Word: lawfulness
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Finding the computers was easier than expected, thanks to a quirk in Massachusetts law that prevents companies from throwing away used computers in garbage dumpsters...
Last year, Massachusetts voters initiated and passed a "Clean Elections" law intended to reduce the influence of large campaign donors. Passed by 67 percent of the voters, the law would reward candidates who abided by voluntary spending limits with public financing. The public funds would encourage citizens to challenge more well-connected incumbents...
However, in the recently finalized state budget, House Speaker Thomas M. Finneran (D-Mattapan) and Senate President Thomas F. Birmingham '72 (D-Boston) inserted language that would have gutted this proposal, according to proponents of the law. The changes would have allowed incumbents to raise huge amounts of money while in office and still be able to qualify for public funds in the last six months before an election...
Pressed to explain their changes to the Clean Elections law, Birmingham and Finneran cited the need for some representatives to maintain district offices. They claimed that representatives would not have enough money to run for these offices if they agreed to limit fundraising under the new law. However, such a minor problem could surely have been dealt with in a more effective way. If this had indeed been the true issue at stake, the law could have been tweaked to allow an exception for constituent services. However, there has been widespread speculation that more powerful interests were at work...
Beyond any possible connection to the gubernatorial campaign, the proposed change in the law tremendously benefits all incumbents. These changes corrupt both the letter and the spirit of the original petition. The Clean Elections law was submitted in an attempt to curb the enormous power of incumbent representatives. Incumbents attract massive donations from many lobbyists and businesses, making the job of a challenger that much tougher. This legislation was intended to even the playing field. After Birmingham and Finneran got their hands on it, however, the system seemed to become more biased than ever...