Weekly Political Report – Week Ending April 29, 2011

Week Ending April 29, 2011

House Passes $30.51 Billion Budget

This week the House voted 157-1 to approve its $30.51 billion FY2012 budget bill after a week of debate on the 758 amendments filed. While the budget included no new taxes or fees, it contained cuts across almost all line items.  The budget now moves to the Senate, which will release its version of the budget in mid-May with floor debate to follow.

Municipal Health Reform included in House budget

In one of the most closely watched votes of the budget debate, on Tuesday night the House voted 111-42 in favor of an amendment that would give municipalities more autonomy to design health insurance plans, including the setting of co-payments and deductibles –exclusive from collective bargaining. The House passed proposal establishes that if an agreement between labor and management cannot be met on health care issues, then a committee is set up to continue negotiations.  If after thirty days there is still no agreement, then the management proposal is automatically adopted but 20% of the avoided health care costs are used to reduce insurance costs for employees.

Public employee unions were enraged at the House passed plan, arguing that it restricted collective bargaining of public employees. The unions vowed that there would be political consequences to Democratic members who voted for the plan. Passage of the amendment was praised by business and statewide groups such the Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM) and the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. The fact that the House took action on municipal health insurance reform, a topic that remains controversial, received praise from the Governor and Senate President Therese Murray (D-Plymouth).  However the Senate President said she has not yet decided whether the Senate will address municipal health care reform in a stand-alone bill or as part of the Senate budget process.

Senate Releases Government Reform Bill

The Senate President filed government reform legislation (SB1900) this Thursday. The wide ranging bill would create a commission to find efficiencies in government operations, expand electronic reporting by state agencies and make more stringent financial reporting requirements. Under SB1900, the state’s debt limit would be increased to $1.7 billion at the start of the next fiscal year and local aid to cities and towns would be paid in monthly allotments, as opposed to the quarterly payments currently in place. A hearing on Senate President Murray’s bill has been scheduled before the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight for Tuesday, May 3^rd at 11am.

Hearing Set for Court Management Bill

Speaker DeLeo filed a court management and government hiring reform bill last week in response to the probation scandals over the last years. The bill, which aims to reduce patronage in the Probation Department and create additional accountability in the Trial Courts, would reorganize the Massachusetts Trial Court, creating a new Office of Court Management. The bill would also put the Probation Department under the Judiciary and establish an objective entrance exam for probation officer applicants. Speaker DeLeo has said that probation reform is one of his top priorities and had requested an expedited hearing schedule. The Joint Committee on the Judiciary has scheduled a hearing for HB 3395 for Tuesday, May 3^rd at 1pm.

Governor’s Comments on Gambling

With the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies set to hear expanded gaming bills next week, the Governor said that the issue of gambling was much higher on Speaker DeLeo’s agenda than on his own. Although the House and Senate and Governor were generally in agreement about authorizing casinos in the state before the end of last session, the issue of whether slot machines should be allowed at the state racetracks ultimately derailed the bill’s final passage.

John Nunnari, Assoc AIA
Executive Director, AIA MA
jnunnari@architects.org
617-951-1433 x263
617-951-0845 (fax)

MA Chapter of American Institute of Architects
The Architects Building
52 Broad Street, Boston MA 02109-4301
www.architects.org