Representative Don Humason



ANOTHER SWEARING IN DAY By State Representative Don Humason, Jr. January 10, 2009 The House and Senate met informally almost right up to the statutory session deadline of midnight on Tuesday, January 6. A flurry of mostly non-controversial bills passed back and forth between the branches and ended up on the Governor’s desk as the old session came to an end. The new session, the 186th Session of the Great and General Court, began on Wednesday, January 7 at 11:30 AM with Governor Patrick swearing in members of the House of Representatives and the state Senate in their respective chambers in the Massachusetts State House high atop Beacon Hill overlooking Boston. I can’t believe it’s already the start of my 4th term, my seventh year, representing the city of Westfield in the Massachusetts House. How well and fondly I remember the day of my first swearing in on Wednesday, January 1, 2003. Obviously your first time is the most memorable and most exciting. The pomp and circumstance, the crowds of family, friends, and supporters, the speeches, the first vote for Speaker, and taking the oath of office administered by the Governor. It’s a very auspicious and proud day. I won’t say it becomes less magical as time goes by. I am still humbled and awed by the history and historical perspective of the day. I still take the oath to uphold the Massachusetts and United States Constitutions very seriously. It’s just that as I grow older and hopefully wiser and more experienced in the Legislature I have less patience for the hollow puff of pomp and circumstance. I grow impatient waiting for us to address the real problems facing the state. And I’ve previously confessed my frustration with being a member of a very small minority party in the State House. As I’ve already written, the 2009-2010 session will be one of the most challenging for legislators and government officials in many years, and will be a true test of leadership and creative thinking. It will also be quite telling. Will government follow the same, uninspired, easy course and raise countless taxes and fees, further burdening state taxpayers and stifling initiative and growth? Or will government make the hard decisions required by the realities of this hard economy and cut taxes, pork, and wasteful spending, and use this rare opportunity to streamline the bureaucracy and focus on true priorities? Senate President Therese Murray in her comments Wednesday called for “reform before revenue” saying Baystate residents are struggling and can’t be expected to give the state more money unless the state can justify it. We’ll see. But forgive me if I’m not optimistic. For too long Beacon Hill has been dominated by one party and that one party leadership excels at expanding the size and scope of government often at the expense of the governed. You might think I’m being partisan. I’m not. I’m being practical, pragmatic, and truthful. The big issues are out there. Legislators need only look at our mail. The headline of the Small Business Service Bureau bulletin I received in my State House mailbox put it clearly and succinctly: “Jobs jump start economy, not taxes.” Another piece of mail I receive, the Massachusetts Medical Society newsletter Vital Signs headline warns, “MMS study puts $1.4 billion price tag on defensive medicine in Massachusetts.” Taxes, the state economy, health care costs. Just a few of the big issues we should tackle this session once the swearing in day is done. Will we? You and I will have to wait and see. * * * Representative Humason and his Legislative Aide Jonelle Gingrich may be reached at his State House office, Room 542. Boston, MA 02133. (617) 722-2803. Representative Humason and his Chief of Staff Sarah Latour may be reached at his Westfield district office, 64 Noble Street, Westfield, MA 01085. (413) 568-1366. Representative Don Humason’s website is www.DonHumason.org
This Site Designed and Maintained by: The Barre Group

ANOTHER SWEARING IN DAY

By State Representative Don Humason, Jr.

January 10, 2009

The House and Senate met informally almost right up to the statutory session deadline of midnight on Tuesday, January 6. A flurry of mostly non-controversial bills passed back and forth between the branches and ended up on the Governor’s desk as the old session came to an end.

The new session, the 186th Session of the Great and General Court, began on Wednesday, January 7 at 11:30 AM with Governor Patrick swearing in members of the House of Representatives and the state Senate in their respective chambers in the Massachusetts State House high atop Beacon Hill overlooking Boston.

I can’t believe it’s already the start of my 4th term, my seventh year, representing the city of Westfield in the Massachusetts House. How well and fondly I remember the day of my first swearing in on Wednesday, January 1, 2003.

Obviously your first time is the most memorable and most exciting. The pomp and circumstance, the crowds of family, friends, and supporters, the speeches, the first vote for Speaker, and taking the oath of office administered by the Governor. It’s a very auspicious and proud day.

I won’t say it becomes less magical as time goes by. I am still humbled and awed by the history and historical perspective of the day. I still take the oath to uphold the Massachusetts and United States Constitutions very seriously.

It’s just that as I grow older and hopefully wiser and more experienced in the Legislature I have less patience for the hollow puff of pomp and circumstance. I grow impatient waiting for us to address the real problems facing the state. And I’ve previously confessed my frustration with being a member of a very small minority party in the State House.

As I’ve already written, the 2009-2010 session will be one of the most challenging for legislators and government officials in many years, and will be a true test of leadership and creative thinking. It will also be quite telling.

Will government follow the same, uninspired, easy course and raise countless taxes and fees, further burdening state taxpayers and stifling initiative and growth? Or will government make the hard decisions required by the realities of this hard economy and cut taxes, pork, and wasteful spending, and use this rare opportunity to streamline the bureaucracy and focus on true priorities?

Senate President Therese Murray in her comments Wednesday called for “reform before revenue” saying Baystate residents are struggling and can’t be expected to give the state more money unless the state can justify it.

We’ll see. But forgive me if I’m not optimistic. For too long Beacon Hill has been dominated by one party and that one party leadership excels at expanding the size and scope of government often at the expense of the governed. You might think I’m being partisan. I’m not. I’m being practical, pragmatic, and truthful.

The big issues are out there. Legislators need only look at our mail. The headline of the Small Business Service Bureau bulletin I received in my State House mailbox put it clearly and succinctly: “Jobs jump start economy, not taxes.” Another piece of mail I receive, the Massachusetts Medical Society newsletter Vital Signs headline warns, “MMS study puts $1.4 billion price tag on defensive medicine in Massachusetts.”

Taxes, the state economy, health care costs. Just a few of the big issues we should tackle this session once the swearing in day is done. Will we? You and I will have to wait and see.

* * *

Representative Humason and his Legislative Aide Jonelle Gingrich may be reached at his State House office, Room 542. Boston, MA 02133. (617) 722-2803.
Representative Humason and his Chief of Staff Sarah Latour may be reached at his Westfield district office, 64 Noble Street, Westfield, MA 01085. (413) 568-1366.
Representative Don Humason’s website is www.DonHumason.org

This Site Designed and Maintained by: The Barre Group