Lawmakers Hear Request to Remove Four‑term Limit on Governor’s Council Travel Reimbursement

Representative Tricia Farley Bouvier and Governor’s Councilor Tara Jacobs told the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight that a provision in state law limits travel reimbursements for members of the governor’s council after four terms and creates a geographic inequity for councilors who travel long distances to Boston. "We have discovered something that is a little bit inexplicable in our statute," Representative Tricia Farley Bouvier said, reading from the statute. "Under M.G.L. chapter 6, section 4, a member of the governor's council is reimbursed for travel, meals, lodging, all of that, but only for the first 4 terms." Tara Jacobs, who identified herself as governor's councilor for District 8 and said she lives in North Adams, told the committee that the restriction has practical impact for councilors from Western Massachusetts. "My weekly bridal to the State House to attend the assemblies of Governor's Council is 140 mile, I'm a trip each way," Jacobs said. "It's 3 hours each way for me to commute, into the State House." The witnesses asked the committee to correct the statutory language so that travel reimbursement is not limited after four terms. Jacobs and Bouvier characterized the current language as producing "geographic inequity" and said it differs from other elected offices in the Commonwealth. Discussion only: committee members acknowledged the testimony and invited the sponsors to submit language. No committee vote or formal directive on the bill was recorded during the session. Why it matters: a statutory cap on travel reimbursement may affect who can afford to serve on the governor's council and can impose greater burdens on members who represent large, rural districts located far from Boston. The committee accepted testimony and indicated the usual procedural steps for bills will follow; no final action was taken at the hearing.