrick administration to his will, forcing an accounting of
state benefits for illegal immigrants and out-of-staters.
Channeling Jimmy Stewart in the iconic “Mr. Smith Goes to
Washington,” Andover Republican Rep. Jim Lyons, 58, stood his ground
for more than 24 hours starting Thursday afternoon, camping out in
the House chambers to push for the numbers or force Democrats, some
of whom had supported his demand in earlier tallies, to take a roll
call vote.
“My taxpayers, my district is asking a very simple question, ‘Where
are our tax dollars going?’ ” Lyons said.
After extracting a promise from state Health and Human Services
Secretary JudyAnn Bigby last night, Lyons stepped aside and allowed
final passage of the budget.
For months, Lyons said, he had been asking Gov. Deval Patrick for a
breakdown of state human services spending, and administration
officials repeatedly promised to turn it over.
But when it never showed, Lyons injected in the spending bill a
requirement that the governor account for all benefits paid out, an
amendment supported by a majority of House members.
The conflict arose when Lyons’ provision was not in the Senate bill,
Senate Ways and Means Chairman Stephen M. Brewer (D-Barre) said, and
it did not survive the melding of the House and Senate versions.
“It was not a Senate priority,” Brewer said. “I think it needs
further study.”
Lyons was able to hold off a vote on the budget because the House is
meeting “informally” and cannot take action without unanimous
consent. Even a single member’s objection can force a roll-call
vote.
“If we weren’t here today, it’s my understanding, they would
essentially gavel it through,” without a recorded vote, Lyons said.
Bigby spokeswoman Jennifer Kritz promised a quick response. “I would
say days. Soon.”
Lyons said he was willing to end his protest, believing Bigby’s
commitment. “It looks like people are starting to see it’s
taxpayers’ money and not the bureaucrats’ ” he said.
Hillary Chabot contributed to this report.
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