News from Beacon Hill

Rep. Stanley Holds Financial Literacy Briefing

On behalf of the Massachusetts Asset Building Coalition, the Massachusetts Financial Education Collaborative and the Office of Treasurer Grossman, Rep. Stanley held a well-attended policy State House briefing regarding the inclusion of financial literacy into the elementary and secondary education curriculum. Rep. Stanley filed a bill which requires that public schools teach a financial literacy curriculum developed by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to cover consumer financial education, personal finance and personal credit.

Nearly 10 bills have been filed so far this session on the topic of financial literacy, and this briefing provided legislators with policy background information for this effort as well as an introduction to steps the state has already taken in this field.  Andrea Levere, the President of the Corporation for Enterprise Development in Washington, D.C. provided the audience with the national context for the effort taking place in the state. The Office of Treasurer Grossman provided an update on financial literacy efforts that have been initiated from the Treasurer's office.

 
House Passes Balanced FY '12 Budget

Rep. Stanley helped pass a balanced FY '12 budget aimed at increasing government efficiency, cutting costs and preserving essential services across the Commonwealth. The budget, which passed with bipartisan support, closes a projected $1.9 billion budget gap through cuts to state spending totaling $1.2 billion. For the second consecutive year, the House budget does not contain any new taxation proposals.

The House budget includes a cost-saving municipal employee health care reform measure which would save at least $100 million annually for cities and towns, according to a number of recent studies. Under the proposal, municipal workers would pay no more in co-payments and deductibles than those paid by subscribers to the largest plan offered by the Group Insurance Commission (GIC) which provides health insurance to state workers and legislators.

The municipal employee health care reform proposal would authorize cities and towns to implement health insurance plan design changes to bring savings to municipalities across the Commonwealth. The bill would allow cities and towns to alter municipal employee co-payments and deductibles as long as such features are no greater in dollar amount than those in the largest subscriber plan offered by the GIC. The House budget would also allow municipalities to transfer the health coverage of municipal employees into the GIC which currently provides health benefits to state workers.

Rep. Stanley cosponsored an amendment supported by labor which would have included higher co-pays and deductibles, protection for retires, an expedited collective bargaining process and changing the labor vote to join GIC from 70 percent to 50 percent + 1.  One hundred percent of the savings would go to municipalities once the sickest employees were protected through the creation of HRAs.  The amendment failed.

The budget increases Chapter 70 aid to municipalities to $3.99 billion, an increase of $120 million over the state's FY '11 contribution. Schools would also receive an additional $80 million for the Special Education Circuit Breaker for an FY '12 total of $213 million. To further assist municipalities, the budget includes $9.7 million for regionalization incentive grants to help municipalities save money through the regionalization of services.

Former House Speaker DiMasi on Trial

Former House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi is facing federal corruption charges and is currently on trial.  Rep. Stanley was one of seven House Democrats who refused to re-elect Speaker DiMasi before he was charged.  DiMasi resigned as House Speaker in 2009.

Rep. Stanley Testifies on Appraisal Management Bill

Rep. Stanley testified on behalf of legislation he filed regarding appraisal management at a recent hearing held by the Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure committee. Rep. Stanley's bill aims to protect consumers from inflated price estimates from appraisal management companies (AMCs) and acts in accordance with the federal legislation, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act, which requires that all AMCs be regulated by states appraisal boards by the year 2014.

This bill gives authority to the Board of Registration for Real Estate Appraisers to set regulations for the registration and performance of AMCs, determine a registrant's qualifications for registration and investigate complaints and impose penalties for non-compliance. It prohibits an AMC from influencing the outcome of an appraisal through coercion, extortion, collusion, compensation, inducement, intimidation, bribery, etc.  This bill also increases the number of seats on the Board of Registration for Real Estate Appraisers from seven to nine and allocates one seat to an appraisal management company representative.

House Post Audit and Oversight Committee Reports on Lyme Disease

The House Post Audit and Oversight Committee, of which Rep. Stanley is a member, held a press conference on Lyme disease at the State House. The Committee has just completed its report, Lyme Disease in Massachusetts; A Public Health Crisis, and presented the report's findings and recommendations for the state at the event. The Committee also discussed a budget relative to establishing a Lyme disease commission.

The Committee's recommendations include establishing a commission to bring together experts to compile further information on the disease and to propose possible solutions for the Commonwealth, legislation mandating insurance coverage for long-term antibiotic treatment for chronic Lyme, state appropriated funding for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) in order to ensure that more educational outreach is done, and that the MDPH look into the possibility of combining tick control efforts with state mosquito control efforts.

There are currently five bills before the legislature relative to Lyme disease. Lyme disease has affected every city and town in the Commonwealth. Many state legislators have emphasized their concern over the issue in their districts as well as the need for the state to develop solutions in order to better address the problem.

House Passes Court Reorganization and Probation Reform Legislation

Rep. Stanley helped pass landmark court reorganization legislation aimed at improving efficiency in the state's court system and bringing transparency to hiring and promotion at the Department of Probation. The legislation, passed by a vote of 152-0, signals strong collaboration between the legislative and judicial branches to provide a streamlined system of justice and restore public trust in the state's Probation Department.

MWRA Water System Honored For Excellence

MWRA has received a 2010 Massachusetts Public Drinking Water Award from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP). The award honors excellence in providing clean drinking water to customers.  The winning systems were chosen based on their compliance with state drinking water regulations. The winners had no monitoring enforcements or violations, submitted all required reports on time, adhered to good water management procedures and have excellent source protection standards.

April Tax Collections Increase

According to the Department of Revenue, state tax collectors brought in more than $2.5 billion from Massachusetts residents in April, which is a 43 percent (or $758 million) increase over April 2010. The collections surpassed state budget benchmarks for the month by $587 million. As legislators struggle to prevent hurtful budget cuts in the midst of depleted ARRA funds, this increase has hopeful implications for the state's budget crisis.

House Passes $60 Million Spending Bill

The House passed a $60 million midyear spending bill. Gov. Patrick filed the supplemental budget bill, allocating $42.2 million for the Committee for Public Counsel Services. The budget bill also includes $3.3 million for snow and ice removal, $15 million for caseload-driven accounts such as transitional assistance and $100,000 in state matching funds for homeowners who received federal assistance for flood damage occurring in 2010. The bill now heads to the Senate.

State Launches Massachusetts Safe & Successful Youth Initiative

The state launched the Massachusetts Safe and Successful Youth Initiative, a multi-faceted strategy for eliminating youth violence in the Commonwealth. To implement this strategy, the Governor will issue an Executive Order emphasizing the Administration's commitment to partnering with local officials to tackle this issue, file legislation creating tougher gun laws that hold "high impact" individuals accountable and seek $10 million in additional funding to support implementation efforts. The Governor was joined by Attorney General Coakley, Boston Mayor Menino, local legislators, public safety officials, law enforcement professionals, community organizers, parents and young people at the BCYF, Mildred Avenue Community Center in Mattapan for the announcement of this initiative.

Gov. Patrick Announces $6 Million for Youth Summer Jobs Funding

Gov. Patrick announced $6 million in total funding to go towards an estimated 3,000 summer jobs for at-risk youth across MA. The funds are a combination of $4 million in YouthWorks funding administered by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development and Commonwealth Corporation, as well as $2 million in Federal Byrne Grant funding that has been directed by the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security to fund summer jobs. Program sites in over two dozen towns will use this funding to help create safe, productive jobs for students to earn money and serve their community during their time away from school this summer. The Administration also anticipates additional summer jobs funding from the current budget deliberations, with the potential to bring the total up to 4,000 jobs for youth this summer.

Lenk Confirmed to SJC

The Governor's Council confirmed Barbara Lenk to a seat on the Supreme Judicial Court on a 5-3 vote, becoming Gov. Patrick's fourth appointment to the seven-member SJC. Lenk's confirmation hearing lasted more than seven hours. She is the first openly gay judge to serve on the state's highest judicial body.

SJC Rules in Favor of MassDEP's Authority to Protect State Waters

The Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the state's Clean Waters Act authorizes the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) to regulate power plant water withdrawals to ensure that water quality, including aquatic life, is protected. The SJC issued its decision in Entergy Nuclear Generation Company v. MassDEP, reversing an earlier Superior Court ruling that found that the state statute did not authorize MassDEP to impose restrictions on the power plant's cooling water intake structures, or CWIS, to address the harm to fish, shellfish, and other aquatic organisms that can result from a power plants' cooling operations.

Power plants, such as Entergy's Pilgrim Station on Cape Cod Bay in Plymouth, withdraw billions of gallons of water from the nation's waterways each day to cool their facilities. The flow of water into these plants traps large aquatic organisms against grills or screens, which cover the intake structures, and draws small aquatic organisms into the cooling mechanisms. The resulting impingement and entrainment from these operations kill or injure billions of aquatic organisms every year and can severely compromise the quality of the water body from which the water is withdrawn.

State Announces New Internship Opportunities Website

The state launched a website featuring internship opportunities across Massachusetts. The new website, promoted by the Commonwealth Marketing Office, aims to convince college students and recent graduates to stay in the state. Companies are allowed to post opportunities at no charge and serves as a "a one-stop shop" for students searching for internships. Currently, the site features more than 100 internship opportunities.

Lt. Gov. Murray Announces Digital Games Institute

Becker College, located in Worcester, and Lt. Gov. Murray announced the creation of the Massachusetts Digital Games Institute, promoting it as a job-producing partnership between the video gaming institute, academia and the public sector. According to Lt. Gov. Murray, the $2 billion digital gaming industry employs nearly 4,000 people and the state's higher education institutions are focused on game design and development. Becker College will host the institute and also serve as the lead provider of resources and services during the institute's startup phase, which will run through Dec. with plans for the facility to open in fall 2011.

Drivers Encouraged to "Donate Life"

Massachusetts drivers can register as organ donors on their driver's license or online through the Donate Life New England registry. About 99 percent of all Massachusetts residents who designate themselves as organ and tissue donors do so through the Registry of Motor Vehicles at RMV branches and on its website.

Registering as a donor can save the life of someone desperately in need of a transplant. More than 110,000 Americans, including about 3,000 Massachusetts residents, are awaiting a life-saving organ transplant that may not come in time. In 2009, the RMV became the first state agency in New England to create an on-line application to allow an individual to register to be a donor. New England Organ Bank is the federally-designated, non-profit procurement organization responsible for the surgical recovery of organs and tissues for transplant throughout the New England region. Donate Life New England is a joint project of two federally designated organ procurement organizations that serve New England - LifeChoice Donor Services and New England Organ Bank. They have come together to create a fast and easy way for citizens of New England to register as organ and tissue donors in a secure and confidential manner. For more information, visit www.donatelifenewengland.org.

Administration Announces Plan to Enhance Vocational Technical Education in MA

The state announced a new leadership model to help advance and expand access to vocational technical education programs across Massachusetts. The new leadership model will expand partnerships between educators and employers and increase collaboration among state agencies with the goal of expanding the use of vocational technical schools, which on average demonstrate higher graduation and lower dropout rates compared to overall high school rates statewide, according to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's 2010 Dropout Rate Report. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will also hire an Associate Commissioner for Vocational, Workforce and College Readiness Programs to head the initiative.

Agricultural Officials Announce Grants for Farmers' Markets to Assist Low-Income Residents

The Patrick Administration announced that it will provide $50,000 in grants for equipment and support to help farmers' markets process Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits used by low-income residents. These grants, made possible by an ongoing partnership between the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (DAR) and the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA), are for the purchase or rental of wireless point-of-sale terminals capable of processing SNAP benefits through the Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) system.

The grants also fund transaction fees, outreach programs for SNAP participants, promotional materials and incentives to encourage SNAP participants to use their benefits at farmers' markets.

SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, serves more than 755,000 individuals in Massachusetts - one in nine residents of the Commonwealth - by assisting low-income individuals and families with purchasing healthy food. SNAP households can access their benefits by using an EBT card that is similar to a debit card and is accepted at most grocery stores. This program is federally funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and serves as the first line of defense against hunger and poor nutrition. Individuals, families with children, seniors, and people with disabilities who are having difficulty meeting their basic needs are encouraged to apply for SNAP by visiting www.mass.gov/dta, calling 1-866-950-FOOD, or visiting their local DTA office.

Improved Benefits and Discounts for Drivers

Drivers around the state are able to take advantage of more discounts and expanded benefits as the competitive marketplace continues to mature. Managed competition went into effect April 1, 2008, ending the fixed-and-established system under which the state set auto insurance rates. The new system created a marketplace that allows companies to compete for consumers through rates, discounts, and benefits. Since the start of the reform, 13 new companies have entered the state, including three of four biggest carriers in the country (Allstate, Progressive and GEICO).

To shop for a better auto insurance policy, visit www.mass.gov/autorates, research carriers' websites, and meet with insurance agents. For more info, visit the Massachusetts Division of Insurance's website, (www.mass.gov/doi) an agency within the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation. Follow the Office at www.mass.gov/consumer.