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Weekly Roundup
| April 29th, 2010
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Greetings!
 You know that the public structures that make our state a great place to live can only be maintained and repaired with our shared support. That is why the nine votes in support of Rep. Matthew Patrick's amendment on dividends and interest are so important. Those nine votes are a clear indication that representatives took to heart the calls our Greater Boston, Pioneer Valley, and South Coast and Cape members made, urging our legislators to support our communities with adequate revenues. Both rank-and-file reps and those in leadership positions backed the amendment in the face of stiff resistance from House Speaker DeLeo and Ways and Means Chairman Charles Murphy, both of whom have stated their opposition to any new revenues.
Speaking on the House floor, Rep. Patrick characterized his amendment as a call for the Legislature to look more closely at the tax system: "This is really the beginning of a conversation we need to have," he said. "We can't let talk radio dictate tax policy." We would like to thank representatives Peter Kocot, Liz Malia, Matt Patrick, Denise Provost, Angelo Scaccia, Carl Sciortino, Ellen Story, Benjamin Swan, and Tim Toomey for their visionary votes on this amendment. ![Transparency.gov 2.0 [MASSPIRG]](http://www.masspirg.org/uploads/vh/2V/vh2V1mz3M5xCzLG8kAt27A/transparency.gov.gif) Another important item that did pass in the House was Rep. Jay Kaufman's amendment on budget transparency that would establish a searchable online database in which every expenditure will be available to be accessed, aggregated, and analyzed by anyone for free. These changes, and others implemented in this outside section, were championed by ONE Massachusetts and its allies MASSPIRG and Common Cause Massachusetts. This initiative will be an important step towards reinstilling the public confidence in our government necessary for our state to build a united effort in rebuilding all of our cities and towns into the safe and supportive communities we all deserve. For more information on how you can get more involved in these or other campaigns within the ONE Massachusetts network, feel free to contact me today!
Yawu Miller
Project Director, ONE Massachusetts
TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT ELSE HAS BEEN HAPPENING ACROSS THE STATE:
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:  CASINOS: Poll shows support. As legislation legalizing casinos gains momentum on Beacon Hill, new poll results show most Massachusetts residents opposing locating a casino in their community. The Western New England College Polling Institute survey, conducted in mid-April, also found 58 percent of adults support a proposal to establish two casinos with even more support, 61 percent, for allowing slot machines at the state's two horse racing and two former dog racing tracks. The telephone survey of 528 adults, conducted April 11-15, carries a margin of error of plus or minus four points. [SHNS]
- FY10 BUDGET: House approves spending bill. The House last Thursday approved legislation authorizing $199 million in spending on Medicaid and $18.2 million to replenish accounts that pay for emergency family shelter. Aides said fiscal 2010 appropriations were insufficient, due to rising caseloads, and that the supplemental appropriations are needed in the final months of the fiscal year, which ends June 30. [SHNS]
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 REVENUE REFORM: tax system under scrutiny. One recent report on the subject shows that, despite having the reputation of a tax-and-spend sort of state, Massachusetts actually keeps taxes on both individuals and businesses relatively low. But another study faults the state for the way in which it calculates taxes, arguing that having a complex system with different rates for different sorts of companies contributes to a bad business climate. [ Worcester Business Journal] - MUNICIPAL FINANCES: House passes "Muni-relief" bill. The House unanimously approved its so-called municipal relief legislation. The legislation does not include municipal health plan design authority sought by local government leaders as the biggest way to counteract a $234 million cut in local aid next year. Bill supporters touted provisions that allow cities and towns to defer payments to reduce unfunded pension system liabilities and enable cities and towns to adopt early retirement programs as a means of reducing workforces. [SHNS]
 BUDGET CUTS: Library systems to be consolidated. In July, Massachusetts' regional library systems will consolidate into a single statewide organization with about half the staff.
State funding for six regional library systems was slashed from $17.2 million in fiscal 2009 to $12.3 million. Regional funding would drop to $8.8 million next fiscal year in both the governor's and House's budget proposals, library commissioners said.
As part of its plans to address the cuts, state library commissioners voted this month to merge Massachusetts' six regional library systems. [ Metro West Daily News]  BUDGET CUTS: Courts "Functionally disabled." The Massachusetts judicial system is in such dire financial straits that the budget proposed by the House could mean closing courts, eliminating at least 750 positions and wreaking havoc on the lives of 42,000 people who come to the commonwealth's courts every day, says chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Margaret Marshall.
Marshall says the House Ways and Means budget, which lawmakers began debating Monday, allocates $76 million less than the courts received in fiscal 2009 and is $30.1 million below level-funding from last year. [ Commonwealth Magazine]
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CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
| 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:
 Working in Our Communities:
New England United for Justice. This ONE Massachusetts organizational member is a non-profit membership-based organization that represents low and moderate income families who want to promote social justice and become more involved in improving their neighborhood, city and state.
NEU4J will be conducting ONE Massachusetts trainings in low income neighborhoods throughout the year to be sure YOU have the power of knowledge in making important decisions that will impact our neighborhoods. For more information on bringing a NEU4J training to your neighborhood, contact Mimi Ramos, NEU4J Executive Director.
UPCOMING:
- May 6th - Center for Women in Politics & Public Policy Panel: Women Making a Difference. Successful local women will speak about how they make a difference for women through the variety of roles the play in politics and public policymaking.
6:00pm to 8:30pm at the Healey Library, 11th floor, UMass Boston [More info]
Panel:
- Denise Simmons, Cambridge City Councilor & former Mayor; 2010 State Senate candidate
- Judith Meredith, Author of Lobbying on a Shoestring; founder of RealClout.org; Executive Director of the Public Policy Institute
- Wilnelia Rivera, Campaigns Manager, Neighbor-to-Neighbor: Organizing for Working Families & Grassroots Democracy
- Judy Neufeld, Director of Emerge Massachusetts & Co-director of NOW
- Priti Rao, Director, Mass Women's Political Caucus
- Donovan Slack, Boston Globe Reporter
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GOVERNMENT REFORM
| | Goal: By 2013, a transparent, accessible and accountable state and local policy-making process will be in place.
UPDATES:
- TRANSPARENCY: State Budget. Representative Jay Kaufman's outside state budget transparency amendment to build a free, accessible, and robust searchable database of all of our state's expenditures passed in the house yesterday by a unanimous roll call. The amendment incorporated changes suggested by a recent MASSPIRG study that gave Massachusetts' budget transparency an 'F' when compared to states nationwide. The amendment was also championed by the ONE Massachusetts network and ally Common Cause Massachusetts. [More info: Blue Mass Group]
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