Minority Leader reflects on budget process with SHNS

House Minority Leader Brad Jones spent a few minutes on the phone with State House News Service today, reflecting on last week's budget process. Here's what came of that conversation.

JONES CALLS BUDGET PROCESS ‘OUTRAGEOUS’ AND ‘TOTAL FAILURE’

House Minority Leader Bradley Jones said Tuesday he declined to offer the traditional closing remarks during last week’s budget deliberations in part because his speech would have focused largely on how leadership under Speaker Robert DeLeo had handled the five-day debate – a process he called “outrageous.” Referring to leadership’s stutter-step efforts to prevent a direct vote on Rep. James Miceli’s budget amendment reinstating the death penalty, which ultimately failed, Jones said, “They couldn’t even screw him correctly. They had to make the rules up as they went along.” Jones called the budget process, which was marked by heavy consolidation of amendments and efforts to block direct votes by proposing further amendments, “an utter and total failure.” Jones said, “The arrogance of the total one-party control is mind-boggling.” Critics were peeved in particular on Friday by the apparent use of a further amendment to a further amendment - a no-no under House rules - as part of the effort to derail the death penalty amendment.