An Amendment to the General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Proposed Aug 20, 2003 by Thomas Workman, 41 Harrison St, Taunton, MA 02780,
in his capacity as a private citizen of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

As Amended by Marc Butler, 19 Overlook Rd., Arlington, MA 02474-1462,
in his capacity as a private citizen of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

The payment for services provided to the Commonwealth by private attorneys currently imposes significant penalty for late submission of bills, and provides no interest when the Commonwealth does not meet its obligation to pay within thirty days of billing. The penalty assessment bears no rational relationship to costs incurred by the Commonwealth, and penalizes an attorney who zealously advocates for the client, only to learn retrospectively that representation concluded more than thirty days prior. The failure to pay interest creates a hardship for attorneys who work for the Commonwealth and expect to be paid in a timely fashion, as required by this statue, but which all too often has not occurred.

The proposed amendment to MGL Chapter 211D section 12

First, MGL 211D sec 12 shall be amended by adding after the third sentence the following sentence: “All payments made after the thirty day date shall be payable with interest, said interest computed from thirty days after receipt by the chief counsel to the date paid, at an interest rate set by Chapter 29 section 29C.” This portion of section 12 would now read:

All invoices shall be processed for payment within thirty days of receipt by the chief counsel. All payments made after the thirty day date shall be payable with interest, said interest computed from thirty days after receipt by the chief counsel to the date paid, at an interest rate set by Chapter 29 section 29C. Bills shall be submitted to the committee within thirty days ...

Second, MGL 211D sec 12 shall be amended by amending the fifth and sixth sentences and striking the words “shall be reduced by 10 percent. Bills submitted after such date”, and by adding before the period at the end of the sixth sentence the phrase “, and no interest shall be paid for any payment made after thirty days”, so that these two sentences become one sentence and read:

The amount of payment for invoices received by the chief counsel more than thirty days after the final disposition of the case or more than thirty days after the end of the fiscal year shall be reduced by 10 percent. Bills submitted after such date need not be processed for payment within thirty days, and no interest shall be paid for any payment made after thirty days.