Jack Trapanick, “With Ballot Question 1, A Test of Trust in the Massachusetts State Legislature,” Harvard Crimson, October 22, 2024.
Jonathan Cohn, policy director at Progressive Mass, pointed out that it was difficult to get any internal information about the legislature’s workings. Neither its committee votes nor hearing testimony are available to the public.
“We hold the status of being the only state where the governor’s office, the legislature, and the judiciary, all claim full exemption from the public records law,” he said.
The legislature, Cohn added, “doesn’t view information, in general, as the public good” — though he conceded that the measure was likely to face a lawsuit if it passes.
