Our Government Transparency Resolutions for 2017

Accountability provides a powerful incentive to improve performance. Accountability and transparency are indispensable ingredients for good government. We urge the MBTA to develop a real-time transparency tool that provides public access to daily on-time performance records of the commuter rail system – by individual line and individual scheduled trip – including fines charged for each commuter rail train that arrives at its terminus more than five minutes late. This would allow commuters to see whether their late train was reported as having been late. The tool should provide details by train number and date, including the balance of all fines not yet collected and the amount of fines forgiven.

Create the State Equivalent of the Congressional Budget Office

Establishing a Massachusetts office run by the Inspector General to independently assess bills with an expected budgetary impact in excess of $1 million would improve decision-making and accountability, and promote both efficiency and public trust.  This office would be required to publish each analysis, including the assumptions behind it, on its website on a timely basis.  To ensure independence, the Inspector General should be limited to a single six-year term without the possibility of reappointment.

The toll-paying public should know if their tolls are subsidizing other drivers who are using the Massachusetts Turnpike, the Tobin Bridge, and the Harbor tunnels without a transponder and not paying their bills under the Pay-by-Plate (PBP) system. MassDOT should create a real-time tool that shows toll billing captured through transponders, tolls to be billed through PBP, and tolls unbilled because of errors with the PBP. The tool should also show PBP toll collections, the amount not yet collected, and the amount of write-offs based on state of vehicle registration.

As has been the practice for decades, the state Legislature hires its own firm to perform a partial review of its books and records, giving the public a very limited view of its operations. An audit of the Legislature should be conducted by the State Auditor and the results made public.

The 2016 public records law states that requesters of public records are to be reimbursed for “reasonable” legal fees.  Current law does not provide for any such reimbursement, making this change a large a step forward.

The downside to this new provision, however, is that the presiding judge has discretion in awarding such fees.  While the law contains a presumption in favor of such awards, the judge can waive fees if the agency or municipality can establish that the Supervisor of Public Records previously found that it did not violate public records law, it relied on a prior court’s opinion or on an attorney general’s published opinion on “substantially similar facts,” the determination of which is subjective.

Additionally, a judge can waive fees if the agency can establish that the request was made to intimidate or was not “in the public interest” and was instead made for a commercial purpose.  Because of the subjectivity involved in evaluating whether to waive fees, a potential plaintiff may forego the court process altogether, even though he or she believes his or her case is strong.  An individual lacking deep pockets or an organization without in-house counsel would be unlikely to assume such a risk, making the deterrent for agency non-compliance less effective.

School Building Authority Portal

School districts should understand where they stand with respect to other districts in competition for limited funds to build or improve facilities. The School Building Authority (SBA) can make this easy by building a public transparency tool that tracks each grant request and reports the final scoring points earned on each proposal and the amount of money ultimately released to the district, if any.

When Massachusetts launched its new records platform last year, the state improved government spending transparency. The lower maintenance costs and the user-friendliness of the site made it a meaningful upgrade to the pre-existing Open Checkbook website. The site vastly improves the public’s ability to understand state spending by providing comprehensive details about the budget to anyone with an internet connection. Massachusetts is ranked highly nationwide in terms of spending transparency.

Here’s a way for us to lead the nation: give the public access to what vendors are charging us and exactly what we’re being charged for. Having PDFs of invoices and contracts included in the online database would provide clarity and reduce the need for public records requests.

One loophole, often abused because of its vagueness, is the “deliberative process” exemption, which prohibits citizens from gaining access to any records related to a policy while it is being developed.  Why are citizens not entitled to know what their elected and appointed officials are thinking as they formulate policy?  We believe they are – and that anything less provides only the illusion of transparency.  The new law did not eliminate this problematic exemption.

Require Disclosure of Per-Gallon State and Federal Gasoline Taxes on All Retail Gas Pumps in the State

Last week, the average price for a gallon of gasoline in Massachusetts was $2.35. Included in that price are taxes that go to the state and the federal government amounting to approximately $.45 or 19 percent of the total cost. Citizens are often unaware of how much gas tax they are paying. Requiring gas stations to post stickers disclosing federal and state taxes would improve transparency.

Contact Mary Connaughton, Pioneer’s Director of Government Transparency, with any questions: mary@pioneerinstitute.org.