The House voted unanimously in support of far-reaching ethics reform today. The bill included not only core ethics reforms (enhanced penalties for all forms of inappropriate gifts and self-dealing), but also enhanced regulation of lobbying and campaign political finance.
Author Archives: Will Brownsberger
Final Ethics Bill Released — Full Text Available.
House and Senate conferees released the text of the final ethics bill that they have agreed on. The initial read from informed observers is that it is a very strong bill that more or less takes the strongest ideas from the House bill, the Senate bill and the recommendations of the Governor’s task force.
Ethics Reform Discussions This Week
In Belmont Town Hall, on Wednesday night, June 24, from 7PM to 9PM, two speakers who have been centrally involved in crafting the ethics reform legislation will lead a public discussion about the reforms.
Voting for the FY2010 Budget
I voted this afternoon for the FY2010 budget which passed with 110 votes in the House and 31 in the Senate, in both branches more than the 2/3 needed to override a possible veto.
Balancing the FY2010 Budget
The legislature balanced the Fiscal 2010 budget primarily through program cuts and cost-savings, with important help from the federal government and with limited reliance on new revenues and rainy day fund usage.
Transportation Reform Enacted
Final passage of a landmark transportation reform bill, with a bipartisan vote of 130 to 25 in the House today, signals an end to decades of costly balkanization of our transportation infrastructure. I voted in favor — nothing so controversial and complex can be perfect, but it is a very good bill.