House plays follow the leader
By 
On January 30, in the midst of a debate over the rules to govern the legislative process on Beacon Hill, a vote took place that revealed a lot about the way the House runs.
The vote was on a technical issue dealing with the way bills are handled as the legislative session comes to an end, when time runs short and political brinkmanship is the name of the game. Rep. Bradley Jones Jr. of North Reading, the Republican minority leader, spoke in favor of the amendment and asked for a roll call vote.
Rep. Thomas Petrolati, Democrat of Ludlow, who was presiding over the session, allotted three minutes for the roll call and punched in no votes for himself and House Speaker Robert DeLeo. A wave of no votes quickly filled the electronic voting board in the House chamber, but then a video of the proceedings captures Petrolati realizing something was wrong. “It’s a yes?” he asks. “Switch’em. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.”
Suddenly, the no votes of Petrolati and DeLeo were switched to yes votes and then at least 63 other Democrats (and one unenrolled lawmaker, Rep. Susannah Whipps of Athol) followed suit, switching their votes from no to yes. As Bob Katzen of Beacon Hill Roll Call reports in an exquisitely detailed report, it was a case of follow the leader.
Katzen sent emails soliciting comments on what happened to each lawmaker in the chamber that night, but only a handful responded. DeLeo and Petrolati said nothing.
Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa of Northampton told Katzen she voted yes initially and stood by her vote. “I was as surprised as many watching from the gallery that many changed their vote after the speaker’s vote was cast,” she said. “As a first-year representative at my first formal session, I had not witnessed something like that before.”
Rep. Russell Holmes of Boston, a leading DeLeo critic, said the vote captured how Beacon Hill works. “Welcome to the House of Representatives,” he told Katzen. “This is exactly how the House runs itself and the members should be ashamed. The speaker is like a shepherd leading a flock of sheep.”
The vote switching fits a narrative of the House as an institution where power is concentrated at the top – in the speaker’s hands.
“Historically, it wasn’t always this way,” said Phillip Sego, a former Sierra Club lobbyist who recently authored a withering critique of the concentration of power in the House in December. “Nevertheless, in the past 40 years, speakers have become increasingly autocratic….Each successive House speaker has exploited the potential, under the state constitution, to amass tremendous (and despotic) power to the office.”
According to Sego, the means of amassing power is the leverage a speaker holds over members through his ability to appoint selected lawmakers to leadership positions that come with stipends. Sego said committee appointments, aides, and office space are also used to entice lawmakers to the speaker’s side.
“Various representatives trade their fealty for positions of authority,” Sego said. “Those who oppose the Speaker (or who simply annoy him) will get terrible committee assignments, one staffer, and cramped, dank offices hidden away in the State House basement. These committees do little, have few bills, and have no authority. Meanwhile, powerful committee chairs get additional staff, nice offices, and the opportunity to hobnob with leadership members.”
Jonas cites one example similar in some respects to the incident reported by Katzen. A bill dealing with a subsidy for solar power was released from committee one day before the end of formal legislative sessions in 2015. Solar advocates saw the bill as a major blow to the industry, but House leaders pressured members to quickly pass the measure, which they did, by a vote of 150-2.
But as no quick deal was reached with the Senate on final legislation, lawmakers took some time to look the solar bill over and decided they didn’t like what they saw. Several months later 100 reps released a letter they sent to the House members of a conference committee urging them to go with the Senate language.
“The lawmakers, in effect, declared their opposition to the bill they had nearly all voted in lockstep in favor of four months earlier. It left the clear impression that they had either felt pressured to vote in favor of a bill they opposed or hadn’t had time to consider the legislation and its full impact,” Jonas wrote.
“I think the process which the solar bill followed is a symptom of a bigger problem in the House,” said one rep who was not identified. “Although all of us are treated respectfully by the Speaker, we’re not involved in the process, and oftentimes we’re asked to blindly follow. It would be difficult to describe it as democracy.”
–BRUCE MOHL
BEACON HILL
A Herald editorial says Gov. Charlie Baker’s proposed tax on “vaporizers” could have the unintended consequence of driving e-cigarette users to switch to more deadly standard smokes.
MUNICIPAL MATTERS
Boston City Council President Andrea Campbell floats the idea of four-year terms for councilors rather than two-year terms. (Boston Globe)
WASHINGTON/NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL
Congressional negotiators say they’ve reached a tentative deal to avert another government shutdown, an agreement that denies President Trump much of the funding he sought for a border wall while yielding on some Democratic demands to limit immigrant detentions. (Washington Post)
Bristol County Sheriff Tom Hodgson met with Trump on Monday to back the administration’s request for $4.2 billion to fund 52,000 beds for Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainments. (WGBH News)
Economist Thomas Piketty praises Elizabeth Warren’s proposed wealth tax. (Boston Globe)
ELECTIONS
If Congressman Seth Moulton is “someone who can help people realize their dreams” and fulfill what Americans are looking for then he will run for president, the Democrat said at a town hall in his home city of Salem after BuzzFeed News reported he would consider a White House run. (Salem News)
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
Boston area restaurants are pushing a bill to clamp down on one-day licenses for “beer gardens” that cut into their business. (Boston Globe)
The Billerica planning board approved a $70 million expansion of EMD Serono’s facility, which will support the pharmaceutical firm’s cancer research. (Lowell Sun)
Hopkinton town meeting approved a $400,000 tax break for Lykan Bioscience to help the company make the move from Phoenix. (MetroWest Daily News)
In an anti-union era, nurses are proving that organized labor can still be powerful. (Governing)
HEALTH/HEALTH CARE
Shirley Leung says no one seems to be beating down the doors to become new CEO of Partners HealthCare — and for good reason. (Boston Globe)
The Falmouth Board of Health is considering a controversial needle-exchange program proposed by the AIDS Support Group. (Cape Cod Times)
ARTS/CULTURE
Thomas Krens, who originated the idea for the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, unveiled a new plan to complete the transformation of North Adams. It calls for a large redevelopment in downtown North Adams featuring a grassy square; railroad, time clock, and contemporary art museums; a boutique hotel; and restoration of the long-shuttered Mohawk Theater. Krens said his venture may be a for-profit enterprise utilizing opportunity zone financing. (Greylock Independent via Berkshire Eagle)
Sut Jhally is exploring whether Northampton could support an independent movie theater; the city hasn’t had one since the Pleasant Street Theatre closed in 2012. (Hampshire Daily Gazette)
TRANSPORTATION
Tie-up triumph: Boston has the worst rush-hour traffic of any city in the country, according to a new analysis by a transportation data firm. (Boston Globe)
DOT notes: Get ready for delays on the Massachusetts Turnpike as the Prudential tunnel is lengthened to make way for new developments above, and then the highway is dramatically revamped in the Allston area. Also: Sumner Tunnel buried in traffic, lots of money left in snow and ice budget, and $1.4 billion estimate for state of good repair work on the Turnpike system in Boston. (CommonWealth)
T notes: MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak confirms many fare gates were left open during the Patriots day parade last week…Power cable failure caused Friday’s meltdown….South Coast Rail financing plan due in March….Michael Abramo, the T’s former chief administrator, is named to T pension board. (CommonWealth)
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT
Over nearly three decades spent opposing the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, Duxbury resident Mary Lampert has outlived some others in the arena, and she is about to outlive the operation of the facility, which is due to close in the next few months. (WGBH News)
CRIMINAL JUSTICE/COURTS
Three Boston police officers are under suspension pending an investigation of “time and attendance issues.” (Boston Globe)
Brockton is receiving a boost in anti-gang funding from Gov. Charlie Baker and the Charles E. Shannon Community Safety Initiative grants. (Brockton Enterprise)
Michelle Carter is ordered to jail to begin serving her 15-month sentence for involuntary manslaughter. (Boston Globe)
A 12-year-old boy allegedly threatened to “shoot up” the Tenney Grammar School in Methuen and threatened a particular school employee. (Eagle-Tribune)
Harold Wentworth, a Gloucester man, admitted that he dumped an illegally caught tuna in woods in Annisquam. He had allegedly intended to sell it on the black market, but instead the fish will be used as compost on a local farm. (Gloucester Daily Times)
MEDIA
The Washington Post has an in-depth look at Alden Global Capital, the New York hedge fund whose Digital First Media subsidiary has been gobbling up — and slashing away at — newspapers across the country, including the Boston Herald. The story documents the ways in which real estate is the real prize Alden is often after.
A report on the future of British media calls for government investment in local news coverage. The report’s author likens newspapers to once-dominant industry leaders like Kodak and and Blockbuster that failed to make the digital leap. (The Guardian)
Gatehouse Media quietly lays off about 60 employees at 18 of its publications. (Business Insider)