BOSTON — In the end, Republicans' calls to further examine a bill that would bar county sheriffs from allowing prisoners to participate in building President Donald Trump's proposed Mexican border wall were no match for Beacon Hill Democrats' resistance.
Massachusetts House Minority Leader Bradley Jones (R-North Reading) first tried a procedural argument. He tried to persuade his colleagues that previous statements made by Democratic leadership and by bill sponsor Antonio Cabral (D-New Bedford) concerning the financial impact of sending prisoners to work on such projects, meant that the legislation deserved a review from the Ways and Means Committee.
