Thanks to an Independent Spirit on Beacon Hill, Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance will celebrate the Fourth of July all month long!

After weeks of waffling, Republicans and Democrats came together to pave the way for substantive reform at the MBTA. As part of the state budget, the legislature suspended the arcane and burdensome Pacheco Law for three years.

The Pacheco Law is a darling of union bosses, as it makes contracting out any function performed by a state employee nearly impossible. Without it, Governor Baker and his team can evaluate and assess the work done at the T to determine how and who can most efficiently deliver services.

You can now check out our radio ad campaign in support of Gov. Charlie Baker's bi-partisan plan to reform the MBTA airing this week on The Howie Carr Show, the Dan Rea Show on WBZ, the Jon Keller Update on WBZ, the Jim Polito Show on WTAG, and the Jordan Levy Show on WTAG. The ad touches on the continued need for MBTA reforms and calls on listeners to call their state senators in support of the Governor's plan.

Watered-down reforms won’t fix the MBTA

The Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, a non-profit, non-partisan organization that advocates for fiscal responsibility and good government solutions on Beacon Hill, expressed disappointment today that the legislature’s Joint Committee on Transportation has reported a draft bill that fails to address many of the most significant proposals for MBTA reform.

“While Governor Baker has offered a bold plan of real reform for the MBTA, the path that the Legislature has chosen to take will only lead to more winters of misery for commuters and lost economic opportunities for the Commonwealth,” said Paul Craney, Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance’s executive director.

Published reports indicate that the bill, the text of which was not posted as of noon on Tuesday, did not include numerous key provisions of Governor Baker’s reform efforts, such as provisions that would allow the MBTA to contract out for more efficient services, bring contract negotiations more into line with standard methods elsewhere in government, and create a fiscal control board reporting directly to the governor.

“Lawmakers would be ill-advised to expect T riders and taxpayers to be satisfied with half-measures. With a new governor at the helm, voters expect the legislature to support the Baker Administration’s vision for how to improve our state. Instead, legislators are hanging on to decades-old ideas like the Pacheco Law, and buckling to union threats against the MBTA’s federal funding. Indeed, they’ve come across closer to a sideshow of carnival barkers than to real leadership – and that may be too harsh towards carnival barkers,” Craney concluded.