Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

House One = “legislation without appropriation” – Time to establish a Legislative Budget Office

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House One as filed by Governor Deval Patrick suffers from the same deficit as every other piece of legislation in this State – Legislation without appropriation. Changes are made by the outside sections, but no one knows what they will cost, such as the changes to C.L.c119 embedded in outside Section 41.  Unfortunately, this happens all the time in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

For example, in House One, line item 0321-1510 which funds all court-appointed counsel for the indigent, both civil and criminal is reduced by over $20,000.000 from this year’s appropriation.  Yet, line item 0321-1510 was just handed an enormous new area of mandated appointments by the passage of Chapter 521 of the Acts of 2008, also known as “The Uniform Probate Code” or “UPC”.  The new UPC, in Section 5-106, states:

(a) After filing of a petition for appointment of a guardian, conservator or other protective order, if the ward, incapacitated person or person to be protected or someone on his behalf requests appointment of counsel; or if the court determines at any time in the proceeding that the interests of the ward, incapacitated person or person to be protected are or may be inadequately represented, the court shall appoint an attorney to represent the person, giving consideration to the choice of the person if 14 or more years of age.  If the ward, incapacitated person or person to be protected has adequate resources, his counsel shall be compensated from the estate, unless the court shall order that such compensation be paid by the petitioner.  Counsel for any indigent ward, incapacitated person or person to be protected shall be compensated by the commonwealth.  This section shall not be interpreted to abridge or limit the right of any ward, incapacitated person or person to be protected to retain counsel of his own choice and to prosecute or defend a petition under this article.

The UPC created an entire new category of court appointed cases.  No one knows how many wards will need court-appointed attorneys, nor what this will cost.  No money at all was allocated and the line item responsible, 0321-1510 was in fact cut.

In Congress, all legislation must be filed with the Congressional Budget Office “CBO” and a cost analysis done.  See the CBO homepage:  http://www.cbo.gov/

In Massachusetts, our legislature shoots from the hip – which is to say, at best guesses at cost, at worst takes a lobbyist’s word for what legislation will cost.

Rep. Jay Kaufman has filed “An Act Establishing a Legislative Budget Office”.  

This Act would create an independent office, funded by the legislature to act as a budget office like the CBO.  I think that it is time to do this, and just maybe, budgeting would become less of a shoot from the hip Hollywood drama.

See the CBO analysis of HRI, President Obama’s recovery legislation.  Wow!

.pdf of HR.1 – President Obama’s Recovery Bill

http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/99x…

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Comments

  1. In this discussion there are two ways to do budgets Massachusetts system is one of the few where the executive gives it his best shot and the Legislature then hears from people like you on the merits of a program they initiated and usually the corrections are made.

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    p>So even though the cart is before the horse so it would seem it has the opportunity to work out.

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    p>Now the issue in the reverse if you had a prior assessment you might say the heavy lifting was all done when the governor sent his bill forward so the hands of the Legislature were tied, also some programs enacted decades ago hay have run their course and as a result have no champion to point out the error of the decision as you are here.

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    p>Deval has always said it is our state and thus our obligation to work at it just as hard as he is I wonder if we can bill the state for our time? Any way I think you need to start a list here on BMG on line items that must be reauthorized in this budget. I know you have a few. One added item I don’t think is tipping off any one or ticking off anyone but it was my understanding that the Judiciary made their own cuts and presented them I am not totally sure that the secretary in Admin and finance or the governors office were involved. So I also think the justice in charge of the budget deserve a phone call and maybe a hot foot as well.

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    p>Let Us know I will be happy to make a few phone calls and hopefully reverse the curse!

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    p>As Usual Just my Opinions

    • Some may recall my post about this in November last year:

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      p>http://vps28478.inmotionhosting.com/~bluema24/s…

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      p>The Administrative Office of the Trial Courts [AOTC] whose executive is Chief Justice for Administration and Management Robert Mulligan – “the CJAM” for short eliminated ALL Guardian Ad Litems for Education – many mid case, with 24 hours notice AND the Best Interest GALs too.

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      p>I have been able to consult in a couple of cases, but the result is still, “sorry you don’t have authority any more” and kids who are already vulnerable, already feeling abandoned because most of them ARE abandoned being hurt.  

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      p>When someone initially e-mailed me this had happened on 11/14/08 I thought it was a prank.  I did not believe anything so mean, mean-spirited and damaging had really happened.  But it had.

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      p>I actually faxed that open letter that I linked to here, with all the listed contents not only to the “cc” list but to 70 legislators.  I heard from three, and only one wrote a letter – Senator Jehlen.  Even Senator Jehlen was sure that the CJAMs order would be amended to allow for court-authorized GALs for Education pro bono.  Nope.  

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      p>These poor kids can just either pull themselves up by their bootstraps, their drug addicted parents can magically reform, or they can crawl off and die or go to prison for all anyone appears to me to care.  Yes I am at the angry stage of grieving about this one.

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      p>When I told Sen. Jehlen the answer was “No, we did away with that” even to my taking the hit and continuing on open cases pro bono, she just stared at me, wide eyed.  But that is the truth.

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      p>The fact is that having Ed Surrogate Parents for some kids in C & Ps, sometimes volunteers for a year or so from a school or a big firm is not the same as a Guardian Ad Litem for Education that protects and monitors a kids IEP for as long as that kid is in care.  Noblesse oblige in Boston is no substitute.

  2. The savings in greater efficiency as a result of having this kind of crucial information available suggest this office should be created as soon as possible.

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    p>Needless to say, all of their analyses should be published on the Internet as soon as they are complete.

    • They still sell it at MCLE and it lays out the whole budget drama – it is what I first used when I hit the ground running in 2003 – before I had met Judy or even been to the State House.  Truly.  Worth the few bucks. I think I paid $11.00.  I got mine used off Amazon.com.

      • I’m Not a Lobbyest.

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        p>I don’t see the connection. That likes me saying, ‘I thought the Red Sox won the World Series in 1978.’

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        p>and you replying,
        “No. Ernie, you should get the book “How to Coach Baseball” by Lou Boudreau.

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        p>But

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        p>I know what you mean.

  4. Wow, that’s been in the works for years. Who is the author of the bill and how did it finally pass? My wife is a Probate lawyer and she’s been worried about this forever since she’ll have to change the way she’s been doing her work.

  5. This office would probably cost a few million, at least, but it’s exactly the type of thing that may have been able to figure out we’d be more than 2 billion short this year – more than just a few months into the year. You know, like ahead of time. Would have been nice.

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    p>So, yes, cost analysis on anything before it passes would be nice.  

    • I figure a budget office here would be done in collaboration, as a nonpartisan project, with one of the Schools of Government, etc. and the cost kept low.  Like the Sloan School, the Kennedy of Govt, etc.  We do governance on the cheap here unless it is MassPort, or the Commonwealth Connector.

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      p>Yeah – I am feeling full of “piss and vinegar” that the Office of the Child Advocate is forced to run on pennies, and only is more than window dressing because former judge Gail Garringer turns out to have bigger brass balls then most men.

  6. Just another costly office where bodies can be buried and they damn well better do what the Speaker wants. If they don’t then just another office to screw with by the seasoned pols.  

    • I don’t see any eason why these can’t be folded into their responsibilities.

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      p>Splitting health care into two committees – issues and finance – has been very inefficient, and expensive when you consider the cost of staff, referral, re-referral, concurrance, etc.

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      p>Personally, I always regarded Houe One as an expensive press release.  All spending bills originate in the House, and the House is free to look at the Governor’s budget and alllow it to die a slow and horrible death on the floor while they create the ‘real’ budget.  Is the Governor’s budget even included when they conference the House and Senate budgets?

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