Commonwealth Report Legislators Method

Senate · Democrat

Brian A. Joyce

Former member, served 2015–2016 in the sessions covered here · Norfolk, Bristol and Plymouth

Data through FY2026; built October 19, 2026.

Residence

Milton

First elected

House 1996; Senate 1998 (special)

Prior public offices

Milton Town Meeting Member; Board of Park Commissioners

Occupation

Attorney

Left office

did not seek reelection in 2016 (not a candidate in the 2016 primary or general election for this seat); term ended January 4, 2017

Seats held, General Courts 189–194 (the FY2017–FY2026 budgets)
SessionChamberDistrictLinesNote
189th (2015–16)SenateNorfolk, Bristol and Plymouth2011 lines

Posts and stipends

No stipend payments to Brian A. Joyce are recorded for 2016–2026.

Posts and stipends by session (stipends by calendar year)
SessionPostsFirst yearSecond year
189th (2015–16)Assistant Majority Leadernot availablenot available

Posts: the Legislature’s leadership and roster records as compiled for this project; where those name no post, the member’s committee chair, vice-chair and ranking roles from the Legislature’s member profiles. Stipends: additional compensation in the Comptroller’s payroll data (CTHRU dataset 9ttk-7vz6), 2016–2026; 2026 is the year to date. Stipends for 2015 are not available. Base salary is not included.

The district

Norfolk, Bristol and Plymouth on its 2011 lines: 10 cities and towns, 170,585 residents (2020).

Randolph · Stoughton · Milton · Canton · Easton · Braintree · West Bridgewater · Sharon · Avon · East Bridgewater

Percentages are each place’s share of the district’s 2020 residents; for a town split between districts, the share of the town inside this one follows.

Population-weighted Fairness Index of the district’s cities and towns: 38 for all state aid and 35 for discretionary money (50 is a fair share).

Local earmarks are counted three ways. District money uses the first, clauses that name a place in the district; the second table adds organizations located in the district (placed in the district) and state facilities located there (everything placed). Three ways to count a local earmark.

District money, first measure: enacted earmarks in clauses naming a place in the district, by session (district money, not the member’s)
SessionDistrictDollarsIn corrective clausesPer resident per budget, rankWithout corrective clauses, rank
189th (2015–16)Norfolk, Bristol and Plymouth$646,000$0$3.79 · 14th of 40$3.79 · 14th of 40

District money is where enacted earmarks land, by the place a clause names, mapped to districts by 2020 population; it is not attributed to the member and does not include leadership’s base-text money that names no place. Ranks are of district money per resident among the chamber’s districts, 1 = most. “In corrective clauses” is the part carried by a Ways and Means chair’s corrective amendments, which is leadership’s money; the last column gives the per-resident figure and rank without it. Sessions are labeled by the General Court that enacted each budget. Per-resident figures use the district as drawn for each session (2011 lines through the 192nd General Court, 2021 lines from the 193rd), so they will not equal a session’s dollars divided by the resident count above.

The same district on the other two measures, by session (enacted; includes any corrective-clause money)
SessionDistrictPlaced in the districtPer resident per budget, rankEverything placedPer resident per budget, rank
189th (2015–16)Norfolk, Bristol and Plymouth$1.1M$6.72 · 8th of 40$1.3M$7.60 · 8th of 40

Budget amendments

Brian A. Joyce sponsored 54 budget amendments in FY2017–FY2026, asking for $32.7 million in all.

Amendments sponsored

54

FY2017–FY2026 budgets

Adopted, known outcomes

24%

13 of 54

Chamber rate, same ask sizes

35%

expected at the chamber’s rates

Of the 54 with a known outcome, 13 were adopted (24%). At the chamber’s adoption rate for amendments of the same size, about 19 (35%) would have been.

Largest enacted items matched to an amendment Brian A. Joyce filed (strong text matches)
YearAmountEnacted budget text (excerpt)Amendment
FY2017$250,000 (shared two ways)“the Blue Hills Trailside Museum”S4 #951
FY2017$250,000“the establishment of the Chief Justice Roderick L. Ireland park on Truman parkway which shall be situated on or near the Neponset river in the town…”S4 #949
FY2017$50,000“a supplemental science program for the Randolph public schools”S4 #212
FY2017$20,000“the town of Milton to be expended on funding playground repairs and upgrades at Shields Park located in the town of Milton”S4 #950
FY2017$3,000 (shared two ways)“the Oakes Ames Memorial Hall restoration and preservation project in the town of Easton”S4 #828

Strong matches: 5 enacted items, $573,000 (the member’s share where several amendments claim one clause).

For 7 amendments the sponsor is the first mover named in the amendment text, because the Legislature’s record listed none. Ask size is the larger of the earmark dollars and the line-item change an amendment requests; bands: no dollar amount, under $50,000, $50,000–$250,000, $250,000–$1 million, $1–5 million, $5 million or more. Leadership’s unattributed base-text and corrective-amendment money is never assigned to a member. The comparison describes outcomes; it is not a measure of merit.

Bills sponsored

Brian A. Joyce filed 75 bills as lead sponsor in these sessions; seven were enacted on their own. In completed sessions, 9% of their lead bills were enacted on their own, against a chamber median of 4% for the same sessions.

Most bills die in every legislature, and many policies pass inside other bills; the chamber median for the same session is the fair comparison.

Bills filed as lead sponsor, by session and outcome
SessionChamberLead billsEnactedFolded into an enacted billSent to studyReported favorably, then diedReported adversely or withdrawnNo actionEnacted rateChamber medianCosponsored
189th (2015–16)Senate75744751119%4%177

Enacted bills as lead sponsor

Outcomes are the furthest point each bill reached in the record. “Folded into an enacted bill” means the history names the enacted bill that absorbed it. “Passed both branches; no chapter recorded” means the bill was enacted by both branches and laid before the Governor, with no chapter or veto in the history; in the 194th General Court such bills are shown as laid before the Governor (pending). The 194th General Court is in session until January 2027, so its open bills are pending, not dead, and its rates (*) are not comparable with completed sessions. Chairs and leaders control the calendar, which raises their rates. Source: malegislature.gov bill histories.

Recorded votes on accountability measures

No recorded votes for Brian A. Joyce on the accountability measures in this file.

The file covers selected roll calls on the Legislature’s own rules, audits, public records, term limits and pay, 2017–2026.

Campaign money in

Brian A. Joyce’s committee reported $121,000 in contributions of $250 or more in years the member served, 2015–2016.

By year (years in the Legislature)
YearContributions
2015$116,000
2016$5,209
By kind of contributor
KindTotalShare
Individuals$105,00087%
Political committees and PACs$15,00013%
Individuals’ money by the employer they reported
Employer reportedShare
A named employer57%
Self-employed21%
Retired5%
Not employed3%
Homemaker or at home7%
Not reported or withheld8%

Not counted as contributions: $53,000 in other receipts of $250 or more in the same years (candidate loans and the candidate’s own money, transfers, refunds, bank interest and aggregated small receipts).

The same committee also reported $4,888 in years the member was not in the Legislature (2017), for example while running for another office. Those receipts are not in the totals above.

Largest employers and organizations
Employer or organizationKindTotalContributions
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTSindividuals, by employer$15,0005
VOLUNTEER REPAYMENTcommittee or PAC$4,4801
EQUITY INDUSTRIAL PARTNERSindividuals, by employer$4,0005
NEI GENERAL CONTRACTINGindividuals, by employer$4,0004
SUPERIOR PLUMBINGindividuals, by employer$3,0003
PEABODY PROPERTIESindividuals, by employer$2,0002
JP FUJI GROUPindividuals, by employer$1,9503
ACCELAREindividuals, by employer$1,0002
BRENCO CONSTRUCTIONindividuals, by employer$1,0001
CHARLES RIVER VENTURESindividuals, by employer$1,0001

Source: Office of Campaign and Political Finance, itemized receipts of $250 or more since 2015; OCPF filer record: Joyce Committee (CPF 12991). Individuals are grouped by the employer they reported; no individual contributor is named, and an employer field that is a person’s name is withheld. Massachusetts bars business contributions to candidates. Employer shows affiliation, not instruction.

Sources

Every figure traces to a public record.

Facts only: posts, stipends, sponsored amendments, enacted items, roll-call votes and district money. No score or grade is computed. Associations shown here are not evidence of cause. Method.