Massachusetts Legislature Ranks Among Nation's Best for Productivity and Taxpayer Value

While Massachusetts lawmakers are highly compensated, this study validates that taxpayers are getting their money's worth.

MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES, May 28, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A new nationwide analysis shows the Massachusetts Legislature delivers impressive productivity and bang for the buck compared to other states. The study from PlayUSA evaluated legislative output, compensation costs, and cost-efficiency across all 50 states during the 2023 legislative session.

The results revealed that despite having one of the highest-compensated legislative bodies in the country, Massachusetts lawmakers made that investment of taxpayer dollars count. The state ranked 3rd overall for extracting the most productivity per dollar spent on legislative costs.

"The numbers tell a very positive story about the value Massachusetts residents are getting from their elected representatives on Beacon Hill," said Walter Yuhl for PlayUSA. "Few other states can match the Legislature's output at a cost-per-unit of productivity of just $4.18."

Key findings on Massachusetts from the analysis:
- Massachusetts legislators earned an average base salary plus per diems of $73,655 in 2023, the sixth highest in the nation.
- However, that compensation level translated into impressive legislative output, with Massachusetts introducing the third-highest number of bills (13,454) and ranking fifth for the most bills passed (2,862).
- Massachusetts's cost-efficiency rating of $4.18 per "unit of productivity" placed it behind only Texas ($3.58) and New Jersey ($3.68) as the best bargain for taxpayers.

By contrast, Alaska had by far the worst cost-efficiency at $287.50 per unit of output despite paying lawmakers over $50,000 per year on average. Higher legislator salaries did not necessarily equate to higher productivity, with several lower-paid states ranking ahead of Massachusetts in the overall cost-efficiency metric.

The full report, including rankings for all 50 states and details on the methodology, can be found on the PlayUSA blog: Legislative ROI: What States Are Giving Taxpayers Their Money’s Worth?

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About PlayUSA

PlayUSA provides reliable and trustworthy content and resources about the legal and regulated US gambling industry. Based in the United States, PlayUSA.com is part of the Catena Media portfolio of sites and is an independently owned and operated commercial organization. It is not directly affiliated with any one casino or gaming website.

Kimberly Yuhl
Catena Media
kimberly.yuhl@catenamedia.com