Senate · Republican
Richard J. Ross
Data through FY2026; built October 19, 2026.
Residence
Wrentham
First elected
House 2004; Senate 2010 (special)
Prior public offices
Wrentham Historical Commission (1974-2003), Wrentham Conservation Commission (1977-'78); Wrentham Refuse Disposal Commission (1977-'78), Wrentham Board of Health (1979-'80); Veteran's Agent (1981-'82), Burial Agent for the Board of Health (1981-2004) ;Mass. House (2005-2010)
Occupation
Business Owner/Funeral Director - R. J. Ross Funeral Home
Left office
defeated in the 2018 general election; term ended January 2, 2019
| Session | Chamber | District | Lines | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 189th (2015–16) | Senate | Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex | 2011 lines | |
| 190th (2017–18) | Senate | Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex | 2011 lines |
Posts and stipends
Richard J. Ross was paid $45,000 in leadership and committee stipends from 2016 to 2018.
| Session | Posts | First year | Second year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 189th (2015–16) | Assistant Minority Leader | not available | $15,000 |
| 190th (2017–18) | Assistant Minority Leader | $15,000 | $15,000 |
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 Middlesex on its 2011 lines: 12 cities and towns, 173,626 residents (2020).
North Attleborough · Franklin · Attleboro · Needham · Natick · Wayland · Wrentham · Norfolk · Wellesley · Plainville · Millis · Sherborn
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: 39 for all state aid and 30 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.
| Session | District | Dollars | In corrective clauses | Per resident per budget, rank | Without corrective clauses, rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 189th (2015–16) | Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex | $662,000 | $0 | $3.81 · 13th of 40 | $3.81 · 13th of 40 |
| 190th (2017–18) | Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex | $1.6M | $16,000 | $4.66 · 14th of 40 | $4.61 · 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.
| Session | District | Placed in the district | Per resident per budget, rank | Everything placed | Per resident per budget, rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 189th (2015–16) | Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex | $662,000 | $3.81 · 23rd of 40 | $662,000 | $3.81 · 24th of 40 |
| 190th (2017–18) | Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex | $1.6M | $4.66 · 21st of 40 | $1.6M | $4.66 · 24th of 40 |
Budget amendments
Richard J. Ross sponsored 115 budget amendments in FY2017–FY2026, asking for $36.1 million in all.
Amendments sponsored
115
FY2017–FY2026 budgets
Adopted, known outcomes
30%
34 of 115
Chamber rate, same ask sizes
49%
expected at the chamber’s rates
Of the 115 with a known outcome, 34 were adopted (30%). At the chamber’s adoption rate for amendments of the same size, about 56 (49%) would have been.
| Year | Amount | Enacted budget text (excerpt) | Amendment |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2019 | $200,000 | “improvements to the King street memorial park in the city known as the town of Franklin” | S4 #898 |
| FY2017 | $150,000 | “mitigation costs in the Millis public school district” | S4 #233 |
| FY2017 | $125,000 | “improvements to the H. Olive Day School in the town of Norfolk” | S4 #221 |
| FY2019 | $100,000 | “as mitigation amongst the cities and towns hosting a developmental center, referred to as a “state school” under chapter 19B of the General Laws” | S4 #433 |
| FY2018 | $100,000 | “repairs and replacement of the roof of the H. Olive Day elementary school in the town of Norfolk” | S3 #209 |
Strong matches: 18 enacted items, $1.2 million (the member’s share where several amendments claim one clause). A further one weaker text match is not listed; attribution is inferred from amendment text and is less certain there.
For 5 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
Richard J. Ross filed 141 bills as lead sponsor in these sessions; 12 were enacted on their own. In completed sessions, 9% of their lead bills were enacted on their own, against chamber medians of 3% to 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.
| Session | Chamber | Lead bills | Enacted | Folded into an enacted bill | Sent to study | Reported favorably, then died | Reported adversely or withdrawn | No action | Enacted rate | Chamber median | Cosponsored |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 189th (2015–16) | Senate | 58 | 7 | 1 | 28 | 6 | 3 | 13 | 12% | 4% | 269 |
| 190th (2017–18) | Senate | 83 | 5 | 0 | 61 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 6% | 3% | 415 |
Enacted bills as lead sponsor
- S10 (189th): An Act establishing a sick leave bank for James Goguen, an employee of the Department of Developmental Services · Chapter 6 of the Acts of 2015
- S18 (189th): An Act establishing a sick leave bank for James O’Brien, an employee of the Department of Developmental Services · Chapter 14 of the Acts of 2015
- S1961 (189th): An Act relative to the creation of a treasurer-collector in the town of Plainville · Chapter 125 of the Acts of 2015
- S1962 (189th): An Act establishing a town administrator in the town of Plainville · Chapter 127 of the Acts of 2015
- S2165 (189th): An Act designating a certain intersection in the town of Plainville as the Special Police Officer Michael O. Maher Memorial Intersection · Chapter 341 of the Acts of 2016
- S2484 (189th): An Act establishing a sick leave bank for Donna Paul, an employee of the Department of Correction · Chapter 302 of the Acts of 2016
- S2494 (189th): An Act establishing a sick leave bank for Aaron Paul, an employee of the Department of Correction · Chapter 315 of the Acts of 2016
- S1452 (190th): An Act exempting certain positions in the police department of the town of Millis from the civil service law · Chapter 33 of the Acts of 2017
- S2166 (190th): An Act establishing a sick leave bank for Donna Paul, an employee of the Department of Correction · Chapter 254 of the Acts of 2018
- S2212 (190th): An Act establishing a sick leave bank for Mary Faulkner, an employee of the Department of Correction · Chapter 397 of the Acts of 2018
- S23 (190th): An Act authorizing the town of Wrentham to grant 9 additional licenses for the sale of alcoholic beverages to be drunk on the premises · Chapter 85 of the Acts of 2017
- S2550 (190th): An Act establishing a sick leave bank for Pamela Lopez, an employee of the Department of Developmental Services · Chapter 262 of the Acts of 2018
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
Richard J. Ross cast eight yes-or-no votes on the eight accountability roll calls in this file (six yes, two no).
| Date | Measure | Vote | Chamber result |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 26, 2017 | Senate engrossment of the pay-raise bill | No | Yeas 31, nays 9 |
| February 2, 2017 | Amendment 2.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Matters considered in an informal session | Yes | Yeas 38, nays 0 |
| February 2, 2017 | Amendment 3.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Time to consider matters in an informal | Yes | Yeas 39, nays 0 |
| February 2, 2017 | Amendment 7.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Provided with text of bills prior to poll | Yes | Yeas 39, nays 0 |
| February 2, 2017 | Special orders by majority instead of two-thirds (contested meaning) | Yes | Yeas 6, nays 33 |
| February 2, 2017 | Amendment 11.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Unanimous consent | Yes | Yeas 6, nays 33 |
| February 2, 2017 | Amendment 13.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Timely Local Aid Notification | Yes | Yeas 7, nays 32 |
| February 2, 2017 | Senate override of the veto of the pay-raise bill | No | Yeas 31, nays 9 |
Votes marked “contested meaning” are rules-package and public-records passage votes; reform advocates were on both sides of them. Descriptions are the project’s plain summaries of each question, or the question as recorded for rules-package roll calls; the official record is on malegislature.gov. Votes are facts; no score is computed.
Campaign money in
Richard J. Ross’s committee reported $27,000 in contributions of $250 or more in years the member served, 2015–2018.
| Year | Contributions |
|---|---|
| 2015 | $4,150 |
| 2016 | $4,900 |
| 2017 | $3,000 |
| 2018 | $14,000 |
| Kind | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Individuals | $20,000 | 74% |
| Political committees and PACs | $6,800 | 26% |
| Employer reported | Share |
|---|---|
| A named employer | 58% |
| Self-employed | 13% |
| Retired | 10% |
| Not employed | 15% |
| Not reported or withheld | 4% |
Not counted as contributions: $8,080 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).
| Employer or organization | Kind | Total | Contributions |
|---|---|---|---|
| MA & NORTHERN NE LABORERS' DISTRICT COUNCIL POL ACTION COMM | committee or PAC | $2,000 | 4 |
| HORSE N CARRIAGE RESTAURANT | individuals, by employer | $1,000 | 1 |
| PROFESSIONAL FIRE FIGHTERS OF MA PEOPLE'S CTTEE | committee or PAC | $1,000 | 2 |
| COMM OF MASSACHUSETTS | individuals, by employer | $1,000 | 1 |
| COVE HILL PARTNERS | individuals, by employer | $1,000 | 1 |
| DIGITAL ALLOYS | individuals, by employer | $1,000 | 1 |
| FINEPOINT CAPITAL | individuals, by employer | $1,000 | 1 |
| HERRICK | individuals, by employer | $1,000 | 1 |
| LAZAREX CANCER FOUNDATION | individuals, by employer | $1,000 | 1 |
| MA CORRECTION OFFICERS FEDERATED UNION PAC M C O F U PAC | committee or PAC | $900 | 2 |
Source: Office of Campaign and Political Finance, itemized receipts of $250 or more since 2015; OCPF filer record: Ross Committee (CPF 14234). 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.
- Massachusetts Legislature, members, districts and roll calls
- Budget amendments and enacted budgets, FY2017–FY2026
- CTHRU payroll, Office of the Comptroller (stipends)
- Office of Campaign and Political Finance
- District lines: Acts of 2011 and 2021; Census 2020 block populations
- Official profile (prior offices, occupation)
- Election statistics (first elected, residence)
- Leaving office (election statistics)
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.