Rep. Jeff Perry in His Own Words

Let your voice be heard - Do more than Blog!

Let your voice be heard

By Rep. Jeffrey Davis Perry

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government..."

As any casual student of history knows full well, the above words are directly from the United States Declaration of Independence as adopted on July 4, 1776, which declared that the thirteen colonies were now "Free and Independent States." Quite unmistakably, from reading the text of this founding document and further studying the writings of our Founding Fathers, we know it was their obvious and unequivocal intent that the power of government reside with the people and not with the government itself.

So, how do people retain this power today in the context of our media and special interest driven political climate? I believe it is a bit simpler than one might think.  Citizens still play an important role in our political process, but they must be engaged and speak out to their elected officials. Let your voice be heard. Below are a few suggestions which I hope will encourage you to speak out with your comments and concerns:

1) Call your elected official or make an appointment to personally see them during office hours.  Face to face contact is the best way to lobby.  Have information available, in writing, to give them about the legislation or issue concerning you.

2) Write your elected official.  Next to speaking to someone in person, personal letters are the most effective way of communicating.  Avoid form letters and pre-printed postcards whenever possible.  A hand written or typed letter in your own words shows that you cared about the topic enough to take your valuable time to put it on paper and send it.

3) With e-mail, it is also important you include your name, address, and phone number.  I receive hundreds of e-mails each week and there is no way of knowing if they come from an actual constituent.  If senders don't identify themselves or don't give their addresses, the value of the email is diminished.

4) Feel free to speak with a Legislator's Legislative Aide.  These staff people are skilled, knowledgeable professionals who will treat your call respectfully and confidentially.  Of course, you can and should request to speak with your elected official if that is your desire.

5) Invite your Legislator to meet with you or your group.  Invite them to tour your business or school or get to know your organization so that they have some knowledge and familiarity with you and your issue. I enjoyed such tours and visits very much and have found them to be extremely valuable when a related issues comes before the Legislature.

The political climate is dynamic and ever changing. Government is facing many difficult and important decisions in the near future. While I know many citizens feel some elected officials are not interested in their opinions, I ask each of you not to become cynical. Visit, call, write or e-mail your elected officials.

Your opinion is important to our political process and you should feel free to let it be heard. While we are all very busy, I encourage you to reach out and contact your elected officials. Your opinion does matter to most of us. As always, I welcome your comments about this column or anything happening in State government. You can reach me at 617-722-2800, ext 8743 or via e-mail at ElectJeffPerry@aol.com. 

Sincerely,

Jeff

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Perry's Statement on Passage of Pandemic Bill

House removes questionable provisions and add limitations on Governor

With the concerns regarding the different versions of the original Senate Bill 2028, Representative Jeffrey Davis Perry (R-Sandwich) released the following statement today:

"The Bill, as was originally written by the Senate, granted what I believe was improper new powers, including the entry into private property without a warrant and several other questionable conflicts with provisions of the Forth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.  

The version that passed the House of Representatives today addressed many of those concerns and others expressed by my constituents by striking the entry into private dwellings without a warrant, allowing for an appeal to the Superior Court of an isolation order and calling for the least restrictive means to be used.  These are all positive steps and I appreciate the fact that my concerns were heard and addressed in the Committee process.

The revised Bill also includes a Republican Amendment which now more clearly defines the circumstances when the Governor can declare such a pandemic emergency.  This is not the same Bill passed by the Senate.  I believe this Bill strikes the proper balance between providing government with the limited, but necessary tools to deal with a pandemic.   By removing many sections of the original Senate Bill and providing a due process mechanism to people who wish to challenge the actions of a government official, this Bill is now in an acceptable form.  If the Senate does not adopt the improvements and protections made by the House today, I will not support the Bill in the future."

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Perry pushes Tort Reform on Beacon Hill

With the topic of the universal healthcare debate in Washington, DC taking center stage, Representative Jeffrey Davis Perry (R-Sandwich) is speaking out and asking, "Where are the proposed real reforms to our health care system?  People are not unhappy with the quality of their health care; they are concerned about the growing cost of health care.  For example where is the debate about the biggest factors, tort liability and medical malpractice rates?"  

On Beacon Hill, Representative Perry is focusing on tort reform by cosponsoring House Bill 3629, An Act Relative to Establishing a Commission to Study Medical Malpractice Courts.  If approved, the commission would be authorized and directed to conduct an investigation into the feasibility of creating a specialized court for purposes of administering medical malpractice claims.  It would also consider the use of specialty courts within Massachusetts, efficiencies to be gained, expertise and training needed by jurors and jurists, use of information technology,  medical legal advisory panels, regional sites, court staffing needs and such other matters as the commission may deem relevant. 

"Tort reform represents one component of real reform within our current system of high quality health care.  The rates that doctors and hospitals have to pay in malpractice insurance and lawsuits are directly related to the overall rising costs of health care and if we are serious about reform, this should be first on our agendas on Capitol Hill and on Beacon Hill" said Representative Perry.  House Bill 3629 is currently before the Joint Committee of the Judiciary.

 Tort reform is not the sole answer to our health care costs.  For more information on Representative Perry's other efforts, please click the links below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmKgiIXTymQ

http://www.electjeffperry.com/editorials.html#aug_09

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HOUSE REPUBLICANS QUESTION CONSTITUTIONALITY

HOUSE REPUBLICANS  QUESTION CONSTITUTIONALITY

OF SENATE APPOINTEE LEGISLATION

This evening, four members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives' Republican Caucus hand delivered a letter to Governor Deval Patrick requesting that he seek an advisory opinion from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court before declaring legislation to fill Senator Edward M. Kennedy's seat with an interim appointment an "emergency".  Representatives Jeffrey Perry (R-Sandwich), Daniel Webster (R-Pembroke), Karyn Polito (R-Shrewsbury) and Lewis Evangelidis (R-Holden), who are also members of the Massachusetts Bar, were the signatories. 

The House members are concerned that today, the House of Representatives failed to reach the two-thirds majority required by the Massachusetts Constitution to enact an emergency preamble which would have allowed this law to take effect immediately.  These House members are concerned that the Legislature's decision not to enact an emergency preamble, prior to the Governor exercising his power to declare that this bill constitutes an emergency under article 48 of the Massachusetts constitution, may be unconstitutional. 

Given increased public dissent over alleged political shenanigans on Beacon Hill concerning the changing of laws retroactively, Representatives Webster, Polito, Perry and Evangelidis welcomed the opportunity to reflect on this potentially volatile issue before declaring the act an emergency and appointing an interim Unites States Senator.   

As written in the letter delivered to the Governor, the House Republican members stated, "We are concerned that the Legislature's decision not to enact an emergency preamble prior to you exercising emergency powers under Article 48 may be unconstitutional." 

"If the Governor wants to be sure his appointment is legitimate, I believe it is prudent to receive the requested advisory opinion from our Supreme Judicial Court prior to making any appointment" said Representative Perry.

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Another abuse of the process on Beacon Hill

On Thursday, September 17, 2009, House Republicans organized an energetic bipartisan effort to the stop changing of the law regarding who will be our next United States Senator, but disappointing the majority of Beacon Hill Democrats forced a change in the Senate Succession plan yet again, just as they did in 2004.

The final vote in the House was 95 in favor of changing the law and 58 against.  Forty-six Democrats joined the 16 Republican lawmakers in rejecting this blatant political power play.  In order to pass the measure, those in favor of the law legislatively created three different days.  Without such an abuse of the legislative process, the Bill would have required several days to pass.  "It would be illegal if they did not make a law to do so.  The majority of democrats used their political power to suspend the rules and create new days to complete their work in just one night.  This is a raw example of the abuse of the process of Beacon Hill" said Representative Perry.

Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr., posted the following comments on, http://www.thecapitolviewlive.com/:

"The display the vast majority of Democrats put on today on the House floor is a disgrace and further confirmation of their abuse of power that has become so prevalent in this state legislature.

John Adams, who crafted our state's constitution, is rolling over in his grave tonight because of the blatant hypocrisy and Machiavellian tactics being used by the Majority Party. Tonight, the ends justified the means. The Democrats made the decision to change a law retroactively at the expense of good government in order to benefit their party. It is a shame that the majority of Democratic lawmakers are more concerned with pleasing the special interest groups in Washington, than their own constituents here in Massachusetts."

During the debate, Representative Perry was successful at arguing to remove a provision included in the original language of the Bill to limit the Governor's appointment power to only members of the same political party.  Representative Perry who took to the House floor three times, was joined by Representatives Alice Peisch (D-Wellesley) and Daniel Webster (R-Pembroke) and convinced their colleagues that such a limiting provision was in violation of Article 1, Section 3 of the United States Constitution.

The Bill is now before the State Senate who is expected to take up the Bill next week.

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