Rep. Stanley filed pension reform legislation
  
Rep. Stanley filed legislation to reform an existing pension law. He filed a bill to remove legislation that allows any elected official under age 55 "who has completed 20 or more years of creditable service and who fails of nomination or reelection" to apply for a pension increase.  Current law allows veteran state legislators who retire or fail to win re-election to receive staggering pension increases worth thousands of dollars a year. Given the current economic climate, pension reform will be on the legislative radar this year as the government strides to curb pension abuse and loopholes in the system.  The House will take up pension reform, including legislation filed by Gov. Patrick, within two weeks.

Rep. Stanley Meets with Parent-Child Home Program Advocates
 
Rep. Stanley recently met with Vanessa Johnson and Susana Saldana, advocates of The Parent-Child Home Program who were recently at the State House advocating for funding for their program.
 
The Parent-Child Home Program is a research-based and research-validated early childhood literacy and school readiness program.  The program has a proven record in the state since 1970 when the first sites opened in Pittsfield, Newton and Cambridge. Currently there are 34 sites from Pittsfield to Boston serving over 1500 families, living at or below the poverty line, in their homes, homeless shelters, and family child care homes.  

Tax tips for Seniors and Retirees
 
The Department of Revenue (DOR) has created a "Tax Tips" fact sheet to assist seniors and retirees in completing tax returns to ensure that folks are aware of available deductions and exemptions.  To learn more, please click here. 

Rep. Stanley Speaks at Citizens for Public Schools (CPS) Legislative Breakfast
 
The event was to bring attention to CPS's legislation for the 2009-2010 legislative cycle. Specifically, Rep. Stanley spoke in support of a bill he wrote, An Act Relative to Data Collection for Charter Schools. 
 
This bill would require that charter schools report total net assets, the amount of funds transferred to a management company and the percentage of the school's budget spent on administration. Also, if a charter school ceases to exist, a detailed financial accounting of school assets and equipment and supplies must be submitted to the commissioner of education within six months after closing. The bill will also require additional information to be collected, including data on administrators, teachers, students who leave the school, numbers of students under the care of DYS and DSS or are homeless, numbers of students on individual education plans, or who are English language learners, details regarding waiting list process and comparison of actual and projected enrollment.
 

Rep. Stanley files housing bill to help tenants leave welfare
 
Government subsidies often discourage people from seeking gainful employment. Working closely with the Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership (MBHP), Rep. Stanley filed legislation to establish "Moving to Economic Opportunity Housing," a five-year program that links rental subsidy to stabilize a tenant's housing to education, training and other job supports to help tenants increase income, build assets and leave welfare.
 
If passed, the bill will create a program to help tenants focus on increasing income and building a savings account to reduce the dependence on state-funded subsidies. The program itself is designed after a successful, federally-funded program and will target families and individuals who are extremely low-income or homeless.  

MA Stimulus Funding Breakdown
 
MA is expected to receive $8.7 from the federal stimulus bill.  The following is a breakdown of the funds: clean energy: $482 million, education: $1.955 billion, housing: $430 million, labor and workforce: $90 million, public safety: $71.7 million, safety net programs: $3.572 billion, technology and research: $1.295 billion and transportation: $809 million.  Additionally, residents will receive payroll tax benefits and municipalities will be offered the chance to sell low-interest and no-interest bonds expected to amount to $5.294 billion. MA may also be given an unnamed portion of $125 million for coastal and marine habitat restoration, $600 million for superfund site cleanup and $589 million for national park construction.
 

Gov. will maintain the Division of Insurance (DOI) Board of Appeals
 
After Rep. Stanley and more than half of his House and Senate colleagues signed onto a bill to preserve the Board of Appeals, which the state plans to close on April 1, 2009, the Patrick administration abandoned its plan to eliminate the Board.  The primary function of the appeals board is to respond to inquiries and intervene on behalf of drivers to resolve complaints against insurance companies. The board of appeals offers consumers much-needed protection while acting as a check and balance system between drivers and insurers.
 
For years, Massachusetts has operated under strict regulations that set prices for all automobile insurance in the state. As of this April, consumers will renew policies under new regulations that have the potential to significantly alter rate premiums. Under these new "managed competition" guidelines, insurers can set their own rates. These guidelines represent a significant change in the insurance system for MA residents. 
 
However, as a result of these changes, the state planned to dissolve the DOI's board of appeals, a move that many residents considered anti-consumer.  Some drivers viewed the board as a non-judicial and impartial alternative to pursuing complaints against insurers. According to DOI's website, the board ensures that consumers submitting a complaint receive a reply and/or resolution consistent with state law.

Board of Education (BOE) will not fund the Rediscovery Charter School
 
The state BPE will not support The Rediscovery Academy's plan to open a charter school in Waltham.  Rep. Stanley, Rep. Koutoujian, Mayor McCarthy, Superintendent Peter Azar, Waltham Police Chief and elected school and municipal officials and parents publically opposed and spoke up against the charter school proposal.
 
The Academy planned to recruit 220 students over a three-year period and would have opened in the fall of 2010 in Waltham.  The school would have been only open to students between the ages of 16 and 24 years who have dropped out of others schools.  This age range raised questions about Waltham's financial responsibility for students between the ages of 18 and 24.

 

Rep. Stanley supports Governor's Ethics Task Force Legislation; also files own ethics legislation
 
In early January, Gov. Patrick's Task Force on Public Integrity issued a report outlining comprehensive recommendations to strengthen the state's ethics and lobbying laws.  The bill filed by the governor focuses on the enhancement of rules and authority concerning lobbying and conflict of interest violations.  The bill gives the Attorney General greater authority to enforce conflict of interest and lobbying laws.  The legislation also includes enhanced penalties for these violations as well as mandatory education and training for all public employees.  A vote for a consensus bill will take place on Thursday, March 26.

Rep. Stanley filed his own ethics legislation to define lobbying; ban gifts from lobbyists to public officials; provide the Secretary of State rule-making authority to implement the lobbying laws, to provide confidential, binding advisory opinions and impose fines; require lobbyists to wear name and affiliation badges while on duty in any public building; and remove the provision that allows the legislature to be exempt from the state's open meeting law.

State testing system to track state and local highway projects

State transportation officials are testing a new web-based system called "Comm-Works," projected to launch in 2009.  The new website will allow city and town public works departments to track state and local highway projects. The system will be available for free to municipalities and state agencies.
 
According to the Executive Office of Transportation and Public Works, the software will graphically map project locations and provide key project status information for all public works projects that are entered into the system.