Rep. Stanley and his colleagues in the House passed a

Rep. Stanley, Mayor Walsh and Boston City Councilor Tito Jackson spoke at an Education Committee public hearing which featured the Charter School and Common Core initiative petitions seeking to get on the statewide ballot this fall.  Rep. Stanley spoke against the ballot initiative because of the financial impact on public schools and the lack of local control over whether a charter school should be in a community.  The ballot initiative would lift the cap on charter schools and allow the authorization of up to 12 new charter schools or charter expansions a year.

Rep. Stanley joined a broad coalition of lawmakers seeking an increase in school aid under the state's education funding formula.  In a letter sent to House and Senate budget makers this week, Rep. Stanley advocated for a boost in minimum per pupil aid to help local school districts that may not otherwise qualify for additional funding.

Under the current Chapter 70 formula, the vast majority of school districts across Massachusetts receive only this minimal increase each year. Yet these school districts face rising expenses every year to maintain existing services and most of these cost drivers, including energy and health care rates, contractual obligations and testing mandates, are beyond the control of local districts.

The joint request, co-signed by 70 plus Democrats and Republicans, calls for an increase in minimum aid from current level $20 under a budget proposal filed by the governor, up to $50 for the upcoming fiscal year. On a statewide basis, the request would add about $20 million to the entire Chapter 70 line item. The FY2017 state budget is expected to be released this spring and will be finalized by July.

Rep. Stanley cosponsored House Bill 4567, legislation to establish a tax credit and personal income tax deduction for student loan assistance. The bill aims to address the serious and growing problem of student loan debt, the second largest type of consumer debt in America. The average college graduate holds $35,000 in student loans.

The bill acts much like 401(k) contribution and matching assistance programs that many companies offer as a benefit and retention incentive to their employees.  It adds an option to incentivize both employees and employers in Massachusetts to contribute directly to the employee's student loan debt by treating payments to student loan debt as non-taxable income to their state taxes, and offering tax credits to companies who make direct contributions to their employees' student loan debt up to $4,500/year.

Rep. Stanley and his colleagues sent a letter to House Ways and Means Chairman Brian Dempsey asking for an increase to the line item that funds homeless prevention services.  There are 120,000 low-income seniors in the Commonwealth who may be at risk of homelessness, and could benefit from homeless prevention services provided through an increase in funding.   The letter requests a $175,000 increase to expand critical homelessness prevention services to at least three Gateway communities outside of Boston, such as Malden, Quincy and Brockton.  Funds will support direct services to elders who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. They will also support coordination and integration of community based services to reduce duplication and increase effectiveness, as well as expanded data collection and analysis. 

Following the passage of House Bill 3854 last November, Rep. Stanley joined his colleagues in requesting that the Conference Committee report a revised bill to raise the net metering caps as expeditiously as possible. House Bill 3854 promotes cost-effective solar energy growth and sets the Commonwealth on a path to meet its Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA) requirements. 

The legislators expressed concern that sharp cuts to net metering credit value will irreparably harm Massachusetts' solar industry and its 15,000 employees. Resetting all new solar projects to the wholesale net metering credit rate will make it prohibitively difficult to finance low-income, community shared solar or municipal projects. In addition, the transition to the wholesale rate for existing projects, while 20 years down the road, will lead to major bill increases for municipalities and other solar customers.  Finally, we have heard significant concerns about the provision creating a "minimum monthly reliability contribution" and the impacts that could have on existing solar customers and future solar growth.

Rep. Stanley attended a Joint Committee on Transportation oversight hearing on Monday, March 7 at the State House.  The purpose of the hearing was to examine and accept testimony from the MBTA's Fiscal and Management Control Board on the challenges and opportunities facing the Authority as presented in the Board's First Annual Report.

As a member of House Ways and Means, Rep. Stanley attended a Ways and Means hearing on Tuesday March 8th. The topics of the hearing included Economic Development and Housing, Labor and Workforce Development, Libraries, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and the Commission on the Status of Women.

With the help of a $500,000 state grant, Minuteman High School will launch a new Advanced Manufacturing & Metal Fabrication program to train high school students and adults for high-wage, high-demand jobs in the field of advanced manufacturing in the MetroWest region. 

The competitive grant was announced by Governor Baker during ceremonies at the State House on February 24.  The Governor announced grants totaling $9.3 million from the new Massachusetts Skills Capital Grant Program.  He was joined at the event by Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Ronald Walker II, Education Secretary James Peyser, and Housing and Economic Development Secretary Jay Ash. Some 68 schools and training programs applied for grants.  Only 35 were successful.

Minuteman received $500,000, the largest grant possible under the program.  Only one other school received the maximum award. With the grant, Minuteman will purchase 10 industry-standard machines and 15 ancillary training simulators.  The equipment will include five Mini Mills, four CNC Tool Room Lathes, and one CNC Lathe with Y Axis.    The equipment will help Minuteman serve vocational high school students, academic high school students, unemployed and underemployed adults, and incumbent workers seeking to earn industry credentials.

Rep. Stanley cosigned House Bill 4531, an Act Strengthening Public Education in the Commonwealth. The bill implements the findings of the Chapter 70 Review Commission and favorably adjusts the formula by which Chapter 70 aid and foundation budgets are calculated.  This bill, if enacted, will bring significantly more Chapter 70 aid to many schools. 

The bill adjusts the employee health insurance rate captured in the "Employee Benefits/Fixed Charges" component of the formula to reflect the average Group Insurance Commission (GIC) rate, adds a new category for "Retired Employee Health Insurance" to the foundation budget and establishes a separate health care cost inflation adjustor for the employee health insurance portion of the "Employee Benefits/Fixed Charges" component of the formula, based on the change in the GIC rates.

Regarding special education, the bill increases the assumed in-district special education enrollment rate from 3.75% to 4.00% (for non-vocational students) and 4.75% to 5.00% (for vocational students).  It also increases the out-of-district special education cost rate to capture the total costs that districts bear before circuit breaker reimbursement is triggered.

Rep. Stanley cosigned a letter urging the Ways and Means Committee to release Senate 2121 and move the Commonwealth a step closer to establishing a climate adaptation management plan. Assessing our coastal and inland vulnerabilities, planning for statewide climate change adaptation, and making long overdue improvements to aging infrastructure threatened by climate change are imperative to the future of the Commonwealth. Failing to prepare for climate change places our constituents and our economy at risk, and threatens future generations' quality of life.

Governor Baker announced $9.3 million in workforce skills equipment grants to 35 high schools, community colleges and vocational training providers across the Commonwealth for vocational-technical education and training equipment purchases that connect Massachusetts students and residents to economic opportunities in high-demand industries.  The inaugural round of the Workforce Skills Capital Grant program received 68 applications, requesting a total of $18 million in funding.

The Workforce Skills Capital Grant Program is a new initiative of the Governor's Workforce Skills Cabinet, which seeks to align education, workforce and economic development strategies across the state. Governor Baker tapped Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Ronald Walker II, Education Secretary James Peyser, and Housing and Economic Development Secretary Jay Ash to work together to develop policies to improve economic and job training opportunities for residents of the Commonwealth.

The Baker Administration filed "An Act Financing Improvements to Municipal Roads and Bridges" that included $200 million for local transportation infrastructure improvements across the Commonwealth, otherwise known as Chapter 90 funds. Additionally, this legislation includes a request to authorize funding for a small bridge program and a separate authorization request for the federal aid highway program.  Chapter 90 funding is issued by municipality and predetermined by a formula that factors in a municipality's population, road miles, and employment.

Chapter 90 reimburses cities and towns for costs incurred for eligible transportation projects. Cities and towns must submit receipts to the MassDOT Highway Division district in which they are located which verifies that the expenditures qualify for reimbursement under Chapter 90. The Highway Districts in turn submit these receipts to the Department of Transportation's Fiscal Department which facilitates the reimbursements to cities and towns.

Part of the legislation includes a request to authorize $50 million for a five-year small bridge program. The funding will support approximately 1,300 bridges on municipal roads across Massachusetts that span lengths between 10 and 20 feet. The new program will target small bridge projects that are not eligible for federal aid under existing bridge replacement or rehabilitation programs, and are a high risk for full or partial closure in the near future due to their present condition.

Another part of the bill filed today includes a $750 million authorization request for the federal aid highway program. While the authorization request must be for the full $750 million, the Commonwealth will be responsible for $135 million of that spending.

An MBTA Board voted to increase fares by an average of roughly 9.3 percent effective July 1.  The fare increases will raise $42 million for the MBTA.  Fare hikes were also approved in 2007, 2004 and 2000.