Government Transparency | Research on Transparency in the Government

NEW: MassWatch IRS Data Discovery Tool

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August 2, 2021

If you want a window into taxation, to learn where Massachusetts residents move to and where new residents are coming from, Pioneer Institute has an innovative research tool for you. With Pioneer’s new Mass IRS Data Discovery Tool, you can now compare state-to-state or year-to-year tax data without downloading up to 2,000 IRS files in many different, cumbersome formats.

The COVID-19 Impact on Massachusetts Community College Enrollment & Success Trends

July 20, 2021

Enrollment at Massachusetts community colleges has dropped 32.61…

Massachusetts Is Losing Adjusted Gross Income to No-Income Tax State Migration

July 13, 2021

In light of a proposed tax increase on million-dollar annual…

COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker

April 16, 2021

Pioneer is proud to present a new vaccine tracker, the newest tool in our COVID-19 tracking project. Pioneer distilled the vaccination data down to those who are either fully vaccinated or partially vaccinated, by all the demographic categories published by the DPH. Use the new tool below to compare rates among groups, by municipality and by county. We will update the data every week.

Doctor Heal Thyself: Insider’s Prescription For Healthcare Reform

April 6, 2021

Host Joe Selvaggi talks with surgeon and New York Times bestselling author Dr. Marty Makary about the healthcare reform themes in The Price We Pay, the 2020 Business Book of the Year. The discussion covers the value of price transparency, provider accountability, and performance information to drive better medical outcomes and improve doctor and patient satisfaction.

Struggling For Sunshine: Transparency’s Power To Keep Leaders Accountable

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March 23, 2021

Host Joe Selvaggi talks with Pioneer Institute's Mary Z. Connaughton about the value of transparency and Pioneer’s extensive work to provide greater access to legislative and policy information to hold elected officials accountable and build trust in our state government. Read Pioneer Institute's Sunshine Week Transparency Resolutions.

Pioneer Institute’s 2021 Government Transparency Resolutions: Sunshine Week Edition

March 16, 2021

As it does each year, Pioneer shares the resolutions it hopes state leaders will adopt to bring government actions into better focus and invigorate our democracy with heightened public engagement. As the late Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis noted, “sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman.”

Massachusetts is in the middle of a budget crisis. So why is it still subsidizing out-of-state horse owners?

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December 1, 2020

In 2021, the Massachusetts legislature will consider raising…

Survey: Consumers Want Healthcare Price Information, But Few Realize It’s Available

October 28, 2020

Great strides have been made to increase healthcare price transparency through online cost estimator tools and a state law that requires providers to give out price information. Yet despite the eagerness of consumers to access prices and out-of-pocket costs, many are unaware that such information is available and don’t know how to access it, according to survey results published by Pioneer Institute.

Clearing Boston’s Throat: What the I-90 Allston Project Portends for Metro West Commuters

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October 20, 2020

Join hosts Joe Selvaggi and Pioneer Institute’s Mary Connaughton, and guest, former Mass. Secretary of Transportation Jim Aloisi, as they discuss the I90 Allston Multimodal Project, its long-term benefits, and their concerns for the metro west commuters and communities during the project’s decade-long construction.

In light of COVID-19, Massachusetts should rethink its convention center bureaucracy

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October 15, 2020

Right before commercial real estate values in the U.S. started…

COVID-19 Transparency – A Step Backwards

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September 17, 2020

Massachusetts has unfortunately taken the backwards step of ending its longstanding daily reporting of something basic and important: the virus’s cumulative impact on various age groups.

Study: Shift from Highest-Priced Healthcare Providers Would Generate Tremendous Savings

August 10, 2020

Consumers in just one Massachusetts county could have saved nearly $22 million in a single year and $116.6 million adjusted for inflation over four years if they switched from using the most expensive providers for 16 shoppable healthcare services to those whose prices were closer to average, according to a new study published by Pioneer Institute.

HHS COVID Funding Tracker

August 3, 2020

As of July, the Feds have distributed $86.7 billion to medical providers, of which $2.3 billion came to Massachusetts. Pioneer’s new HHS COVID-19 Funding app shows who and how much, from the $1 sent to American Current Care of Massachusetts, to the $418,034,675 sent to the MA Department of Public Health. We also break down the distribution by city or town.

Open Letter: COVID-19 Study and Recommendations Task Force Established Pursuant to Massachusetts Bill H.4672

June 28, 2020

Pioneer hopes the members of this important task force will be appointed as soon as possible and that they will look into recommendations to address Covid-19 among the aged and in the state’s nursing homes. Read our Open Letter.

New Pioneer Institute Hotline Allows Public to Report Violations of Open Meeting Law

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June 16, 2020

With most public meetings taking place remotely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pioneer Institute has unveiled an online hotline that allows members of the public to report potential violations of the Commonwealth’s and other states' Open Meeting Law.

Pioneer Institute Looks Ahead to the Protection of Civil Liberties

June 3, 2020

Challenges to Americans’ civil liberties have increased in recent years. History teaches us that during national emergencies governments are even more likely to overstep and violate constitutionally guaranteed freedoms. To address this concern, Pioneer Institute has created “Respect My Rights,” a web-based hotline to which citizens can submit complaints and descriptions of violations they have experienced.

National Study Finds Most States Lack Healthcare Price Transparency Laws

May 7, 2020

At a time when the coronavirus pandemic has caused massive shifts in state policies on telehealth and scope of practice in healthcare, a new Pioneer Institute study underscores that most of the 50 states continue to suffer from weak laws regarding price transparency. The study identified states that have laws that require carriers, providers or both to provide personalized cost information to consumers before obtaining healthcare services. Fully 33 states placed in the lowest of the three broad analytic tiers on the strength of their state healthcare transparency laws.

Financial Disclosures – As Important Now as Ever

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March 25, 2020

News sources report that certain senators sold stocks just before the market crashed when the economic impact of Coronavirus came to light. Now more than ever, financial disclosures must be accessible to the media and to the public.

Sunshine Week 2020 – When Government Transparency Is More Important Than Ever

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March 20, 2020

COVID-19 has overshadowed what was supposed to be Sunshine Week, but vigilance on behalf of open government is even more crucial during times like these, when the public has limited access. But government transparency is important at all times. Each year during Sunshine Week, Pioneer reviews some of its recent work to increase public accountability in Massachusetts government.

New Video Highlights Need for Greater Access to Public Officials’ Financial Ties

March 11, 2020

With as new animated video, Pioneer Institute aims to inform the public about barriers to accessing Massachusetts elected officials’ financial information.

In the past few years, the tobacco industry has thrived in Massachusetts. Here’s why.

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February 11, 2020

Despite recent good news about declines in alcohol, traditional…

Pioneer Institute’s Government Transparency Resolutions 2020

January 30, 2020

As we do each January, Pioneer shares the resolutions it hopes state leaders will adopt to bring government actions into better focus and invigorate our democracy with heightened public engagement.

Survey: MA Least Transparent State at Making State Official Financial Disclosures Public

December 18, 2019

New rankings from Pioneer Institute show that among the states that require financial disclosures of elected officials and other significant policy makers, Massachusetts is the least transparent.

Pioneer Institute Announces New Economics Data Tool: MassEconomix

December 12, 2019

A new addition to Pioneer Institute’s Mass Watch data tool suite, MassEconomix, provides time-series data on job and business growth for all of Massachusetts. Pioneer has partnered with the Business Dynamics Research Consortium (BDRC), which is housed at the University of Wisconsin’s Institute for Business and Entrepreneurship, to acquire an employment database known as “Your-economy Time Series”, or YTS. This database provides a year-by-year look at companies and jobs that have existed in the Commonwealth since 1997.

Study Finds Revived Merit Rating Board Taking Steps to Carry Out Statutorily Mandated Duties

October 10, 2019

The Merit Rating Board’s recent adoption of a regular meeting schedule, and related resolutions, are important steps in light of that Board’s 1976 governing statute.