“ Business as usual '': the democrats closest to the leadership of the room obtain most budgetary plates

The Massachusetts House of Representatives adopted its annual budget of $ 61.5 billion this month, and an annual reality emerges: millions of dollars in pet projects go to the legislators closest to democratic leadership.

The legislators have nailed $ 81 million in changes to the final bill, mainly money for local projects, programs and organizations, according to data compiled by the Massrac legislative monitoring service. And the legislators who received the most – in total dollars and in percentage of approved requests – president of the most influential committees in the legislative assembly.

“It is as usual for the State House,” said Jay Kaufman, a former representative of the Lexington State and Chairman of the Committee who now heads the collaborative beacon leadership. “It was sort of top to bottom and monitoring follow -up in a way that completely disturbs democracy.”

The headphones are not voted individually. Instead, House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz and its staff bring together the requests for massive “consolidated” modifications that have hit the ground at a time.

Critics argue that this process means that the elements blessed by leadership are happening, while all the others are put aside.

“Everything that happens has been predetermined,” said Phil Sego, former lobbyist of the Sierra Club and lawyer for legislative transparency. “There is no debate.”

In a investigation In the Boston Globe head of headphones last year, several legislators compared the process of requesting funding requests to house leadership in a private back-room on the television program “Shark Tank”.

Rep. Adrian MadaroAn East Boston Democrat who chairs the joint income committee was one of the largest winners in the organization this year, $ 3.5 million in approved funding reported.

Safe Madaro 12 of the 14 assignments he asked for, including $ 1.3 million for the Boston Harbor ferry service and $ 1 million for the New England Aquarium. Madaro did not respond to a request for comments.

Representative David Biele, vice -president of the Financial Services Committee, obtained $ 3.6 million in assignments – almost three -quarters of his request. This money is planned for the training of firefighters and “entrepreneurial scholarships”. In a statement, Biele said that these initiatives reach “far beyond my district”.

Representative Dan Hunt, president of the Electoral Law Committee, also said that he had received a higher total because his assignments had an impact on the region in the broad sense. Hunt landed $ 2.7 million, the vast majority of Rice MassachusettsTreatment of dependence on non -profit opioids and port health services.

“It's not pork,” said Hunt in an interview. “These are local organizations, but they serve Metro Boston or the whole state.”

Another winner was the democrat of Bay Bay, Jay Livingstone, president of the mixed committee of children, families and people with disabilities, who obtained funding for 15 of his 17 assignments requested. These $ 2.5 million will go to some of the most eminent cultural institutions in Boston, such as Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Boch Center and the first night in Boston.

In a statement, Livingstone said that many of the programs that these organizations offer are free.

“Although this entertainment is free for the public, it does not occur without initiating major expenses that require public support,” he said. “I am happy that my colleagues recognize him.”

On the other hand, the legislators who have lost are the most distant from the interior circles of power – like the members of the minority party.

The bottom of the headphones are strewn with republicans. Even the representative Brad Jones, the minority chief, only obtained $ 45,000, or 8% of his request. Westfield Republican Kelly Pease asked $ 75,000 for things like a children's museum and a local lion club – and has not obtained anything.

It also hurts to be a first year aspect. Among the 40 legislators who received the least money, 18 are their first mandate.

The funding allowances are “not really based on the needs of the district,” said Scotia Hille, executive director of the ACT on -profit surveillance group.

“It seems that the worst thing you can do in terms of obtaining money for your district is to be a first mandate representative,” she said, adding “it is just a sign that they start on this step of the Escalator of power. This is not how democracy is supposed to work.”

Kaufman, the former state representative, said that when he was elected, he quickly learned to channel his requests through more senior members.

“I knew that everything that would have been attached to my name would be briefly rejected and rejected,” he said. “This is how the game is played.”

The leaders of the Chamber denied the allegations of injustice in the process.

“The chamber's budgetary process guarantees that each member has multiple opportunities to make his voice heard, and their amendments have examined and voted,” Chamber Ron Mariano said in a statement.

“As elected officials are closest to their communities,” said Mariano, “representatives know the needs of their districts well and argue for the inclusion of local ear tracks which are often a critical source of support necessary for their voters.”

The Chamber approved approximately 10% of the total amount of the conditions requested by the members.

The budget is a massive document which, according to the legislators, is the most important work they do each year. The version that adopted the room earlier this month is only the first step: the Senate will adopt its own budget in the coming weeks, and the negotiators of the two chambers will then work to reconcile the differences between the two documents. Once the compromise budget has been reached, the two organizations will vote to send him to the governor for his signature or his veto.

Old political hands say that assignments help grease the wheels of this complex and laborious process – and some political observers agree.

The legislature “implies many different people, with many different perspectives, reaching an agreement on major bills with competing priorities,” said Evan Horowitz, director of the Center for State Policy Analysis at TUFTS University. “Headphones are a really appreciated commodity in the world of horse exchange.”

“In an ideal world, we would need them? Maybe not,” said Horowitz. “But it is really useful to have mechanisms to negotiate, go to the agreement and advance politics.”