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 3, 1998
Beacon Hill Cabal’s Arrogance Continues
Hello fellow activists;
We were wondering when St. Thomas of Finneran would slip another payraise into another
appropriation bill to be voted on during an informal session by alleged representatives who either aren’t
there, are there but haven’t read what they’re voting on, or in the case of the House Republican
leadership, are in the tank.
Appropriately enough, the time came right after the votes on the alleged tax cuts and the decision to
continue taking more money from the taxpayers, and just before a vote to actually raise taxes for the
convention center (due on July 14th) and a possible vote for a sales tax on homes (on the Senate
calendar for Monday).
Please note that the payraise is for Finneran’s favored hacks (including Kevin Fitz, who has to restore
the money he stole from the late bag lady), other legislators who count (literally, who count heads
during roll calls), and for two Republicans in order to buy the silence of the "opposition party".
Also please note that the tax cuts are more a response to our demand for a restoration of the 5 percent
income tax rate than real tax cuts. The increase in the dependent deduction is simply an adjustment for
inflation, long-overdue; the Title 5 is a subsidy for fixing septic systems—nice, but not really a tax cut;
the earned income tax credit goes to households whose income is less than $9,500, even though
households whose income is less than $12,000 DON’T PAY Massachusetts income taxes so this is
simply a welfare-style transfer—maybe nice to do, but don’t call it a tax cut, and don’t take it from us
by denying the middle class any real tax cut at all!
Watch for the vote on the convention center bill, which now contains new taxes and no requirement for
local referendum:
Will Bill Weld keep his no new taxes pledge? And watch for vote in Senate on the Cape Cod real
estate transfer tax.
Barbara Anderson
Co-director
* * *
Boston Globe
Thursday, July 3, 1997
Page One
Finneran quietly wins pay raises for his team
By Frank Phillips and Don Aucoin
Globe Staff
With no debate, no roll call vote, and few legislators even aware that it was happening, House Speaker
Thomas M. Finneran yesterday pushed through pay hikes of up to $15,000 -- retroactive for six
months—for 10 loyal members of his leadership team.
Finneran quietly tucked the pay raises into an $82 million budget bill that was approved by the House at
an informal session attended by 20 of the 160 members. Under House rules, only noncontroversial
items are supposed to be dealt with in such sessions.
As illustrated by the public firestorm three years ago when the Legislature quietly voted to raise
members’ salaries, pay hikes do not fall into the noncontroversial category.
"This is bold and arrogant," said Christopher Hodgkins, a Democrat from Lee and a frequent Finneran
critic. "This is a case of their going to the trough—not for their districts, but for themselves."
Some groups that had unsuccessfully sought state funding for their projects also expressed dismay at
Finneran’s move, which will cost taxpayers an extra $100,000 a year.
"It’s ironic and an embarrassment that he would increase the salaries of well-paid legislators when the
money could be better used in getting people involved in the political system," said Kevin Peterson,
executive director of Part of the Solution, a minority-community voter registration group that saw a
$70,000 appropriation vanish.
The money, which would have expanded the Boston-based group’s work to Springfield and
Worcester, was approved in the Senate but cut at the behest of the House.
But Finneran was unrepentant about the pay raises to the lawmakers, who currently make a base salary
of $46,200 per year, and said that he "showed some restraint" in not granting a bigger raise to his friend
Representative Angelo M. Scaccia (D-Readville), chairman of the House Rules Committee. Finneran
denied that the raises amounted to political payoffs to loyalists. He insisted the pay hikes are a reward
to his team for increasing the efficiency of the House.
"I don’t feel any sense of embarrassment or awkardness," Finneran said. He contended that the four
floor leaders—who had been receiving an extra $7,500 since January when they were appointed and
will get another $7,500 under the pay-raise plan -- had been giving him "extraordinary assistance"
during House debates.
"Judge me on how well this place performs," Finneran told reporters.
But Hodgkins and other critics say the House has run smoothly for more than 200 years without the
new positions and accuse Finneran of paying off loyalists and consolidating power.
An extra $15,000 per year will flow to four Finneran loyalists who since January have been acting as
"division leaders," whose task is to keep Democratic members informed of the wishes of leadership
during floor votes. In addition, two committee chairmen will receive $15,000 in raises, and two vice
chairman of those same committees will see their pay jump by $7,500. The two ranking Republicans on
those committees will also get $7,500 a year pay hikes.
Finneran praised the leadership role of Scaccia, whom he retained even after the Readville Democrat
last fall received the third-highest fine in the history of the State Ethics Commission for accepting golf
fees and dinners from lobbyists. Scaccia is appealing the ruling.
"He’s actually worth more than that," Finneran said of the extra $15,000 Scaccia will receive. "I’ve
showed some restraint."
Finneran also brushed aside Hodgkins’s charges, saying that he and other critics are still bitter over the
speaker’s battle last year when he defeated former Majority Leader Richard Voke.
Other members vehemently dispute that interpretation. What angered them, they say, is that the pay
hikes were slipped quietly into a so-called deficiency budget that was only released by the House Ways
and Means Committee at 7 p.m. Tuesday. At the close of a formal session three hours earlier, Finneran
announced from the speaker’s podium the budget was merely "a bill-paying exercise" and did not
mention the controversial pay hikes.
Copies were made available to legislators only yesterday morning in the chamber when the House
convened for an informal sesion, but members were told that no amendment to the deficiency budget
could be offered.
Having obtained two additional extra-pay positions, Republicans, whose votes were crucial to Finneran
in winning the speakership last year, were mute on the issue. Minority Leader David Peters of Charlton
did not return a call seeking comment.
The division leaders, all Democrats, who will get pay hikes are Representative Kevin W. Fitzgerald of
Jamaica Plain, Representative Robert Correia of Fall River, Representative Thomas M. Petrolati of
Ludlow, and Representative Maryanne Lewis of Dedham.
The other raises will go to Scaccia—his extra pay will jump from $7,500 a year to $15,000; and the
vice chairman on the rules committee, Alvin Thompson of Cambridge, who will get $7,500 a year
extra.
In addition, a $15,000 raise went to the chairwoman of the newly created committee on Longterm
Debt and Capital Expenditures, Representative Patricia Walrath of Stow. That panel’s vice chairman,
Representative Frank Hynes of Marshfield, will get $7,500 a year extra pay.
The ranking Republican on the Rules committee, Ronald W. Gauch of Shrewsbury, will get $7,500
extra pay; and the ranking GOP member of the long-term debt panel, Representative Patrick C.
Guerriero of Melrose, gets a $7,500 hike.
# # #
Boston Herald
Thursday, July 3, 1997
Oage 14
Speaker fast-tracks pay-raise legislation for 8 House Leaders
By Carolyn Ryan
House speaker Thomas M. Finneran rushed through retroactive pay raises for eight of his lieutenants
yesterday, igniting pre-July 4th fireworks among some House members.
In just three minutes, Finneran gaveled approval of the raises— which will boost pay for several
Finneran backers to $61,410.
"I suppose in the eyes of some, every change will be a political payoff,"said Finneran (D-Mattapan). "I
am going to recognize and reward good work."
[ . . . ]
About 25 of the House’s 160 members were present when the vote on the pay hikes was taken. No
roll call was recorded as the representatives approved the measure by voice vote.
Finneran critics were outraged.
"This is just what upsets people," said Rep. Christopher Hodgkins (D-Lee). "It’s when, in the waning
hours of the legislative session, the leadership starts acting like pigs at the trough."
[ . . . ]
All the members who received raises, with the exception of Hynes, supported Finneran in his fiercely
contested leadership battle with Rep. Richard Voke last year.
The bonus system on Beacon Hill has long been criticized by government watchdogs, who argue the
extra pay makes members more loyal to legislative leaders than the voters who elected them.
Massachusetts is especially generous in rewarding bonuses, with more than one-third of members
receiving at least $7,500 in extra pay over their $46,410 annual salary.
Republicans did not object to the awarding of the bonuses yesterday. But they won something for their
silence -- $7,500 pay hikes for two GOP members.
[ . . . ]
"I was disappointed that we didn’t have an opportunity to debate this," said Rep. Byron Rushing
(D-Boston). "This never would have happened if we had an active Republican Party. They cut a deal."
The speaker explained the 10 representatives who received the pay hikes have worked diligently in the
past six months to make the House run smoothly.
# # #