Medfield02052's Blog

The U.S. Census bureau confirmed on Tuesday that Massachusetts will lose one of its 10 Congressional seats during the 2012 election cycle. Although the population in the state grew from 6,349,097 to 6,547,629 in the last 10 years, a gain of 3.1%, nationwide 12 Congressional seats will shift to faster growing states in the southern and western parts of the U.S. Beacon Hill lawmakers oversee the redistricting process which lawmakers fear may result in lower levels of federal aid for transportation and education. The Census bureau’s announcement also set off a scramble among Massachusetts Congressional Representatives. The 10 Democratic Congressmen now face the unappealing prospects of retirement, running for another office or a putting up a primary challenge to one of their current colleagues. A number of the US Reps such as Michael Capuano, Stephen Lynch and Ed Markey have been mentioned as potential candidates to run against US Senator Scott Brown in 2012. The loss of the Massachusetts seat is the first time that the size of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation has changed since 1992.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment figures were released this week and showed that the unemployment rate was significantly higher in certain geographic regions in the state. According to the new numbers, the statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased from 7.6% in October to 8.2% in November. The new statistics show that the jobless rate was up in all 22 of labor market areas. Fall River, Leominster-Fitchburg-Gardner, and Lawrence-Methuen-Salem in particular registered unemployment rates over 10%. The unemployment rate in the Boston, Cambridge and Quincy area was lower, at 7.2%.

On Monday, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue released the tax collection figures for the first half of December.  The state collected $782 million during this period, a $53 million drop from the same period one year earlier. Navjeet Bal, the state revenue commissioner attributed the decrease to a one-time tax settlement of $120 million that Massachusetts received in December 2009. She said that Massachusetts typically collects the majority of its tax revenue for the month during the second half of December.

The Warren Group, which monitors home sales in the state, said single family homes sales in October were down 30% compared to October 2009. This is the fifth straight month that the number of single family homes sales (2,903 in November) decreased measured year-over-year.  Tim Warren, CEO of the Warren Group, said home sales were up in the first half of the year due to a homebuyer tax credit that ended in June. The median price of a single-family home was up 7.3% from last year to $294,000.

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

Week Ending December 17, 2010

On Tuesday, the state’s Secretary of Administration and Finance and members of the House and Senate Ways and Means Committees held their annual consensus revenue hearing – held to examine the state’s economy as the Administration and Legislature prepare their FY2012 annual budget.  Although the state’s tax receipts have exceeded projections for the first half of FY2011, Administration and Finance Secretary Jay Gonzales stated at the hearing that he is expecting a $1.5 billion deficit in the state budget next year. With federal stimulus aid expiring and increasing pressure brought by the state’s subsidized health care system (MassHealth), the Administration expects they will have to fill the $1.5 billion gap.  Additionally, a $700 appropriations shortfall for the Massachusetts pension system could add to the budget gap. Governor Patrick is expected to file his FY2012 budget in January.

As the 2009 – 2010 legislative session nears its end on January 4^th, members of the House who are moving to the Senate, leaving the chamber or were defeated in their campaigns gave their farewell speeches on Thursday. The incoming class in the House is the largest in recent memory with 44 new members.

According to a Patrick administration jobs report, Massachusetts lost 8,600 jobs in November and the unemployment rate in the state rose from 8.1% to 8.2%. Prior to this month, the unemployment rate had decreased for two consecutive months. The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development announced the state lost 1,800 information jobs, 1,100 in professional and scientific services and 900 jobs in transportation and utilities jobs. The unemployment rate in Massachusetts is still below the national rate of 9.8% and also represents a drop from the Commonwealth’s peak rate of 9.5%.

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

Week Ending December 3, 2010

On Wednesday, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue released the tax collection figures for the month of November.  The state collected $1.43 billion last month, $101 million above the monthly benchmark. Navjeet Bal, the state revenue commissioner said that tax collections for the first five months of the year are up $698 million, an increase of 10.2% over the same period in FY2010. Despite the good news, the Patrick administration anticipates an additional $500 million in appropriations will be needed this fiscal year, because of the increased use of Medicaid in Massachusetts.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor released job statistics today that showed the national unemployment rate rose an additional .2% to 9.8% in November. For the previous three months, the unemployment rate has held steady at 9.6%. 15 million residents in the US are currently unemployed, with 42% of those classified as long-term unemployed (jobless for 27 months or more).

Legislative leaders met this week to discuss follow-up from the Ware report, which detailed systemic abuse and corruption within the Massachusetts Probation Department. On Tuesday, Kevin Martin, deputy to independent counsel Paul Ware, said that Ware’s report does not accuse any politician of criminal conduct. On Thursday Governor Patrick again reiterated his desire to merge the probation department into his administration, arguing that housing the probation and parole boards under one roof would provide prisoners re-entering society with a smoother transition. The state’s top judges, members of the legislature and independent counsel Paul Ware are opposed to the Governor’s proposal.

Two of Governor Patrick’s top aides announced that they would not stay on for Governor Patrick’s second term. The Governor’s current chief of staff Arthur Bernard will be replaced by incoming chief of staff William “Mo” Cowan. Since Cowan was formerly the chief legal counsel in the Governor’s office, he will be replaced by Mark Reilly, a deputy chief legal counsel in the administration. The Governor’s Energy and Environment Secretary Ian Bowles also announced that he will leave the Patrick administration by the end of December. Secretary Bowles will be succeeded by Rick Sullivan, the current commissioner of the Department of Conservation and Recreation.

The Public Policy Institute released a poll this week that showed US Senator Scott Brown with a significant lead over his potential challengers. According to the Public Policy poll, Brown would beat US Representative Mike Capuano 52% to 36%, US Representative Barney Frank 52% to 39%, Victoria Kennedy, wife of the late Senator Ted Kennedy, 48%-41% and UMass Lowell Chancellor Martin Meehan 52% to 36%. The poll was conducted between November 29^th and December 1st and has a margin of error of 4.4%. Senator Brown is up for re-election in 2012, although no Democrat has announced an intention to run.

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