Government Reform

children and families, election laws, ethics rules, insider jobs, pensions & benefits, structure and operations, transparency

Mass. Medical Examiners Prolonging Agony

Families facing an unexplainable death of a loved one sign up for a prolonged agony if they ask for an autopsy. It will be an entire year, on Father’s Day, for my friends who still do not know why their 20-year-old son died. It is unconscionable for a civil service to delay providing a report that should be deliverable under 90 days according to the national standard set by the Association of Medical Examiners.

Some Democratic senators oppose Baker’s early retirement plan

Senator Brownsberger was one of six senator interviewed by The Boston Globe regarding their concerns with Governor Baker’s Early Retirement Incentive Program. The Globe reports, “The senators, who range from conservative to liberal, said the pension-sweetening bill is fiscally irresponsible — creating additional pension costs for the state in future years — and they worry the plan could gut some state agencies to the point of hurting services.”

NEMLEC: Lawless Law Enforcement

“Law Enforcement Councils” exist in many states to coordinate police activities across a region. Nearby, we have the North Eastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council (NEMLEC) that includes police departments in 58 communities in Massachusetts. This article in the Bay State Examiner describes an ACLU lawsuit to obtain records of SWAT team activities, which NEMLEC refuses to supply.