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Utility Contractors Association of
New England, Inc.
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Legislative Update | May 2012 |
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 Criminal Offender Record Information Reporting Changed as of May 4th
In August 2010, Governor Deval Patrick signed into law Chapter 256 of the Acts of 2010, commonly referred to as CORI reform. One of the most notable changes was the "ban the box" provision, meaning that any initial employment application could not ask whether the candidate had been convicted of a crime. The enforcement of the ban the box provision began in November 2010. Additional changes to the law include who will have authorized access to CORI and how CORI will be accessed. Most of the new provisions went into effect on Friday, May 4, 2012.
The Department of Criminal Justice Information Services (DCJIS), the Massachusetts agency dedicated to oversight of CORI law, is now working to roll out a new secure, web-based service called "iCORI", which will replace the existing CORI system. After May 4, 2012, all governmental agencies must request and receive CORI via the iCORI service. Also employers, volunteer organizations, landlords, and individuals will request, pay for, and receive CORI online using iCORI, which must be registered annually (employers may designate a CRA to access the iCORI, but must still register). There is an expected $25 per look-up fee to access the iCORI information. For example, where you could previously look up Joseph Smith and Joe Smith at no charge, there will be a $25 fee to look up each name.
Employers and landlords will have "Standard Access" to the iCORI system, meaning they can access information on any criminal charges pending at the time of the request, felony and misdemeanor convictions, unsealed convictions, manslaughter and sex offenses. Certain employers, those who must comply with statutory, regulatory or accreditation requirements, i.e. hospitals or banks will have "Required Access." Required Access will allow these employers to access additional adult CORI information dating back to an individual's seventeenth (17) birthday. The public will also have limited access to the iCORI called "Open CORI."
The new law does not mandate that an employer discuss criminal record background information with the applicant or employee, but if the employer wishes to discuss any information found in the report, they must show the information found. Once a criminal background check is obtained, through the iCORI database or through other sources, employers have an obligation to disclose this information to the individual BEFORE questioning the applicant and before taking adverse action.
Pre-Adverse Action Obligations using iCORI include:
- Employers must notify the applicant by telephone, fax, electronic copy, hard copy or in person of potential adverse action.
- Employers must provide a copy of the CORI (If an employer is using another source to obtain CORI information, the employer must additionally include the source of information).
- Employers must provide a copy of the company CORI policy and identifying the information that is the basis for the potential adverse action.
- Employers must provide the opportunity to dispute the accuracy of the reports.
- Employers must provide a copy of DCJIS regarding the process of correcting the CORI.
- All steps taken to comply with these requirements must be documented. It is important to keep in mind that these steps can be audited by the DCJIS.
Employers using the iCORI database must also follow the record keeping and destruction regulations:
- Acknowledgment forms must be stored for a minimum of one year from the signature date.
- All CORI information must be maintained for a maximum of seven (7) years from the last date of the individual's employment or final decision on applicant (whichever is longer).
- All CORI information must be stored in a separate locked and secured location with limited access.
- Electronically stored CORI must be password protected and encrypted, and cannot be stored in a public "cloud."
- All hard copy documents must be shredded.
- Electronic copies must be scrubbed and removed from the hard drive.
If an employer shares any iCORI information outside of its organization, a dissemination log must be kept and all log entries must be maintained for at least one year. The dissemination log may be kept electronically or by paper log and is subject to audit by DCJIS. It must include information about the applicant such as name, date of birth, date and time of dissemination, specific reason for dissemination and the name of the person to whom the CORI was sent to along with the name of the organization for which the person works.
One of the most important things for employers to remember is that individuals have access to their own CORI report and can perform self-audits. Any individual may request who has obtained a copy of their iCORI every 90 days.
To read the full regulation, visit http://www.mass.gov/eopss/docs/chsb/dcjis-proposed-regulations.pdf or for more information on what the regulation may mean for you, visit http://www.mass.gov/eopss/docs/chsb/implementing-cori-reform.pdf.
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Despite Flat Revenue in April; Study States Massachusetts Economy Will Grow Almost 5% Within 6 Months
The Massachusetts Department of Revenue reported that collections for the month of April totaled just over $2.5 billion, up $3 million or 0.1 percent compared to April 2011. The receipts fell $93 million short of the monthly benchmark, and collections ten months into the fiscal year are running $180 million behind targeted amounts. (Note: in April 2008, the Commonwealth fell nearly $230 million short of receipts, leading the state to raise its sales tax rate from 5 percent to 6.25 percent.) Through April of fiscal 2012, overall state tax collections are up only 2 percent, but state officials attached a caveat to the April numbers - they expect May figures will reflect close to $200 million in non-recurring business tax payments already received but not factored into the April tax take.
Income tax withholding collections in April were down 1.3 percent compared to a year ago and income received with the filing of tax returns and extensions was down 2.7 percent. Corporate and business tax collections were down 36 percent in April while sales tax collections rose 6.8 percent over-the-year. In April 2010, the state collected $1.75 billion in taxes. Collections totaled $1.78 billion in April 2009, a nearly billion-dollar, over-the-year drop that forced state officials to virtually rewrite the budget.
At the same time the Department of Revenue reports reduced collections. A study by the University of Massachusetts found growth in real gross state product rose at a 4.5 percent annualized rate between January and March, while forecasting continued growth in the state's economy. According to the UMass Benchmarks report, the Massachusetts economy and the national economy grew at estimated rates of 2.9 percent and 3 percent, respectively, in the fourth quarter of 2011. The MassBenchmarks Leading Economic Index, which forecasts annualized rates of growth for the next six months, was 4.7 percent for March and the three-month average for January through March was 5.8 percent. To review a copy of the report, please visit: http://www.massbenchmarks.org/indices/indices.htm.
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Commonwealth's Tax Expenditure Commission Releases Recommendations
The Commonwealth's Tax Expenditure Commission voted unanimously to approve its final report to the Legislature regarding the review and management of tax breaks known as tax expenditures. The Commission's report includes recommendations to pare down existing tax expenditures through performance management; sunset and claw back provisions and proposed requirements for approving new expenditures, including overall dollar caps on new grant-like expenditures.
In its FY2012 budget, the Legislature established, and Governor Patrick approved, a Tax Expenditure Commission to study the various exemptions, deductions and credits in the Massachusetts tax code, and to recommend methods for measuring and reviewing their effectiveness. The Commission, which met nine times since October 2011, was chaired by the Secretary of Administration and Finance Jay Gonzalez and included Constitutional Officers, legislators and economists.
Tax expenditures include credits, deductions and exemptions from the basic provisions of the state's tax code. Those tax breaks are expected to result in the Commonwealth forgoing $26 billion in tax revenue it would otherwise collect in FY2013, which is more than the total amount of tax revenue expected to be collected. The Commission approved eight formal recommendations, including:
- Reducing the number and cost of existing tax expenditures, based on identified criteria.
- Periodic review of tax expenditures, including automatic sunset of discretionary "grant-like" tax expenditures every five years, based on data driven analysis and reports regarding effectiveness.
- Establishing claw backs and other enforcement measures for grant-like tax expenditures to ensure recipients meet commitments.
- Requirements for approving new tax expenditures, including specified purposes and findings and overall dollar caps on new grant-like tax expenditures.
-The Legislature and Governor should work collaboratively to identify and publish, for each tax expenditure, a clearly articulated public policy purpose and desired outcome.
The Commission's final report was filed with the Legislature on April 30, 2012. To review a copy of the report, please visit: http://www.mass.gov/dor/tax-professionals/news-and-reports/tax-expenditure-commission-materials/ .
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Commonwealth Delivers Grants for Twenty-One Municipal Projects
The 21 grants, administered by the state and funded by the federal government, were awarded on a competitive basis to cities and towns most in need of financial assistance associated with loan payments to the MWPAT. Because of the reduction of loan principal funded by the grants, impacted communities will see their monthly loan payments reduced, freeing up capital for other local needs. The loans were originated to pay for municipal water projects such as upgrades to water treatment facilities and storm water and sewer improvement projects. The $9.8 million in loan forgiveness is associated with a total original loan amount of $82.8 million, an overall principal reduction of almost 12 percent.
The MWPAT lends financial assistance to the Commonwealth by providing subsidized loans to cities and towns for clean water and drinking water infrastructure development. Since its establishment in 1989, the Trust has loaned $5.2 billion to improve and maintain the quality of water in the Commonwealth. An estimated 97% of Massachusetts' citizens have benefited from the MWPAT's financial assistance.
Also of Note for Further Review:
- The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed its fiscal year 2013 budget in April. The House included $500,000 for the Sewer Rate Relief Fund (line item 1231-1000), which would be consistent with the fiscal year 2012 funding and UCANE's advocacy of the same. For Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) operations (line item 2200-0100), the House allocated over $25 million which would be a $600,000 increase from the FY2012 budget. In addition, the House funding of several DEP grants was as follows:
- Air, Water and Hazardous Waste Management Regulatory Programs (2230-9702) was funded approximately $1.5 million higher than the FY2012 budget at $18,872,726.
- Clean Air Act-Fine Particulate Matter Air Monitoring (2250-9712) was funded slightly lower than the FY2012 budget at $671,558.
- Air Toxic-Spatial Trends (2250-9730) was funded at $7,000, which is $35,000 less than the FY2012 budget.
- Diesel Emissions Reduction Project (2250-9731) was funded at $100,000, which is $252,941 lower than the FY2012 budget.
- The Massachusetts House and Senate begin public deliberations on payment reform in May and June. The House was the first to unveil their plan of payment reform, including the creation of accountable care organizations, bundled payments and medical malpractice reform. The Senate, while unveiling their plan second, began to debate the matter in the second full week of May.
- The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) recently released the proposed final Massachusetts Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) Class I regulations, which implements changes to biomass energy eligibility. This proposed final regulation follows more than two years of evaluation, public input, and careful consideration of how best to utilize woody biomass resources for energy in a manner consistent with the Commonwealth's commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect forests.
A draft regulation was filed in May 2011 and was the subject of two public hearings, a written public comment period, and comments from the Legislature's Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy. Based on stakeholder and committee comments, DOER has incorporated changes to prepare this proposed final regulation. With the submission of these revisions to the draft regulations, DOER will open a 30-day public comment period from May 19 to June 18, 2012. All written comments on this proposed final regulation should be submitted electronically in PDF format by 5 p.m. on June 18, 2012 to DOER at doer.biomass@state.ma.us. The proposed regulations can be reviewed at: http://www.mass.gov/eea/pr-2012/public-comment-period-for-biomass-regulations-revisions.html.
- The Department of Conservation and Recreation seeks to amend its regulations to adopt the Massachusetts Department of Transportation's regulations on prequalification for construction. This regulation would eliminate duplication in state government, by consolidating horizontal construction prequalification at MassDOT. According to DCR, since a single, existing process at MassDOT will apply to all horizontal construction contractors, it will consolidate (from 2 separate applications to 1) and simplify the prequalification process for small contractors. For more information on this regulatory change and process, please contact the UCANE office.
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Please forward a copy of this month's Legislative Update (which appears in this month's issue of Construction Outlook Magazine) to the key people in your company for their review.
Sincerely,
Anne Klayman
UCANE |
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