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CLT UPDATE
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Whirlwind pay-grab day with more
to come
|
An anti-tax group assured lawmakers Tuesday
their votes on a pay raise package will be "forefront on the
voters' minds" when they stand for re-election, an early
salvo in what is likely to be a pitched debate over raising
the compensation of top elected officials and judges.
"After five months of taxpayer-funded paid
vacation, on its return self-enrichment is the Legislature's
first priority without even a public hearing," Citizens
for Limited Taxation executive director Chip Ford
said in a statement. "This tells constituents of each
legislator all they need to know." ...
Citizens for Limited Taxation pledged it
would keep the issue before voters when lawmakers seek
re-election in 2018.
"If this arrogant pay grab is adopted, CLT
promises this affront will be forefront on the voters' minds
when their representative and senator stand for re-election
— and we keep our
promises," the group said.
State House News Service
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Anti-tax group promises to make pay vote an issue in 2018
House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate
President Stanley Rosenberg would see their salaries
increase by $45,000 a year and the governor's compensation
package would grow by 65 percent under a comprehensive
package of pay raises introduced by legislative leaders on
Monday.
The raises put forward by DeLeo and
Rosenberg would increase pay, in some manner, for all 200
legislators on Beacon Hill as well as for the state's six
statewide constitutional officers and judges. Members of
leadership and committee chairs would be in line for
substantial pay hikes, while all lawmakers would see their
office expense budgets increase....
Last week, legislative leaders decided to
suddenly hold a hearing on a two-year old report produced by
a special commission that recommended pay increases for top
officials as a means of attracting top talent to government
service and eliminating a potential impulse toward
corruption.
Gov. Charlie Baker, after his election in
2014 when the report was published, said at the time he
would veto any pay raise bill, but has not issued a similar
threat this time around and legislative leaders appear ready
to try and push a package through.
The branches held their sessions open all
day on Monday as the final details were negotiated behind
the scenes and put in writing with the hopes of the House
voting on the package Wednesday. Apparently confident of a
favorable House vote, the Senate plans to take up the issue
on Thursday, and set a deadline of noon on Wednesday for
amendments to be filed. The total cost of the package, which
was referred to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means, was
not immediately available.
Details on the process and the specifics of
the proposal in recent days have been closely guarded by
lawmakers who realize the potential political fallout that
can come from voting to increase their own pay....
The pay increases for DeLeo and Rosenberg,
under the bill, would bring the salaries of the top
Democrats in the House and Senate from $97,547 to $142,547
by increasing their stipend from $35,000 to $80,000 a year
on top of the base salary for all lawmakers....
"I would rather wait until we actually have
a proposal to comment on rather than commenting on something
that's kind of abstract," Baker said earlier in the day
after meeting with DeLeo and Rosenberg for nearly two hours
on Monday afternoon....
In addition to raises for the top two
lawmakers in the House and Senate, everyone from chairmen to
the rank-and-file would see some increase in their
compensation package on top of the $62,547 base salary,
which is adjusted every two years based on changes in
household median income.
Stipends for the chairs of the Ways and
Means committees would grow from $25,000 to $65,000, while
floor leaders would get $60,000, up from $22,500. The
minimum stipend for a committee chairmanship would increase
to $15,000, while some, such as the Revenue Committee
chairmanship, would carry a stipend of $30,000.
Office budgets would also grow under the
bill. Every lawmaker would receive an office budget for
expenses of at least $15,000 a year, up from $7,200, while
lawmakers living 50 miles or more from the State House would
get $20,000. The bill would eliminate the current system of
paying per diems for lawmakers' travel expenses....
Despite the bill containing a little bit for
everyone, not all legislators are expected to go along.
Rep. Geoff Diehl was among of group of
conservative Republicans to come out in opposition to the
pay raises and wrote a letter to DeLeo in which they called
the raises "ridiculous" and "obscene." The other lawmakers
included Reps. Jim Lyons, Shaunna O'Connell and Marc
Lombardo.
"The average Massachusetts family has not
enjoyed any tax cuts and now there is a proposal out there
to fatten the pockets of those who refuse to provide that
relief," Diehl said in a statement.
Lyons noted how Baker acted to trim $98
million in spending from the current budget in December out
of concern for slowing revenue growth.
"In his recent inaugural address, President
Trump noted that 'For too long, a small group in our
nation's Capital has reaped the rewards of government," said
Lyons. "Given the current budget climate in our state, it is
certainly a message that bears consideration. Proposing a
pay raise while money is being cut from essential programs
is entirely inappropriate and sends the wrong message to the
hard working families and taxpayers who will be asked to pay
for it." ...
The bill schedules biennial pay adjustments,
to reflect changes in Bay State salaries, for the stipends
awarded to chairs, vice chairs and members of leadership,
including the House speaker and the Senate president. The
pay adjustments would also apply to all of the statewide
elected officers, the proposed housing allowance for the
governor and money for lawmakers' "expenses." ...
Paul Craney, executive director of the
Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, said lawmakers should "think
very hard" before deciding to increase their pay. "For most
voters, there isn't a single instance in which they can
think of for why lawmakers deserve a pay raise. Usually
these types of votes for personal enrichment are remembered
in November and if forgotten will be reminded," Craney said.
State House News Service
Monday, January 23, 2017
Pay raise bill teed up for votes in Mass. House, Senate
Massachusetts lawmakers are poised to
significantly raise their own pay and the pay of the state's
other top elected officials....
The bill also sets up a method for updating
the stipends every two years in a way that correlates with
overall wages in Massachusetts. This is the same method used
to update rank-and-file lawmakers' base salaries, and it
ensures that lawmakers are not regularly put in the
politically unpopular position of voting to raise their own
salaries....
The fiscally conservative Citizens for
Limited Taxation has criticized the proposal. "Giving
these raises ... in the face of a budget deficit is just not
kosher," said Chip Faulkner, a spokesman for Citizens
for Limited Taxation, at a recent hearing....
If the bill becomes law, the new legislative
salaries would be effective retroactively to the beginning
of the current legislative session on Jan. 4. The other
salaries would increase at different points over the next
year and a half.
The House and Senate are expected to vote on
the package this week.
The Springfield Republican
Monday, January 23, 2017
Massachusetts lawmakers poised to raise their own pay
Photo by Shira
Schoenberg, The Springfield Republican
Left to Right: Gov. Baker, Senate President Stanley
Rosenberg, and House Speaker Robert DeLeo
House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate
President Stanley C. Rosenberg, after days of negotiating,
have scaled back their plans for pay raises, settling on a
proposal that would give them $142,500 annual salaries — an
unprecedented 40 percent increase over the $102,000 they
receive now.
The proposed salary hikes are expected to
zip through the House and Senate, with a goal of getting the
package to Governor Charlie Baker’s desk by Thursday. The
plan also includes a ban on outside income for legislative
leaders. And it proposes a slew of other raises, including
for the governor, whose salary would increase from $151,800
to $185,000.
The legislation, released late Monday with
little explanation, also includes judicial pay raises....
The Democratic leaders, after initially
floating the idea of giving themselves $175,000 annual
salaries, are pushing the new raises at a time when the
public’s attention is focused on the transition of power in
Washington and the New England Patriots’ winning a place at
the Super Bowl.
“This is the perfect storm for this to go
through,’’ said one Democratic State House insider. “There
is so much pressing news standing on top of us.”
The bill also gives hefty hikes to the
leadership teams in both the House and Senate. For example,
the extra compensation for chairing a committee would
increase from $15,000 to $30,000. Vice chairmen would see
their extra pay go from $10,000 to $15,000....
The proposal also assures that the extra pay
would take effect immediately, rather than after a
traditional 90-day waiting period. Lawmakers attached a
so-called emergency preamble, which allows for immediate
implementation in cases where, according to the
Constitution, it is “necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, safety, or
convenience.” (The pay raise legislation cites only the
“public convenience.”)
Another effect of the emergency preamble: If
opponents mounted a referendum to attempt to persuade
Massachusetts voters to repeal the pay hikes at the polls in
the 2018 election, the raises would not be suspended in the
interim....
Baker has remained silent on whether he will
sign or veto the pay hike bill. Legislative insiders are
convinced they will be able to raise the necessary
two-thirds vote to override a potential veto...
Chip Faulkner, communications
director for Citizens for Limited Taxation, a
fiscally conservative group that has beaten back legislative
pay hikes in the past, lamented the apparent lack of public
concern.
“It’s tough to get people upset the way they
are doing it,” Faulkner said. “They are doing this in an
underhanded way, and it seems we are not going to be able to
do anything about it. There are other things people are
focused on.”
The Boston Globe
Monday, January 23, 2017
Legislative leaders aiming for 40 percent pay hikes
House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo and Senate
President Stanley C. Rosenberg would see their pay jump by
nearly 50 percent to a whopping $142,000 a year under a
proposed bill that would also significantly hike the
salaries of their legislative leadership teams, the governor
and even the state’s judges.
The pay grab, which could emerge for a vote
as early as tomorrow, comes just days after lawmakers held a
hastily scheduled hearing on a 2-year-old report
recommending a range of huge pay increases for top state
officials.
The Boston Herald
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
DeLeo, Rosenberg out to hike pay to $142,000-plus a year
A case could be made for giving raises to
Massachusetts legislators who have not had one in 33 years.
But the case made by Senate President Stanley Rosenberg of
Amherst is surprisingly tone-deaf for a man who normally
shows sensitivity to the public mood....
The numbers will not be received favorably
by the public, and with reason. For one thing, lawmakers
have been given raises over time. The stipend is an extra
benefit, not the base salary.
Moreover, it's not so much the increase but
the amount. Just as Rosenberg insists that no one works 33
years for the same salary (and legislators shouldn't,
either), it's hard to find anyone whose added benefit was
more than doubled overnight, especially when the figures are
in the tens of thousands.
There is also the age-old argument that
lawmakers knew the pay when they signed on, and when they
ran for re-election. That may sound quaint, but it's also
true.
Most of all, though, is that these raises
come at a time Americans are clearly angry and feel detached
from their elected leaders. The Massachusetts vote for
Hillary Clinton is being interpreted as a sign Bay State
voters were more content than many others with business as
usual, but if that's the interpretation on Beacon Hill,
those lawmakers are wrong.
Financially, these raises will be a drop in
the bucket of the state budget, barely noticed in a $40
billion package. What will be noticed is the symbolism of
legislators drafting themselves increases that are hefty by
any objective scale, at a time thousands of Massachusetts
citizens are working with no hope of raises and in fear they
will lose their jobs altogether.
As much for their size as for any other
reason, these increases portray an insulated legislature
that has begun a new session by thinking of themselves -
after election season is safely over. It's not the dollars
attached but the insensitivity of the timing that makes this
disturbing.
Massachusetts lawmakers may think their
constituents think differently than those elsewhere who
voted for radical government change. If they someday
discover they were wrong, they might remember this bill to
understand why.
A Springfield Republican editorial
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Legislative raises tone-deaf to public mood
The two top legislative leaders on Beacon
Hill filed a bill Monday that would boost their own pay by
more than doubling the stipends they receive for their posts
as well as raise the salary of every constitutional officer
and judge in the state.
In addition, the bill filed by House Speaker
Robert DeLeo and Senate President Stanley Rosenberg includes
dramatic hikes in the stipends for every committee chairman
and vice chairman, including those whose positions
previously came with no additional compensation. The measure
eliminates the per diem payments to rank and file lawmakers
for traveling to and from the State House, while more than
doubling or tripling the undocumented expense payment each
lawmaker receives, depending on how far from Beacon Hill
they live.
The measure is constructed in such a way
that it bypasses the state Constitution, which was amended
by voters to set the legislative base salary and the process
for raising it. By defining the compensation increases as
stipends instead of raises, lawmakers can boost their
salaries and the pay of other state officials through
regular legislation. Because the vote comes up before
committee chair and leadership assignments have been made,
lawmakers are not in danger of violating the statute that
prevents them from voting on their own salaries....
The measure would grant the two leaders an
$80,000 stipend for their posts over and above the $62,547
base salary for legislators. The chairs of the House and
Senate Ways and Means Committees would get a 160 percent
increase in their stipends from $25,000 to $65,000, while
other members of leadership teams would go from $22,500 up
to $60,000.
Other chairmanships and vice chairmanships,
which currently come with $7,500 to $15,000 stipends, would
see an extra $15,000 to $30,000 in their checks. Some posts
which come with a title but no stipend would be in line to
receive $5,200 more a year. Rank and file lawmakers do not
receive stipends, but they would see their pay go up with
the new expense reimbursement.
The bill allows for the salary stipends to
be increased based on a formula of changes in wages in the
state calculated by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. But
unlike base salaries, which can be adjusted downward if
median household income drops, stipends cannot be lowered,
only raised....
The recommendations from the special
commission had pegged the costs for its proposals at just
over $934,000, though that did not include the higher
expense or chairmanship stipends nor the judicial increases.
No estimate was given for how much the Legislature’s bill
would cost.
CommonWealth Magazine
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Lawmakers: Hike everyone’s pay
Rosenberg and DeLeo bill would give salary increases to all
three branches
Significant raises authorized under the bill
are tied to House and Senate leadership appointments and
committee assignments. Those appointments have not been made
yet but are likely to closely resemble the leadership
structures that House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate
President Stanley Rosenberg had in place for the 2015-2016
session.
The Ways and Means Committee was chaired
last session by Rep. Brian Dempsey of Haverhill. He is
currently chairing a Temporary Ways and Means Committee
created by the House on Jan. 9 and consisting of members of
the Ways and Means Committee from last session who are still
serving in the Legislature.
State House News Service
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Temporary House panel voting on pay raise bill
Top House Democrats feel confident about an
expansive package of pay increases for public officials that
House Speaker Robert DeLeo on Tuesday called "long overdue,"
but some lawmakers from both parties are conflicted about
voting on pay raises for themselves and colleagues.
DeLeo, who led a closed caucus with House
Democrats on Tuesday afternoon to explain the package that
will be put to a vote on Wednesday, said he doesn't expect
everyone to agree with the move that will cost $6.5 million
this fiscal year and between $12 million and $18 million in
fiscal 2018....
DeLeo said the mood in caucus was "very
good," and reporters outside the hearing room heard several
bouts of applause erupt from members in attendance.
"I think I heard more than a couple of jokes
about what people might be interested in and whatnot," DeLeo
said about the potential jockeying for leadership posts and
committee chairmanships that could soon come with
significant extra income....
Dempsey, a Haverhill Democrat who is
expected to continue on this session as the Ways and Means
Committee chairman, said the total package will cost $6.5
million over the remaining six months of the current fiscal
year, including $1.4 million to cover increased stipends and
office expenses for lawmakers.
Both [State Rep. Brian] Dempsey and DeLeo
said the legislative pay increase will be absorbed into the
existing budgets for the House and Senate, while lawmakers
are talking with judiciary officials about how to pay for
raises for judges and clerks.
"We're working with the judiciary and as
you're aware the governor will be filing a supp
[supplemental budget] shortly. It's unclear if that's
necessary at this point," Dempsey said about pay for the
judicial pay raises with a new appropriation.
Dempsey said the annualized cost of the pay
raise package starting in fiscal 2018 will be between $12
million and $18 million due to the increased salaries for
judges that will be phased in through July 2018 in four
steps. He did not have an exact figure for the annualized
cost....
Several lawmakers declined to comment after
the caucus, but those who did exposed some division among
rank-and-file Democrats.
Rep. Denise Provost, a Somerville Democrat,
said there were some aspects of the proposal she supports,
but she will vote against it because of the magnitude of the
increase for legislative leaders.
"I think the increases for legislative
leadership are higher than they ought to be at this time,
and although people here work very hard and should be fairly
compensated, I cannot support increases of this level at
this time," Provost told the News Service. She said, "Some
times are better than others for pay increases, but I think
that this should not be our priority straight out of the
gate this session." ...
While Democrats do not need Republican
support to overcome a potential gubernatorial veto, the
choice for the minority party lawmakers who would also stand
to benefit from the raises is not an easy one, one party
leader said.
Rep. Elizabeth Poirier, a North Attleborough
Republican, said she understands the needs, but she would
vote against the pay hikes because of the overall cost.
"I am voting against it because I think
overall it's a huge hit when you add it all up. But I
understand the position that many people in this building
are in," Poirier told reporters.
She later added, "We're all looking forward
to this being over." ...
Other more conservative members of the GOP
caucus are less troubled by the vote ahead of them.
Reps. Jim Lyons, Geoff Diehl, Shaunna
O'Connell and Marc Lombardo on Monday tore into the pay
raises, calling them "obscene" and "ridiculous" at a time
when the state budget is unstable and working families have
received no tax relief from Beacon Hill.
State House News Service
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Cost of "overdue" pay hikes for electeds, judges could reach
$18 Mil
Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo today
defended a move to hike his pay by 50 percent and that of
dozens of other legislators as "long overdue," as he and the
Legislature prepare to move quickly to push through the
package and its $6.5 million price tag....
"This is something that has been long
overdue," said DeLeo, whose pay would increase from roughly
$97,500, before expenses, to $142,500 under the bill, which
could go to the House for a vote as early as tomorrow -- the
same day Baker is expected to release his budget
proposal....
Emerging from the caucus with other
Democratic reps, DeLeo said the mood in the first-floor
hearing room was "very good."
"I think I heard more than a couple of
jokes," DeLeo said, without elaborating. "I think the mood
was understanding, I think the mood was appreciative."
He also indicated he wasn't concerned with a
wave of blow-back from constituents.
"Anytime you make any decision, I think
whether it's this, whether it was with the gun legislation
which I filed, even with domestic violence (legislation),
whether it was transgender (rights), there's always someone
out there who is going to disagree. That's part of the job,"
the Winthrop Democrat said....
State Rep. Brian Dempsey, chair of the
House's committee on ways and means, said the package would
cost $6.5 million this fiscal year, with about $5 million of
that covering a slew of $25,000 raises for the state's
judges and clerk magistrates.
Over the next full fiscal year, the hikes
would cost between $12 million and $18 million, he said....
DeLeo and Senate President Stanley
Rosenberg, who currently get $35,000 on top the lawmakers'
base $62,500 salary, would instead earn an $80,000 stipend
under the bill. The head of the House and Senate ways and
means committees, meanwhile, who currently collect a $25,000
stipend for crafting the state budget, would instead pocket
a $65,000 salary additive, pushing their pay to $127,500 a
year.
The party's majority and minority leaders'
salaries would rise to $122,500, thanks to a $60,000
stipend, which is more than double the $22,500 they
currently get....
The 18-page bill would also eliminate the
Legislature's controversial per diem system, which awards
lawmakers extra cash based on where they live and how often
they drive to work in the State House.
Instead, lawmakers who live within 50 miles
would get $15,000 to cover expenses, while those who live 50
or more miles from Beacon Hill would get $20,000, meaning
the vast majority of rank-and-file lawmakers and leadership
would make more money than they currently do even if they
took per diems.
The Boston Herald
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Speaker DeLeo defends 50 percent pay hike as 'long overdue'
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Chip Ford's CLT
Commentary
Whew, it's been one long day. It's going on 11:00 pm, twenty-six hours
since we got our hands on a copy of
S.16, the
pay raise bill that had just been released last night. It took
some time to read over its 17 pages and digest its Machiavellian intentions.
By the time we did the newspapers had begun reporting their own analyses online
of the bill's contents. It took a couple more hours to find, read, absorb,
and save them. Then I could begin working on CLT's news release, so we'd
have an immediate response the first thing this morning. I finally was
done at 3:00 this morning and could go to bed, nap until 7:30 am and get back to
work, get the news release out to the media by 9:00 am, then out to you, then
posted on the CLT website, Facebook page and Twitter account.
We've been going flat-out all day tracking the breaking news, contacting others
and responding to media questions, even doing a half-hour radio interview this
afternoon.
It's time to call it a night, but first I wanted to get all of today's evolving
news out to you tonight, before the House votes on this self-serving obscenity
tomorrow and sends it over to the Senate for its vote on Thursday. Now you
have in your hands what we have in ours, are informed of all the details we
have.
Don’t feel you need to read it all, but everything we have is here for those who
want it all.
It's not too late to contact your state representative and state senator
— and the governor —
if you act quickly like they're doing.
You can find
them here.
More to come tomorrow . . .
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Chip Ford
Executive Director |
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State House News Service
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Anti-tax group promises to make pay vote an
issue in 2018
By Andy Metzger
An anti-tax group assured lawmakers Tuesday
their votes on a pay raise package will be
"forefront on the voters' minds" when they stand
for re-election, an early salvo in what is
likely to be a pitched debate over raising the
compensation of top elected officials and
judges.
"After five months of taxpayer-funded paid
vacation, on its return self-enrichment is the
Legislature's first priority without even a
public hearing," Citizens for Limited
Taxation executive director Chip Ford
said in a statement. "This tells constituents of
each legislator all they need to know."
Sen. William Brownsberger and Senate President
Stan Rosenberg have been among the few lawmakers
openly making the case for pay hikes, while much
of the action has taken place behind the scenes.
"As a taxpayer, I favor the increases for two
basic reasons. First, these important positions
should be attractive enough that there is
vibrant competition to fill them," Brownsberger
wrote on his website. He continued, "Second, I
don't want legislative leaders to feel
distracting financial pressures."
While details of the proposed pay hikes were
still emerging late Monday afternoon, Republican
Reps. James Lyons of Andover, Marc Lombardo of
Billerica, Shaunna O'Connell of Taunton and
Geoff Diehl announced their opposition.
The House is expected to take up the pay package
Wednesday followed by the Senate on Thursday.
"Obviously costs go up and they ought to be
reflected in people's salaries as well,"
Rosenberg said.
Citizens for Limited Taxation pledged it would
keep the issue before voters when lawmakers seek
re-election in 2018.
"If this arrogant pay grab is adopted, CLT
promises this affront will be forefront on the
voters' minds when their representative and
senator stand for re-election
— and we
keep our promises," the group said.
State House News Service
Monday, January 23, 2017
Pay raise bill teed up for votes in Mass. House,
Senate
By Matt Murphy
House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President
Stanley Rosenberg would see their salaries
increase by $45,000 a year and the governor's
compensation package would grow by 65 percent
under a comprehensive package of pay raises
introduced by legislative leaders on Monday.
The raises put forward by DeLeo and Rosenberg
would increase pay, in some manner, for all 200
legislators on Beacon Hill as well as for the
state's six statewide constitutional officers
and judges. Members of leadership and committee
chairs would be in line for substantial pay
hikes, while all lawmakers would see their
office expense budgets increase.
There's been no groundswell in support of raises
and the move to address the salaries of public
officials comes as lawmakers have just begun a
new two-year session and as they face decisions
about whether to restore funds for public
services gutted by Gov. Charlie Baker with
midyear spending cuts.
Legislative leaders have yet to dole out
committee and leadership assignments that could
come with significant pay increases. Under a
constitutional provision, the base pay of
lawmakers is adjusted every two years based on
changes in the state's median income.
Last week, legislative leaders decided to
suddenly hold a hearing on a two-year old report
produced by a special commission that
recommended pay increases for top officials as a
means of attracting top talent to government
service and eliminating a potential impulse
toward corruption.
Gov. Charlie Baker, after his election in 2014
when the report was published, said at the time
he would veto any pay raise bill, but has not
issued a similar threat this time around and
legislative leaders appear ready to try and push
a package through.
The branches held their sessions open all day on
Monday as the final details were negotiated
behind the scenes and put in writing with the
hopes of the House voting on the package
Wednesday. Apparently confident of a favorable
House vote, the Senate plans to take up the
issue on Thursday, and set a deadline of noon on
Wednesday for amendments to be filed. The total
cost of the package, which was referred to the
Joint Committee on Ways and Means, was not
immediately available.
Details on the process and the specifics of the
proposal in recent days have been closely
guarded by lawmakers who realize the potential
political fallout that can come from voting to
increase their own pay.
"Fair minded people will consider the fact that
stipends for presiding officers have not changed
for 33 years. Who works for the same amount 33
years later? The Boston Globe cost 25 cents a
day 33 years ago. It's now $2 a day. Obviously
costs go up and they ought to be reflected in
people's salaries as well," Rosenberg said
Monday when asked how taxpayers might respond.
DeLeo also said that pay raises have been
something that "has been looked at for many,
many years."
"I am very pleased and happy to do what I do.
It's something I choose to do with consideration
of whatever the pay scale may be, but the one
thing that I can say is that being speaker of
the House is pretty much a seven day a week job,
365 days and year," DeLeo said.
The pay increases for DeLeo and Rosenberg, under
the bill, would bring the salaries of the top
Democrats in the House and Senate from $97,547
to $142,547 by increasing their stipend from
$35,000 to $80,000 a year on top of the base
salary for all lawmakers.
The bill also calls for the governor's salary to
be increased from $151,800 to $185,000 a year
with an additional $65,000 housing allowance
added to the total compensation package for the
state's chief executive.
"I would rather wait until we actually have a
proposal to comment on rather than commenting on
something that's kind of abstract," Baker said
earlier in the day after meeting with DeLeo and
Rosenberg for nearly two hours on Monday
afternoon.
Though the governor said he would review any
final bill once it reaches his desk, Baker did
say that he and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito were
"quite content to continue to work with the
compensation we have."
The legislation calls for the attorney general
and the treasurer to each get paid $175,000 a
year in salary, up from $130,582 and $133,227
respectively, while the lieutenant governor,
auditor and secretary of state would receive
$165,000 salaries. According to the comptroller,
the lieutenant governor currently earns $122,058
a year, the auditor earns $140,607 and the
secretary of state earns $136,402.
The proposal would prohibit the speaker, Senate
president, governor, lieutenant governor,
attorney general, treasurer, secretary of state
and auditor from earning outside income while in
office, except for money derived from assets.
By voting on leadership stipends before DeLeo
and Rosenberg dole out the coveted positions for
the new two-year session, lawmakers appear to be
trying to avoid the ethical concerns with voting
on a matter that financially benefits
themselves.
Although state ethics laws bar lawmakers from
voting on "special legislation" in which they,
family members or business associates have a
financial interest, they are free to participate
in general legislation "even if they have a
financial interest," according to the Ethics
Commission.
In an informal opinion provided to the House and
Senate late last week, the Ethics Commission's
attorney concluded that the pay raise bill would
qualify as "general legislation" allowing
lawmakers to vote, but also advised that they
file disclosures.
In addition to raises for the top two lawmakers
in the House and Senate, everyone from chairmen
to the rank-and-file would see some increase in
their compensation package on top of the $62,547
base salary, which is adjusted every two years
based on changes in household median income.
Stipends for the chairs of the Ways and Means
committees would grow from $25,000 to $65,000,
while floor leaders would get $60,000, up from
$22,500. The minimum stipend for a committee
chairmanship would increase to $15,000, while
some, such as the Revenue Committee
chairmanship, would carry a stipend of $30,000.
Office budgets would also grow under the bill.
Every lawmaker would receive an office budget
for expenses of at least $15,000 a year, up from
$7,200, while lawmakers living 50 miles or more
from the State House would get $20,000. The bill
would eliminate the current system of paying per
diems for lawmakers' travel expenses.
Judges would see their pay rise by $25,000 over
the next 18 months with raises phased in between
now and July 1, 2018 in four steps.
Despite the bill containing a little bit for
everyone, not all legislators are expected to go
along.
Rep. Geoff Diehl was among of group of
conservative Republicans to come out in
opposition to the pay raises and wrote a letter
to DeLeo in which they called the raises
"ridiculous" and "obscene." The other lawmakers
included Reps. Jim Lyons, Shaunna O'Connell and
Marc Lombardo.
"The average Massachusetts family has not
enjoyed any tax cuts and now there is a proposal
out there to fatten the pockets of those who
refuse to provide that relief," Diehl said in a
statement.
Lyons noted how Baker acted to trim $98 million
in spending from the current budget in December
out of concern for slowing revenue growth.
"In his recent inaugural address, President
Trump noted that 'For too long, a small group in
our nation's Capital has reaped the rewards of
government," said Lyons. "Given the current
budget climate in our state, it is certainly a
message that bears consideration. Proposing a
pay raise while money is being cut from
essential programs is entirely inappropriate and
sends the wrong message to the hard working
families and taxpayers who will be asked to pay
for it."
Sen. William Brownsberger, a Belmont Democrat
who was co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee
last session and remains involved on criminal
justice matters, wrote on his website that the
beginning of the legislative session is a
"reasonable time" to act on a report
recommending pay hikes for elected leaders.
"It makes sense to consider compensation in the
beginning of a session when most of the
legislative leadership roles have not been
assigned - fewer legislators will have to vote
on particular stipends associated with their own
positions," 'Brownsberger wrote.
Brownsberger wrote online that he favors
increases for public policy reasons.
"As a taxpayer, I favor the increases for two
basic reasons. First, these important positions
should be attractive enough that there is
vibrant competition to fill them," Brownsberger
wrote. He continued, "Second, I don't want
legislative leaders to feel distracting
financial pressures.
The bill schedules biennial pay adjustments, to
reflect changes in Bay State salaries, for the
stipends awarded to chairs, vice chairs and
members of leadership, including the House
speaker and the Senate president. The pay
adjustments would also apply to all of the
statewide elected officers, the proposed housing
allowance for the governor and money for
lawmakers' "expenses."
The senator's post about pay raises attracted
more than 220 comments since Saturday.
Paul Craney, executive director of the
Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, said lawmakers
should "think very hard" before deciding to
increase their pay. "For most voters, there
isn't a single instance in which they can think
of for why lawmakers deserve a pay raise.
Usually these types of votes for personal
enrichment are remembered in November and if
forgotten will be reminded," Craney said.
—Andy Metzger
contributed reporting
The Springfield Republican
Monday, January 23, 2017
Massachusetts lawmakers poised to raise their
own pay
By Shira Schoenberg
Massachusetts lawmakers are poised to
significantly raise their own pay and the pay of
the state's other top elected officials.
House and Senate leaders, speaking Monday
afternoon before the final package was released,
defended the proposal. "Fair-minded people will
consider the fact that the stipends for the
presiding officers haven't changed for 33
years," said Senate President Stan Rosenberg,
D-Amherst. "Who works for the same amount 33
years later?"
Rosenberg was referring to the $35,000 stipend
given to the House speaker and Senate president,
which has remained flat. The stipend comes on
top of the base salary of $62,500 given to all
lawmakers, which has risen over time, plus a
$7,200 stipend for office expenses.
"Obviously costs go up, and they ought to be
reflected in people's salaries as well,"
Rosenberg said.
A bill released Monday evening by the Ways and
Means Committee would hike the extra stipend for
the House speaker and Senate president to
$80,000, rather than $35,000.
The bill also lays out a series of raises for
other House and Senate leaders. For example, the
chairmen of the budget-writing Ways and Means
Committee, which is the committee with the most
responsibility, would get an extra $65,000
annually instead of the $25,000 they get today.
The majority and minority leaders would get an
extra $60,000 rather than $22,500. Other
committee chairmen and vice chairmen and
leadership positions would also see pay raises.
The bill also sets up a method for updating the
stipends every two years in a way that
correlates with overall wages in Massachusetts.
This is the same method used to update
rank-and-file lawmakers' base salaries, and it
ensures that lawmakers are not regularly put in
the politically unpopular position of voting to
raise their own salaries.
The bill eliminates per diem payments, which are
payments lawmakers can apply for to cover their
travel expenses based on how far they live from
the Statehouse. Not all lawmakers actually apply
for the payments. Instead, the bill merges
travel expenses with the $7,200 office stipend
that lawmakers currently receive. Under the
bill, lawmakers who live more than 50 miles from
the Statehouse would get $20,000 to cover all
their expenses, and lawmakers who live closer
would get $15,000.
The House speaker and Senate president would be
barred from earning outside money.
House Speaker Robert DeLeo, D-Winthrop, asked by
a reporter whether he thinks he deserves a
raise, said, "Being speaker of the House is
pretty much a seven-day-a-week job, 365 days a
year." DeLeo said he is happy to be speaker
regardless of the pay scale. "I'll let the
membership decide whether they feel that any
further money is warranted," he said.
The bill would also raise the salaries of the
governor and other constitutional officers.
Under the bill, the governor would get a bump in
pay to $185,000 with a $65,000 housing
allowance. Today, Gov. Charlie Baker earns
$151,800.
Baker said he would not comment on whether he
would sign the pay raises into law until the
bill reaches his desk. But he has said he
personally will not accept a pay raise.
"I would rather wait until we have a proposal to
comment on rather than commenting on something
that's abstract," Baker said Monday afternoon.
"Both the lieutenant governor and I have said
that we're quite content to continue to work
with the compensation that we have."
The secretary of state and auditor would receive
$165,000 a year, and the attorney general and
treasurer would get $175,000. Currently, those
jobs pay between $122,000 and $135,000 annually.
Judicial salaries would also be increased
gradually, by a total of $25,000 over the next
year and a half.
The pay raises are based on a 2014 report that
recommended significant bumps in salary for the
governor, constitutional officers and
legislative leaders.
The fiscally conservative Citizens for
Limited Taxation has criticized the
proposal. "Giving these raises ... in the face
of a budget deficit is just not kosher," said
Chip Faulkner, a spokesman for Citizens for
Limited Taxation, at a recent hearing.
Rosenberg said the time to consider pay raises
is at the beginning of a legislative session.
That means lawmakers will vote on the package
before they know whether they have been
appointed to a chairmanship or leadership
position, so there are fewer ethical concerns
about voting for a pay raise that benefits them.
"The report was on the table waiting to be
considered, so this was the time to do it,"
Rosenberg said.
If the bill becomes law, the new legislative
salaries would be effective retroactively to the
beginning of the current legislative session on
Jan. 4. The other salaries would increase at
different points over the next year and a half.
The House and Senate are expected to vote on the
package this week.
The Boston Globe
Monday, January 23, 2017
Legislative leaders aiming for 40 percent pay
hikes
By Frank Phillips
House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President
Stanley C. Rosenberg, after days of negotiating,
have scaled back their plans for pay raises,
settling on a proposal that would give them
$142,500 annual salaries — an unprecedented 40
percent increase over the $102,000 they receive
now.
The proposed salary hikes are expected to zip
through the House and Senate, with a goal of
getting the package to Governor Charlie Baker’s
desk by Thursday. The plan also includes a ban
on outside income for legislative leaders. And
it proposes a slew of other raises, including
for the governor, whose salary would increase
from $151,800 to $185,000.
The legislation, released late Monday with
little explanation, also includes judicial pay
raises. Massachusetts judges have not had a
raise in almost decade.
The Democratic leaders, after initially floating
the idea of giving themselves $175,000 annual
salaries, are pushing the new raises at a time
when the public’s attention is focused on the
transition of power in Washington and the New
England Patriots’ winning a place at the Super
Bowl.
“This is the perfect storm for this to go
through,’’ said one Democratic State House
insider. “There is so much pressing news
standing on top of us.”
The bill also gives hefty hikes to the
leadership teams in both the House and Senate.
For example, the extra compensation for chairing
a committee would increase from $15,000 to
$30,000. Vice chairmen would see their extra pay
go from $10,000 to $15,000.
The Ways and Means Committee chairmen in both
branches will get a $65,000 stipend above their
base legislative $62,500 salary. The current
stipend is $25,000 a year.
Two other positions — the Senate president pro
tempore and House speaker pro tempore — will see
their stipend rise to $50,000.
Significant salary increases were first
recommended by a commission in late 2014.
The proposal also assures that the extra pay
would take effect immediately, rather than after
a traditional 90-day waiting period. Lawmakers
attached a so-called emergency preamble, which
allows for immediate implementation in cases
where, according to the Constitution, it is
“necessary for the immediate preservation of the
public peace, health, safety, or convenience.”
(The pay raise legislation cites only the
“public convenience.”)
Another effect of the emergency preamble: If
opponents mounted a referendum to attempt to
persuade Massachusetts voters to repeal the pay
hikes at the polls in the 2018 election, the
raises would not be suspended in the interim.
Meanwhile, a letter obtained by the Globe from
the State Ethics Commission’s general counsel to
the House and Senate legal counsel declares that
lawmakers would not be in violation of a
conflict-of-interest provision that prohibits
lawmakers from voting on any matter they know
would financially benefit them personally.
Under the law, financial interests must be
direct or easily foreseeable to be in conflict.
Deirdre Roney, the ethics commission lawyer,
said she based her conclusion on the fact — when
it comes to the legislative raises — that
lawmakers are voting only on leadership
stipends, not their base salaries.
DeLeo and Rosenberg have not yet officially made
committee assignments or named lawmakers to
leadership positions that carry the extra pay
for the new legislative session. So all
lawmakers are currently still rank-and-file
members and therefore would not be directly
voting for an extra pay schedule that would
benefit them.
Baker has remained silent on whether he will
sign or veto the pay hike bill. Legislative
insiders are convinced they will be able to
raise the necessary two-thirds vote to override
a potential veto.
Shortly before meeting with legislative leaders
on Monday, the governor said he wanted to wait
to see the package before commenting.
“What I’ve said up until now hasn’t changed,
which is I’ve not seen a proposal from them, and
until I see a proposal, I’m not going to comment
on it,” Baker told the Globe.
Baker stressed that neither he nor Lieutenant
Governor Karyn Polito would accept a pay raise.
DeLeo and his leadership team were initially
eager for the higher $175,000 raises, while
Rosenberg was pushing to lower the number,
according to a legislative source. If the raises
are approved, they will greatly enhance the
pensions of both DeLeo and Rosenberg, because
pensions are based on the top three years of
their salaries.
Chip Faulkner, communications director
for Citizens for Limited Taxation, a
fiscally conservative group that has beaten back
legislative pay hikes in the past, lamented the
apparent lack of public concern.
“It’s tough to get people upset the way they are
doing it,” Faulkner said. “They are doing this
in an underhanded way, and it seems we are not
going to be able to do anything about it. There
are other things people are focused on.”
Asked at a press gathering Monday whether he
felt he deserved a raise, DeLeo said he was
leaving that decision to his House colleagues.
The bill also calls for significant pay raises
for constitutional officers. For instance,
Attorney General Maura Healey, who is paid about
$130,500, and State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg,
who makes $128,000, would see their salaries
rise to $175,000.
The Boston Herald
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
DeLeo, Rosenberg out to hike pay to
$142,000-plus a year
By Matt Stout
House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo and Senate
President Stanley C. Rosenberg would see their
pay jump by nearly 50 percent to a whopping
$142,000 a year under a proposed bill that would
also significantly hike the salaries of their
legislative leadership teams, the governor and
even the state’s judges.
The pay grab, which could emerge for a vote as
early as tomorrow, comes just days after
lawmakers held a hastily scheduled hearing on a
2-year-old report recommending a range of huge
pay increases for top state officials.
The 18-page bill adopts many of the
recommendations, and in some cases, goes well
beyond them, to pad the salaries of several
dozen lawmakers, including party heads, their
assistant leaders and committee chairs. Among
the recommended changes:
• DeLeo and Rosenberg, who currently get $35,000
on top of the lawmakers’ base $62,500 salary,
would instead get an $80,000 stipend, pushing
their pay to $142,500. The proposal falls short
of the $175,000 the compensation committee had
recommended;
• The heads of the House and Senate Ways and
Means committees, who currently get a $25,000
stipend for crafting the state budget, would
instead get a $65,000 bump, pushing their pay to
$127,500 a year;
• The party’s majority and minority leaders’
salaries would rise to $122,500, thanks to a
$60,000 stipend. They had been getting an extra
$22,500 a year; and
• Gov. Charlie Baker would see his $151,000
salary go to $185,000, with another $65,000 in
housing allowances. So far he has said he won’t
accept a raise.
“Fair-minded people will consider the fact that
the stipends for presiding officers have not
changed for 33 years,” Rosenberg said. “Who
works for the same amount 33 years later?”
The 18-page bill would also eliminate the
Legislature’s controversial per diems, which
award lawmakers extra cash based on where they
live and how often they drive to work at the
State House. Instead, lawmakers who live within
50 miles would get $15,000 to cover expenses,
while those who live 50 or more from Beacon Hill
would get $20,000.
The bill also would raise the pay of judges
across the state, just four years since the
Legislature last voted to give them pay hikes.
Under the bill, justices on the Supreme Judicial
Court would get a $25,000 raise in salary over
four installments, pushing the chief justice’s
pay to $206,239 and the other justices to a
little more than $200,000.
The Springfield Republican
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
A Springfield Republican editorial
Legislative raises tone-deaf to public mood
A case could be made for giving raises to
Massachusetts legislators who have not had one
in 33 years. But the case made by Senate
President Stanley Rosenberg of Amherst is
surprisingly tone-deaf for a man who normally
shows sensitivity to the public mood.
A $35,000 stipend is given to the House speaker
and Senate president, which has remained flat.
The stipend comes on top of the base salary of
$62,500 given to all lawmakers, which has risen
over time, plus a $7,200 stipend for office
expenses.
"Obviously costs go up, and they ought to be
reflected in people's salaries as well,"
Rosenberg said.
A bill released Monday by the Ways and Means
Committee would hike the extra stipend for the
House speaker and Senate president to $80,000,
rather than $35,000.
The chairmen of the powerful Ways and Means
Committee would get an extra $65,000 annually
instead of the $25,000 they get today. The
majority and minority leaders would get an extra
$60,000 rather than $22,500, and others will get
raises as well.
The numbers will not be received favorably by
the public, and with reason. For one thing,
lawmakers have been given raises over time. The
stipend is an extra benefit, not the base
salary.
Moreover, it's not so much the increase but the
amount. Just as Rosenberg insists that no one
works 33 years for the same salary (and
legislators shouldn't, either), it's hard to
find anyone whose added benefit was more than
doubled overnight, especially when the figures
are in the tens of thousands.
There is also the age-old argument that
lawmakers knew the pay when they signed on, and
when they ran for re-election. That may sound
quaint, but it's also true.
Most of all, though, is that these raises come
at a time Americans are clearly angry and feel
detached from their elected leaders. The
Massachusetts vote for Hillary Clinton is being
interpreted as a sign Bay State voters were more
content than many others with business as usual,
but if that's the interpretation on Beacon Hill,
those lawmakers are wrong.
Financially, these raises will be a drop in the
bucket of the state budget, barely noticed in a
$40 billion package. What will be noticed is the
symbolism of legislators drafting themselves
increases that are hefty by any objective scale,
at a time thousands of Massachusetts citizens
are working with no hope of raises and in fear
they will lose their jobs altogether.
As much for their size as for any other reason,
these increases portray an insulated legislature
that has begun a new session by thinking of
themselves - after election season is safely
over. It's not the dollars attached but the
insensitivity of the timing that makes this
disturbing.
Massachusetts lawmakers may think their
constituents think differently than those
elsewhere who voted for radical government
change. If they someday discover they were
wrong, they might remember this bill to
understand why.
CommonWealth Magazine
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Lawmakers: Hike everyone’s pay
Rosenberg and DeLeo bill would give salary
increases to all three branches
By Jack Sullivan
The two top legislative leaders on Beacon Hill
filed a bill Monday that would boost their own
pay by more than doubling the stipends they
receive for their posts as well as raise the
salary of every constitutional officer and judge
in the state.
In addition, the bill filed by House Speaker
Robert DeLeo and Senate President Stanley
Rosenberg includes dramatic hikes in the
stipends for every committee chairman and vice
chairman, including those whose positions
previously came with no additional compensation.
The measure eliminates the per diem payments to
rank and file lawmakers for traveling to and
from the State House, while more than doubling
or tripling the undocumented expense payment
each lawmaker receives, depending on how far
from Beacon Hill they live.
The measure is constructed in such a way that it
bypasses the state Constitution, which was
amended by voters to set the legislative base
salary and the process for raising it. By
defining the compensation increases as stipends
instead of raises, lawmakers can boost their
salaries and the pay of other state officials
through regular legislation. Because the vote
comes up before committee chair and leadership
assignments have been made, lawmakers are not in
danger of violating the statute that prevents
them from voting on their own salaries.
Taken together, the various initiatives would
boost the salary of the two top lawmakers by 46
percent, raising their pay from $97,549 to
$142,547, not including an additional expense
stipend. Constitutional officers would get a
slightly more modest increase. Judges and clerks
would receive what amounts to a cost of living
adjustment.
Both DeLeo and Rosenberg defended the increase
as long overdue.
“The stipends for legislative officers have not
changed for 33 years,” Rosenberg told reporters
as he and DeLeo emerged from their weekly
legislative meeting with Gov. Charlie Baker.
“Who works for the same amount for 33 years?”
DeLeo said his post is a “seven-day-a-week,
365-day-a-year job” that justifies whatever
increase lawmakers approve. He said the bill was
drawn from a two-year-old report written by a
legislative commission to study compensation
that recommended increasing the governor’s
salary to $185,000 and the pay of the
legislative leaders to $175,000.
“I would say I’m very pleased and happy to do
what I do whatever the pay scale may be,” DeLeo
said. “I’ll let the members decide. This has
been discussed for a number of years and it has
been discussed by a whole host of people beyond
the senate president and myself.”
House Democrats are slated to caucus Tuesday
morning to discuss the bill and ensure the votes
are there to override a potential veto. The bill
is expected to go to a vote before the full
House later in the day. If passed, the measure
will go before the Senate on Wednesday and then
hit Baker’s desk by Thursday. The legislation
includes an emergency preamble that would make
the increases kick in immediately. Legislators
had received a 4.1 percent increase in their
base salary in December when Baker approved an
adjustment because of an increase in the median
household income.
The measure retains what the commission report
recommended as pay hikes for the constitutional
officers, increasing their pay to $165,000 to
$185,000 depending on the post. The governor’s
salary would go from $151,800 to $185,000, and
add a $65,000-a-year housing allowance. The
commission had recommended the salaries of the
speaker and Senate president be raised to
$175,000, but the bill filed by DeLeo and
Rosenberg settles on $142,457.
Baker, who had threatened a veto when the report
was first issued after his election in 2014,
remained noncommittal on the new legislative
proposal on Monday but repeated his vow that he
and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito would not accept a pay
raise.
“We are quite content with working with the
compensation we have,” he told reporters.
The measure would grant the two leaders an
$80,000 stipend for their posts over and above
the $62,547 base salary for legislators. The
chairs of the House and Senate Ways and Means
Committees would get a 160 percent increase in
their stipends from $25,000 to $65,000, while
other members of leadership teams would go from
$22,500 up to $60,000.
Other chairmanships and vice chairmanships,
which currently come with $7,500 to $15,000
stipends, would see an extra $15,000 to $30,000
in their checks. Some posts which come with a
title but no stipend would be in line to receive
$5,200 more a year. Rank and file lawmakers do
not receive stipends, but they would see their
pay go up with the new expense reimbursement.
The bill allows for the salary stipends to be
increased based on a formula of changes in wages
in the state calculated by the Bureau of
Economic Analysis. But unlike base salaries,
which can be adjusted downward if median
household income drops, stipends cannot be
lowered, only raised.
The measure also would eliminate the
controversial per diem lawmakers are paid,
depending on where they live, for travel to and
from the State House every day the Legislature
is in session. But the bill provides a hefty
boost to an expense stipend that all lawmakers
receive and does not require documentation.
Currently, legislators receive $7,200 for
expenses; under the bill, the expense payment
would increase to $15,000 for those who live
within 50 miles of the State House and to
$20,000 for those who live beyond 50 miles, The
special commission report had recommended that
the expense stipend be increased to $10,000 and
$15,000, respectively.
Legislative leaders said the measure would ban
constitutional officers and the speaker and
Senate president from earning outside income,
though there is no prohibition on the rest of
the Legislature.
The bill includes modest salary hikes for all
judges and clerks even though the special
commission made no such recommendation. The
chief justice of the Supreme Judicial Court
would receive more than $206,000.
The recommendations from the special commission
had pegged the costs for its proposals at just
over $934,000, though that did not include the
higher expense or chairmanship stipends nor the
judicial increases. No estimate was given for
how much the Legislature’s bill would cost.
State House News Service
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Temporary House panel voting on pay raise bill
By Michael P. Norton
Members of a House committee have about five
hours to vote on legislation that could
substantially raise their own pay as well as the
salaries of the state's six constitutional
officers.
The House Ways and Means Committee opened a poll
on the bill before 10 a.m. Tuesday, with a 3
p.m. deadline for votes.
Significant raises authorized under the bill are
tied to House and Senate leadership appointments
and committee assignments. Those appointments
have not been made yet but are likely to closely
resemble the leadership structures that House
Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President
Stanley Rosenberg had in place for the 2015-2016
session.
The Ways and Means Committee was chaired last
session by Rep. Brian Dempsey of Haverhill. He
is currently chairing a Temporary Ways and Means
Committee created by the House on Jan. 9 and
consisting of members of the Ways and Means
Committee from last session who are still
serving in the Legislature.
The vote will provide a strong indication of
where the House stand on the issue since the
temporary committee features 32 of the House's
160 members. The House Ways and Means Committee
last session had 36 members, but three opted
against seeking reelection and former Rep.
Marcos Devers was defeated in last September's
primary.
State House News Service
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Cost of "overdue" pay hikes for electeds, judges
could reach $18 Mil
By Matt Murphy and Andy Metzger
Top House Democrats feel confident about an
expansive package of pay increases for public
officials that House Speaker Robert DeLeo on
Tuesday called "long overdue," but some
lawmakers from both parties are conflicted about
voting on pay raises for themselves and
colleagues.
DeLeo, who led a closed caucus with House
Democrats on Tuesday afternoon to explain the
package that will be put to a vote on Wednesday,
said he doesn't expect everyone to agree with
the move that will cost $6.5 million this fiscal
year and between $12 million and $18 million in
fiscal 2018.
"There's never a right time to do this, no
matter what the budget situation is, and I fully
realize that, but for the sake of equity and
especially for the members of the House, whether
they be in the position I'm in or the chairman's
in or a rank-and-file member, this is something
which I think is long overdue and needed to have
to full debate and discussion," DeLeo said,
speaking to reporters with Ways and Means
Chairman Brian Dempsey after the caucus.
DeLeo said the mood in caucus was "very good,"
and reporters outside the hearing room heard
several bouts of applause erupt from members in
attendance.
"I think I heard more than a couple of jokes
about what people might be interested in and
whatnot," DeLeo said about the potential
jockeying for leadership posts and committee
chairmanships that could soon come with
significant extra income.
The package of raises put forward Monday night
by DeLeo and Rosenberg would increase pay, in
some manner, for all 200 legislators on Beacon
Hill as well as for the state's six statewide
constitutional officers and judges. Members of
legislative leadership and committee chairs
would be in line for substantial pay hikes,
while all lawmakers would see their office
expense budgets increase.
DeLeo and Senate President Stanley Rosenberg
would see their salaries increase by $45,000 a
year to $142,547 not counting office expenses,
and the governor's compensation package would
grow from $151,800 to $185,000 a year in salary
with a new $65,000 housing allowance.
Baker has said he won't accept a pay raise, but
has not ruled out signing the bill.
The speaker and Senate president would also be
prohibited from earning outside income. DeLeo
said he makes "not much" from his law practice
that "primarily serves as more of a place for
constituents to call or to meet."
DeLeo said he's been hearing for years from
House members, senators and constitutional
officers about the need to address the pay scale
for public officials, pushing back against the
notion that the plan was hatched in secret by
top legislative Democrats to boost their own
pay.
Reports recommending pay hikes were produced in
2008 and 2014 by outside experts, he said.
"This wasn't myself just thinking during the
Christmas holiday this would be a good thing to
do," he said.
Dempsey, a Haverhill Democrat who is expected to
continue on this session as the Ways and Means
Committee chairman, said the total package will
cost $6.5 million over the remaining six months
of the current fiscal year, including $1.4
million to cover increased stipends and office
expenses for lawmakers.
Both Dempsey and DeLeo said the legislative pay
increase will be absorbed into the existing
budgets for the House and Senate, while
lawmakers are talking with judiciary officials
about how to pay for raises for judges and
clerks.
"We're working with the judiciary and as you're
aware the governor will be filing a supp
[supplemental budget] shortly. It's unclear if
that's necessary at this point," Dempsey said
about pay for the judicial pay raises with a new
appropriation.
Dempsey said the annualized cost of the pay
raise package starting in fiscal 2018 will be
between $12 million and $18 million due to the
increased salaries for judges that will be
phased in through July 2018 in four steps. He
did not have an exact figure for the annualized
cost.
Several lawmakers declined to comment after the
caucus, but those who did exposed some division
among rank-and-file Democrats.
Rep. Denise Provost, a Somerville Democrat, said
there were some aspects of the proposal she
supports, but she will vote against it because
of the magnitude of the increase for legislative
leaders.
"I think the increases for legislative
leadership are higher than they ought to be at
this time, and although people here work very
hard and should be fairly compensated, I cannot
support increases of this level at this time,"
Provost told the News Service. She said, "Some
times are better than others for pay increases,
but I think that this should not be our priority
straight out of the gate this session."
Provost said she supports eliminating per diem
payments for lawmakers' travel expenses - which
would be replaced with increased office expense
allotments - and the proposed prohibition on the
speaker and Senate president from holding second
jobs.
Rep. Carolyn Dykema, a Holliston Democrat, said
she thought the proposal is "fair," and she will
vote in favor of it.
"This issue is never an easy issue to talk about
with the public, obviously, but I think it's
important when you look at the impact of this
body on the Commonwealth, and the future of the
Commonwealth, you've got to have qualified
people on the job," Dykema told the News
Service. "The question becomes how do you
compensate them fairly?"
While Democrats do not need Republican support
to overcome a potential gubernatorial veto, the
choice for the minority party lawmakers who
would also stand to benefit from the raises is
not an easy one, one party leader said.
Rep. Elizabeth Poirier, a North Attleborough
Republican, said she understands the needs, but
she would vote against the pay hikes because of
the overall cost.
"I am voting against it because I think overall
it's a huge hit when you add it all up. But I
understand the position that many people in this
building are in," Poirier told reporters.
She later added, "We're all looking forward to
this being over."
Poirier said the roughly $62,000 base pay for
lawmakers, which is below median household
income, makes it difficult to raise a family
without another source of income.
"I'm fine but there are plenty of people who I
know are not, and I feel their pain," Poirier
said. Poirer said, "You pay someone to the point
where they almost can apply for some kind of
aid, particularly if they have a family, that's
crazy." When asked if she meant lawmakers are
almost at the point they could receive
government aid, she said, "If you have four or
five kids and this is your full-time job, I
can't see where you get a lot of extra money."
Other more conservative members of the GOP
caucus are less troubled by the vote ahead of
them.
Reps. Jim Lyons, Geoff Diehl, Shaunna O'Connell
and Marc Lombardo on Monday tore into the pay
raises, calling them "obscene" and "ridiculous"
at a time when the state budget is unstable and
working families have received no tax relief
from Beacon Hill.
Legislative Democrats have also talked about
restoring some of the $98 million in spending
that Baker cuts from the $39.2 billion budget in
December in light of stagnant revenue growth.
While DeLeo and Rosenberg have talked about
waiting to see January revenue receipts, Dempsey
suggested leaders may need more time to make a
decision.
"We would like to come in and restore at least
partially many of those cuts. I think we're
continuing to monitor our revenues and we really
need another a couple or three months to
determine if we're in a position to do that," he
said.
Baker says lawmakers underfunded major spending
accounts in their fiscal 2017 budget,
compounding the fiscal problems posed by soft
revenue growth.
The Boston Herald
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Speaker DeLeo defends 50 percent pay hike as
'long overdue'
By Matt Stout
Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo today defended
a move to hike his pay by 50 percent and that of
dozens of other legislators as "long overdue,"
as he and the Legislature prepare to move
quickly to push through the package and its $6.5
million price tag.
DeLeo, speaking after a Democratic caucus where
at one point lawmakers could be heard through
the door clapping, said that there's never a
good time to vote on pay raises, including for
himself.
But he said he's long heard from other lawmakers
and even constitutional officers about a need to
raise their salaries, even at a time when Gov.
Charlie Baker recently made nearly $100 million
in budget cuts.
"This is something that has been long overdue,"
said DeLeo, whose pay would increase from
roughly $97,500, before expenses, to $142,500
under the bill, which could go to the House for
a vote as early as tomorrow -- the same day
Baker is expected to release his budget
proposal.
Emerging from the caucus with other Democratic
reps, DeLeo said the mood in the first-floor
hearing room was "very good."
"I think I heard more than a couple of jokes,"
DeLeo said, without elaborating. "I think the
mood was understanding, I think the mood was
appreciative."
He also indicated he wasn't concerned with a
wave of blow-back from constituents.
"Anytime you make any decision, I think whether
it's this, whether it was with the gun
legislation which I filed, even with domestic
violence (legislation), whether it was
transgender (rights), there's always someone out
there who is going to disagree. That's part of
the job," the Winthrop Democrat said.
State Rep. Brian Dempsey, chair of the House's
committee on ways and means, said the package
would cost $6.5 million this fiscal year, with
about $5 million of that covering a slew of
$25,000 raises for the state's judges and clerk
magistrates.
Over the next full fiscal year, the hikes would
cost between $12 million and $18 million, he
said.
The share of the legislative pay hikes -- about
$1.4 million this fiscal year, which ends June
30 -- will be covered by money that's already in
its budget, Dempsey said.
DeLeo and Senate President Stanley Rosenberg,
who currently get $35,000 on top the lawmakers'
base $62,500 salary, would instead earn an
$80,000 stipend under the bill. The head of the
House and Senate ways and means committees,
meanwhile, who currently collect a $25,000
stipend for crafting the state budget, would
instead pocket a $65,000 salary additive,
pushing their pay to $127,500 a year.
The party's majority and minority leaders'
salaries would rise to $122,500, thanks to a
$60,000 stipend, which is more than double the
$22,500 they currently get.
It would also give Gov. Charlie Baker, who
currently makes $151,000, a raise to $185,000,
plus he'd be entitled to $65,000 more in housing
allowances. Each of the state's other
constitutional officers would also get various
pay raises between $165,000 and $175,000.
Baker has not said whether he'd veto a bill with
pay raises, but has said neither he nor Lt. Gov.
Karyn Polito would personally take an increase.
The 18-page bill would also eliminate the
Legislature's controversial per diem system,
which awards lawmakers extra cash based on where
they live and how often they drive to work in
the State House.
Instead, lawmakers who live within 50 miles
would get $15,000 to cover expenses, while those
who live 50 or more miles from Beacon Hill would
get $20,000, meaning the vast majority of
rank-and-file lawmakers and leadership would
make more money than they currently do even if
they took per diems. |
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