On Beacon Hill, there are countless of ways to delay action on controversial topics lawmakers would prefer to avoid. One of the most popular: Appoint a commission.
It’s simple, really. Round up a group of legislators, recruit recognized experts and then instruct them to report back with their findings. Sometimes those panels result in groundbreaking new public policy: “Romney Care,” the popular name for state’s health care system, was an historic example. But other times, nothing happens. And that is, well, as intended.
Now comes Rep. Tami Gouveia of Acton, who also is running for Lt. Gov. Gouveia wants to bring a sense of accountability to the State House by curbing the use — or abuse — of commissions as a delay tactic to dodge tough issues.
“The Legislature does punt taking action on some controversial issues or things that they don’t necessarily want to take up in the moment, down the line, by creating commissions,” Gouveia told GBH News.
That’s why Gouveia filed the not-so-subtly named “act relative to the purpose, utility, nature, and timeliness of commissions in the Commonwealth.” The PUNT Act.
“We’re punting taking action that residents and citizens of Massachusetts are relying on us to take as legislators, that we’re not taking in the moment,” Gouveia said.
The bill was heard Wednesday by the State Administration and Regulatory Oversight, and it’s sponsored by Gouveia and gubernatorial candidate Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz. It would charge the state auditor with examining all the permanent and special commissions created over the last 10 years and determining the panels’ value. The bill would ask the auditor to report if the commissions reflect the populations impacted by the subject, estimate what the commissions have cost to taxpayers and find out how many hours state employees have worked on commission business.
Most importantly, the auditor would assess if the commissions “yielded concrete recommendations” to lawmakers, the governor or judicial branch, and to what extent, if any, the state government acted on the commissions’ findings.
Gouveia said some of the commissions established by the Legislature don’t have the right experts to examine the subject matter, haven’t met on time or never even met at all. She says the bill is intended to ensure that the commissions put in place are actually having an impact.
“Sometimes commissions are designed to understand options for solving problems, and sometimes commissions are implemented or passed as part of legislation to quite literally just not take any action,” Gouveia said.
She cited the example of the Special Commission on Campaign Funds and Child Care Commission as a certified “punt” commission. The four-member panel, led by the House and Senate'’s Election Laws Committee chairs, was tasked with determining if candidates for office should be allowed to use campaign money to pay for child care.
“We know that the FEC is allowing us to be able to do this, but instead we have a commission rather than just going ahead and passing legislation to allow women candidates to use campaign funds,” Gouveia said.
That commission met twice in February and March 2020 and has taken no action since the beginning of the pandemic.
As for the PUNT legislation proposed by Gouvia and Chang-Díaz, no one on Beacon Hill appears to be taking bets on its future.
