Category Archives: Weekly Mass Political Summaries

John Nunnari provided weekly summaries of Beacon Hill and the Massachusetts political landscape

Weekly Political Report – Week Ending June 10, 2011

Posted on June 13, 2011 | Comments Off on Weekly Political Report – Week Ending June 10, 2011

Week Ending June 10, 2011

 

Government Reform Passes Unanimously in the Senate

On Thursday, the Senate passed SB 1900, Senate President Therese Murray’s (D-Plymouth) omnibus government reform bill. SB 1900 would establish a performance management system by requiring the Executive Branch to curb personnel costs and requiring each new governor to file a zero-based budget during the initial stage of his or her administration. The bill would also implement sunset provisions for agencies and authorities, expand electronic reporting by state agencies, require reports on cash intake and outlays and identify discrepancies between estimates and actual receipt and spending levels. 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. The bill now moves to the House, although Speaker DeLeo (D-Winthrop) has not indicated a timeline for taking up the bill.

 

Budget Conference Conducts 1st Meeting

The six-member FY12 state budget conference committee held its first meeting on Wednesday. The conference committee is tasked with forging consensus and producing a compromise budget bill which then goes to the House and Senate for up or down votes. Both House and Senate budgets relied on $800 million in savings from the MassHealth program, which could involve constraining provider payments and rates to achieve savings, according to the Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute. The new fiscal year begins July 1st, giving the committee a tight schedule to finalize the budget, which must be voted on in each chamber and then reviewed and signed by the Governor.

 

Speaker Outlines Gambling Timeline

House Speaker DeLeo (D – Winthrop) on Monday outlined a timeline for passing an expanded gambling bill. According to the Speaker, his desire is to pass the bill in July. The Speaker made clear that he and Senate President Murray (D – Plymouth) have had only preliminary discussions with the Governor, and that he hopes to take up the issue following the passage of the FY2012 budget plan. The Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies held a hearing on the expanded gaming bills in early May. The Governor has said that the issue of gambling is 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.

 

Tornado Budget Bill Referred to Committee

On Tuesday, Governor Patrick filed a $52 million tornado relief budget bill that would pay for emergency response efforts and expedite municipal borrowing authority for towns affected by last week’s tornadoes. The bill would allow Western Massachusetts municipalities to execute short-term borrowing for emergencies without legislative approval and enable cities and towns to assess FY2012 property taxes based on the damaged conditions of properties. Both Speaker DeLeo and Senate President Murray have expressed support for the tornado relief legislation. On Thursday, the House referred the supplemental budget bill to the House Ways and Means Committee.

 

Business Confidence in Massachusetts Falls

Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM) measures business confidence in the state through a survey it sends out to its members. The AIM confidence index is currently at 51.7, a 4.4% decrease since May. A score of 50 is considered neutral and any rating below 50 signifies generally negative sentiments about business confidence in the state. AIM President Rick Lord attributed the drop to economic reports last month that showed disappointing growth and job creation rates in the state. The index has remained above 50 for the previous eight months. The index reached its all-time low in February 2009.

 

 

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

 

 

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Weekly Political Report – Week Ending June 3, 2011

Posted on June 6, 2011 | Comments Off on Weekly Political Report – Week Ending June 3, 2011

Week Ending June 3, 2011

 

Redistricting Committee Will Release First Draft of New Districts in the Fall

Earlier this year the Massachusetts Legislature created the Joint Committee on Redistricting, which is charged with redrawing the state’s US Congressional districts.  As a result of the 2010 Census, the state is losing one congressional district, shrinking the number of districts from ten to nine. According to the Senate co-chair of the committee, Senator Stan Rosenberg (D-Amherst), testimony that the Committee has received has come mostly from parties interested in preserving the status quo, even though, as Sen. Rosenberg acknowledged, that is impossible since the state is losing a seat. There is a push by Western Massachusetts leaders (where Sen. Rosenberg is from) to keep both of the current Western Congressional districts in place (currently held by Congs. Neal and Olver) – districts that already comprise a large area of the state but that have been losing population. The Legislative Committee on Redistricting is currently holding public hearings to determine how new districts will be drawn. Hearings will continue through July, with a first draft of the redrawn districts expected to be released in the fall.

 

Rep. Tom Conroy (D-Wayland) announces his candidacy for U.S. Senate

State Representative Thomas Conroy, who is currently serving his third term in the Massachusetts House, announced his intention to run against Sen. Scott Brown in the 2012 election. Rep. Conroy becomes the fourth Democrat to join the race to run against Brown. He joins Newton Mayor Setti Warren, City Year co-founder Alan Khazei (who lost in the Democratic primary for the United States Senate to Attorney General Martha Coakley last year), and 1994 Lt. Governor candidate Robert Massie. Each announced candidate is expected to address the 3,000 plus delegates at the State Democratic Convention in Lowell this weekend. Most recent polls have shown Brown with a significant lead over potential Democratic opponents for the 2012 election. In a Suffolk/7NEWS poll from April, 55% of voters believe Brown deserves to be re-elected. Brown presently has $8.3 million in his campaign account. The Democratic primary is scheduled for September 18, 2012.

 

Government Reform Bill to be Voted on in Senate

On Thursday, the Senate adopted an order calling for SB 1900, the government reform bill filed by Senate President Therese Murray (D-Plymouth), to be taken up for a vote next week.  SB 1900 would transition Massachusetts from maintenance budgeting to performance budgeting. Under current law, state agencies and programs receive level funding; Murray would like to move to a zero-based budget under which departments build their budgets from scratch each year.  The bill would also implement sunset provisions for agencies and authorities and 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. The bill has received bipartisan support as well as backing by the state’s major business organizations. Amendments to the bill are due by 12pm on Tuesday.

 

Budget Conference Committee Named

The House and Senate named the six-member FY12 state budget conference committee this week. The conference committee is tasked with forging consensus and producing a compromise budget bill which then goes to the House and Senate for up or down votes. The conference committee includes both Senate and House Ways and Means Chairs, Sen. Stephen Brewer (D-Barre) and Rep. Brian Dempsey (D-Haverhill). From the Senate side, the conference committee also includes Senators Steven Baddour (D-Methuen) and Republican Michael Knapik (R-Westfield). On the House side, Rep. Stephen Kulik (D-Worthington) and Rep. Viriato deMacedo (R-Plymouth) were named. The new fiscal year begins July 1st, giving the committee a tight schedule to finalize the budget.

 

 

 

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

 

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Weekly Political Report – Week Ending May 27, 2011

Posted on May 31, 2011 | Comments Off on Weekly Political Report – Week Ending May 27, 2011

Senate Passes $30.5 Billion Budget

This week the Senate voted to approve its version of the $30.51 billion FY2012 budget bill after a condensed two days of debate on the 599 amendments filed. The budget does not include any new taxes and dramatically reduces the use of non-recurring revenues. In contrast to previous budgets (the FY2011 budget relied on $1.75 billion in onetime revenues) the budget passed by the Senate last night reduces the use of one time revenue to $440 million. According to Senate Ways and Means Chairman Stephen Brewer (D-Barre), the Senate budget represents the smallest year-over-year increase in state spending in 10 years. The House and Senate versions of the FY12 budget will now move to conference committee, where the differences between the two bills will be reconciled. Conference Committee members are expected to named next week.

 

Municipal Health Reform Goes to Conference Committee

Because both the House and Senate budgets included different approaches to municipal health reform, the specifics of that reform will be worked out in conference committee negotiations before the budget is finalized. Both branches claim their versions will save municipalities $100 million in health care costs. Public employee unions issued a more measured response to the Senate’s version of the budget, in contrast to the House plan which enraged public employee unions.  Both the House and Senate versions would give municipalities more autonomy in designing health insurance plans, including the setting of co-payments and deductibles, and limit collective bargaining.

Potential Democratic Challenger to Scott Brown Approached

US Senator Patty Murray of Washington State, director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, confirmed this week that the Democratic Party was in talks with a number of potential candidates to unseat US Senator Scott Brown for the 2012 election. The New York Times reported that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid approached Harvard law professor and consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren about her candidacy.  Most recent polls have shown Brown with a significant lead over potential Democratic opponents for the 2012 election. In a Suffolk/7NEWS poll from April, 55% of voters believe Brown deserves to be re-elected. Brown presently has $8.3 million in his campaign account. The Democratic primary is scheduled for September 18, 2012.

 

Consumer Confidence Index Down

Consumer confidence fell for the first time since July 2010, dropping significantly in the 2nd quarter of the year. The Massachusetts consumer confidence index is currently at 67, down from 74 in the first quarter. Any score below 100 indicates that consumers are more negative than positive. According to Mass Insight President William Guenther, high unemployment and concerns over housing continue to undermine consumer confidence in the state. For the past two years, the consumer confidence index in Massachusetts has been above nationwide consumer confidence measures.

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

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Weekly Political Report – Week Ending May 20, 2011

Posted on May 25, 2011 | Comments Off on Weekly Political Report – Week Ending May 20, 2011

Week Ending May 20, 2011

Senate Committee on Ways and Means Releases Budget

On Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Ways and Means released its $30.5 billion FY2012 budget, which is within a few million dollars of the budget passed by the House and proposed by Governor Patrick earlier this year. The Senate’s recommendations require $1.5 billion in spending cuts from FY2011 levels, $440 million in non-recurring revenues and $209 million in rainy day funds to close the deficit. Amendments to the budget are due at noon today and debate is expected to begin on Wednesday, May 25th. Last month the House approved their own version of the $30.5 billion budget bill, which contained cuts across almost every line item.

Municipal Health Reform Included in Senate Budget

The Senate included municipal health reform as part of the Senate budget process by offering a proposal that would give unions a larger negotiating role than in the House approved plan, while maintaining $100 million in health care cost savings.  The House approved a plan last month as part of the budget that would give municipalities more autonomy in designing health insurance plans, including the setting of co-payments and deductibles, and limit collective bargaining. The House plan enraged public employee unions, who vowed that Democratic members who voted in support would face political consequences. The Senate version establishes that if an agreement between labor and management cannot be met on health care issues, then a three member committee must be established to continue negotiations.  In compassion to the House plan, the Senate proposal increases the time for negotiation from thirty to forty days and sets aside 33% instead of 20% of first year savings that can be used to mitigate the impact on municipal health care subscribers. Public employee unions issued a more measured response to the Senate’s proposal. Given the differences between the House and Senate proposals, this matter will be subject to conference committee negotiations before the budget is finalized.

Committee Holds First Hearing on Governor’s Payment Reform Legislation

On Monday, the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing listened to testimony for six hours on Governor Patrick’s health care payment reform bill. The Governor’s bill, HB 1849, An Act relative to improving the quality of health care and controlling costs by reforming health systems and payments, would move Massachusetts away from a fee-for-service model of payment and towards an integrated patient care model that creates incentives for doctors and hospitals to focus on preventive medicine and global health outcomes. Governor Patrick and members of his administration testified, along with health care providers, insurers, and consumer and public health advocates. Among the concerns raised were over-regulation of the health care industry, concerns about jobs losses, consolidation of providers and increased market power and loss of market innovation. The Committee on Health Care Financing will hold a series of hearings on this bill across the state over the next two months. Speaker DeLeo said earlier this year that he expects action on this issue to be completed before the end of the two year legislative cycle.

 

Court Reform Bill Passes Unanimously in the Senate

Following the passage last week by the House of HB 3395, which would reorganize the Massachusetts Trial Court and reform the Probation Department, the Senate on Thursday voted unanimously to pass the bill with some changes. A Boston Globe series on alleged corruption and a report last year by an independent counsel detailing hiring patronage precipitated the bill’s passage. Neither the House nor the Senate version included the Governor’s proposal to merge the probation department into an agency within the executive branch and instead leaves the agency as part of the judiciary. The bill will now go to conference committee to resolve the differences between the House and Senate versions.

Massachusetts Unemployment Below 8% for First Time in Two Years

Unemployment in the state was down .2% in April to 7.89%, according to a Patrick Administration jobs report.  Massachusetts gained 19,500 jobs last month, as the statewide unemployment rate fell below 8% for the first time since 2009. The highest gains were in the accommodations and food services sector, which added 6,400 jobs.

Tax Collection Figures for first half of May Released

Following last month’s dramatic increase in tax revenues, on Wednesday the Massachusetts Department of Revenue released the tax collection figures for the first half of May.  The state collected $61 million less during the two week period compared to one year earlier. According to Navjeet Bal, the state revenue commissioner, she attributed the decrease to processing and timing factors and said that the large surplus in April appears to have been borrowed from May. Previous supplemental budget spending this fiscal year has erased much of April’s benchmark gains in revenue.

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

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Weekly Political Report – Week Ending May 13, 2011

Posted on May 16, 2011 | Comments Off on Weekly Political Report – Week Ending May 13, 2011

Week Ending May 13, 2011

Senate President Murray calls FY2012 toughest year for budget

Following last week’s announcement of the budget timeline, Senate President Therese Murray (D-Plymouth) said this week that the FY2012 budget will be the “toughest budget” since the recession began.  The Senate budget bill is expected to be released next week on Wednesday, May 18th and amendments will be due by noon on Friday, May 20th. Floor debate will then begin on Wednesday, May 25th. During her remarks, Senate President Murray stated that despite tax collection figures in April that were $587 million above benchmarks, 2011 tax collections cannot be spent in FY2012. Murray said that the Senate version of the budget to be released next week will attempt to close a $1.8 billion gap between revenues and expected spending. Last month the House approved their own version of the $30.51 billion budget bill, which contained cuts across almost all line items.

 

Newton Mayor announces his candidacy for US Senate

Setti Warren, the current Mayor of Newton and a former aide to John Kerry announced his candidacy to run against Sen. Scott Brown in the 2012 election for US Senate. Warren was the first African American Mayor elected in Massachusetts, when he was elected Mayor in 2009. He is the third Democrat to announce his intention to run against Brown; he joins City Year co-founder Alan Khazei (who lost in the Democratic primary for the United States Senate to Attorney General Martha Coakley last year), and 1994 Lt. Governor candidate Robert Massie. Most recent polls have shown Brown with a significant lead over potential Democratic opponents for the 2012 election. In a Suffolk/7NEWS poll from April, 55% of voters believe Brown deserves to be re-elected. Brown presently has $8.3 million in his campaign account. The Democratic primary is scheduled for September 18, 2012.

House and Senate pass $85 million in Emergency Supplemental Budget

Both the House and Senate this week passed an $85 million supplemental budget bill to fund end-of-year spending deficits. The bill includes $42.2 million for Public Counsel Services, $3.3 million for snow and ice removal and $15 million for case-load driven account such as transitional assistance. The Senate version also includes $25 million to fund an underground storage tank removal program in the state. Senate Ways and Means Chair Stephen Brewer (D-Barre) said that he did not expect any additional deficit spending during FY2011.

Court Management Bill Passes Unanimously in the House

HB 3395 would reorganize the Massachusetts Trial Court and aims to reform the Probation Department following a Boston Globe series on alleged corruption. HB 3395 passed the House by a vote 152-0 on Wednesday.  The bill, which had an expedited hearing before the Joint Committee on the Judiciary last week, did not include the Governor’s proposal to merge the probation department into an agency within the executive branch. The Senate President has generally been supportive of the reorganization of the Trial Court; the Senate is expected to take up the bill next week.

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

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Weekly Political Report – Week Ending April 29, 2011

Posted on May 4, 2011 | Comments Off on 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 3rd 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 3rd 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

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Weekly Political Report – Week Ending April 22, 2011

Posted on April 27, 2011 | Comments Off on Weekly Political Report – Week Ending April 22, 2011

Week Ending April 22, 2011

Competing Proposal for Municipal Health Reform Released

In the FY2012 budget proposal released by the House Ways and Means Committee last week, municipalities were given more control to design health insurance plans, including setting co-payments and deductibles, outside of collective bargaining. Public employee unions made clear their opposition to this change and suggested a competing proposal in a budget amendment filed late Friday. The amendment, backed by 50 legislators, including 6 committee chairs, was sponsored by Rep. Marty Walsh (D-Dorchester), a union member and current President of the Boston Building Trades. His proposal would restore various collective bargaining powers to municipal unions and grant them a 45 day period to negotiate over health benefits and the use of arbitration if they fail to come to an agreement. This issue has dominated the political landscape this week and is expected to dominate the House budget debate when it begins next week.

Poll Shows Anxiety over Jobs

A poll released this week showed that more than 85% of Massachusetts residents are worried about jobs, with 33% worried that they or someone in their family would lose a job within three months. The poll was conducted by UMass-Dartmouth’s Department of Public Policy of 1,207 Massachusetts residents in February and March and has a margin of error of 2.8 points. The poll also showed that 80% of residents are concerned or very concerned about the cost of health care and the cost of higher education.  Less than half of the poll’s respondents said they were focused on taxes in the state.

 

Speaker DeLeo Sets Out Timeline for Newly Released Court Management Bill

Speaker DeLeo released a plan this week that would reorganize the Massachusetts Trial Court, creating a new Office of Court Management. The bill would put the Probation Department under the Judiciary and establish an objective entrance exam for probation officer applicants. A report released late last year detailed systemic abuse and corruption within the Massachusetts Probation Department and included allegations that patronage influenced the hiring of probation officers. DeLeo’s proposal is in conflict with Governor Patrick, who has repeatedly pressed for merging the probation department into an agency within the executive branch, arguing that housing the probation and parole boards under one roof would provide prisoners re-entering society with a smoother transition. Speaker DeLeo said that probation reform is one of his top priorities and the court management bill would be sent to the Senate by mid-May.

Smaller Number of Budget Amendments Filed

Following the release by the House Ways and Means Committee last week of its $30.45 billion FY2012 budget, legislators filed a total of 758 amendments to the budget by the 5pm deadline last Friday. The number of amendments is down significantly over the past three years. According to leadership in the House, the total number of amendment filed are down because many lawmakers recognize that because of the tight fiscal restraints, there is less money in the budget, and also 25% of House members are freshman and new to the budget process. In 2009 and 2010, House members filed 869 and 978 amendments respectively. The highest number of budget amendments (1,512) was filed in 2008, prior to the nationwide recession. The House is set to begin debate of the budget and amendments next week.

Tax Collection Figures Released

On Thursday, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue released the tax collection figures for the first half of April.  The state collected an additional $107 million during the period compared to one year earlier. According to Navjeet Bal, the state revenue commissioner, total state tax collections through the first nine months of the year have exceeded budget expectations by $850 million.  Although tax receipts continue to beat projections, supplemental budget spending has already surpassed $850 million, mainly to pay for spiking costs in the state Medicaid program.

Legislative Action Light this week

With few members on hand because of school vacation, legislative action remained light. The House is set to begin debate on the budget bill and the 758 amendments filed to it next week.

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

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Weekly Political Report – Week Ending April 15, 2011

Posted on April 15, 2011 | Comments Off on Weekly Political Report – Week Ending April 15, 2011

Week Ending April 15, 2011

House Committee on Ways and Means Releases Budget

On Wednesday, the House released its $30.45 billion FY2012 budget, following the release of the Governor’s recommended FY2012 budget in January. The House’s budget attempts to close a $1.9 billion gap between spending and revenues but does not include any new taxes. To help close the budget gap, financial aid to municipalities was reduced by 7%. In addition, the budget contains an outside policy section which would give municipalities more control to design health insurance plans, including setting co-payments and deductibles, which would be exclusive from collective bargaining. The goal of the proposal is to offset local aid cuts by giving cities and towns a health care cost savings measure that House leaders have valued at upwards of $100 million.  Public employee unions are ardently opposing this proposed change. The House is set to begin debate of the budget the week of April 25th.  Amendments to the budget are due by 5pm today.

Expanding Gaming Hearing Date Set for May 4th

The Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies this week set a hearing date to consider bills that would expand gambling in the state. Bills heard will range from proposals to bring destination resort casinos and slot parlors to the Commonwealth to other means of generating new gambling revenue for Massachusetts.  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.

A poll this week by the Center for Policy Analysis at UMass Dartmouth found that 55% of residents support a plan for three destination resort casinos in the state. 23% of the 1,200 Massachusetts residents polled were opposed to the three casino plan and 22% were undecided. The poll had a margin of error of 2.8%.

Governor Signs Supplemental Budget Bill

On Monday Governor Patrick signed a $325 million mid-year spending bill which was passed by the House and Senate two weeks ago, with one significant veto. The Governor chose to veto $104,000 that was designated for the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office, after the Barnstable Sheriff hired former State Rep. Jeff Perry at a salary of $110,000. Perry was the Republican nominee for the 10th Congressional district, which was won by Congressman Bill Keating (D).  In addition to the $2.64 million for county sheriffs that the Governor highlighted, the spending bill includes $50 million for snow and ice removal, $30 million for Trial Court employee collective bargaining, $6 million for youth summer jobs and $100 million in additions to the state’s “rainy-day” fund.

 

Massachusetts Unemployment Decreases Slightly

Unemployment in the state was down .2% in March, according to a Patrick Administration jobs report.  Massachusetts gained 3,200 jobs last month, as the statewide unemployment rate fell to 8%. The gains came from job increases in the leisure and hospitality sectors (2,100) and the professional, scientific and business sectors (1,500).

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

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Weekly Political Report – Week Ending April 1, 2011

Posted on April 4, 2011 | Comments Off on Weekly Political Report – Week Ending April 1, 2011

Week Ending April 1, 2011

Supplemental budget bill sent to Governor

On Thursday the House and Senate passed a $325 million mid-year spending bill, which has been sent to the Governor for his signature. The bill includes $50 million for snow and ice removal, $30 million for Trial Court employee collective bargaining, $6 million for youth summer jobs and $100 in additions to the state’s “rainy-day” fund which is contingent on tax collections. With more than $750 million in supplemental spending bills approved in FY2011, the current supplemental budget bill would bring the total to over $1 billion in supplemental spending for the fiscal year.

 

Fidelity and Evergreen Executives Appear before Senate Committee

The Senate Post Audit and Oversight Committee held a hearing this week on targeted tax breaks that were granted to Fidelity Investments and Evergreen Solar, two companies that recently announced significant movement of jobs out of the Commonwealth.  Fidelity announced two weeks ago, while the Governor was overseas on a trade mission, that it would move 1,200 jobs from Massachusetts to existing facilities in New Hampshire and Rhode Island. Evergreen Solar has received $21 million in tax breaks but recently announced its intention to close its facility in Massachusetts and layoff most of its Massachusetts employees and move production to China. The Chairman of the committee, Senator Mark Montigny (D-New Bedford), made clear his opposition to tax breaks for favored industries and said that he hopes the current budget crunch will help bring an end to the tax incentives.

 

Home Sales down in February

The Warren Group released a report this week showing a dramatic decrease in single family home and condo sales last month (1,746). February had the lowest home sales volume of any month in the last 24 years and also saw the eighth straight drop for home sales in the last twelve months. Tim Warren, CEO of the Warren Group, attributes the large drop in sales to the winter weather that kept home shopping to a minimum. Last month the median sale price for a single family home was lower than one year prior: $255,000, down from $270,000 in February, 2010.

Retreat for House Leadership

Despite an April 1st snow storm that hit Massachusetts, a retreat for House leadership, including all committee chairs and vice-chairs, is taking place today at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Last week House Speaker Robert DeLeo (D – Winthrop) announced that the retreat at UMass Amherst would include presentations on the economic outlook in Massachusetts and committee work management. On the House’s agenda for this legislative session are issues such as the FY2012 budget, health care payment reform, municipal health care reform, pension reform and changes to the state’s parole system. The House is expected to take up the budget at the end of April.

 

 

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

 

 

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Weekly Political Summary – Week Ending March 11, 2011

Posted on March 16, 2011 | Comments Off on Weekly Political Summary – Week Ending March 11, 2011

Week Ending March 11, 2011

 

Obama Travels to Boston

President Obama came to Massachusetts this week to visit TechBoston Academy in Dorchester, a 6th – 12th grade technology oriented pilot school within the Boston Public Schools system. The President pointed to TechBoston as a model of success and said many of its key features—a focus on science and math, a strong public/private partnership, and longer school days—should be considered when debating national education reform. TechBoston has a 20% higher graduation rate (83%) than other schools in Boston and has gained recognition for its use of technology in the classroom.

 

Governor Patrick on Trade Mission Abroad

Governor Patrick was not in Massachusetts during the President’s visit because he was leading a trade mission to Israel and the U.K. along with representatives from Massachusetts based companies. The goal of the trade mission was to generate economic development opportunities in Massachusetts for Israeli and UK based companies and for Massachusetts companies in those countries. On Thursday, the Governor signed a memorandum of understanding with Israel that will enable more research and development collaboration between Israel and Massachusetts in the life science and clean tech sectors. After his trip to Israel, Patrick will travel to the United Kingdom. At the beginning of this week Governor Patrick spoke at the annual Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner for the Colorado Democratic Party. Patrick has begun traveling outside of the state more, and has stated that he intends to continue doing so, with much of the focus of his trips on supporting President Obama politically and in preparation for the 2012 election.

 

Local Leaders Told to Expect Less State Funding

House Ways and Means Chair Brian Dempsey (D-Haverhill) said this week that municipal leaders should expect that local aid could be cut more than what was proposed in the Governor’s FY2012 budget, which he released in January. Chairman Dempsey said that as the House prepares its version of the FY12 budget, they are considering decreasing local aid payments. He pointed to the $1.5 billion in federal stimulus funds that will not be available next fiscal year as one reason cuts need to be made. House leaders have pledged not to include any tax increases in next year’s budget, despite a projected $2-3 billion budget gap.

 

Health Care Cost Control Debate This Week

Health care cost control stayed front and center at the State House this week as the Joint Committee on Public Service held a hearing on Tuesday to hear testimony about numerous bills regarding municipal health insurance cost control. The lengthy hearing consisted of testimony from municipal leaders who argue that they need more control to change health insurance plans for public employees and testimony from union officials and members who argued that they need the continued ability to bargain with municipalities about any changes to health care plans. The Governor’s bill, which requires municipalities to provide health insurance coverage to its employees either through the

Commonwealth’s Group Insurance Commission (“GIC”) or through an insurance plan of equal cost, is seen as a potential cost saver for municipalities that continue to struggle with increasing health care costs.

 

House Leader Expects Payment Reform Debate in 2012

The debate about municipal health insurance took place before the backdrop of the broader debate in the State House about health care cost control. The Governor’s payment reform legislation is currently before the Joint Committee on Health Care Finance. In the first indication of when the legislature may debate this legislation, the House Majority Leader, Ron Mariano, said this week that he expects the House to begin debate on the bill early in 2012. He said the bill is so complex, that the Committee and House members need plenty of time to understand all the aspects of the bill before they are asked to vote on it. Mariano also said that even if the bill does not produce immediate cost savings, the Legislature should still consider it because of the potential for long term cost savings.

 

Expanding Gaming Still at Forefront of Speaker’s Agenda

House Speaker DeLeo (D – Winthrop) said this week he hopes that the House and Senate will pass a gambling bill in the first year of this two year session rather than wait until next year to address the issue. The Speaker made clear that he and Senate President Murray (D – Plymouth) have had only preliminary discussions with the Governor, which he hopes to resume once Governor Patrick returns from his trip to Israel and the U.K. on March 17th. DeLeo also said that he is hopeful that expanded gambling can be part of next month’s budget discussions provided that legislative leaders and the Governor resolve their differences beforehand. This statement was followed later in the week by news that former Congressman Bill Delahunt was hired by the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, in part to assist their efforts to get authorization to build a casino on their tribal land in southeastern Massachusetts.

 

Massachusetts Unemployment Rises

The seasonally adjusted unemployment figures were released this week and showed that the unemployment rate was up in all of the 22 geographic regions in the state. According to the new numbers, the statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 8% rose to 9% from December to January. The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development attributed the statewide rise to seasonal trends.

 

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

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