In January, the Senate passed an election laws bill. The bill is currently in conference committee with the House. The Senate bill included essentially all of the proposals that have been floated recently to improve voter participation. Currently I’m receiving emails in the following form: Massachusetts election system has become outdated. I’m writing today to …
Government Reform
children and families, election laws, ethics rules, insider jobs, pensions & benefits, structure and operations, transparency
MBTA Pension Transparency
Back in 2008, I became aware and concerned that the MBTA Retirement Fund is not subject to the same transparency rules that apply to state agencies. My understanding of this issue has greatly evolved over the past few months: While I have undiminished passion for transparency, I have to admit that the Retirement Fund is …
Justina Pelletier
Recently, I’ve been hearing from people urging me to take action to free Justina Pelletier from the custody of the Department of Children and Families and send her back to her parents. See the sample emails further below. I’m certainly troubled by the story of Justina. It is always deeply saddening when DCF takes children …
S417 An Act to ensure full compliance with good funds statute.
Senator Brownsberger submitted the following written testimony to the Joint Committee on Financial Services. TO: Committee on Financial Services FROM: Senator William N. Brownsberger RE: S417, An Act to ensure full compliance with good funds statute. DATE: February 26, 2014 I am writing in support of S417, An Act to ensure full compliance with …
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Transparency and Ethics: How do the Public Records Law and State Ethics Law apply to the MBTA Retirement Board?
On February 25, 2014, the Joint Committee on Public Service will be holding a public oversight hearing on the MBTA Retirement Fund. Below, please find an overview of the applicability of the public records law and state ethics law to the MBTA Retirement Fund and Board. PUBLIC RECORDS LAW APPLICABILITY In May of 2013, Senator …
Pension Protection for State Workers
Recently read an article on the pro business website “MarketWatch” where one of their columnist was questioning why the pension fund for Police and Firefighters in Detroit was being threatened by the impending bankruptcy proceedings when the Detroit Police and Firefighters Pension Fund was better funded (77%) than most state pension funds (including the MA …