Legislature where money talks

The scramble for leadership posts on Beacon Hill is underway.

As in Congress, the committee assignments are plum positions, but they also come with risks. If the pay is so enticing, loyalty to the Senate president or House Speaker who name these chairs will carry too much acquiescence.

Taxpayers need dissenters to spark change, but money talks and it’s all going down this month.

The stipends range from around $7,000 to nearly $90,000, as adjusted for the start of the new term, according to data from the treasurer’s office. These bonuses are divided into eight classes, State House News Service reports:

$109,163

House Speaker and Senate president (Up from $90,893.48 last session)

$88,694

Chairs of the House and Senate Ways & Means Committees (Up from $73,850.95)

$81,872

Majority leaders and minority leaders (Up from $68,170.11)

$68,226

Senate president pro tempore and House speaker pro tempore (Up from $56,808.42)

$47,758

Assistant, second assistant, and third assistant leaders from the House and Senate Democratic and Republican caucuses (Up from $39,765.90)

$40,936

The four House division chairs; chairs of the committees on Rules, Bonding, Post Audit, Third Reading, Steering, State Administration, Health Care Financing, Financial Services, Revenue, Economic Development, Judiciary, Education, Telecommunications, and Transportation; vice chairs of the Ways and Means Committee; and ranking Republican members of Ways and Means (Up from $34,085.05)

$20,468

All other committee chairs; the House vice chairs of Rules, Post Audit, Financial Services, Health Care Financing, Bonding, State Administration, Economic Development, Revenue, Third Reading, Steering, Education, Telecommunications, Judiciary, and Transportation; assistant vice chairs of both Ways and Means committees; ranking House Republican members of Rules, Financial Services, Bonding, Judiciary, Economic Development, and Health Care Financing; ranking Senate Republican on Health Care Financing; and the assistant ranking Republican on House Ways and Means (Up from $17,042.53)

$7,095

Vice chairs of all other committees (Up from $5,908.08)

Who wouldn’t play nice with this gravy on the $73,654 in base pay?

Former Gov. Charlie Baker attempted to veto this one six years ago but that was overturned by the state Legislature.

Also, what does this mean for the few Republicans left in the State House? This is the byproduct of one-party dominance in Massachusetts. Bills between buddies won’t do taxpayers any favors. This isn’t anything new — the money is though.

We’re more than a month into a new year and we’re more worried than ever. The state has so much money it doesn’t know what to do with it, and now, thanks to the millionaire’s tax, it will get even more.

No wonder people are leaving for Florida, and the only new arrivals are the illegal immigrants being bused or flown up from Florida and Texas.