Raymond V. Mariano: Collect paychecks while you nap for most part-time state legislators

Right now, members of the Massachusetts State Legislature are tucking themselves in for what amounts to a five-month, taxpayer-funded nap. That’s because a rule they put in place stops them from meeting in formal session after July 31.

To be honest, even before the naptime officially began, some of them were already sound asleep. But now the entire Legislature is going on a nap hiatus that won’t end until after Santa arrives.

The only time some of these public servants will awaken from their comalike trance is to collect their paychecks. Then it’s back to slumberland.

Sure everyone deserves a vacation — two weeks here, another week there. But five months seems a bit much.

It’s true that some members of the local delegation work hard even when the Legislature is not in formal session. But, as a group, these part-timers should be embarrassed to collect a full-time paycheck. But of course, they aren’t.

According to the House Clerk’s office, so far this year, members of the House of Representatives have only been in formal session for 27 days. With no formal sessions planned for the rest of the year, that equates to six weeks of work for the year.

Yes, I know that there are also “informal sessions” and that there are committee hearings and other things to do outside of formal sessions. But honestly, most of these folks really don’t have a great deal to do.

Work to do

Truthfully, not putting in the hours is hardly their biggest offense. If they had finished the work in front of them, this five-month vacation might be a bit easier to swallow. But when they ended their formal session on Aug. 1, the Legislature left a pile of important work undone.

But hey, somebody has got to man the grill.

In general, the Legislature doesn’t meet in formal session all that often. That is especially true, every two years, during state elections, when a rule ends their formal sessions by Aug. 1. It’s not a law, just a convenient rule (Rule 12A) that gives our elected representatives time to campaign to keep their jobs.

I get the rule. Heck, no one wants to lose a job like this. But when that rule gets in the way of important work — things like giving taxpayers some of their money back — we need to say “enough.”

And since most of our legislators run unopposed or only have token opposition, the next five months are really just vacation time.

Economic development bill

Of all the work left undone, the most important is a $4.5 billion economic development bill that was left at the altar like a jilted groom. That legislation contained about $400 million for desperately needed housing construction, millions in relief for hospitals strained by the pandemic, support for child care, funding for climate change initiatives and food insecurity.

Oh, and this legislation also contains $1 billion in tax cuts and rebates for Massachusetts taxpayers.

Legislation that would benefit virtually every citizen, business and municipality in the commonwealth is just sitting there so guys and gals can use up their sunscreen.

But House Speaker Ron Mariano (no relation) doesn’t seem all that worried because, as he said, “People have vacation plans.” And judging by his George Hamilton-like tan, Mariano seems to have already started his.

Look, you can take a trip around the world in a month, so we’ll give them August. But what about September, October and November (we’ll also give them December so they can attend to all their holiday plans)?

At least state Senate President Karen Spilka sees how bad this looks. She has been publicly pushing the House to come back into session to resolve the economic development and tax relief legislation.

But Mariano (really, he’s no relation) doesn’t seem fazed at all. As Marie Antoinette once said, “Let them eat cake.”

Part of the problem, with the tax relief legislation, is that Mariano (for the last time, he’s no relation) is worried that he might give us too much of our own money back. That’s because a few weeks ago, Gov. Charlie Baker notified the Legislature that there is so much excess state revenue that a law passed in 1986 will require them to give us some of our money back. Currently, it looks like they have to give us $2.5 billion back.

But Mariano isn’t sure he wants to give us the $2.5 billion back, plus the $1 billion he already promised us.

No worries, Mr. Speaker. As far as I’m concerned, you can use the $1 billion to fix our crumbling roads and bridges or any number of other desperately needed investments. But don’t walk out of the building before you do what you were elected to do.

Oh, and by the way, the next time you hold a press conference, with other legislative leaders, to announce you are doing us a favor and giving us $1 billion of our own money back — keep your word!

I should point out that two years ago, during the pandemic crisis, the Legislature suspended Rule 12A and remained in formal session all year. They should do that again.

If this makes you angry, call your state representative and state senator and tell them that they can go on vacation after they have decided how much of our own money to give back to us.

Tell them that naptime starts after they have completed all of the legislation that got dropped in the waste can because they were too busy working on their Travelocity account.

Email Raymond V. Mariano at rmariano.telegram@gmail.com. He served four terms as mayor of Worcester and previously served on the City Council and School Committee. He grew up in Great Brook Valley and holds degrees from Worcester State College and Clark University. He was most recently executive director of the Worcester Housing Authority. His column appears weekly in the Sunday Telegram.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Raymond V. Mariano: Most part-time legislators should be embarrased to collect full-time checks