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Weekly Roundup
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March 12th, 2010
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Greetings!
You may have noticed a lot of back and forth lately from unions, gubernatorial candidates, and our current Governor over what public jobs are saved or cut, and who should make those decisions. And while it is important that these decisions are made in ways that are as fair as possible, and in ways that support safe, healthy communities, there is a another, bigger picture here. D  ue to a decade tax cuts and the recent economic downturn, our elected officials have had to make some difficult decisions to bridge a multi-billion dollar structural deficit. One way they were able to do this is by utilizing Federal funding. To date, over 9000 jobs ( more info) were saved from Federal Stimulus Funding across Massachusetts. (You can find out what jobs have been funded in your area by checking out recovery.gov's Massachusetts page. and the weekly updates on the Massachusetts Recovery site - Federal Stimulus awards pictured to the right.) And now we must face another reality - that the Federal Stimulus Funding was a short-term solution to a long-term issue in our state. We must take a long, hard look at what we value in our communities and how we are going to support them. This means taking a more balanced approach to balancing our budget - relying not solely on cuts, but pushing for more Federal funding, using the Rainy Day Fund (it's raining, right?), streamlining public structures where overlap and waste occur, analyzing the value of tax credits we give to corporations, and pushing for more progressive, broad-based revenues - so that we can all work together to build a better Massachusetts! Together, we can make wise decisions for the long-term health of our state. Sincerely, Yawu Miller Project Director, ONE Massachusetts
yawu@realclout.org | 617-275-2918
Here's a look at what else has been happening around Massachusetts:
Civic Engagement | Revenue | Government Reform
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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.
UPDATES:
- LOCAL AID: 5% Cuts. House leaders prepared members in a closed session Tuesday for a politically unpleasant effort to reduce state aid to cities and towns in the budget proposal expected to emerge in mid-April. House Democrats said the local aid cut in the House Ways and Means Committee budget could hit 5 percent. A 5 percent cut, which Democratic officials called the steepest under consideration, would bring the Chapter 70 account to over $3.8 billion, and likely force layoffs and program cuts across the state. [SHNS]
- SALES TAX: Revenues Feed the Hungry. A state senator on Thursday highlighted the plight of the hungry in Massachusetts as he called for voters to reject efforts to slash the state sales tax in half and repeal the sales tax on alcohol, proposals he said would cut $2.4 billion out of the state tax base. "Think about that in November," Sen. Stephen Brewer, vice chair of the Ways and Means Committee, told supporters of Massachusetts food banks at a State House rally. Advocates for food banks say they need $15 million - $3.5 million more than proposed by Gov. Deval Patrick - next fiscal year to help feed 107,000 additional residents they expect to seek assistance. Overall, they say, 571,000 residents, about one of every 11 in the state, require food assistance. Brewer called the food banks' request "a measly three million bucks," compared with the amount that the ballot questions would cut from state coffers and deliver to consumers in the form of tax relief. [SHNS]
 TRANSPORTATION: MBTA Budget Shortfall. Nearly a year after lawmakers and Gov. Deval Patrick agreed to a major sales tax increase to support the cash-strapped MBTA, the public transit agency expects to face a $73 million shortfall in the next fiscal year. Agency officials, who expect consolidation of state transportation functions to help save taxpayer and commuter dollars, said Wednesday that fare hikes and service cuts would not be used to address the gap. [Daily News Transcript]
- TAX CREDITS: Film Credits Untouched. Legislation scaling back the state's tax sweeteners for the film industry received a thumbs-down Thursday from the Revenue Committee, seriously complicating the bill's path to passage. The Revenue Committee voted unanimously, with panel chair Jay Kaufman, and Reps. Peisch, Greene, Erlich, Driscoll, Cantwell, Arciero, and Barrows voting "ought not to pass." Senate chair Benjamin Downing voted to hold for further consideration. The bill scaling back the incentives to earlier levels was the subject of a crowded hearing in Gardner Auditorium last week, where critics argued it amounted to a giveaway for Hollywood, and unsound fiscal policy. Backers of the program said it provided sorely needed jobs in the state... [SHNS]
 STATE ECONOMY: MA Credit Affirmed. Wall Street credit rating agencies cited effective state government management in affirming the state's credit rating last week, but analysts also flagged high debt, falling tax collections, steep jobs losses, unfunded pension liabilities and rising health care costs as trends that are putting a drag on the state. The rating affirmations, came with a general stamp of approval of the state's longtime economic underpinnings and praise for fiscal crisis solutions implemented by Gov. Deval Patrick, which Patrick aides seized upon as verification of the administration's stewardship in the face of a recession-fueled tax revenue implosion.[SHNS] [Wicked Local]
- HEALTH CARE: Cost Relief Plan. Over 20 mayors and municipal officials from across the state are plotting an end-run around Beacon Hill, taking to voters a bid to relieve local budgets by wresting control of employee health plans from labor unions. An ad hoc meeting Friday turned into a strategy session for placing on the 2012 state ballot a referendum granting local governments more authority to structure health care benefits for their workers - a process known as "plan design," often discussed by state policymakers but fiercely opposed by unions who argue that it interferes with collective bargaining. [SHNS] [Wicked Local]
 STATE BUDGET: Rainy Day Fund. The Patrick administration plans to reduce rainy day fund spending this fiscal year by $80 million and cut its request for spending from the fund next year by $29 million, citing a recent federal government announcement that it will reimburse Massachusetts for certain payments associated with prescription drug coverage. [SHNS]
- LOCAL REVENUES: Meals Taxes Effective. Communities that have taken the authority offered by the Massachusetts Legislature to impose a meals tax have generally found they are bringing in more revenue than expected. [Boston Globe]
- FEDERAL HEALTH FUNDING: More Aid Likely. State officials say a vote in the U.S. Senate Wednesday appears to assure delivery of $600 million in federal health care funds that Gov. Deval Patrick relied on to balance his fiscal 2011 budget proposal. Legislative leaders, contemplating a local aid cut, have expressed reservations in recent weeks about the $600 million, largely because the money had not cleared all of its hurdles in Washington [SHNS]
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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.
UPDATES:
- Students March for Higher Education Funding. Students from public higher education institutions marched the circumference of the capitol Monday afternoon, holding signs imploring state policymakers to provide more funding for their schools. Highlighting the state's standing as 46th out of 50 in per capita funding for public highereducations, dozens of students strode along Beacon Street, chanting, "We want money for education, not more breaks for corporations!" [SHNS]
UPCOMING:
 March 31st - Women's Issues Hearing. The Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women is holding a public hearing for the Lowell area. For more info, email mcsw@state.ma.us or call 617-626-6520.
March 31st, 6:00-7:30pm
Pollard Memorial Library - 401 Merrimack St., Lowell, MA 01852 [Map]
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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:
 TRANSPARENCY: Municipal Website Report. Common Cause Massachusetts released the findings of its annual survey of municipal websites yesterday and will present its 2010 e-Government Award to 180 cities and towns next Tuesday, March 16th at 11am in hearing room A-1 at the State House.
Municipalities who post their governing body's minutes and an agenda, their budget, their bylaws, and, if applicable, their town meeting warrant and results will receive the 2010 e-Government Award. Those who additionally post a year's archive of minutes and agendas, their calendar, their zoning bylaws, their school committee's minutes and agenda, and the minutes and agenda for another board or committee will receive the award with distinction [Full Report]
- ACCOUNTABILITY: Federal Crackdown on Government Programs. President Barack Obama yesterday announced a new effort to crack down on waste and fraud in Medicare, Medicaid, and other government programs through the expanded use of payment recapture audits. These are investigations in which specialized private sector auditors use cutting-edge technology and tools to scrutinize government payments and then find and reclaim taxpayer funds made in error or gained through fraud. These auditors can be compensated based on the amount of improper payments they identify and are reclaimed - providing a powerful incentive to find every error. [White House Press Release]
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