CAUGHT “COMPLETELY BY SURPRISE” by a massive funding request, Senate Democrats want to create a new oversight panel empowered with setting enforceable guardrails around how elected sheriffs manage their budgets.
A bill expected to come up for a Senate vote Thursday will call for creation of a panel that would implement cost controls on sheriffs’ offices, likely intensifying a political fight over the independence of the county law enforcement officers elected directly by voters.
The Senate measure would go beyond the House-approved probe into why sheriffs’ budget requests have ballooned. At a time when the incarcerated population in county facilities is dropping — and budget-writers are struggling to navigate federal funding cuts and holes in tax revenue — one top Democrat said the request from sheriffs left “eyebrows raised” under the Golden Dome.
“We certainly want to take a time out here,” Senate Ways and Means Committee Chair Michael Rodrigues told CommonWealth Beacon. “We need to stabilize, investigate, and control the sheriffs’ spending in the future. This is an unsustainable path that the sheriffs are on.”
Rodrigues said the Senate’s version of a so-called closeout budget — a spending bill needed to wrap up the state’s accounting for the fiscal year that ended June 30 — would create a “sheriff fiscal oversight council,” led by the administration’s public safety and budget secretaries. The governor would appoint three other members with experience in correctional facility operations and public finance.
Sheriffs’ offices would be required to submit monthly reports to the panel, which Rodrigues said would “ensure that they’re fiscally and operationally accountable, [and] that the sheriffs are spending money maintaining activities that are actually specifically required by state law, case law, or court orders.”
The panel would wield significant power. It would have access to “all records, documents, accounts, correspondence and any other data and material” it deems necessary from sheriffs’ offices. If those offices fail to meet financial targets recommended by the new organization, the council could appoint a receiver or even order the state comptroller not to certify new payments toward sheriffs.
The Senate bill would dissolve the panel on January 1, 2028, but its members could vote to extend their work beyond that date.
House and Senate budget-writers already agreed to withhold most of the money Gov. Maura Healey proposed to replenish sheriffs’ offices after spending overruns last cycle, supporting a much smaller $26.5 million sum to cover treatment services and free communication between incarcerated individuals and their loved ones.
Legislative leaders in both chambers also want the inspector general to examine budgeting practices in sheriffs’ offices and report back next year.
But Senate leaders want to do even more, and it’s not clear if House Democrats will get on board. Rodrigues said the IG investigation would be backward-looking, while the proposed new panel would instead keep finances under control moving forward.
Protracted House-Senate negotiations could delay passage of everything else in the more than $2 billion spending bill, including hundreds of millions of dollars for MassHealth and a policy rider decoupling Massachusetts vaccine authority from the recommendations of a Centers for Disease Control panel.
It’s common for state agencies and offices to spend more than they received through the annual state budget, then to request additional money at the end of the fiscal year.
But, Beacon Hill insiders say lawmakers for years have had questions about the way sheriffs approach their year-end shortfalls. The sudden jump in scale this time around, combined with the heightened scrutiny on sheriffs amid a series of political controversies, seems to have pushed House and Senate Democrats to take a harsher stance.
A year ago, the fiscal year 2024 closeout budget provided sheriffs with an additional $46 million. Rodrigues said that was a “record” amount at the time.
Healey’s fiscal 2025 closeout proposal sought nearly $163 million for sheriffs — more than three times as much as last year and roughly 22 percent of the amount they received through the annual budget.
“No other state agency or department overspends their budget by 22 percent,” Rodrigues said.
Sheriffs said they faced major cost growth due to salary increases, substance use disorder care, and the “no-cost calls.” The Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association said it projects the free communication program cost all sheriffs a combined $12.4 million in fiscal year 2025.
“For years, the Sheriffs have invested in evidence-based programs that make Massachusetts a national leader in corrections and rehabilitation — especially when it comes to saving lives and improving health outcomes,” a spokesperson for the association said last week. “These are proven, responsible investments in public safety and community well-being. We welcome any review that strengthens public confidence and supports our continued focus on operating safe, efficient facilities that help people rebuild their lives.”
Legislative leaders did not learn of the apparent massive financial need for sheriffs’ offices until Healey filed her spending bill in August, according to Rodrigues.
“We’re not satisfied with the level of communication [from sheriffs],” he said. “This caught us completely by surprise.”
Healey, who moved to fulfill sheriffs’ full request for nearly $163 million, has not weighed in on whether she also has skepticism about the need or supports the Legislature’s push for additional scrutiny. A spokesperson for the governor last week said only that she would review any bill sent to her.
The Legislature’s approach could become a talking point on the campaign trail. Two Republican challengers for governor, Mike Kennealy and Brian Shortsleeve, last week criticized the House bill for withholding funds and seeking an IG probe.
Massachusetts sheriffs are primarily responsible for managing county correctional facilities. Similar to a trend within state prisons, the number of people incarcerated in county jails has been declining. In March, sheriffs reported they had a combined 7,048 in custody, less than half of the available capacity.
Rising spending and falling incarceration is not a new development. Between fiscal years 2011 and 2016, the average daily population overseen by sheriffs dropped 16 percent, while the number of total sheriffs’ employees grew 5 percent, according to a MassINC report published in 2017. (MassINC is the publisher of CommonWealth Beacon.)
