THE HOUSE AND SENATE. There were no roll calls in the House or Senate last week. Beacon Hill Roll Call has obtained the 2016 official list from the state treasurer’s office of the “per diem” travel, meals and lodging reimbursements collected by the Legislature’s 160 state representatives from Jan. 1, 2016 through Dec. 1, 2016. The list reveals that representatives collected a total of $226,876. Combined with the $51,725 that the state’s 40 senators collected as reported in last week’s Beacon Hill Roll Call, the grand total for both branches is $278,601.
Under state law, per diems are paid by the state to representatives “for each day for travel from his place of residence to the Statehouse and return therefrom, while in the performance of his official duties, upon certification to the state treasurer that he was present at the Statehouse.” These reimbursements are given to representatives above and beyond their regular salaries.
The amount of the per diem varies and is based on the city or town in which a representative resides and its distance from the Statehouse. The Legislature in 2000 approved a law doubling these per diems to the current amounts. The payments range from $10 per day for legislators who reside in the Greater Boston area to $90 per day for some Western Massachusetts lawmakers and $100 per day for those in Nantucket. Representatives who are from areas that are a long distance from Boston’s Statehouse most often collect the highest total of annual per diems.
Some opponents argue most private sector and state workers are not paid additional money for commuting. They say the very idea of paying any per diem is outrageous when thousands of workers have lost their jobs, and funding for important programs has been cut.
The 2016 statistics indicate that 87 of the state’s 160 representatives have received reimbursements ranging $60 to $8,550, while 73 have so far chosen not to request any money. According to the state treasurer’s office, a legislator can request to be paid a per diem for any day in the current year and the previous year. Any request for a day prior to that time period will be denied.
The representative who received the most per diem money in 2016 is Rep. Timothy Madden, D-Nantucket, who received $9,700.
The other four representatives who received the most are Reps. William “Smitty” Pignatelli, D-Lenox, $8,550; (Former) Rep. Ellen Story, D-Amherst, $5,820; Robert Koczera, D-New Bedford, $5,715; and Patricia Farley-Bouvier, D-Pittsfield, $5,580.
Representative’s 2016 per diems total
The dollar figure next to the representative’s name represents the total amount of per diem money the state paid him or her in 2016. The number in parentheses represents the number of days the representative certified he or she was at the Statehouse during that same period.
Representatives who have not requested any per diems have “0 days” listed. That is not meant to imply that these legislators didn’t attend any sessions but rather that they chose not to request any per diems.
Rep. Stephen Kulik $5,032 (68 days)
Rep. Paul Mark $4,590 (51 days)
Rep. Susannah Whipps Lee $3,500 (70 days)
HEARING ON PAY RAISE FOR STATEWIDE OFFICEHOLDERS, SENATE PRESIDENT AND HOUSE SPEAKER AND CHANGES TO LEGISLATORS’ SALARIES AND BENEFITS — The Joint Committee on Ways and Means held a brief one-hour hearing on the two-year-old report of the Special Advisory Commission on the Compensation of Public Officials, created by the Legislature in June 2014. The hearing was convened with less than 72 hours notice to the public.
The commission recommended pay raises for the state’s six constitutional statewide officers, the speaker of the House and the Senate president.
Other hikes suggested by the panel include increasing each legislator’s annual general expense allowance from $7,200 to either $10,000 or $15,000 depending on the member’s distance from the Statehouse; eliminating legislative per diem payments for meals and lodging reimbursements; changing the source and data on which current biennial legislative salary increases and decreases are based; and providing a $65,000 annual housing allowance for the governor.
The commission issued its report back in December 2014 but the Legislature never held a hearing on it. Ira Jackson, Dean of the John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston, chaired the group.
“Our commission has been non-partisan, fact-driven and guided by principles and a philosophy about public compensation,” Jackson said in the report. “We have worked hard (and) conducted our business transparently. While issues around public compensation are inherently controversial and often contentious, we believe that these recommendations are fair and balanced and we are proud of what we have accomplished in less than 90 days.”
Jackson echoed those remarks at last week’s hearing. Other members of the commission also spoke in favor of the pay hikes and other changes.
Only Chip Faulkner, Director of Communications for Citizens for Limited Taxation (CLT), testified against the hikes. Faulkner spoke with Beacon Hill Roll following the hearing.
“Only in the Massachusetts State House could the Joint Committee on Ways and Means suddenly out of nowhere call for a public hearing with less than 72 hours’ notice on the day before the Presidential Inauguration — and for what?” asked Faulkner. “For huge raises being proposed for the legislative leadership and constitutional officers. The salary proposals heard today were completely indifferent to what the voters had approved in 1998 and showed complete disdain for the state constitution. I asked ‘What part of the constitution don’t you understand?’ Complete silence followed that question.”
Faulkner continued, “The state is facing a deficit anticipated to be in the $500 million to $600 million range this coming fiscal year starting July 1st. With deficits looming and possible cuts in the budget, huge salary increases now being contemplated for a select few is ludicrous. None of the committee members had any follow-up questions of me following my testimony. This hearing belonged in the Bizarro World. Our tax dollars at work.”
The Special Commission concluded that the compensation of the Commonwealth’s constitutional officers and legislative leadership is generally outdated and inadequate. “Massachusetts state government is … a large and complex organization that provides vital services that affect every citizen, and as such it needs to attract talented, publicly spirited and honest individuals from diverse socio-economic and geographic backgrounds to fulfill its mission of serving every citizen,” said the commission report.
The report continued, “Compensation for public officials should be adequate to attract and retain qualified individuals to a public career and ensure that there is not a temptation to betray the public trust.”
The panel recommends that the governor’s salary be increased by $33,200, from $151,800 to $185,000; the lieutenant governor by $30,068, from $134,932 to $165,000; secretary of state by $34,738 from $130,262 to $165,000; treasurer by $47,083 from $127,917 to $175,000; auditor by $30,048 from $134,952 to $165,000; attorney general by $44,418 from $130,582 to $175,000; and the speaker and senate president by $79,967 from $95,033 to $175,000.
It also recommends that the six constitutional officers and the House speaker and Senate president be prohibited from earning outside income, other than passive income from investments. The panel notes this would preclude the potential for conflicts of interest, and recognize the full-time nature of their duties and the increased compensation recommended.
The commission also calls for an end to legislative per diems which are travel, meals and lodging reimbursements collected by the legislators. These reimbursements are given to legislators above and beyond their regular salaries.
While the commission recommends that the per diem should be eliminated, it also suggests that the annual general expense allowance for each legislator should increase from $7,200 to $10,000 for members whose districts are within a 50-mile radius of the Statehouse and to $15,000 for districts located outside of that radius. The most recent increase in office expense was a hike from $3,600 to $7,200 in 2000. The office expense is used to support a variety of costs including rent of a district office, contributions to local civic groups and the printing and mailing of newsletters. Legislators are issued a 1099 from the state and are required to report the $7,200 as income but are not required to submit an accounting of how they spend it.
The commission also calls for an annual $65,000 housing allowance for the governor, noting that Massachusetts is one of only six states that supplies neither a governor’s residence nor a housing allowance, even as Boston has the most expensive housing market of any of the state capitals. The commission said, “The burden on a governor from Western Massachusetts or someone with modest means is obvious and may be a deterrent to seeking office.”
Legislators’ salaries were increased by $2,515 for the 2017-2018 legislative session. The current base pay for legislators is $62,547. That hike came on the heels of a salary freeze for the 2015-2016 legislative session, a $1,100 pay cut for the 2013-2014 session and a $306 pay cut for the 2011-2012 session. Prior to 2011, legislators’ salaries had been raised every two years since the $46,410 base pay was first raised under the constitutional amendment in 2001.
The new $62,547 salary means legislative salaries have been raised $16,137, or 34.8 percent, since the mandated salary adjustment became part of the state constitution.
The commission also used the 2013-2014 salary adjustment as an example to point out the differences between the two formulas. Under the current formula, legislators’ salaries were cut by 1.8 percent for the 2013-2014 session reducing the base salary of each senator and representative by $1,100 — from $61,132 to $60,032.
If the commission’s new system of using the BEA was in effect in for the 2013-2014 legislative session, legislative salaries would have increased by 6.1 percent and raised salaries $5,278 — from $61,132 to $66,410.
The complete report can be found on the commission’s website: https://www.umb.edu/academics/mgs/special_projects/masspubliccomp/report
GOV. BAKER SIGNS MORE BILLS INTO LAW — Gov. Charlie Baker signed several bills into law last week including:
PROTECT BICYCLISTS (S 2534) — Prohibits drivers from parking in bike lanes and from placing their vehicle in a manner that would interfere with the safety and passage of bicyclists. Violators would be fined up to $50.
Supporters say that prior to passage of this new law, cities and towns passed local ordinances addressing this issue and the result is a patchwork of inconsistent rules and enforcement. They note that when drivers park in these lanes they endanger bicyclists who are forced to merge into traffic.
ELECTRIC VEHICLES (H 4781) — Regulates and encourages the use of zero-emission vehicles. The new law prohibits owners of public electric vehicle charging stations from requiring a person to pay for a membership to use the stations but allows the stations to charge different prices for members and non-members. It also allows municipalities to designate parking spaces for use only by zero-emission vehicles and to fine and tow vehicles that violate that rule.
Other provisions require the state to establish regulations for electric vehicle charging for residential and commercial buildings; issue a feasibility study on the electrification of state-owned vehicles; and conduct a study examining the advisability and feasibility of assessing taxes, surcharges, levies or other assessments to offset projected gas tax revenue loss from the increasing purchase or operation of zero-emission vehicles.
REQUIRE DEFIBRILLATORS IN SCHOOLS (H 4719) — Requires automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) in all public schools and their athletic events. The new law also mandates that each school have on duty a person who has completed a course on CPR and the use of an AED. It allows a school to get a hardship waiver if it can’t comply with this new law. Another provision protects the operator of the AED from liability other than gross negligence or willful misconduct when using it on a patient.
EYE DROPS (H 4195) — Requires insurance plans to cover refills of prescription eye drops under the same guidelines used by Medicare Part D. Prior to passage of this new law, Bay State law restricted patients from refilling eye drops and other medications earlier than the 30-day or 90-day refill date.
The new law allows patients to get a refill if they run out of drops a few days prior to the allowed refill date and permits some optometrists to treat anaphylactic reactions by injecting epinephrine or adrenaline. Under prior law, only ophthalmologists were allowed to do so.