Will Brownsberger — State Senator, Democrat, 2d Suffolk and Middlesex District

Will, The MassVote organization current campaign for election law reform includes: Online registration. We’re living in the 21st century! It’s time to let citizens register online. Pre-registration.  When young people are registered, they vote.  So how can we get more young people registered?  By letting them register when they’re 16 and 17 so they’re set [...]

Please attend this two-day event if you can, and consider endorsing important related Statehouse bills S304 (campaign funding disclosure) S305 (corporate accountability) S308 (clean elections) 1577  (pay to play) On the January 20–21 anniversary of the Citizens United decision, a wide coalition of groups will stand together for GETTING MONEY OUT OF POLITICS! From 12:30pm-1:30pm [...]

The state’s new “Open Checkbook” website is a big step forward.

While I voted against the gambling bill, I think that we got a number of other good things done in this session. The biggest may be the redistricting plan which has been widely praised for the increase it creates in the number of districts from which minority candidates may potentially be elected.

Hi Will – just a note to let you know that I support the bill, filed by Rep. John Binienda, of Worcester,  that would exempt small brewers from the laws protecting wholesalers in MA. The law was written at a time when there were only two or three brewers in the market. Since that time, [...]

In an address to the Boston Chamber of Commerce yesterday, Speaker DeLeo covered a number of important areas, making a commitment to move on municipal health care reform and a commitment to control legislative recommendations on jobs.

While the problem of patronage in probation may have been substantially addressed by changing leadership, it still may make sense to reorganize the system.

Key resources on this issues include: Mass Taxpayers Foundations report on municipal liabilities. Pioneer Institute White Paper: The Elephant in the Room:  Unfunded Public Employee Health Care Benefits and GASB 45.  Actuarial Valuation Reports for the Commonwealth.  Federal Reserve Bank overview brief..

A number of lawmakers in The Commonwealth of Massachusetts have found good reason to consider parole reform for repeat criminal offenders. While specific reforms to the current system have been in study for a number of years, there has been some debate as to how to move forward with new legislation. The bill that has [...]

The first substantive roll call of the new legislative session was to adopt a transparency amendment to the house rules. I had been working hard on the changes for over a year and I was grateful for the unanimous support of the leadership team and my colleagues on Thursday.

It pains me to public disagree with our usually well intentioned state representative, but Rep Brownsberger was wrong to vote in favor of a 28 member Legislative Redistricting Commission offered by his party rather than a seven person non legislative commission. While it was the politically smart and easy vote, it is not in keeping [...]

Illinois used be be known as the most corrupt state in the US(funny thats where Barack is from) I think this state is reaching for the stars…

Reformers should be seeking to clean up arrangements that make weak agencies directly beholden to the legislature. The Turnpike Authority was one example. We’ve abolished it, but there are others that come to mind.

Tom Keane’s op-ed piece, http://www.boston.com/news/politics/articles/2010/12/04/politicians_no_more_favors, copy and paste to read, is spot on and I hope Rep. Brownsberger takes it to heart and introduces legislation that will institutionalize it’s message. Key take away: “Exceptions create the appearance — if not the reality — that the rule of law doesn’t apply to all. They breed cynicism [...]

The vast majority of state job openings are posted on the Commonwealth Employment Opportunities web site, mass.gov/finding a job/public sector jobs.  The site has separate listings for openings in state government, federal government, K-12 educators, state colleges and universities, authorities and quasi-state agencies and the court system.  The Job Quest section also allows applicants to [...]

it is interesting to read previous posts…. it does seem that MA state government has always had shameless patronage. When incompetent or even dangerous people are given jobs that endanger public safety a line has been crossed. Has that woman who provided information to criminal boyfriends been fired as yet?

Speaker DeLeo has stepped forward with a strong commitment to respond to the problems in the probation department.

The report of the Supreme Judicial Court’s independent counsel, Paul Ware, on hiring in the probation department is a deeply disturbing read. How we handle the issues it raises will send an important signal about our true level of commitment to restoring confidence in government.

Will, It is time to clean house. The report on the Probation Department released this week by Independent Counsel Paul F.Ware, together with the Globe Spotlight Team’s report on Rep. Thomas Petrolati published in October and the Globe’s earlier report on Probation Department Commisioner John O’Brien paint a depressingly familiar picture of how business is [...]

The two year formal legislative session, now ended, has been a mixed bag. Perhaps the best news about the session is that we got through it.