Democrats for Reform of the Massachusetts Legislature: General Interest Meeting

Currently in the Massachusetts Legislature, the power to legislate is centralized with the Speaker of the House in the House of Representatives, and with the Senate President of the Senate. They have the power to appoint people to committees, appoint the chairs of those committees, appoint leadership positions in the majority party, and have enormous influence over the state budget. If state legislators do not respect the wishes of their chamber’s leadership they can lose their leadership position, chairmanship of a committee, favored committee position, and even funding for their district. The Speaker and Senate President decide who gets an office with a prime view of the city, or who is banished to the windowless basement. We have seen undue influence by Speaker Deleo as we have witnessed dozens of lawmakers switch from opposing a casino bill under Speaker DiMasi, to supporting casinos under DeLeo. It is becoming increasingly clear that individual members of the House and Senate are not free to speak or even vote their minds.