A $61 billion state budget up for debate in the Massachusetts House this week marks an opportunity for Republican state representatives to draw attention to hot-button issues at the national level, from lower taxes to voter ID to restrictions on food dyes and who can participate in girls’ school sports.
But on the first day of budget deliberations, division within the GOP caucus stymied efforts to force roll call votes on some of those policies.
Representatives kicked off their budget debate Monday by rejecting a series of tax-policy changes suggested by Rep. Marc Lombardo, a Billerica Republican. Lombardo’s amendments would have cut the state’s sales and income taxes and exempted overtime pay and tips from taxation.
Lombardo tried to put all members of the House on record voting yes or no on his tax amendments, but did not get enough support from his fellow Republicans to force a roll call. Instead, the amendments were rejected on voice votes, without individual lawmakers’ positions recorded.
Republicans on Beacon Hill traditionally support roll call requests as a transparency measure.
Lombardo says he views the lack of support from some of his colleagues as payback for his bid earlier this year to unseat longtime House Minority Leader Bradley Jones.
After the votes, Lombardo said the situation was “another example of Brad Jones’ utter failed leadership and demonstrated that he is part of the machine here on Beacon Hill.”
“Certainly I knew this was coming because word had got back to me that Leader Jones had orchestrated this,” Lombardo said. “He’s not hurting me. What he’s hurting are the taxpayers who want to understand how their representatives are voting on issues of tax policy and making Massachusetts more affordable.”
Jones, meanwhile, said it wasn’t retaliation, and that he didn’t direct Republicans to vote a particular way.
Jones, of North Reading, said Lombardo didn’t show up to Republican caucus meetings to discuss the amendments. He pointed to frequent criticism Lombardo lobs his way on social media.
“You’ve seen some of the tweets and X and comments both during the leadership fight and since then, that I think, frankly, people are tired of and don’t think it’s particularly productive and constructive,” Jones said. “And I think members are like, 'you know, if you want to be a part of the Republican caucus and engage, then behave like an adult, and if not then don’t look for people to be all running to help you.’”
Republicans hold 25 of the 160 seats in the Massachusetts House. While the Democratic supermajority can handily defeat GOP proposals, filing amendments and pushing to debate them on the floor can draw attention to an issue, and roll call votes compel lawmakers to publicly stake out whether they’re for or against a particular policy.
Lombardo also filed amendments around voter identification, cooperation with federal immigration enforcement and replacing the state’s clean-energy transition mandates with non-binding goals. He said he’ll push for roll call votes on those as well.
“The voters are absolutely clamoring for a more affordable Massachusetts, a more accountable state government, one where we can bring down energy costs and lift the overburdenedness that Beacon Hill has been putting on residents for decades,” Lombardo said. “There absolutely is an appetite for lower taxes, lower energy bills and secure elections and safer streets. Unfortunately, I’m not sure that the residents are going to be able to get the roll calls that they deserve this week.”
Later in the day, an insufficient number of Republicans joined first-term Carver Rep. John Gaskey in his bid to get a roll call vote on an amendment dealing with school sports.
Gaskey’s proposal would have prohibited public schools from allowing “a male student athlete to participate on a girls’ sports team,” unless there was no equivalent boys’ team and there would be no “increased risk of harm to opponents” or “significant competitive advantage.”
Gaskey said his original amendment was “about ensuring that our school sports programs remain safe, fair, and competitive for all student athletes.” He said the policy would align Massachusetts with an executive order from President Trump prohibiting transgender women and girls from competing in female sports.
Democrats substituted that amendment with new language calling for data reporting on school sports, and the House agreed to that new language.
Rep. Jack Lewis, a Framingham Democrat who offered the substitute amendment, said Gaskey’s version sought “to prevent a small number – and I’m saying small number – of transgender children and teens from the joy, camaraderie and healthy living that come with participating in sports.”
In total, state representatives filed 1,650 amendments to the budget. They’ll likely add tens of millions of dollars in spending to the bill over multiple days of debate this week, and could bake in new policy proposals as well.
House Republicans filed 236 amendments, the most the minority caucus has offered in three years.
Several Republican amendments seek to change the MBTA Communities Act, the state law that requires denser, multi-family housing near transit stations.
The House rejected amendments Monday from Rep. Nicholas Boldyga of Southwick to eliminate the sales, income and estate taxes.
Another still-pending Boldyga amendment would prohibit the sale of food products with certain synthetic dyes. Rep. Steven Howitt of Seekonk also filed an amendment to ban specific food dyes.
