Category Archives: Weekly Mass Political Summaries

Week Ending August 20, 2010

State tax revenue figures from the first month and a half of the fiscal
year were announced this week, and Massachusetts collected 6.9% more
over the comparable period from FY2010. Through July and the first half
of August, the Department of Revenue collected $611 million, an increase
of $24 million from 2009. The higher revenue figures can be attributed
in part to a $42 million increase in month-to-date withholding tax
collections. Revenue Commissioner Navjeet Bal also made clear that the
July and August numbers do not include the potential increase in
economic activity, along with decrease in tax revenue, attributed to the
sales tax holiday that took place last weekend.

The first gubernatorial issues debate, organized by MassINC was held at
Suffolk University on Monday. The four candidates participating in the
debate were Republican Charles Baker, Treasurer and Independent Tim
Cahill, Democratic Governor Deval Patrick and Dr. Jill Stein of the
Green-Rainbow party. Billed as an in-depth single issue debate on Cape
Wind, the candidates were asked to give a two minute summary of where
they stand on Cape Wind. Of the four candidates, only Governor Patrick
was in support of the Cape Wind project. Patrick said he was in favor of
Cape Wind, and strongly so because it represented an emissions free,
reliable, locally generated renewable energy source. Charlie Baker made
clear his opposition to Cape Wind because of the already high
electricity costs borne by ratepayers. Cahill said Cape Wind was the
wrong approach because out of state companies will receive the vast
majority of Massachusetts tax subsidies. Cahill also made clear his
support for on-shore wind development, saying that on-shore wind is much
more efficient use of resources. In their closing statements, Charles
Baker said that Cape Wind will raise utility rates, Tim Cahill called
Cape Wind the “wrong project at the wrong time” and Patrick pointed to
the reliability of a long term power contract with Cape Wind and its
effect on stabilizing energy prices. The Governor’s tentative support of
nuclear power also made headlines following the debate.

Massachusetts employers added more jobs in July than in any month over
the past two decades. According to the Office of Labor and Workforce
Development, employers in the state added 13,200 jobs in July. This
total reflects the 19,200 jobs that were added in the private sector,
minus the 6,000 government jobs lost last month. The government job
losses resulted from the temporary Census positions, which had driven up
the number of state jobs earlier this year. Governor Patrick was quick
to claim success from Massachusetts’s investment in biotech, clean
energy and film production. His opponents, Republican Charles Baker and
Independent Tim Cahill, noted the significant job losses since Patrick
took office and the overall number of lost jobs in the past year.
Despite these gains, the unemployment level in Massachusetts for July
remained at 9%, unchanged from last month.

Legislative action remained light this week as the Legislature continued
holding informal sessions with few attendees who act on
non-controversial legislation.

John Nunnari

Week Ending August 6, 2010

After much contentious debate in the Legislature, and attempts at reaching a compromise between the House, Senate and Governor on the number of resort casinos and slot facilities to be licensed under an expanded gambling bill, the Legislature sent Governor Patrick an expanded gambling bill in the final hour of legislative sessions on Saturday that called for three resort-style casinos and two slot facilities, with the licenses for the two slot facilities limited to bidding by Massachusetts’s two racetracks and two former dog tracks. The bill passed the House by a vote of 115-36 and the Senate with a vote of 25-15. Supporters of the bill said it would generate 15,000 jobs and roughly $400 million for the Massachusetts economy.  The final Senate tally was two votes short of the 2/3 majority needed to override any potential gubernatorial veto.

The Governor, who has maintained his opposition to slot machine parlors throughout the expanded gaming debate, said on Thursday of last week that he would compromise with the Legislature and support one slot parlor contingent on the Legislature passing a number of his other legislative priorities. When the final bill from the Legislature allowed for two slot facilities, Governor Patrick almost immediately signaled his opposition.  On Monday the Governor sent the bill back to the Legislature with an amendment that would not allow for any slot facilities.  Since the Legislature had ended formal sessions at midnight on Saturday, they are unable to take the necessary procedural steps to accept the Governor’s amendment, or further amend the bill, so the bill remains in limbo – with no parts of it going into law. In order to do so, the Legislature will need to convene a special legislative session. The prospect of this happening is slim as Senate President Murray has already said she does not think she has the necessary 2/3 vote to take up business in a special session.

In addition to the gambling bill, the House and Senate sent the Governor a CORI reform bill, an economic development bill and a health care reform bill designed to ease small business health insurance premiums. The criminal record information systems legislation restricts public access to criminal record files and grants certain drug offenders parole eligibility before serving mandatory minimums. The economic development legislation establishes a sales tax holiday in August, consolidates economic development agencies and sets up tax breaks for startup businesses. The Governor signed the economic development bill yesterday and is scheduled to sign the CORI bill today.

The U.S. Senate this week passed a state aid bill that would authorize one-time Medicare reimbursement funds to states for six months and provide additional stimulus funding to states. Under this bill, Massachusetts would receive $655 million in Medicaid funding and $205 million in education funding. In clearing the Senate 61-38, the bill received support from two Republicans, the two Senators from Maine, Susan Collins and Olympia Snow. The bill is expected to be taken up by the US House of Representatives as early as next week. In order for Massachusetts to take advantage of these funds, the Legislature will have to pass a supplemental budget.  At this point, legislative leaders are unsure if that action will require a roll call vote; thus, necessitating convening a special legislative session.  If this is the case, the opportunity for revisiting the expanded gaming bill and the Governor’s amendment may exist.

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

Boston Society of Architects/AIA
The Architects Building
52 Broad Street, Boston MA 02109-4301
www.architects.org

See the current Massachusetts Municipal Association’s summary of state actions, prepared for municipal officials – http://wp.me/pwOp1-3a

Week Ending July 30, 2010

The formal session for the two-year legislative session in Massachusetts ends tomorrow, July 31^st. With less than 33 hours before the midnight deadline, activity at the State House has been frenzied as legislators attempt to pass their legislative priorities before the end of the session. The House and Senate met in formal sessions on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and today, and both will meet tomorrow. Many major bills are still in the works, including three conference committees trying to reach a compromise on the issues of: expanded gambling in the state, small business health insurance reform, and economic development. Conference committee reports must be filed with the Clerk by 8pm on Friday night in order to be considered by the Legislature on the last day of session.

On Thursday evening, the House and Senate reached a tentative agreement on the CORI reform legislation, a bill that would restrict public access to criminal record files after a Senate’s provision to offer early parole to non-violent drug offenders was removed.  They did not however reach a final agreement as a conference committee report was not filed. Also on Thursday, a compromise bill was filed that would streamline wind development in the state by consolidating the local and state approval process.  The House began debate on this compromise agreement Friday afternoon.

The bill that has garnered the most attention and still remains unresolved is the gambling bill. A very tentative agreement between House and Senate leaders was rumored on Friday. The rumored compromise bill would allow three resort style casinos in three geographic zones. It would also allow two slot parlors in-state, but restrict bidding on those two licenses to the four existing racetracks in the state. A final compromise bill needs to be filed with the Clerk before 8pm this evening to allow for a Saturday vote.

Governor Deval Patrick, after meeting with Senate President Murray and House Speaker DeLeo on Thursday, indicated that he would approve a single slot machine parlor as part of an expanded gaming bill. Patrick, who does not support slot machine parlors, said he would support one slot parlor contingent on the Legislature also passing bills on economic development consolidation, CORI reform, wind siting reform, and a health care cost control bill.  It is unknown at this point if, and in what form, a gambling bill will reach Governor Patrick’s desk.  It is also unknown if Governor Patrick will have line item veto authority and could possibly veto just the slot parlors provision and not the entire bill, if he disagreed with the slot parlor language.  This will be dependent on whether the conference committee deems the bill a spending bill or not.  There is also the possibility that Patrick will veto the entire bill if he does not agree with it.

Governor Patrick said earlier in the week that he was frustrated with the Legislature’s pace of action and said other bills should not be held up because the gaming bill has not been finalized yet.  He suggested that the Legislature should stay in session past July 31^st if they have not passed some of their major priorities.  Almost immediately, the Senate President said the Legislature will not stay in session after July 31^st.

According to Rasmussen Reports, a poll released this week shows that Governor Patrick is maintaining his lead over his two closest rivals in the race for Governor. In the most recent poll, Patrick receives 38%, Republican Charlie Baker receives 32% and Independent Tim Cahill receives 17%. The poll has a margin of error of 4.4%. 12% of voters remain undecided in the poll of 500 registered Massachusetts voters.  This 6% lead for Patrick is slightly less than previous polls.  Also announced this week was the next radio debate between the three candidates, which will take place on September 16^th.

John Nunnari, Assoc AIA

Week Ending July 9, 2010

The state’s tax collections for the first half of June were announced this week. Tax collections were $138 million above the monthly benchmark and $67 million above the year-to-date benchmark. Revenue Commissioner Navjeet Bal attributed the increase to three categories, all of which exceeded estimates: income tax withholding, sales taxes and business taxes. Administration and Finance Secretary Jay Gonzalez said that state tax collections for the first eleven months of FY2010 were up 0.2 percent and that the Department of Revenue would release final June numbers in the next few weeks.

Negotiations over what form the gambling bill will take shifted into overdrive this week. Governor Patrick raised skepticism about allowing slots at state racetracks and made clear that because of the short timeline between now and the end of session, there would be no time for vetoes or veto overrides on the gambling bill.  House Speaker Bob DeLeo took a harder line on the slots issue, maintaining that allowing slot machines at the state’s existing racetracks is the only opportunity to increase local aid.

Speaker Murray for her part said that she disapproves of guaranteeing slot machine licenses for the state’s racetracks. The House and Senate named the six-member FY11 state budget conference committee this week. On the House side, Reps. Brian Dempsey (D-Haverhill), Kathi-Anne Reinstein (D-Revere) and Paul Frost (R-Auburn) were named while the Senate named Sens. Stan Rosenberg (D-Amherst), Steven Panagiotakos (D-Lowell) and Richard Ross (R-Wrentham). The conference committee is tasked with finding consensus on a single casino bill. The conferees meet for the first time on Thursday in a closed door session. Despite the fact that conference committees are traditionally closed to the public, opponents of expanded gambling said that because the gaming bill has major, long-term implications for the state, an exception should have been made.

The House voted on Wednesday to strike down a new law that aims to diminish the influence of doctors and pharmaceutical and medical device companies. It will take up wind siting and small business health care insurance reform starting next week. Speaker DeLeo also indicated that veto overrides from the budget that the Governor signed were likely in the coming weeks.

The National Governors Association summer meeting is being held in Boston over the weekend. The topics of discussion will include state budget deficits and federal aid, illegal immigration problems and how rising health care costs are squeezing out other discretionary spending. The Governors will meet at Fenway Park this evening in a private reception. They will convene at the Boston Sheraton Hotel on Saturday.

The Massachusetts Association of Realtors, which monitors home sales in the state, said pending homes sales in the state were down 16% compared to one year ago. The Association attributed the decline to an expiration of federal tax credits and said that purchase and sales agreements usually provide a clue to where the housing market is headed over the next few months.

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

Boston Society of Architects/AIA
The Architects Building
52 Broad Street, Boston MA 02109-4301

Week Ending June 25, 2010

The House and Senate voted on Thursday evening to approve a $27.6 billion compromise budget.  The House approved the budget by a vote of 120-28 and the Senate by 33-7.  The budget now goes to Governor Patrick for his consideration in advance of the new fiscal year, which begins on July 1^st. In addition to spending cuts, the budget was notable for uncertainty surrounding the potential shortfall of $700 million in federal aid that was cut by the US House of Representatives last month. The US House of Representatives cut these federal health funds known as FMAP (totaling $25 billion nationally) as part of a jobs bill. This week the US Senate voted for the third time on legislation that would have appropriated $608 million in temporary federal health care funds for Massachusetts; the bill failed to advance by a vote of 57-41. US Senator Scott Brown voted against advancing the bill and issued a statement citing excessive spending that has contributed to the national debt as the reason behind his vote. As a result of the uncertainty, the final Massachusetts budget includes a percentage of each appropriation that is derived from the FMAP relief fund. This is money that would not be available if Massachusetts does not receive the FMAP funds.

Debate on bill allowing for expanded gaming and the construction of three resort style casinos continued in the Senate this week. On Thursday the Senate voted 25-14 to restrict a referendum on a proposed East Boston casino to residents only of that neighborhood in Boston. Originally the entire city of Boston had been slated to vote on whether to accept a proposed casino within city limits.  Also on Thursday, the Senate voted to ban smoking in casinos because of public health concerns and to maintain continuity with the workplace smoking ban in the Commonwealth that is already in place. Debate on the gambling bill is expected to continue today with a final vote expected as early as this afternoon.

According to a poll released this week by Rasmussen Reports, Republican Charles Baker is gaining on Governor Patrick in the Massachusetts race for Governor. In the most recent poll, Patrick receives 41%, Republican Charlie Baker receives 34% and Independent Tim Cahill receives 16%. In last month’s poll, Governor Patrick had maintained a double-digit lead over his two closest rivals which has now been cut to 7%. The poll has a margin of error of 4.5%. The poll of 500 registered Massachusetts voters also found diminished support for offshore drilling and 56% of voters approving of President Obama’s performance. Voters were split on whether to repeal the national health care reform law.

Although Massachusetts added 15,800 jobs last month, the unemployment rate rose in seven areas that are tracked by the state. Despite significant job additions in the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy area, the unemployment rate increased in cities such as Fall River, Fitchburg, Lawrence, Leominster, Springfield and Worcester. According to the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, the 7,000 jobs added in the private sector were in the leisure and hospitality, education, health services and construction fields.

Another indicator was announced this week that gave signs of an improving economy. Sales of homes in Massachusetts rose for the fourth straight month. Single-family home sales in May rose more than 36% and year to date sales are up 29%. The median sales price for a home in the Commonwealth was $290,000 last month.

**Note – the budget was laid before the governor last night for his signature/veto’s. He has 10 days to sign.**

John Nunnari, Assoc AIA
BSA/AIA MA Public Policy Director
jnunnari@architects.org