Will Brownsberger -- State Representative, Democrat, 24th Middlesex District

I applaud your efforts toward transparency re: state contracting. I am a bit concerned, however, re: transparency as understood by the Pioneer Institute.

I remember how shocked I was when the cable broadcasts of the House and Senate sessions were dropped, and then I checked into it and found that long before I even moved to Massachusetts, which was in 1983, the legislature had voted to exempt itself from both Open Meetings laws and the Freedom of Information [...]

Just read this Globe article today.;
A growing group of dissidents in the Massachusetts House yesterday called on Speaker Robert A. DeLeo to open the chamber’s books, allow healthy debate on all bills, and subject the Legislature to the laws that cover other elected bodies – including laws on public records, open meetings, and competitive bidding….

One [...]

I have been reading about the idea of having a budget transparency website where citizens can get information easily.  Apparently, there are 23 states using this system and wonder what your thoughts are on the pros and cons of this.