Rep. Stanley and his colleagues in the House unanimously passed"An Act Relative to Housing, Operations, Military Service, and Enrichment" (HOME Act). This legislation continues the commitment of the Massachusetts General Court to the Commonwealth's veterans, service members and military families by focusing on housing and long-term support services.
The passage of this legislation builds on the successes of the Valor Act I passed in 2012 and the Valor Act II passed in 2014, which helped Massachusetts become the number one state in the nation for providing for veterans services. Learn more.
Rep. Stanley Helps Pass Forward-Looking, Responsible Economic Development Bill
Rep. Stanley joined his colleagues in the House of Representatives to pass an economic development bill that will enhance the state's position as a global economic competitor and support residents through education programs. For the first time, this legislation creates an education tax incentive program (529 plan) which will allow single filers to take a $1,000 tax deduction on contributions to college savings accounts. Learn more.
Rep. Stanley Leads Effort to Include Funding in Budget for Fragile Beginnings Program & Project Newborns Exposed to Substances
Rep. Stanley and twelve of his colleagues sent a letter to Conference Committee Members asking them to adopt the Senate's recommendation to provide $150,000 for Fragile Beginnings to support medically complex and premature infants and $100,000 for Project Newborns Exposed to Substances: Support and Therapy (NESST) to support programing for substance exposed newborns. In FY16, Rep. Stanley was the lead sponsor of the Fragile Beginnings amendment which was included ($150,000) in the final budget.
Fragile Beginnings is a unique combination of services dedicated to improving the lives of premature infants and their parents through direct support and education, plus connections to community resources and each other. Project NESST integrates our growing understanding of families affected by substance use with JF&CS's expertise in perinatal home visiting, infant/parent mental health, and hospital-to-home transitions for parents with vulnerable infants. Fragile Beginnings has served as a model for Project NESST's work with babies born substance exposed and their families - work that supports the Commonwealth's efforts to combat opiate addiction.
Rep. Stanley Supports DCR Parks and Recreation Veto Override
Rep. Stanley and his colleagues are lobbying for support to override Governor Baker's $5,320,338 cut to the Department of Conservation and Recreation's State Parks and Recreation line item. DCR has lost 30% of its workforce due to insufficient funding, hindering the agency's ability to provide proper services and care for its resources. The loss of nearly 400 full-time positions has led to property closures, unstaffed campgrounds, shorter seasons for pools and rinks, and fewer programs for children. Contained in this reduction to State Parks and Recreation is funding for projects that would restore, create, and enhance parks, ponds, playgrounds, and other facilities throughout the Commonwealth that are critical to our communities.
Rep. Stanley Supports Funding for Massachusetts Cultural Council; Asks Budget Leaders to Restore Funding
Rep. Stanley cosigned Rep. Atkin's letter to Chairman Dempsey asking for support in funding the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) line item at $15 million. Unfortunately Gov. Baker reduced the line item by $7.7 million and Rep. Stanley is now working with his colleagues in asking budget leaders for a veto override to restore funding in the Fiscal Year 2017 budget for the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
In the House FY17 budget process, over 100 of Rep. Stanley's colleagues signed onto his amendment seeking to boost funding from the FY16 appropriation of $14 million to $17 million so that the Massachusetts Cultural Council could strongly invest in the arts and culture in our districts. The highlights for an increased investment include stronger financial support for the 34 designated cultural districts, 384 nonprofit organizations, the 329 Local Cultural Councils, community festivals, and arts education with school based after-school education programs in the arts, sciences, and humanities as well as programs for youth at risk. The great work of the Massachusetts Cultural Council enhances the quality of life in all our communities not only with programming and grant awards in sectors ranging from arts and culture to education but also with its impact on the economy.
Rep. Stanley Supporting YMCA Youth-At-Risk Funding Override
Rep. Stanley signed onto a letter to House and Senate budget leaders requesting support from the legislature to override Governor Baker's veto of the FY17 funding for the Youth-At-Risk grant program for the Massachusetts Alliance of YMCAs. The governor's reduction would cut the program to its lowest funding level since FY13 and severely inhibit the work of the YMCAs with some of the Commonwealth's most vulnerable residents. Last year, Massachusetts YMCAs served 340,000 youth, and the money received from the state was matched at an 11:1 ratio, meaning that the $1.1 million investment proposed by the legislature in the conference budget would generate over $12 million in spending.
Legislature Passes Bill To Protect the Rights of Transgender Individuals Using Public Accommodations
Rep. Stanley helped pass final legislation to provide legal protections against discrimination related to gender identity or expression in public accommodations, including the right to use the restroom and locker room that match an individual's gender identity. A portion of the bill will go into effect immediately upon signing. The remainder of the bill will become effective October 1, 2016.
To provide clarity to businesses and help quell harassment of transgender individuals, the bill directs the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination to adopt and promulgate policies regarding the implementation of the law. It also requires the Attorney General's office to provide guidance on how to handle legal action if any person were to assert gender identity for an improper purpose. Public accommodations include places such as hotels, restaurants, retail stores, taxis and trains, bathrooms, parks and entertainment venues.
Rep. Stanley cosigns letter asking for override of veto to Mass. Emergency Food Program
In a letter to Chairman Dempsey, Rep. Stanley and his colleagues requested an override of the Governor's veto of $665,000 from the Massachusetts Emergency Food Program line item. This funding provides food to individuals and families in every legislative district. Those who operate the food bank network are telling us that more and more working families are accessing their services. Nutritious meals are the key to individuals and families being able to work, go to school and stay healthy.
Rep. Stanley Urges Conference Committee to adopt the Senate earmark of $1.3M for the Massachusetts Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs
In a letter to House Ways and Means Chairman Brian Dempsey, Rep. Stanley urged the FY17 Conference Committee to adopt the Senate earmark of $1.3M for the Massachusetts Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs (Youth-at-Risk line-item 4590-1507) in the final FY17 budget.
The Massachusetts Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs is a consortium of 42 Boys and Girls Club corporations that operate throughout the state of Massachusetts. The Alliance was formed a decade ago for the purpose of seeking and sharing financial and program opportunities to help better serve the children of our Commonwealth. In total, the Alliance serves over 164,000 in 53 diverse cities and towns of the Commonwealth. These clubs have unparalleled access to the children, families and communities, supporting programs to reduce youth violence, drug abuse, drop-out rates and other social issues. They offer programs and services that are proven to make a difference, ranging from academic support and career development to health and life skills. Investing in the work of the Boys & Girls Clubs now will pay continuing dividends in the future, saving the state millions in law enforcement, drug rehabilitation, and other social costs.
Rep. Stanley Requests $100K in budget funding for Lincoln to Educate Hanscom Retired-Military Families
Rep. Stanley asked Chairman Dempsey and Conference Committee members to include $100,000 in funding for the Town of Lincoln to help offset the costs of educating the children of retired-military families living on the Hanscom Airforce Base in the House FY17 Budget. Lincoln is facing a unique situation, not shared by many other Commonwealth municipalities, with their unfunded financial burden for the preK-12 education of retired-military residents of Hanscom Airforce Base. The Town has long been a supporter of The Base, a significant generator of jobs and economic activity for the Commonwealth, and its mission, but the educational expenses of non-active retiree children are becoming too big of a burden for a small municipality with limited resources.
The number of non-active, retiree families is projected to keep growing over time and will be unsustainable in the near future for Lincoln. The Town will also be required by state law to educate non-active retiree high school students who, up until this year, had been attending Bedford High School through a previous arrangement between the federal government and the Town of Bedford. These students will now be attending Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, located in Sudbury, in the fall of 2016. Lincoln will be assessed by Lincoln-Sudbury for each student, just as the Town is assessed for all Lincoln residents who attend the high school.
Rep. Stanley Cosigns Letter Urging Budget Funding for YouthWorks
Rep. Stanley signed onto Chairman John Scibak's letter to the Conference Committee to support the $11.5 million included in the FY17 Senate budget for YouthWorks. In FY16, this line item was funded at $11.5 million and provided 4,476 jobs to at-risk youth. During the FY17 budget debate, the House funded the program at $9.7 million while the Senate level funded the program at $11.5 million. Due to the minimum wage increase, level funding this program at $11.5 million would result in a cut of 625 summer jobs. If funded at $9.7 million, the program would lose 1,253 jobs.
Youth employment is particularly important in the summer when street violence is more prevalent. Summer jobs are often first jobs, which teach the habits of paid work and help teens to build on their employability for a lifetime. In addition, YouthWorks funding is critically important to small businesses in many of the economically disadvantaged areas of our state. Many small businesses struggle to hire part time workers for the summer, but these funds help make that possible. In addition, many youth services agencies, like the Boys and Girls Clubs, depend on these funds to increase staff for summer programs.
Rep. Stanley supports $50K for MassKids in Conference Committee Budget
Rep. Stanley cosigned Senator Lovely and Rep. Lawn's letter urging support of the FY17 House Budget's $50,000 appropriation for Massachusetts Citizens for Children and requesting that this appropriation be included in the final conference committee report.
Massachusetts Citizens for Children (MassKids) was founded in 1956 and is the oldest state-based child advocacy organization in the country. The mission of MassKids has been to improve the lives of the most vulnerable children in Massachusetts through advocacy by concerned citizens. Their work is grounded in the belief that all Massachusetts children have the right to be safe from abuse, neglect and violence, to be economically secure and free from poverty, to receive quality medical and preventive care, to learn in quality child care and school settings, and to live in caring families and healthy communities. Since 1986, MassKids has served as the Massachusetts Chapter of Prevent child Abuse America.
MassKids currently leads the Enough Abuse Campaign, a multi-state initiative working to educate and mobilize parents, professionals and communities to prevent child sexual abuse. According to a U.S. Department of Education report, 10% of public school children K-12, or 4.5 million students, report having had inappropriate sexual contact with someone in their school. Recently, the Boston Globe Spotlight team exposed widespread sexual abuse in private schools across the Commonwealth and New England.
A CDC study confirms that as child abuse victims become adults they may engage in high-risk health behaviors to cope with their long term trauma, including drug-use, smoking and overeating. In addition to the health and mental health costs associated with these behaviors, our courts, law enforcement and child protection agencies spend hundreds of millions each year dealing with the aftermath of child sexual abuse. Investing in the prevention of child sexual abuse holds the greatest promise of reducing the significant fiscal and human cost of trauma. Massachusetts citizens agree: 8 out of 10 residents polled believe that child sexual abuse is a serious problem in the Commonwealth and 75% believe that it can be prevented.
The Enough Abuse Campaign aims to prevent child sexual abuse through comprehensive educational programs and stronger school and youth organization policies. It has been adopted by leaders across the state, hailed by the CDC as a first of its kind program, and is critical to the safety of our children and the long term health of our citizenry. However, despite MassKids dedication to stretching every dollar to bring effective programming to as many communities as possible, a lack of funding is jeopardizing their imperative work.
Governor Baker Calls for Increased Penalties for Assaulting Police Officers
Governor Baker filed legislation to strengthen court procedures and increase the penalty for individuals charged with assaulting a police officer from a misdemeanor to a felony when causing serious bodily harm. The bill proposes changes that would give the courts an enhanced ability to deal with individuals who have demonstrated a flagrant disregard for law enforcement and who pose a threat to public safety. The proposed legislation would make three changes in the way that courts could respond to people who commit assaults and batteries on police officers.
First, in cases where the person causes serious bodily injury to the police officer, the penalty will be upgraded from a misdemeanor to a felony and the maximum sentence will be increased to ten years in state prison. The current maximum is set at two and a half years.
Second, in cases where an individual causes serious bodily injury to a police officer, judges will be precluded from continuing the case without a finding, placing the defendant on probation, or giving the defendant a suspended sentence. These are not appropriate punishments when a person breaks a police officer's jaw or arm, blinds an officer, or causes an injury that result in a substantial risk of death. Instead, judges will be required to impose a sentence of at least one year of incarceration in cases involving this sort of serious injury.
Finally, the governor's bill would allow judges to consider whether individuals charged with this offense present a danger to the community and, in appropriate cases, hold the person pretrial. Under current law, judges are required to release a person charged with assaulting a police officer in the line of duty without considering whether that person is a danger to the community. While not every person who commits this offense necessarily presents a danger to the community such that he or she should be held pretrial, the nature of the offense is such that a court should at least be permitted to ask the question.
State Awards $28 Million in Community Development Block Grants
The Baker-Polito Administration awarded 34 Community Development Block Grants, totaling $28 million, to a total of 57 cities and towns across the Commonwealth. The Community Development Block Grant program provides competitive funding that allows municipalities to pursue economic development projects, and support the needs of low- and moderate-income residents. This year's Community Development Block Grant awards will allow municipalities across Massachusetts to redevelop housing and local infrastructure, and provide for a variety of social services, including childcare assistance, elder services and domestic violence prevention programs.
The CDBG awards this year will support numerous efforts to support and improve access to housing and services across the Commonwealth. Funds will provide for housing rehabilitation for almost 300 units, along with infrastructure improvements across communities. Awards will also support improvements to a community center in North Adams, provide youth leadership, family literacy and elder services to families in Montague, facility improvements to West Springfield's Boys and Girls Club, fund a fuel assistance program in Winchendon and Ashby, among many other projects.
Massachusetts' Community Development Block Grant Program is a federally funded, competitive grant program designed to help small cities and towns meet a broad range of community development needs. Assistance is provided to qualifying cities and towns for housing, community, and economic development projects that assist low and moderate-income residents, or by revitalizing blighted areas.
AG Healey Announces Major Award for More Than 12,500 Massachusetts Consumers under Settlements With Volkswagen Over Emissions Fraud
In the wake of admissions that Volkswagen installed software to cheat emissions tests performed on its diesel vehicles, Attorney General Maura Healey announced a multistate settlement requiring Volkswagen to pay more than $570 million for violating state laws prohibiting unfair or deceptive trade practices by marketing, selling and leasing diesel vehicles equipped with illegal and undisclosed defeat device software. This is part of $15 billion in total obligations Volkswagen has to consumers and government.
The multistate agreement is part of a series of state and federal settlements that will provide cash payments to affected consumers, require Volkswagen to buy back or modify certain VW and Audi 2.0-liter diesel vehicles, and prohibit Volkswagen from engaging in future unfair or deceptive acts and practices in connection with its dealings with consumers and regulators.
