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Weekly Roundup
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October 1st, 2009
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Greetings!
![Lesley Kirwan [Boston Globe]](http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/Globe_Photo/2009/09/08/1252464129_9055.jpg) As Secretary of Administration and Finance Leslie Kirwan prepares for her new position with Harvard, and prepares Undersecretary Jay Gonzalez to take the ANF reins, experienced advocates from all sectors who are already working to reform and repair public structures at the
state and local level just went on overtime preparing a case to the
Governor that each of their programs should be spared from 9C cuts.
Some of them are working triple-time, together through ONE Massachusetts, to
advocate for the obvious alternative to 9C cuts, which is, to be blunt,
additional adequate and balanced revenues. One place to look for those potential revenues is
the Tax Expenditure Budget.
 Sign up for the October 22 Insider Budget Briefing with Peter Enrich, Law Professor at Northeastern University and former general
counsel to the Massachusetts Executive Office for Administration and
Finance. We will take a close look at our Tax Expenditure Budget
(sometimes called the "Loopholes"), and what it means for our state's
current and future fiscal health.
Here is a look at what else has been going on across Massachusetts: [Skip Ahead: Civic Engagement | Revenue | Government Reform]
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 Civic Engagement
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Goal: By 2013, the voice and input of the state's multi-racial, multi-ethnic communities will create a counterweight to the currently dominant voice and will be tangibly reflected in the public decision making process.
Upcoming:
- October 2 - Commonwealth Legislative Seminar Application Deadline. This seminar is intended as a resource to leaders from communities of color, immigrant groups, and others working to directly benefit those communities. Diverse leaders will gain an inside perspective about working with the Legislature, and graduates will leave with an understanding of the basic legislative and budgetary perspective.
- October 3 - BPON 2009 Annual BBQ and Family Fun Day . The Boston Parent Organizing Network is celebrating its 10th Anniversary with food and fun for the whole family. The event takes place from 12:00-6:00pm at the Blue Hill Boys and Girls Club, 15 Talbot Ave, Dorchester. For more information, call the BPON Office at 617-522-2766 or pa@bpon.org.
 October 16 & 17 - Grassroots and Technology. The Organizers'
Collaborative is hosting its 10th Annual Grassroots Use of Technology
Conference this month at Northeastern University. The event will bring together hundreds of grassroots and social change
organizers with media activists, writers, and techies from all over New
England. [Info and Registration]
Updates:
- Underrepresented Voters Turn Out for Boston Primaries. Voter turnout increased among Boston's low-income voters of color in this year's preliminary election. Turnout in some areas was triple what it was in the 2007 preliminary.
 Among the factors that may have contributed to the increase in turnout are increased participation by black, Latino and Asian candidates for municipal office and voter education and mobilization activities undertaken by nonprofit organizations that are part of the Civic Engagement Initiative - an effort aimed at increasing civic engagement in historically low-turnout neighborhoods in Boston and Chelsea. This year, four mayoral candidates and 15 at-large city council candidates vied for a place on the November ballot. [Full MassVOTE Report - PDF] [More from Boston.com]
- The Cost of Citizenship. Nearly 300,000 legal immigrants in Massachusetts are eligible to become US citizens, but only a small percentage each year are reaching that goal, raising concerns that huge swaths of people are being priced out of the American dream. Fees to apply for citizenship have soared in the past two decades from $60 a person to $675, making them among the highest in the Western world, researchers say. [Full Globe Article]
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| Revenue |
Goal: By 2013, a fair, adequate, and stable tax system will be implemented. It will raise sufficient revenue so that state and local governments can fund the array of services needed.
Upcoming:- October - 9C Cuts. "I think that October would probably be a realistic start to 9C cuts,
if the revenues continue to decline as we've seen," said House Ways and
Means chair Charles Murphy told the News Service. The Burlington
Democrat said he had heard no discussion of granting Gov. Deval Patrick
expanded budget-cutting powers that would allow him to slash in areas
outside the Executive Branch. [SHNS]
- Proposition 2½. Amherst is one of many towns across the state looking at an override vote at their March town meeting. FY10 cuts were an attempt to avoid an override, and included teacher and school staff layoffs, staff cuts in Town Hall and at the library, reductions in library hours and all pool hours, Leisure Services and Supplemental Education and Senior Center budgets. Additional state aid cuts may mean the need for an override, according to assistant town manager and finance director John P. Musante. [More from masslive.com]
ONE Massachusetts is currently working with Northeastern University to study messaging and effectiveness in Proposition 2½ override campaigns. To be part of this discussion, please contact Yawu Miller.
Updates:
Casinos Off the Table? House Speaker Robert DeLeo, a supporter of both casinos and racetrack slot machines... said tax policies, oversight jurisdiction, siting, addiction treatment, and the number of licenses all complicated the gambling question. "To say that we'll have a bill on the governor's desk by the end of this, I think, may be a difficult task," DeLeo told reporters while standing alongside Murray and Gov. Deval Patrick after an hour-plus meeting. [State House News Service]
Municipal Relief. DeLeo, referencing
consistent concerns expressed to him by local officials regarding
health insurance, said, "I think later on this fall we will be taking
another look at our municipal relief package." DeLeo also described
himself as a "prime supporter" of regionalization, saying "I think
Massachusetts is known for each little town having its own little
fiefdom." Noting the potential for cost savings, he used as an example
of regionalization the decision by Revere and Malden to have a joint
fire station. [SHNS]
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Government Reform
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Goal: By 2013, a transparent, accessible and accountable state and local policy-making process will be in place.
Updates:
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 Lobbying Reform. Over ninety local and statewide community advocates and nonprofit leaders gathered yesterday to discuss the logistical and fiscal impact of the new lobbying reform rules, both on small nonprofits and on the Secretary of State's office itself, which will take on more responsibility, but so far has no additional funding. Contact the Public Policy Institute or Pam Wilmot from Common Cause Massachusetts if you would like more information on how your organization may be effected by these rules, including answers on the following:
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