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News from Beacon Hill
Rep. Stanley's Monthly Cable Access Show
Rep. Stanley recently brought back his cable access show, The Stanley Report, on the Waltham's Municipal Access Channel (MAC). In Episode 1, Rep. Stanley met with State Treasurer Steve Grossman to discuss unclaimed property, the Small Business Banks Partnership Program and other issues affecting Waltham and the Commonwealth. In episode 2, Rep. Stanley and State Auditor Suzanne Bump discuss the role of the Auditor's office as well as the McKinney-Vento reimbursement included in the FY 13 Budget. To learn more about MAC, click here.
Election Day is November 6, 2012 - Don't Forget to Vote! The Massachusetts general election will take place on November 6, 2012. The last day to register for the general election is October 17, 2012. To learn more about these elections, please visit the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Elections Division website.
Voter Registration Deadline is October 17th
The deadline to register to vote is Wednesday, October 17, 2012 at 8:00pm. To learn more about the registration procedure, click here.
Absentee Ballot Information
Massachusetts allows voters to vote by absentee ballot if they will be absent from the city or town on Election Day, have a physical disability that prevents voting at the polling place, or cannot vote at the polls due to religious beliefs. You may have an absentee ballot mailed to you or you may vote at your city or town hall by making arrangements with your local election official. To be counted, a completed ballot must be received by the time the polls close on Election Day to be counted. If you are voting from outside the United States, your completed absentee ballot for a final state or city election can be received up until 10 days after the election, but must be postmarked on or before Election Day. To learn more about voting by absentee ballot, please click here.
2012 Statewide Ballot Questions
Three statewide ballot questions will appear on the November 6, 2012 State Election ballot. The first question focuses on a proposed law would prohibit any motor vehicle manufacturer, starting with model year 2015, from selling or leasing, either directly or through a dealer, a new motor vehicle without allowing the owner to have access to the same diagnostic and repair information made available to the manufacturer's dealers and in-state authorized repair facilities. If passed, the second would allow a physician licensed in Massachusetts to prescribe medication, at a terminally ill patient's request, to end that patient's life. The third proposal would eliminate state criminal and civil penalties for the medical use of marijuana by qualifying patients. To learn more about these three initiatives, please visit Secretary Galvin's website. Rep. Stanley Met with Janitors, hears concerns over contracts Rep. Stanley, Congressman Markey and several SEIU Local 615 janitors recently met at the Café on the Common in Waltham to discuss the ongoing contract negotiations between the janitors and the cleaning contractors' group. The janitors reached an agreement with the Maintenance Contractors of New England, avoiding a strike. Local 615 represents 14,000 workers in eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. The union's workers clean several buildings including the State House, the Hancock Building and the Prudential Tower. Corless Outlines Changes under New Federal Transportation Law James Corless, executive director of Transportation for America, visited Boston to attend a State House briefing to explain changes under a new federal transportation bill signed by President Obama. The president signed MAP-21, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act into law on July 6, 2012. MAP-21 represents the first substantial changes to how Federal transportation funds are allocated. The new programs put a premium on competition between states and rely increasingly on accountability and performance measures to secure future funding. MA will receive over $585 million a year from the reauthorization bill for transportation and infrastructure. The act, the first long-term highway authorization enacted since 2005, funded surface transportation programs at over $105 billion for fiscal years 2013 and 2014. By transforming the policy and programmatic framework for investments to guide the system's growth and development, MAP-21 created a streamlined and performance-based surface transportation program and builds on many of the highway, transit, bike, and pedestrian programs and policies established in 1991. Bid to Help Homeless Vets Gets $1.5 Mil Boost The federal government will give the state Department of Veterans' Services $1.5 million to fight homelessness among veterans, specifically supporting street outreach programs, peer support and managing chronically homeless veterans' cases. Massachusetts currently has more than 1,200 homeless veterans, which comprise 7.6 percent of the state's homeless population. The funding will be applied to the Statewide Housing Advocacy for Reintegration and Prevention (SHARP) program to hire nine new peer support specialists and 12 new case managers. The SHARP program provides mental health services, emergency shelter and peer support. The grant also includes 322 new housing vouchers from HUD-VASH (Veterans Administration Supported Housing). Get Emergency Information on Your Smartphone Ping4alerts! is a new mobile communications app for alerting the public in emergencies and disasters. Through geofencing technology, ping4alerts! enables the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) to send highly targeted, instant multimedia alerts to iPhone and Android devices to notify citizens about situations and events happening near them. The ping4alerts! FREE mobile app is one way that MEMA sends emergency information and messages. To learn more, click here. Fun Fall Activities in Massachusetts! Massachusetts is an amazing place to visit year-round, and when the leaves explode with color and the fall air becomes crisp and cool, our state comes alive anew! Enjoy hot apple cider, hayrides, apple and pumpkin picking, corn mazes and agricultural fairs. Plan a fall foliage tour, a day trip to or overnight stay at one of our many state parks, discover our national parks, or visit a nature center. Hunters can look forward to the season opening for deer, as well as black bears, turkeys, and waterfowl. Visit the MassGrown website to learn more and plan a fun fall activity.
Massachusetts Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month September 15 to October 15 was Spanish Heritage Month, an opportunity for Americans to celebrate "the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America." Gov. Patrick highlighted the economic contributions and heritage of Hispanic residents at events in Holyoke and Boston. According to the Massachusetts Latino Chamber of Commerce, the Commonwealth ranks 15th among states for most Latino-owned businesses. First recognized as a week-long observation under President Lyndon Johnson, President Ronald Reagan later expanded the holiday to run from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. State's Joint Committee on Education Recognizes Session Accomplishments During the 2011-2012 legislative session, the Joint Committee on Education conducted public hearings on topics such as kindergarten, charter schools, curriculum, school finance and special education. Passed legislative initiatives include legislation to: improve accountability and oversight of education collaboratives: require the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to develop an endorsement (which is an add-on to an existing license) for special education teachers who provide transition services; require every school to create a Medical Emergency Response Plan; provide for the implementation of evaluation systems in school districts; require schools, as of July 1, 2014, to ensure that students who are excluded from school are able to continue to make academic progress during the period of exclusion; and establish the after school and out of school time coordinating council. Additionally, the FY13 budget increased Chapter 70 funding so that all school districts received at least an additional $40 per pupil over FY12, increased regional school transportation funding to $45.52 million, and fully funds the special education circuit breaker at $242 million. Governor Signs Legislation to Create Red Flags Over 3rd Grade Reading Scores Gov. Patrick signed legislation to create an expert literacy panel to provide recommendations to improve the reading abilities of third graders. Education Secretary Paul Reville will chair the nine-member panel. Proponents of the bill claim that one in six children who struggle with reading in the third grade do not finish high school by age 19. Gov. Patrick to Discuss Health Care Reform A Massachusetts Medical Society forum on Oct. 18th will feature Gov. Patrick, who will discuss the state of the Commonwealth's healthcare system. Held in Waltham, the forum will also feature Harvard professor Robert Blendon, Dean Clinic President and CEO Craig Samitt and Sonecon co-founder and Chairman Robert Shapiro. Topics of discussion will include accountable care, the health care landscape, the industry's impact on the economy and implications of the 2012 elections on U.S. health reform. Governor signs new school discipline law Governor Patrick recently signed into law An Act Relative to Students' Access to Educational Services and Exclusion from School. The law provides that schools are responsible for ensuring that students who are excluded from school are able to continue to make academic progress during the period of exclusion. The law also requires schools to create a "school-wide education service plan" to ensure that students who are excluded for more than 10 consecutive days have access to some form of alternative educational services. Such services may include tutoring, alternative placement, Saturday school and online or distance learning. Any school that excludes a student for more than 10 days must provide the student and his parent or guardian with a list of available alternative educational services. Additionally, the law allows for instructional costs associated with providing alternative educational services to excluded students to be eligible for reimbursement through the circuit breaker, provided that such costs exceed the same threshold provided under the current circuit breaker formula. The department is required to submit an annual report to the legislature on the cost of reimbursing school districts for alternative education services through the circuit breaker. Do you have unclaimed property in Massachusetts? The Massachusetts State Treasury has identified hundreds of thousands of new individuals, charities and businesses over the last six months that are entitled to over $60 million in unclaimed property. As part of an effort to return this money, the Treasury will be publishing in newspapers a list of names identified over the past six months owed more than $100. Unclaimed Property includes forgotten savings and checking accounts, un-cashed checks, insurance policy proceeds, stocks, dividends, and contents of unattended safe deposit boxes. Most accounts are considered unclaimed and turned over to the Treasury for safekeeping after three years with no activity. In addition to the $60 million that the Treasury identified over the last six months, the Commonwealth is holding over $2 billion in trust until rightful owners can be identified. The newly released list will include 11 accounts over $100,000, 23 accounts between $50,000 and $100,000, 434 accounts between $10,000 and $50,000 and 10,795 accounts in excess of $1,000. Due to space constraints the list will not include the names of approximately 297,000 individuals identified in the last six months who are owed less than $100, but anyone can easily check to see if they are owed money at www.findmassmoney.com or by calling 888-344-MASS (6277). One in ten people in Massachusetts has unclaimed property in their name. Share transportation reform ideas with MassDOT Attend an upcoming meeting and share your long-term ideas, thoughts and proposals for improving and paying for the Commonwealth's transportation network. To access a list of public meetings across the state, please click here. Mass.gov Offers Open Government Website To foster an "open government," Mass.gov offers information about legislative and regulatory processes, public records, campaign finance reports, lobbyist registrations and reports, open meetings and more. Residents can also get details on the state budget, see where the state's money comes from, locate a law on a topic that is of interest to you or obtain information on any city or town in Massachusetts. Residents can also view detailed information on state government spending. To learn more and visit the site, click here. MassDOT RMV Customer Service has New Number MassDOT announced a new telephone number for Registry of Motor Vehicles business and transactions, 857-DOT-8000/857-368-8000. The number serves the RMV's Call Center which answers an average of 45,000 calls each month. Over the next year, customers will become familiar with the 857-DOT area code and exchange as MassDOT offices across the Commonwealth transition to the new number. The telephone transition will result in annual phone bill and maintenance savings of approximately $422,000. Concerned about lead in your home? Lead is a toxic metal that can come from a number of materials found in and around our homes, including old paint and contaminated soil. If you have lead pipes, or brass or chrome-plated brass faucets and fixtures, it can enter your drinking water via the plumbing. Lead exposure frequently occurs without any symptoms, and can cause behavioral problems, learning disabilities, seizures and death. Children six years old and younger are most at risk. The state offers information about lead and removing it from your home. To learn more, visit the Health and Human Services' website. File for unemployment insurance benefits online or by phone The Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) administers the Unemployment Insurance (UI) program, providing temporary assistance to unemployed Massachusetts workers. Click here to get help with filing a new claim.
Find Volunteer Opportunities at Connect & Serve Connect & Serve is a free web-based volunteer portal administered by the Massachusetts Service Alliance. The Connect & Serve website is a valuable resource for organizations who recruit volunteers and for individuals who wish to find fulfilling volunteer opportunities in their communities. Click here to find a volunteer opportunity near you.
Connect & Serve's user-friendly design has many features to increase the visibility of opportunities across the state, including a quick search function highlighting impact areas, an easy zip-code radius search, and a monthly service projects calendar. All volunteer opportunities are promoted through a statewide collaboration with volunteer connector agencies to build awareness to a wider audience in all regions of the state. Spreading the Word on the Flu Vaccine Every flu season, local health officials work hard to get the word out about the importance of getting vaccinated. At the same time, our communities are becoming more ethnically, linguistically, and culturally diverse than ever before. Now there's a new, comprehensive guide to help local public health departments and community-based organizations get the message out about flu vaccine to the wide variety of people, languages and cultures in their midst. The guide provides a range of real-world practical tips and tools for anyone looking for ways to engage with hard-to-reach populations on the importance of flu vaccination. For more information about how to stay healthy this flu season, click here.
Exciting New Veterans Resource!
The Patrick-Murray Administration launched www.MassVetsAdvisor.org, a cutting-edge web portal that offers enhanced access to services and support for veterans living in the Commonwealth. The new site will help veterans and their family members access more than 200 state and federal benefits in one location, including programs for education, counseling, employment, health care and other services. MassVetsAdvisor streamlines comprehensive data from state and federal resources and lists only the benefits and services each veteran is qualified for, including an "action plan" to apply for the benefits. Veterans will be able to print, email, save or forward the action plan to their Veterans Services Officer for additional one-on-one assistance.
Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Nutrition Program WIC is a free nutrition program that provides healthy foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and referrals to healthcare and other services to Massachusetts families who qualify. WIC stands for Women, Infants and Children. WIC's goal is to keep pregnant and breastfeeding women and kids under 5 healthy. To apply for WIC, call 1-800-WIC-1007 or contact a WIC Program in your community. Please click here for more info.
SAVE Partners with Veterans' Services to Support Veterans & Their Families The fundamental principle of the Statewide Advocacy for Veterans' Empowerment (SAVE) program is to advocate for veterans who are not able to obtain the benefits they have earned due to institutional or personal barriers. The program's primary mission is prevention of suicide and mental health distress through the identification of issues facing veterans when they return from service and proactively providing them with access to benefits and services that may address these issues and result in positive transitions back to civilian life. SAVE acts as a liaison between veterans and their families and the various agencies within the federal and state governments. To learn more, please click here. Mass 2-1-1, in Partnership with United Way, Partners with Department of Veterans Services To learn more about the services available to veterans by MA 2-1-1 and the Massachusetts Department of Veterans' Services, the chief advocate for veterans and their families in the Commonwealth, please click here. 2-1-1 is the national abbreviated dialing code for free access to health and human services Information and Referral. 2-1-1 is an easy-to-remember and universally recognizable number that makes a critical connection between individuals and families seeking services or volunteer opportunities and the appropriate community-based organizations and government agencies. 2-1-1 makes it possible for people to navigate the complex and ever-growing maze of human service agencies and programs. By making services easier to access, 2-1-1 encourages prevention and fosters self-sufficiency. It also is hoped that it will reduce the number of non-emergency calls inappropriately made to 911.
MassWildlife Offers Calendar of Events The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (DFW) is responsible for the conservation - including restoration, protection and management - of fish and wildlife resources for the benefit and enjoyment of the public. The Division works to balance the needs of people and wildlife today so wildlife will be available for everyone's enjoyment today and for future generations. To learn more about DFW events across the Commonwealth, such as wildlife-related workshops, talks, walks or demonstrations, please click here. MassDOT RMV urges eligible drivers to renew their licenses online Services available on the MassDOT RMV website include applying for a first time license; converting an out-of-state license; scheduling a branch appointment; registration renewals; ordering a driving record, crash report or Fast Lane transponder; viewing the status of a license, registration, driver education certificate and title; signing up for organ/tissue donation; and canceling a registration plate.
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. Free program to help veterans & their families quit smoking
A free, statewide smoking cessation program is designed to help Massachusetts veterans and their families live healthier and longer lives. Massachusetts veterans and their family members can now call the Massachusetts Smokers Helpline at 1-800-QUIT NOW (1-800-784-8669) or click here to receive free telephone support and a two-week supply of nicotine patches to help them quit smoking.
Job Opportunities with the Commonwealth of MA
There are a number of job listings posted on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts home page. For more information, click here.
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