This infusion of conservatives in the Legislature is great news for anyone who thinks balance is a good thing, and it will be good to shake up one-party rule, if only a little. We think incoming GOP members should consider starting with five simple reforms that would save money and make an even more significant statement that Republicans are there to stand up for taxpayers and good government:
- Refuse to take a pay raise. Under the Constitution, state legislators get an automatic pay raise every two years based on the economy. If legislators are given a pay raise this year, we think GOP reps should refuse to take it.
- Don't take per diems. One of the perks of being a member of the Legislature is that you are paid just for driving to work. Maybe this made sense back when members rode horses from western Massachusetts to the State House, but these days, per diems don't make sense. We think GOP members should refuse to claim per diem payments.
- Give up leadership pay. We respect members whose work as legislative leadership or as committee chairs requires them to put in more time and effort than rank-and-file members. But leadership stipends don't make sense in a full-time legislature, where it's assumed that all members put in full-time effort on legislative business (even if they don't). We think it would send a strong statement if GOP members refused to take leadership pay, particularly in the Senate, where there are only a handful of members.
- Pledge not to take a public pension. A number of GOP candidates this year pledged not to take a public pension. We think GOP members should follow suit.
- Eliminate legislative expense accounts. Each legislator gets several thousand dollars each year to cover office expenses. At the same time, many other public employees (for example, teachers) are required to pay out-of-pocket to cover work-related expenses. We think it makes sense to forego this payment, especially when members could raise campaign funds to cover these expenses.
We're not trying to pick on GOP members; we think these reforms should be made by all legislators. But Republicans could get the ball rolling by voluntarily pledging these reforms themselves and leading by example. Some incoming members, like Ryan Fattman from Sutton, have already pledged not to take per diems or a pension. We applaud him and others like him for this courageous position, and we wonder if others (especially longer-serving GOP members) will be willing to follow his lead.