SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1782        FILED ON: 1/19/2023

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2054

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Marc R. Pacheco

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act to promote budget transparency and the public’s right to know.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1782        FILED ON: 1/19/2023

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2054

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

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An Act to promote budget transparency and the public’s right to know.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

Section 1. Chapter 10 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following new section:-

Section 79. The treasurer, in coordination with the secretary of the commonwealth, shall provide a short summary each year to be published on the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s website by March 15, which reports the total amount of income tax paid by Massachusetts residents to the federal government in the prior year, together with the percent of those dollars appropriated in the prior year’s Congressional discretionary budget to housing, education, healthcare, public transit, biomedical research, veterans services, food stamps and assistance, environmental protection, and defense spending, including nuclear weapons. The summary shall include this information in the form of a pie chart or bar graph, and using the budget numbers reported by the federal Congressional Budget Office. The summary shall also include information noting that Medicare and Social Security programs are financed as trust funds and are not financed through income taxes.

The summary shall also include a report on the Commonwealth’s annual budget for the prior fiscal year. The report shall communicate the percent of the budget allocated to housing, education, healthcare, public transit, criminal justice, veterans services, food stamps and assistance, environmental protection, and conservation and recreation. The report shall also include the contribution of federal funds being returned to Massachusetts in those categories. The report shall include this information in the form of a pie chart or bar graph.

The information required under this section may be acquired from any nonpartisan, third-party organization that regularly compiles such data; provided further, there may be an agreement with such an organization to produce the report.