Citizens for Limited Taxation & Government
"The Commonwealth Activist Network"
18 Tremont Street #608 * Boston, MA 02108
Phone: (617) 248-0022 * E-Mail: cltg@cltg.org
Visit our web-page at: http://cltg.org
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*** CLT&G Update ***
Thursday, July 24, 1997

Dear Activists;

Update on Bob Hedlund’s plan to get a Senate roll call on the "Finneran’s Favorites" payraises in the deficiency budget:

To avoid this, the Senate Democrats have deleted the payraise language so it will not be available on the Senate floor at all. So the two different versions will go into conference committee, where they will be discussed along with the House language on the convention center bill that removes Franny Joyce’s lifetime tenure. Since the House wants the payraises and the Senate wants Franny, my guess is that when the bills come out of conference and go back to the House and Senate for final votes, the payraise and Franny will both have lifetime tenure.

BTW, note [in the Patriot Ledger column below] that Rep. John Locke came to Hedlund’s defense: another Republican we can point to with pride.

Another "process" lesson on the road to "Master Activist":

Note that Rep. Marini says they didn’t ask for a roll call vote because it would have been useless. Actually, one Republican leader—he, for example—could have stopped the whole deficiency bill from going forward until the next formal session just by *objecting* to it in the informal session. Then they could have gotten a roll call vote. Marini does a good job on tax issues, but he is unfairly attacking our hero Hedlund and deserves to get called on his statements.

Barbara Anderson
Co-Director
CLT&G

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[[ Interspersed editorial comments below are Chip Ford’s ]]
[Quincy] Patriot Ledger
Tuesday, July 22, 1997

Marini faults Hedlund on bid to block raises; Senator defends venturing on House turf
By Lauren Markoe
Patriot Ledger State House Bureau

BOSTON—Republican lawmakers Francis Marini and Robert Hedlund both oppose controversial pay raises given to 10 House members.

But lately it’s been hard to tell.

Rep. Marini, R-Hanson, is taking Sen. Hedlund, R-Weymouth, to task for his public stance against the special bonuses, worth up to $15,000.

"It’s a political move by him to get some press for himself," Marini said.

Hedlund is annoyed that Marini is annoyed.

"I’m not trying to grab attention. I’m trying to make a point," Hedlund said.

Marini says its an issue of whether a senator should have any say in the how the House chooses to organize and pay itself. [[Nobody but Hedlund will stand up for the forgotten taxpayers—but Marini doesn’t see this as any of the people’s business? Whaaaa . . .?]]

Though Marini voted against the bonuses, calling them a brazen move by Democratic House Speaker Thomas Finneran to secure loyalties, he’s irked that Hedlund is working to strike them from a deficiency budget the House passed three weeks ago. [[Just whose side is this guy on?!?!]]

The Senate will take up the budget this week.

Senate and House members shouldn’t try to influence each others’ internal affairs, Marini said.

The House overwhelmingly approved the positions in January by a 129-30 vote. All 29 Republicans and one Democrat voted against the raises.

Three weeks ago, when the raises for those positions were put before the House, Marini, the minority whip, said Republicans had little warning.

Democrats passed the increase by a voice vote, with less than one-fifth of House members present.

Marini said he and other Republican House leaders decided against calling for a roll-call vote, however. He said it would have been useless to summon members to Boston for a fight when January’s vote showed they would lose. [[So just why doesn’t he simply resign if he’s so afraid of losing a roll-call vote -- just what is his purpose there?]]

"We anticipated a repeat of the 129-30 drubbing," Marini said. [[So he went home—where apparently he should stay.]]

The deficiency budget, which will ensure that the state can meet its obligations through the end of the fiscal year that ended June 30, included a clause that gives eight House Democrats and two Republicans pay raises retroactive to Jan. 1.

The newly-created positions include House "division leaders" and the legislators who chair and vice-chair two newly-created committees.

Hedlund said Finneran created do-nothing jobs to tighten his hold on the House. "I challenge anyone to tell me what those floor monitors actually do," Hedlund said, referring to the division leaders.

Rep. John Locke of Wellesley, the brother of Norfolk County District Attorney Jeffrey Locke, wrote Hedlund a letter of support.

"I assure you that many of us in the rank-and-file who rely on the Republican leadership to keep us apprised of such things are greatly disappointed in the acquiescence of the minority party in these shenanigans," Locke wrote. [[Bravo!]]

Hedlund may not even have the opportunity to offer an amendment to strike the raises from the Senate version of the deficiency budget.

Some State House sources said Senate leaders would leave the raises out of their version of the budget because they have agreed to include them in the compromise budget they will write with House leaders. [[More shadowy underhanded political schemes that leave no fingerprints; lest we begin to think a modicum of integrity has infected the Beacon Hill Cabal.]]

That will allow Senate leaders to avoid the controversy on the Senate floor, the sources said.