The Berkshire Eagle
Wednesday, January 2, 2001
Editorial
Time for Legislature to get busy
The state Legislature's yearlong fight over
the budget put a strain on communities, schools and social service agencies
and left Massachusetts in the embarrassing position of being the last state in
the union to settle upon a budget -- but it had other regrettable effects as
well. It left a pile of important, unfinished business for 2002 which, being
an election year, is unfortunately a year in which traditionally little or
nothing gets done of consequence.
Each branch of the Legislature passed some
worthwhile legislation, but it was rare when both branches passed the same
piece of legislation and sent it to the acting governor's desk. This can be
attributed in part to the antipathy between House Speaker Thomas Finneran and
Senate President Thomas Birmingham, which may or may not be a factor in 2002.
Mr. Birmingham is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor, which
presumably means there will be a new Senate leader, and Mr. Finneran has
promised reforms in response to justifiable unhappiness among the
rank-and-file, though it remains to be seen if Mr. Finneran has any intention
of actually following through.
The House in 2001 passed new sentencing
guidelines that will give judges flexibility in dealing with drug offenders
who are too often jailed when they need rehabilitation. The Senate, however,
never voted on the measure. The Senate passed an overdue minimum wage bill,
but the House never took it up. Both branches passed a bill addressing low
income housing but a conference committee has not worked out differences. A
family leave program with support in both branches fizzled out without action
being taken. Health care reform measures went nowhere. This is no way to run a
Legislature.
The Berkshire delegation should work hard in
2002 helping the expansion of Pittsfield's airport become a reality and
providing assistance to PEDA in redeveloping and bringing tenants to the
General Electric plant site. The Berkshire members must also scour for funding
for the cultural organizations that play such an important part in the
Berkshires' growing tourism-based economy. Yes, money is tight in the state,
but undermining important economic projects to save a few bucks today is
shortsighted because it will cost the state big bucks in the long run.
It is revealing that while the Legislature
feels it can ignore the Clean Elections law passed by voters at the ballot box
it regards as sacred a tax cut passed by voters at the ballot box that is
crippling the state. Even if the state Supreme Court rules that the state must
release money to fund Clean Elections it will probably be too little, too late
to affect the 2002 election, which means the vast majority of incumbents will
go unchallenged. It is not too late, however, for the Legislature to find the
courage to suspend a tax cut that is contributing to the underfunding of
schools, social agencies and cultural organizations.
The state has plenty on its plate in 2002,
which means it has plenty of opportunity to redeem itself. The question is --
will it take advantage of the opportunity or will 2002 bring more of what we
saw, or didn't see, in 2001?
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The Boston Herald
Wednesday, January 2, 2002
A Boston Herald editorial
The budget again, alas
On Friday afternoon, the last day of the
session, the House voted to direct the administration to spend money it
doesn't have. The Senate went along with this highly irregular procedure and
the bill was passed.
It directs the comptroller, in consultation
with the secretary of administration and finance, to disburse funds in five
accounts "in anticipation" of an appropriation.
The five accounts were singled out by acting
Gov. Jane Swift for special treatment to avoid big problems after the close of
the calendar year, since unpassed supplemental appropriations bills can't
carry over into the next session.
She sought $59 million for three accounts in
the Department of Social Services to keep foster care and adoption services
from having to shut down in February, and $30 million for two accounts for
grants from the Department of Transitional Assistance (the old Welfare
Department), a sizable fraction of which is reimbursed by the federal
government.
It must be said that the Legislature, to its
credit, recognized the harm that would be done by inaction and responded to
the governor's request. The act permits the comptroller to spend up to $55
million for the DSS accounts and up to $25 million for the two DTA accounts.
But why it did not pass a regular
supplemental appropriation is a complete mystery.
The administration is going along with this
unorthodox procedure somewhat grumpily.
It could be argued that the procedure is
thoroughly unconstitutional. The state Constitution provides that after final
action on the regular budget, supplemental appropriations may be made, but the
Legislature was quite clear that it was not making one.
Already one can hear the argument: Well, it
was the functional equivalent of an appropriation.
This little gimmick comes at the end of a
year that saw the regular budget delayed by disagreement between the two
houses for five months, then passed by the two houses in a flurry of activity
at the last minute that let a ton of mistakes slip through.
The way these folks do the commonwealth's
business is enough to make your hair stand on end.
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The Patriot Ledger
Tuesday, January 1, 2002
OUR OPINION
Remember the Legislature of 2001
This is the day when we look back on the
past year and tote up the good, the bad and the undone.
Then we look ahead with enthusiasm to a new
beginning. A chance to do better.
So do we think legislative leaders are
sitting down with their ledger, reviewing what they failed to do, and what
damage they did, in 2001? And do we think they are diligently resolving to do
far more and better this year?
The sorry record of the 2001 Legislature
makes one think the best Massachusetts residents can hope for is that
lawmakers won't sink any lower.
But don't bet on it; it's an election year.
In 2001 the Legislature distinguished itself
by being the last state in the country to pass a budget - nearly six months
after it was due. House Speaker Thomas Finneran had the audacity to blame the
Sept. 11 disaster for the stall, though the budget was already more than two
months late when the calamity occurred.
The budget was one of the few actions the
Legislature took last year, in one of the least productive sessions ever. Just
196 bills passed, many of them trivial. Race tracks were, as usual, a favored
interest on Beacon Hill. Five measures dealt with simulcasting at race tracks.
And while human services programs were being cut left and right because of
financial hardship, legislators tossed $5 million to the tracks, to fatten
their business.
Recall that one of the most egregious acts
was the move to scuttle the Clean Elections Law that voters had favored in a
referendum by a vote of 2 to 1. The failure to appropriate funding for clean
elections - though money is sitting in a reserve account for that purpose -
was purely political. The incumbents do not want to encourage new faces to
enter politics. They want to raise and spend money the old-fashioned way, at
cocktail parties and receptions peopled by special-interest lobbyists and
other high-rollers.
The voters of Massachusetts should make a
resolution for 2002 - that they won't forget how the pols ignored them and
their needs, how they conducted what important business they did in secret,
and how they stifled any chance for reform.
In this election year there will be an
avalanche of promises along with a recitation of accomplishments.
Forget the blarney; remember the reality of
2001.
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