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Citizens for Limited Taxation's

2009-2010 Legislative Ratings

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Basis for CLT Legislative Rating 2009 Session

Citizens for Limited Taxation compiled the following votes on taxpayer issues over the 2009 legislative session: Requirements for a two-thirds vote for tax increases and to appropriate stabilization fund money; a roll call vote on toll hikes; independent audits of House finances and an independent redistricting commission. There were four votes dealing with state pensions: Capping amounts paid; no “windfall” provisions; no bonus if the pension fund loses money, and; prohibiting vacation time counting as income. Votes for a state hiring freeze, against an alcohol sales tax, and $25 million to fund the Quinn bill. Votes to eliminate Bunker Hill and Evacuation Day holidays. The vote to increase the sales tax to 6.25% was counted as “bad”.

The Senate was rated on five votes similar to the House: Independent redistricting; capping pensions; “windfall” provisions; a state hiring freeze, and; eliminating the two Suffolk County holidays. There were also votes to hike the state income tax rate to 5.95%, the gas tax by 11 cents and the state sales tax to 6.25%; two votes on the expanded meals tax.

Aaron Michlewitz (D-Boston) was recently elected and didn’t take enough votes to be rated.


Basis for CLT Legislative Rating 2010 Session

During the 2010 session Citizens for Limited Taxation counted as negative two House votes to study instead of vote on repealing the alcohol tax and Patrick sales tax increase, and votes to impose a 12% tax rate on dividends. Votes to restrict benefits to illegal immigrants and to freeze Unemployment Insurance rates were tallied as “good" votes.

The Senate concurred with the House on the Unemployment Insurance freeze. It also took two votes similar to the House by killing direct votes on the alcohol sales tax and sales tax rollback with further amendments. A four month state hiring freeze and increasing the retirement age from 55 to 60 were counted as “good" votes, as well as a vote to repeal the onerous nursing home tax.

 

 

House Roll Call Votes of Interest
Date CLT Favored Description
2/11/2009 Y Independent audit of House finances to federal standards
2/11/2009 Y Need two thirds roll call vote for a tax increase
2/11/2009 Y Need two thirds vote to appropriate stabilization fund money
3/5/2009 Y Sets up independent redistricting commission
4/7/2009 Y Toll increases must be approved by roll call vote of House and Senate
4/14/2009 Y Prohibits state pension fund employee bonus if fund has yearly loss
4/14/2009 Y Caps state pension at 4 times average state pension
4/14/2009 Y Eliminates "windfall" provision for state employees
4/14/2009 Y Prohibits vacation time from counting as income to boost pensions
4/27/2009 N Increase sales tax to 6.25%
5/1/2009 N Delays state hiring freeze until DOR study
5/1/2009 N Amendment providing $25M to fund Quinn Bill
6/3/2009 Y Eliminates Bunker Hill & Evacuation Day holidays
11/18/2009 N Further study amendment to prevent sales tax increase vote
11/18/2009 N Further study amendment to prevent alcohol sales tax vote
2/4/2010 Y Freeze Unemployment Insurance Rates
4/27/2010 N Alcohol tax to further study
4/27/2010 N Sales tax rollback to further study
4/27/2010 Y 12% tax rate on dividends
4/28/2010 Y Restrict benefits for Illegals
 
Senate Roll Call Votes of Interest
Date CLT Favored Description
1/29/2009 Y Establishing independent redistricting commission
3/31/2009 Y Cap state pensions at 4 times average state pension
3/31/2009 Y Eliminates "windfall" provision for state employees
5/19/2009 N Increase income tax rate to 5.95%
5/19/2009 N Increase gas tax by 11 cents
5/19/2009 N Increase sales tax to 6.25%
5/19/2009 N Allows vote of town meeting/city council to impose 2% local meals tax
5/19/2009 N Raises the current 4% hotel/motel tax by up to 2%
5/21/2009 Y State wage and hiring freeze
5/21/2009 Y Eliminates Bunker Hill & Evacuation Day holidays
2/11/2010 Y Freeze Unemployment Insurance rates
4/8/2010 Y Four month hiring freeze
5/13/2010 Y Increase retirement age from 55 to 60
5/27/2010 Y Repeal Nursing Home Fee
6/29/2010 Y Repeal  of alcohol sales tax
7/1/2010 Y Sales tax rollback

 

 
 

2009-2010 CLT HOUSE RATING

 
Representative Party/District Rating
     
Aguiar (D-Fall River) 15%
Alicea (D-Charlton) 20%
Allen (D-Boston) 10%
Arciero (D-Westford) 50%
Ashe (D-Longmeadow) 25%
Atkins (D-Concord) 15%
Atsalis (D-Barnstable) 41%
Ayers (D-Quincy) 62%
Balser (D-Newton) 15%
Barrows (R-Mansfield) 100%
Basile (D-Boston) 15%
Benson (D-Lunenburg) 15%
Binienda (D-Worcester) 15%
Bosley (D-North Adams) 5%
Bowles (D-Attleboro) 45%
Bradley (D-Hingham) 15%
Brady (D-Brockton) 15%
Brownsberger (D-Belmont) 15%
Cabral (D-New Bedford) 15%
Callahan (D-Sutton) 80%
Calter (D-Kingston) 56%
Campbell (D-Methuen) 55%
Canavan (D-Brockton) 40%
Canessa (D-New Bedford) 31%
Cantwell (D-Marshfield) 25%
Clark (D-Melrose) 20%
Coakley-Rivera (D-Springfield) 17%
Conroy (D-Wayland) 15%
Costello (D-Newburyport) 25%
Creedon (D-Brockton) 22%
Curran (D-Springfield) 46%
D'Amico (D-Seekonk) 35%
DeLeo (D-Winthrop) 10%
deMacedo (R-Plymouth) 100%
Dempsey (D-Haverhill) 35%
DiNatale (D-Fitchburg) 35%
Donato (D-Medford) 15%
Donelan (D-Athol) 15%
Driscoll (D-Braintree) 45%
Dwyer (D-Woburn 40%
Dykema (D-Holliston) 20%
Ehrlich (D-Marblehead) 20%
Evangelidis (R-Holden) 100%
Fagan (D-Taunton) 36%
Fallon (D-Malden) 60%
Falzone (D-Saugus) 15%
Fennell (D-Lynn) 36%
Fernandes (D-Milford) 20%
Ferrante (D-Gloucester) 15%
Finegold (D-Andover) 25%
Flynn (D-Bridgewater) 33%
Forry (D-Boston) 10%
Fox (D-Boston) 10%
Fresolo (D-Worcester) 55%
Frost (R-Auburn) 100%
Galvin (D-Canton) 10%
Garballey (D-Arlington) 16%
Garry (D-Dracut) 50%
Gifford (R-Wareham) 100%
Gobi (D-Spencer) 15%
Golden (D-Lowell) 40%
Grant (D-Beverly) 15%
Greene (D-Billerica) 45%
Gregoire D-Marlborough) 25%
Guyer (D-Dalton) 25%
Haddad (D-Somerset) 10%
Hargraves (R-Groton) 100%
Harkins (D-Needham) 50%
Hecht (D-Watertown) 20%
Hill (R-Ipswich) 100%
Hogan (D-Stow) 10%
Honan (D-Boston) 10%
Humason (R-Westfield) 100%
Jones (R-North Reading) 100%
Kafka (D-Stoughton) 10%
Kane (D-Holyoke) 15%
Kaufman (D-Lexington) 10%
Keenan (D-Salem) 10%
Khan (D-Newton) 15%
Kocot (D-Northampton) 5%
Koczera (D-New Bedford) 45%
Koutoujian (D-Waltham) 10%
Kujawski (D-Webster) 50%
Kulik (D-Worthington) 15%
Lewis (D-Winchester) 21%
Linsky (D-Natick) 15%
L'Italien (D-Andover) 20%
Madden (D-Nantucket) 25%
Malia (D-Boston) 5%
Mariano (D-Quincy) 11%
McCarthy (D-East Bridgewater) 25%
McMurtry (D-Dedham) 40%
Miceli (D-Wilmington) 65%
Michlewitz (D-Boston) 29%
Moran (D-Boston) 10%
Murphy, C (D-Burlington) 10%
Murphy, J (D-Weymouth) 30%
Murphy, K (D-Lowell) 41%
Nangle (D-Lowell) 40%
Naughton (D-Clinton) 25%
Nyman (D-Hanover) 10%
O'Day (D-West Boylston) 10%
O'Flaherty (D-Chelsea) 10%
Patrick (D-Falmouth) 25%
Peake (D-Provincetown) 20%
Pedone (D-Worcester) 5%
Peisch (D-Wellesley) 15%
Perry (R-Sandwich) 100%
Peterson (R-Grafton) 98%
Petrolati (D-Ludlow) 15%
Pignatelli (D-Lenox) 15%
Poirier (R-North Attleboro) 100%
Polito (R-Shrewsbury) 100%
Provost (D-Somerville) 10%
Puppolo (D-Springfield) 50%
Quinn (D-Dartmouth) 56%
Reinstein (D-Revere) 11%
Rice (D-Gardner) 41%
Richardson (D-Framingham) 20%
Rodrigues (D-Westport) 21%
Rogers (D-Norwood) 44%
Rosa (D-Leominster) 55%
Ross (R-Wrentham) 100%
Rush (D-Boston) 51%
Rushing (D-Boston) 10%
Sanchez (D-Boston) 10%
Sandlin (D-Springfield) 35%
Sannicandro (D-Ashland) 15%
Scaccia (D-Boston) 5%
Scibak (D-South Hadley) 10%
Sciortino (D-Medford) 15%
Smith (D-Everett) 36%
Smizik (D-Brookline) 10%
Smola (R-Palmer) 100%
Speliotis (D-Danvers) 10%
Spellane (D-Worcester) 15%
Speranzo (D-Pittsfield) 15%
Spiliotis (D-Peabody) 35%
St. Fleur (D-Boston) 10%
Stanley, H. (D-West Newbury) 17%
Stanley, T (D-Waltham) 67%
Story (D-Amherst) 5%
Straus (D-Mattapoisett) 15%
Sullivan (D-Fall River) 20%
Swan (D-Springfield) 5%
Timilty (D-Milton) 40%
Tobin (D-Quincy) 41%
Toomey (D-Cambridge) 10%
Torrisi (D-North Andover) 38%
Turner (D-Dennis) 15%
Vallee (D-Franklin) 0%
Wagner (D-Chicopee) 11%
Wallace (D-Boston) 13%
Walsh, M (D-Boston) 21%
Walsh, S (D-Lynn) 10%
Walz (D-Boston) 15%
Webster (R-Pembroke) 100%
Welch (D-West Springfield) 25%
Wolf (D-Cambridge) 10%
 
 

2009-10 CLT SENATE RATINGS

 
Senator Party/District Rating
     
Baddour (D-Methuen) 69%
Berry (D-Peabody) 7%
Brewer (D-Barre) 31%
Buoniconti (D-West Springfield) 25%
Candaras (D-Wilbraham) 25%
Chandler (D-Worcester) 19%
Chang-Diaz (D-Boston) 13%
Creem (D-Newton) 19%
DiDomenico (D-Cambridge) 0%
Donnelly (D-Arlington) 13%
Downing (D-Pittsfield) 26%
Eldridge (D-Acton) 19%
Fargo (D-Lincoln) 19%
Flanagan (D-Leominster) 25%
Hart (D-Boston) 19%
Hedlund (R-Weymouth) 100%
Jehlen (D-Somerville) 13%
Joyce (D-Milton) 32%
Kennedy (D-Brockton) 19%
Knapik (R-Westfield) 100%
McGee (D-Lynn) 7%
Menard (D-Fall River) 13%
Montigny (D-New Bedford) 52%
Moore, M (D-Millbury) 31%
Moore, R (D-Uxbridge) 39%
Morrissey (D-Quincy) 52%
Murray (D-Plymouth) N/A
O'Leary (D-Barnstable) 39%
Pacheco (D-Taunton) 13%
Panagiotakos (D-Lowell) 19%
Petruccelli (D-Boston) 31%
Rosenberg (D-Amherst) 13%
Ross (R-Wrentham) 100%
Spilka (D-Ashland) 26%
Tarr (R-Gloucester) 100%
Timilty (D-Walpole) 63%
Tisei (R-Wakefield) 100%
Tolman (D-Boston) 0%
Tucker (D-Andover) 63%
Walsh (D-Boston)

21%

 

Citizens for Limited Taxation    PO Box 1147    Marblehead, MA 01945    508-915-3665