CLT UPDATE
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Deval Patrick, as governor
The Department of Revenue said yesterday that tax
collections so far this year rose $297 million above the same period
from the previous year to $8.76 billion, an increase of 3.5 percent.
So far this fiscal year, the state has collected $98 million more than
it had anticipated. On Oct. 24, the fiscal year benchmark was raised by
$202 million to $19.13 billion.
Associated Press
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Welcome to the new Massachusetts, where before he even takes
office Gov.-elect Deval Patrick is taking steps to spend every dime of tax
revenue the state collects.
Patrick made things a whole lot tougher for himself this week when he said he
will restore $380 million in emergency budget cuts that were imposed by Gov.
Mitt Romney in the fall....
Patrick said he’ll do a blanket reversal of the cuts, explaining that the move
is possible because monthly tax revenues are coming in higher than projections.
In other words, if you’ve got it, spend it. And that includes the funding for
that infamous gazebo in Braintree and the Victorian street lights in Melrose.
A Boston Herald editorial
Friday, December 29, 2006
New gov’s digging a deep budget hole
Aides to Governor-elect Deval Patrick said yesterday that the
state is facing a deficit that could reach $1 billion next year, a looming
budget gap that observers say could force Patrick to scale back his ambitious
agenda, slash spending, or raise taxes....
A $1 billion gap, in a $26 billion budget, could force Patrick to make
unpleasant choices, to cut spending, dip into the state's $2.1 billion "rainy
day" fund, or raise taxes, which Patrick has repeatedly vowed not to do....
"We have trouble ahead, the only question is how bad, how deep is the hole,"
said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, who
has been advising the incoming administration.
Patrick, who will be inaugurated Thursday, pledged during the campaign to
increase aid to local governments so they can cut property taxes, saying that
was more fiscally responsible than rolling back the state income tax as voters
approved in a 2000 referendum.
But Widmer said, "the fiscal picture suggests that it will be virtually
impossible to provide any relief to the property taxpayer in the short term."
...
David G. Tuerck, executive director of the Beacon Hill Institute, a economic
think tank, said Patrick appears to be laying the groundwork to raise taxes.
"It doesn't seem likely to me that the new governor is going to be willing to
cut a billion dollars of state spending," Tuerck said. "There is the 'rainy day'
fund, but he'll be advised -- and I think correctly -- not to dig that deeply
into the 'rainy day' fund, thus it seems we're left with one inference, which is
taxes will have to go up." ...
Stephen P. Crosby, a budget official in the administration of former acting
governor Jane Swift who is advising Patrick, said a working group Patrick
assigned to analyze the budget has warned Patrick that he will need to consider
all options, including raising taxes.
Crosby argued that Patrick's victory over Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey, a
proponent of tax cuts, suggests that "the times are different" and voters are
more interested in preserving services than slashing taxes.
"The no-new-taxes thing doesn't have the traction it used to have," he said.
The Boston Globe
Saturday, December 30, 2006
State could face $1b deficit in '07
New governor may have to revise agenda
Apart from all the clapping, hugging and eating here today,
the two re-elected leaders of the House and Senate outlined ambitious and
expensive agendas for the new year.
In the absence of a Republican governor, Senate President Robert Travaglini took
up the no-new-taxes mantra that GOP chief executives have used as blockades
against Democratic legislatures with big spending urges, and he said his top
priority of the year was revisiting public higher education spending.
Noting that “critics and naysayers” are concerned about tax and spending
increases with Beacon Hill controlled by Democrats, Travaglini took a hard line
on the topic during his inaugural speech Wednesday morning.
“Let me be the first to put some of those concerns to rest,” Travaglini told
colleagues. “Over the last two sessions, there has been no appetite in the
Senate to increase taxes. After discussions with all of you . . . I can tell you
that tax hikes are still off the table.”
State House News Service
Wednesday, January 3, 2006
Travaglini calls tax hikes ‘off the table’
“Holding the line on taxes and working together to find
creative solutions to the rising costs of housing, health care premiums,
unemployment insurance - the areas that restrict the competitiveness of our
business community and our working families will lead us toward a strong,
sustainable recovery for the state’s economy,” Travaglini insisted.
He’s exactly right....
In the House, energy and health care will be at the top of DiMasi’s agenda. In
the Senate, strengthening higher education and advancing research in life
sciences head Travaglini’s list.
And through it all we can only hope that all heed DiMasi’s advice to his own
colleagues -- to recognize “the difference between what is popular and what is
right” and always opt for the latter.
A Boston Herald editorial
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Travaglini pledges no new ’07 taxes
Massachusetts property owners will again see substantial
increases in their property tax bills this year, even as home sales have cooled.
The average tax bill for a single-family home will rise to $4,003 in 2007, 5.3
percent more than last year and up 49 percent from the 2000 tax bills, according
to a Globe examination of 298 of the state's 351 cities and towns....
Of the 298 cities and towns examined, the Globe found that 281 of them are
increasing their average tax bills in 2007. The increase continues a trend of
recent years, when property taxes rose by about 5 percent annually. The biggest
recent increase was in 2002, when taxes rose by 6.7 percent.
"The problem is that it's so consistent," said Michael J. Widmer, president of
the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. "It's like college tuition. It's year
upon year upon year upon year. Over a period of time, it really adds up." ...
Property tax specialists point to a variety of causes for the steady increases,
including rising health care costs, which have soared in most cities and towns.
The statewide increases are also due in part to many communities doing
large-scale property reassessments....
Tax bills are rising as home values in many areas are declining; this year's
assessments reflect values as of Jan. 1, 2006, and were calculated based on 2005
activity, when the real estate market was much more active. Since then, sales of
single-family homes in Massachusetts have fallen dramatically.
Governor-elect Deval Patrick made the state's tax situation a major campaign
theme, saying he would find ways to help cities and towns reduce property taxes
by providing more local aid and allowing communities to raise revenue through
such means as local meals taxes....
The Boston Globe
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Property tax bills rising across state
Average hike is 5.3%; Hub much higher
New Jersey lawmakers studying how to limit yearly property
tax increases are eying a Massachusetts law that bars the levies from increasing
more than 2.5 percent but allows voters to override the restrictions.
"We're looking at what they did in Massachusetts, which seems to have done it
right," said Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts Jr.
New Jersey has the nation's highest property taxes, which are twice the national
average....
Roberts said New Jersey may follow Massachusetts' example and allow voters to
override the caps. Another possibility, he said, is to allow local governments
to appeal to the state for approval to exceed a cap.
Another concern, Roberts said, is phasing in the cap to allow local governments
in the midst of multiyear labor contracts to adjust to the new law.
Massachusetts enacted its caps in 1980.
Associated Press
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
NJ studying property tax caps, eying Massachusetts law
Governor Deval Patrick, faced with a surprisingly tight
budget situation, is tempering some of his campaign promises, saying yesterday
that he may have to stretch his much touted plan for 1,000 new police officers
over several years and stabilize, rather than cut, property taxes.
"We can definitely start, and we will start down the path of adding more cops on
the beat, because I think that's critical," Patrick said yesterday....
He also made it clear that property tax cuts, a recurring campaign theme, are
not going to be implemented anytime soon.
"What we can do is stabilize property taxes to be sure," he said yesterday.
"We've got to start there." ...
Patrick has said a budget deficit could exceed $1 billion in the fiscal year
that starts July 1. Despite that prediction, he restored $383 million in budget
cuts last week made by former governor Mitt Romney in November.
Yesterday, Patrick also proposed the Commonwealth Corps, an agency that would
place volunteers in nonprofit jobs across the state. That program will cost $3
million, he said....
Before the meeting, Patrick defended restoring the Romney cuts, saying the money
is available to pay for the programs and services this year, if not into the
future....
Patrick pledged during the campaign "to cut the property tax by reinvesting in
cities and towns" and to provide other property tax relief for certain elderly
residents. He proposed that a portion of local aid be dedicated to "direct
property tax relief," a pledge that even then budget specialists doubted could
be kept.
The Boston Globe
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Patrick hedges pledge on police, tax
Defends restoring funds, plans volunteer corps
A coalition of lawmakers and public interest groups plan s to
file legislation tomorrow requiring the state to take over a portion of the
MBTA's debt, allowing the transit agency to become less dependent on fare
increases and to spend more on maintaining the rail and bus system and improving
service....
The bill, which will be introduced by Senator Jarrett T. Barrios and
Representatives Alice K. Wolf and Carl M. Sciortino Jr., calls for the state to
accept $2.9 billion of the T's $5 billion debt ($8.1 billion if interest is
included). The state paid the T's debts until the Massachusetts Bay
Transportation Authority's funding system was changed seven years ago to make
the authority more fiscally responsible....
Under the funding system in place since 2000, the T receives 20 percent of the
state's 5 percent sales tax, with guarantees that the amount will never go
down....
The proposals to change the T's funding come at a tough time for the state and
new Governor Deval Patrick , who says the Commonwealth is facing a budget
deficit of $1 billion or more.
Patrick has made extending commuter rail service to New Bedford and Fall River a
top priority, and also wants to increase the number of trains running between
Boston and other regional hubs.
A spokeswoman for Patrick said yesterday that his administration has not decided
whether to support the T financing bill.
The Boston Globe
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Group seeks debt relief for the T
Cash-strapped Beacon Hill -- facing demands for more cops and
school programs -- has found thousands to pay for Cambodian dance lessons,
Shakespeare for jailed teens and Japanese tea parties.
The $438,000 in grants dished out by the taxpayer-funded Massachusetts Cultural
Council comes as Gov. Deval Patrick struggles to close a $1 billion state budget
gap while coming up with money for cities and towns clamoring for more police,
education funding and other essential services.
The agency, which got a $2.5 million budget boost this year, is spending $10,000
to teach Lowell teens “Cambodian classical dance and costume,” and another
$15,000 on a “Cambodian folk tales” and theater program, a Herald review
found....
A Boston Herald editorial
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Hey Deval, start with dance lessons
when you’re looking for budget cuts
Apparently John McDonough and his colleagues at Health Care
for All didn’t get the memo from Senate President Robert Travaglini -- the one
we were thrilled to receive last week in the form of his speech on the Senate
floor pledging not to raise taxes.
The health care advocacy group is lobbying for a $1-per-pack increase on the
sale of cigarettes in the commonwealth, already taxed by the state at $1.51 per
pack....
In other words, a liberal two-fer!
A Boston Herald editorial
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Another taxing proposition
P.S. The group CLT is working with on the
constitutional process is not Massachusetts Health Care for
All.
-- FOLLOW UP --
Citizens for Limited Taxation forged ahead Friday with
a complaint to the state's Board of Bar Overseers regarding 34
lawyer-legislators who voted to bottle up a health care amendment during
Tuesday's Constitutional Convention. The 34 legislators targeted all graduated
from law school and took oaths to uphold the constitution, which CLT claims they
violated, pursuant to recent Supreme Judicial Court rulings, by declining to
bring the health care amendment to an up-or-down vote.
A CLT spokeswoman said legislators thought they got off the hook when they voted
on a contentious gay marriage amendment after speculation that they would ignore
it.
"They still don't seem to grasp the concept that they have to vote on all
initiative petitions, not just the ones whose subject is sexy," the spokeswoman,
Barbara Anderson, said. "I'd be absolutely delighted to see them
disbarred, the whole bunch of them."
State House News Service
Friday, January 5, 2007
CLT targets lawmakers,
Patrick in Bar Overseers complaint
Three days after Massachusetts lawmakers bowed to
pressure and voted on a proposed constitutional amendment to ban
same-sex marriage, an advocacy group took aim yesterday at 34 lawyers in
the Legislature who refused to vote on a citizens' petition for an
amendment to guarantee affordable health coverage.
Citizens for Limited Taxation said it plans to file a complaint with the
state Board of Bar Overseers against the lawyers, asserting they ignored
a ruling by the state's highest court that said legislators had a
constitutional duty to vote on certified ballot initiatives, even though
the justices could not order them to do so....
"All the publicity and attention were paid to gay marriage because it's
a sexy issue," said Barbara Anderson, executive director of Citizens for
Limited Taxation. But the Supreme Judicial Court ruling applied to the
healthcare amendment as well, she said. "We want them to vote up or
down, just like the constitution requires."
Anderson said her group has no view on the merits of either amendment.
The Boston Globe
Saturday, January 6, 2007
Group to push health petition
Says legislators have duty to vote on citizen initiative
Chip Ford's CLT Commentary
From violating his constitutional oath of office
before even taking it (though violating his Massachusetts Bar
Association oath after taking it), we're finally getting a real
picture of Gov. Deval Patrick's philosophy of leadership; his view of
ethics and which of them apply to him, and apparently don't in his mind;
his way of approaching governing: what it takes to win elective
office versus what it takes to govern if you win. Can we call him
"Slick Deval" yet, like his mentor?
Despite state revenue again being up over past
historical revenue, it's still not enough. It never will
be, of course, until the Gimme State has every cent we in the People's
Republic possibly can earn. After all, they know better how to
spend what was once our money better than we do.
During the gubernatorial campaign we constantly
challenged the media to force Gov. Patrick to flush out his property tax
relief proposal with some -- hell any -- details. Few if
any
got it, bothered to even try; too many just let him slide. So he skated
happily on and got
elected. Now, it's simply and abruptly off the table -- surprise
Massachusetts media and voters! We at CLT knew better:
maybe next time the media won't be so flummoxed? We can only
hope so, if they are to be of any use to the electorate and
taxpayers in general. During the last campaign, we citizens were failed
miserably.
I'm "shocked, simply shocked," that Deval Patrick,
candidate for governor, did not support the voters' rollback of the
state income tax rate to its historic 5 percent, that he instead
insisted on property tax relief -- which we predicted he'd quickly
abandon if elected. Shocked, simply shocked: Media folks, it
was a blatant dodge that you bought into, somehow. How silly you
must feel today. He's only been sworn into his new office for a
whole six days and already has made useful idiots of you.
Four more years.
I hope as a bluest of Blue State state that we
can survive "Together we can"! I hope in the end, the moonbats and
clueless -- even those in the media who are trusted by their readership
to know better, or to find out before "reporting" -- will do better
a better job of their responsibilities.
We're about to find out. We're sure off to a
good start as an experiment in "change" at any cost...
"Be careful what you wish for."
P.S. The group CLT is working with on
defending the
constitutional process is not Massachusetts Health Care for All.
 |
|
Chip Ford |
Associated Press
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
The state collected $1.78 billion in revenues in December, a decrease of
$12 million from the same time last year.
The Department of Revenue said yesterday that tax collections so far
this year rose $297 million above the same period from the previous year
to $8.76 billion, an increase of 3.5 percent.
So far this fiscal year, the state has collected $98 million more than
it had anticipated. On Oct. 24, the fiscal year benchmark was raised by
$202 million to $19.13 billion.
The state collected $971 million in income tax in December, an increase
of $5 million, or 0.5 percent, from last year.
Income taxes for last month rose 0.5 percent compared with December
2005, to $971 million, while withholding tax collections rose 6.6
percent to $837 million. Sales and use taxes rose 0.9 percent to $323
million, and corporate and business taxes fell 6.9 percent to $347
million.
"Total corporate and business collections were down from December 2005
because last December's collections included $66 million in one-time
payments," Revenue Commissioner Alan LeBovidge said.
It is unclear whether a spike in withholding revenues is due to earlier
receipt of withholding on end-of-year bonus payments, he said, adding
that the situation will only become clear at the end of January.
The Boston Herald
Friday, December 29, 2006
A Boston Herald editorial
New gov’s digging a deep budget hole
Welcome to the new Massachusetts, where before he even takes office
Gov.-elect Deval Patrick is taking steps to spend every dime of tax
revenue the state collects.
Patrick made things a whole lot tougher for himself this week when he
said he will restore $380 million in emergency budget cuts that were
imposed by Gov. Mitt Romney in the fall.
It’s not surprising that Patrick would ride to the rescue of the health
and human service agencies that felt the cuts - especially given the
extraordinary pressure brought by those who helped launch him to
victory.
And we might feel differently had Patrick been able to pick over the
cuts critically and choose those he felt most important to reverse. We
concede that Romney, in his presidential political haste, was overly
zealous with the red pen.
Instead, Patrick said he’ll do a blanket reversal of the cuts,
explaining that the move is possible because monthly tax revenues are
coming in higher than projections. In other words, if you’ve got it,
spend it. And that includes the funding for that infamous gazebo in
Braintree and the Victorian street lights in Melrose.
By restoring nearly half a billion in spending to the budget, our new
governor has dug himself into a budgetary hole. Because once that
spending finds its way into the budget, it’s practically engraved there.
The recipients will demand at least as much -- if not more -- next year.
Meanwhile Patrick’s budget chief is warning of the “difficult choices”
the administration will have to make in the fiscal 2008 budget Patrick
is set to unveil early next year.
She got the “difficult” part right . . . but this action has made it
even more so.
The Boston Globe
Saturday, December 30, 2006
State could face $1b deficit in '07
New governor may have to revise agenda
By Andrea Estes and Michael Levenson, Globe Staff
Aides to Governor-elect Deval Patrick said yesterday that the state is
facing a deficit that could reach $1 billion next year, a looming budget
gap that observers say could force Patrick to scale back his ambitious
agenda, slash spending, or raise taxes.
Patrick's aides said a Romney administration budget blueprint, released
this week, was based on overly optimistic revenue and spending data and
aimed at making the state's finances appear healthier than they are as
Romney leaves the State House next week for a probable presidential run.
The aides said that privately, Romney aides warned them last month that
state finances were in much rougher shape.
The Globe yesterday received a copy of that budget presentation.
Patrick has been trying to tamp down expectations for his first year in
office, but the prediction of a $1 billion deficit for the fiscal year
that starts next July 1 has marked the first time his aides have offered
a number that suggests just how dire the situation could be.
Patrick aides attributed the gap to the cost of pensions, Medicaid, and
other state programs, which are growing faster than state tax revenues.
They spoke on condition of anonymity because Patrick is studying details
of the projections.
A $1 billion gap, in a $26 billion budget, could force Patrick to make
unpleasant choices, to cut spending, dip into the state's $2.1 billion
"rainy day" fund, or raise taxes, which Patrick has repeatedly vowed not
to do. The House's top budget writer said he is already warning members
that there will be no room for new spending in next year's budget.
Patrick's aides yesterday declined to discuss what Patrick might
consider doing to close the budget gap, but said he planned to keep his
campaign pledge to add 1,000 new police officers in cities and towns
across the state, at a cost of $85 million.
Patrick has also proposed expanding full-day kindergarten to more cities
and towns at a cost of $34 million.
But budget specialists said the future looks grim.
"We have trouble ahead, the only question is how bad, how deep is the
hole," said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers
Foundation, who has been advising the incoming administration.
Patrick, who will be inaugurated Thursday, pledged during the campaign
to increase aid to local governments so they can cut property taxes,
saying that was more fiscally responsible than rolling back the state
income tax as voters approved in a 2000 referendum.
But Widmer said, "the fiscal picture suggests that it will be virtually
impossible to provide any relief to the property taxpayer in the short
term."
Others sounded similar notes of caution.
"A billion dollar gap, that's a very substantial problem," said Noah
Berger, executive director of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy
Center, which analyzes the impact of the state budget on the poor. "If
in fact the gap is that big, there's no easy and painless way to close
it."
David G. Tuerck, executive director of the Beacon Hill Institute, a
economic think tank, said Patrick appears to be laying the groundwork to
raise taxes.
"It doesn't seem likely to me that the new governor is going to be
willing to cut a billion dollars of state spending," Tuerck said. "There
is the 'rainy day' fund, but he'll be advised -- and I think correctly
-- not to dig that deeply into the 'rainy day' fund, thus it seems we're
left with one inference, which is taxes will have to go up."
Stephen P. Crosby, a budget official in the administration of former
acting governor Jane Swift who is advising Patrick, said a working group
Patrick assigned to analyze the budget has warned Patrick that he will
need to consider all options, including raising taxes.
Crosby argued that Patrick's victory over Lieutenant Governor Kerry
Healey, a proponent of tax cuts, suggests that "the times are different"
and voters are more interested in preserving services than slashing
taxes.
"The no-new-taxes thing doesn't have the traction it used to have," he
said.
Patrick aides said Romney administration officials had been painting a
grim picture of state finances in private meetings last month and this
month. In the Nov. 27 presentation to Patrick's budget advisers, Romney
aides projected a budget deficit for fiscal 2008, which begins in July,
of between $400 million and $1.1 billion.
The deficit assumed that state tax revenues would grow by 3 percent.
That number was also contained in an official bond document the Romney
administration sent to the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Nov.
10.
This week, however, Romney aides publicly released a budget blueprint
that predicted revenues would increase by 4.8 percent, which would
lessen any potential deficit. The blueprint also ignored some expenses,
including funding some pension debt.
"It's a self-serving, political document," Crosby said.
"What they said to us a month ago," he added, "was honest and
appropriate and off the record. What they've done is go back and tweaked
all the assumptions so Romney can say he left a balanced budget."
The Romney spokesman, Eric Fehrnstrom, declined to comment on what
Patrick's aides see as a discrepancy between the private briefings and
the rosier public blueprint.
Earlier this week, Patrick said he would restore $383.6 million in
emergency budget cuts Romney made last month. That money replenishes
social service and other programs for the current fiscal year, which
ends June 30. Romney aides said the decision to restore the cuts would
also make it harder to balance next year's budget because $252 million
of that amount could have been saved next year.
"The reason governor Romney made cuts to the state budget was because of
the need to maintain fiscal discipline," Fehrnstrom said. "Just like
every year, 2008 is going to be challenging.
"We have provided Deval Patrick with a planning document that contains
recommendations on how to achieve budgetary balance. He is free to adopt
these ideas or go in his direction."
Patrick spokeswoman Cyndi Roy said the new administration can restore
cuts this year because revenue is coming in higher than was predicted.
She called next year's financial circumstances "a different budget
scenario."
Representative Robert A. DeLeo , chairman of the House Ways and Means
Committee, said he is trying to lower expectations for next year.
"I haven't seen any appetite at all for taxes in terms of discussing it,
very preliminarily, with members of the House," said DeLeo, a Winthrop
Democrat. "In talking to members, I just say, there has been very little
room or no room for any additional spending."
State House News Service
Wednesday, January 3, 2006
Travaglini calls tax hikes ‘off the table’
as DiMasi stands by health care law
By Jim O’Sullivan,
Michael Norton and Gintautas Dumcius
Apart from all the clapping, hugging and eating here today, the two
re-elected leaders of the House and Senate outlined ambitious and
expensive agendas for the new year.
In the absence of a Republican governor, Senate President Robert
Travaglini took up the no-new-taxes mantra that GOP chief executives
have used as blockades against Democratic legislatures with big spending
urges, and he said his top priority of the year was revisiting public
higher education spending.
Noting that “critics and naysayers” are concerned about tax and spending
increases with Beacon Hill controlled by Democrats, Travaglini took a
hard line on the topic during his inaugural speech Wednesday morning.
“Let me be the first to put some of those concerns to rest,” Travaglini
told colleagues. “Over the last two sessions, there has been no appetite
in the Senate to increase taxes. After discussions with all of you . . .
I can tell you that tax hikes are still off the table.”
Informed about Travaglini's taxes remarks, House Speaker Salvatore
DiMasi said, "I don't see it on the table right now either."
In his remarks to a packed House chamber, DiMasi served notice that
attempts to weaken the nine-month-old law aimed at delivering health
insurance to all Massachusetts residents will fail. “Let me be clear,”
DiMasi, pointing his finger, said during his 20-minute speech. “This
House will not, under any circumstances, retreat from the fundamental
principles that make it possible to provide quality, affordable and
accessible health care to everyone.”
DiMasi didn’t mention taxes in his speech and provided fewer specific
priorities than Travaglini. He reiterated his plan to file a bill
tackling the “energy crisis” and cautioned the next round of state
budget writing “will not be easy” and new initiatives, investments and
program expansions “must be tempered by the fiscal realities of the
day.”
Much of DiMasi's speech dwelt on last session's accomplishments, and
large portions were devoted to recognizing former high-ranking public
officials in the chamber, including all of the living former House
speakers - a first, DiMasi said. Former Speakers Robert Quinn, David
Bartley, George Keverian, Thomas McGee, and Thomas Finneran, joined by
former House member and Gov. Michael Dukakis and former House member,
Boston mayor, and US ambassador to the Vatican Raymond Flynn, sat next
to DiMasi along the front wall of the chamber.
Both leaders rejoiced at the prospect of having a fellow Democrat,
Gov.-elect Deval Patrick, as chief executive. DiMasi called him
“intelligent, inspiring, compassionate.” Travaglini said, “For the first
time in 16 years, both the Legislature and the Corner Office will be run
by one political party whose mantra is to serve the people. And they
both sprinkled their speeches with the first word of Patrick’s campaign
slogan: “Together We Can.”
Promising to perpetuate what he called an “environment of reform,”
Travaglini called for “creative solutions” to the rising costs of
housing, health care premiums and unemployment insurance. He also
singled out priority topics like paid family and medical leave, energy
efficiency, climate change, and alternative fuel vehicles. He called for
“investing our resources in research and development, science and
technology, as well as higher education.”
“We already took action on these measures in the prior session,” the
East Boston Democrat told reporters after his speech. “So we’re going to
be anxious to revisit these and have these become law.”
With both Patrick and DiMasi having carved out roles for themselves as
darlings of the left, and Gov. Mitt Romney’s term at an end,
Travaglini’s hard line on taxes is one of several signs he’s prepared to
maneuver to the center as a counterweight.
Travaglini on Tuesday steered the Constitutional Convention to two quick
votes on a citizen-generated petition banning gay marriage, and voted
with its proponents both times. Last year, he resisted for several
months efforts by House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi to saddle employers
with large shares of the health care expansion costs.
At the same time, he’s been rebuffed by DiMasi in pushing for increased
benefits for workers who take time off for family or medical reasons,
and he’s backed a Senate plan to increase state spending on higher
education by more than $400 million over seven years.
Sen. Robert O’Leary (D-Barnstable) said public higher education would be
the “highest priority” in 2007, comparable to health care reform that
took up much of both branches’ time last year.
“It’s really encouraging that this is something he’s focused on this
year,” O’Leary said of Travaglini, adding that he senses Patrick feels
the same way. “I’m absolutely convinced that’s going to happen. The
question is how much and how it’s going to happen.”
Travaglini cribbed from Patrick Wednesday, saying, "As we often heard on
the campaign trail, 'it doesn't matter whose idea it is, as long as it's
a good idea,' - this will be the litmus test this upcoming session in
the Senate. For all of us, it is important that we put aside our egos
and our personalities so that we can accomplish the people's business
and focus on promoting good ideas regardless of where they originate."
Senate members and aides credit Travaglini with presiding over a
smooth-running Senate. Its small Republican conference, six members last
session and five this session, rarely bucks Travaglini, and of the 40
members few mavericks ever publicly break ranks with him over
contentious issues.
“In this Senate, the teams may not have the same number of players, but
everyone is always in the game,” Sen. Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester) told
colleagues Wednesday, saying that the Senate “consistently subordinated
contention” for the sake of accomplishment.
Hanging over from the legislative session that expired at midnight
Tuesday are initiatives like funding for pandemic flu planning, welfare
reform, increased higher education investments, and public employee
pension and auto insurance rehauls.
DiMasi this month plans to file comprehensive energy legislation he says
will reduce pollution, streamline the state bureaucracy, increase
conservation and create new sources of renewable energy. Travaglini’s
pet initiatives include increased stem cell investment, the so-called
family leave bill, and a plan to promote hybrid vehicle purchases.
In his address, Travaglini hinted at looming conflicts, saying “[F]or
those of you who have been paying attention lately, Democrats are never
in uniform agreement on anything.”
Senators and Senate aides, describing him as socially moderate but
increasingly fiscally conservative, say Travaglini operates outside
rigid ideology, instead evaluating policies individually and formulating
strategies that way.
He rejected the suggestion that he’d emerged as Beacon Hill’s most
formidable opposition to the progressive leanings of DiMasi and Patrick.
“Whatever positions I defined in my address this morning to my Senate
colleagues was based on conversations with them. And for the most part
it’s a continuation of priorities that we have previously identified and
yet remain unaddressed and incomplete,” Travaglini told reporters.
But Travaglini’s firm pledge of no new taxes rubs up against signals
from Patrick aides that the incoming administration may be disposed to
new taxes as a means of generating revenue. Patrick has indicated he’s
open to the idea of local taxes imposed after receiving community
approval and hasn’t shut the door on raising the gas tax, and while he
declined to take a no-new-taxes pledge, he’s said repeatedly that he has
no plans to increase taxes.
Last month, Patrick and Travaglini staged an unusual joint visit to the
State House press gallery after the publication of Travaglini’s remarks
to a business group, in which he relayed warnings he’d issued to Patrick
about some of his rhetoric and about Travaglini’s own power base in the
Senate. During their jocular appearance together, Patrick teased
Travaglini, “Are you ever going to be that contrite again?”
One prospective point of division that could appear early in the session
stems from the disagreement between Travaglini and DiMasi over gay
marriage. Several legislators on Wednesday told the News Service they
expected DiMasi to push for a Constitutional Convention as soon as he’s
confident he’s amassed the votes to block the proposed constitutional
amendment.
Conversely, DiMasi, with a vast majority of the House in his corner,
could delay a “ConCon” by refusing to adopt a procedural order needed to
trigger such a session.
With 50 votes required for the petition to advance, there were counts of
61 and 62 in favor of it during the Tuesday session's two votes. Pro-gay
marriage legislators say they pick up seven votes with the turnover from
the last Legislature to this one. That leaves a six-vote deficit. They
said they were unsure how DiMasi would work to close that gap.
Both DiMasi and Patrick have indicated they are willing to expend
political capital to defeat the measure. Patrick came to Beacon Hill
before Tuesday’s session, holding a press conference and meeting
privately with lawmakers. But his 11th hour lobbying didn’t change the
outcome of the vote.
Asked during talks with reporters Wednesday about the Constitutional
Convention, Travaglini said he believes the issue has to be resolved
through the general electorate’s vote. He will consult with both the
House and Patrick about when to schedule the session, he said.
Travaglini said an amendment he co-sponsored in 2004, banning gay
marriage and allowing civil unions, remains “indicative of my position.
I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman, but that same-sex
couples have every right, benefit, and protection that goes along with
the marriage, and just have a civil union. I mean, that’s my position.
It’s been consistent.”
Asked how he would vote if the petition came to the ballot, Travaglini
replied, “I’m not going to make that public right now . . . It would be
inappropriate for me to do that as the presiding officer of the
convention. But at the appropriate time I have every intention of making
that public. Because everything that I’ve done as the presiding officer
has been as its foundation not to influence or be accused by either side
of using my influence to affect the outcome of the vote.”
In yet another round of the tug-of-war over which chamber should receive
credit for the health care reform law, Travaglini said to his members,
“The Senate was also the driving force behind the historic and
unprecedented overhaul of our state’s health care system.”
DiMasi in July said the House had been responsible for “90 percent” of
the bill. On Wednesday, he said, “The members of this House were
steadfast in supporting the foundation of our health care reform –
shared responsibility.”
DiMasi’s and Travaglini’s conference committees battled for months
behind closed doors last year over how to finance the health care
expansion, DiMasi holding firm on mandated employer contributions.
Senators interviewed while lunching in the Senate Reading Room
downplayed the appearance of any tensions between DiMasi and Travaglini
over credit on health care reform.
Regarding Travaglini, who he nominated for reelection as president
today, Sen. Steven Tolman (D-Brighton) said he doesn’t crave credit. “I
think he’s very, very comfortable in his own shell.”
“We do hundreds of bills,” Tolman said. “We don’t worry about that.”
The Boston Herald
Thursday, January 4, 2007
A Boston Herald editorial
Travaglini pledges no new ’07 taxes
Taxpayers worried that one-party rule on Beacon Hill would hit them
where it hurts - in the wallet - got some reassuring news yesterday from
their unlikely new champion, Senate President Robert Travaglini.
“After discussions with my colleagues, I can tell you tax hikes are
still off the table going into this new legislative year,” he said in
his inaugural message.
Travaglini and House Speaker Sal DiMasi each in his own way addressed
concerns that somehow a Democrat in the Corner Office would mean a
return to the good ol’-bad ol’ days of profligate spending and tax
hikes.
“Holding the line on taxes and working together to find creative
solutions to the rising costs of housing, health care premiums,
unemployment insurance - the areas that restrict the competitiveness of
our business community and our working families will lead us toward a
strong, sustainable recovery for the state’s economy,” Travaglini
insisted.
He’s exactly right.
DiMasi too noted that “balancing the budget in 2008 will not be easy.”
And while not signing on to Travaglini’s no new taxes pledge, he did say
that the House too would be guided “by the fiscal realities of the day.”
And those realities include a still sluggish economy that cannot meet
all the demands loosed by a Democratic gubernatorial candidate who
wanted to be all things to all interest groups.
Today the real job of governing begins - for Gov. Deval Patrick, but
also for legislative leaders who made it clear yesterday they have their
own priorities and responsibilities.
In the House, energy and health care will be at the top of DiMasi’s
agenda. In the Senate, strengthening higher education and advancing
research in life sciences head Travaglini’s list.
And through it all we can only hope that all heed DiMasi’s advice to his
own colleagues -- to recognize “the difference between what is popular
and what is right” and always opt for the latter.
The Boston Globe
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Property tax bills rising across state
Average hike is 5.3%; Hub much higher
By Matt Viser, Globe Staff
Massachusetts property owners will again see substantial increases in
their property tax bills this year, even as home sales have cooled.
The average tax bill for a single-family home will rise to $4,003 in
2007, 5.3 percent more than last year and up 49 percent from the 2000
tax bills, according to a Globe examination of 298 of the state's 351
cities and towns. Most of the new tax rates go into effect in bills that
are going out this week .
Homeowners in Boston, Fall River, and Wayland will see double-digit
percentage increases this year, while several communities near Boston
will see average increases of 3.6 percent or less, including Brookline,
Lincoln, Newton, Salem, and Somerville.
The state's highest average bill is in Weston, at $13,739, up 6.8
percent over 2006. The lowest is in Florida, a small town in the
Berkshires, where the average tax bill will be $1,014, 2.5 percent more
than in 2006.
Of the 298 cities and towns examined, the Globe found that 281 of them
are increasing their average tax bills in 2007. The increase continues a
trend of recent years, when property taxes rose by about 5 percent
annually. The biggest recent increase was in 2002, when taxes rose by
6.7 percent.
"The problem is that it's so consistent," said Michael J. Widmer,
president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. "It's like college
tuition. It's year upon year upon year upon year. Over a period of time,
it really adds up."
The average tax bill on a single-family home in Boston will jump 12.3
percent to $3,093 in 2007. That's on top of a 9.6 percent jump between
2005 and 2006.
Many of the communities hit hardest are fast-growing suburbs, where
expectations for quality schools are high and budgets are growing at a
rapid clip. Some property owners in such areas say they are increasingly
being squeezed.
"We're definitely a family stretched to the limits," said Sheri Norred,
who lives in Hopkinton with her husband and 3-year-old son. "I kind of
have it in my head that it's going to hit us every couple of years, and
we're going to have to find ways to deal with it."
Norred, who said the tax bill on her $308,700 home is going up nearly
$700 this year, said she has started shopping at Market Basket, a
discount chain, instead of her regular grocery store, and now takes back
roads to get to her Cambridge office to avoid paying tolls. "There are
things that you have to do because of a strain on the taxes," she said.
Property tax specialists point to a variety of causes for the steady
increases, including rising health care costs, which have soared in most
cities and towns. The statewide increases are also due in part to many
communities doing large-scale property reassessments. Of 351
communities, 136 completed their first comprehensive revaluation since
2003, which "is a huge number," according Lydia Hill, spokeswoman for
the Massachusetts Department of Revenue.
Communities set property values annually, but every third year the
assessing departments use a more comprehensive process that typically
includes physical inspections of some homes and takes into account
physical improvements.
Tax bills are rising as home values in many areas are declining; this
year's assessments reflect values as of Jan. 1, 2006, and were
calculated based on 2005 activity, when the real estate market was much
more active. Since then, sales of single-family homes in Massachusetts
have fallen dramatically.
Governor-elect Deval Patrick made the state's tax situation a major
campaign theme, saying he would find ways to help cities and towns
reduce property taxes by providing more local aid and allowing
communities to raise revenue through such means as local meals taxes.
"We've got to give cities and towns a more reliable source of income so
that they can provide services to their residents," Patrick spokeswoman
Cyndi Roy said last week. "The property tax is a regressive tax and
[Patrick] feels that it is very important to help cities and towns
stabilize that."
Cities and towns have become more reliant on property taxes. This year,
property taxes accounted for 53 percent of local revenues, the highest
level since 1982, according to a report released in November by the
Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. Local fees and charges also went up
by 7.9 percent statewide in 2006, according to the report.
In some places, taxpayers have gotten used to the increases, expecting
significant yearly increases in their property tax bills.
"A great number of people understand that this is just the situation,"
said Peter S. Barney, administrative assistant to the board of assessors
in New Bedford, where tax bills increased 8.8 percent this year to
$2,552. The town put out press releases and appeared on local radio
stations to let people know about the increase, but Barney said he has
not heard grumbling from residents.
"It's not outrageous if you look at what things have been like in past
years, but taxpayers tend to have short memories," said Peter Caron,
director of assessing in Lynn, where taxes are going up 8.4 percent, to
$2,974. "It's all about what have you done for me lately, or, I guess,
what are you doing to me lately?"
The Globe's analysis examined the tax bills for single-family homes,
which make up the largest portion of property tax bills and are
generally use d to gauge tax trends.
According to the Globe's examination, the state's largest percentage tax
increase was a 26.9 percent hike in Everett, where the average
homeowner's bill in 2007 will be $2,836.
Associated Press
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
NJ studying property tax caps,
eying Massachusetts law
By Tom Hester Jr.
TRENTON, N.J. -- New Jersey lawmakers studying how to limit yearly
property tax increases are eying a Massachusetts law that bars the
levies from increasing more than 2.5 percent but allows voters to
override the restrictions.
"We're looking at what they did in Massachusetts, which seems to have
done it right," said Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts Jr.
New Jersey has the nation's highest property taxes, which are twice the
national average. Property taxes have increased about 7 percent annually
in recent years.
Gov. Jon S. Corzine has demanded caps on the annual tax increases if
he's to approve a proposal by Roberts and Senate President Richard J.
Codey to give most homeowners a 20 percent property tax cut starting
this summer, but no law has been introduced to implement a cap.
Roberts, D-Camden, said he hoped legislation would be ready by next
week. Codey, a Democrat from Essex County, said he believes a deal may
be close.
Corzine has suggested limiting annual property tax increases to 4
percent, with provisions for inflation, population growth and changing
needs. He wants to implement a cap for four years to see how it would
work.
A cap on property taxes would require county, municipal and school
officials, along with fire district officials in some places, to work
together when devising annual spending plans that decide tax levies.
Codey said that could prove complicated, but would also force local
officials to build closer relationships.
Caps are opposed by municipal and school officials worried they'll
restrict spending. Kevin E. Ciak, president of the New Jersey School
Boards Association, called caps "an interesting concept."
"But our support would need to be contingent upon an adequate level of
state aid," he said. "Otherwise, educational programs could be
negatively affected."
Roberts said New Jersey may follow Massachusetts' example and allow
voters to override the caps. Another possibility, he said, is to allow
local governments to appeal to the state for approval to exceed a cap.
Another concern, Roberts said, is phasing in the cap to allow local
governments in the midst of multiyear labor contracts to adjust to the
new law.
Massachusetts enacted its caps in 1980.
California enacted a 1 percent property tax cap in 1978 that also limits
property value increases to 2 percent, unless a home was sold.
A 2004 University of Maine study found the Massachusetts cap has hurt
small and poor communities and those with declining populations, with
schools, parks and libraries subject to large spending reductions.
The same study found California's cap stabilized property taxes, but led
to increases in sales and income taxes and taxes on beer, wine,
gasoline, cigarettes and other products.
Corzine has also demanded a state comptroller to investigate spending by
all New Jersey governments. Legislators may vote on that plan on Monday.
The Boston Globe
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Patrick hedges pledge on police, tax
Defends restoring funds, plans volunteer corps
By Andrea Estes, Globe Staff
Governor Deval Patrick, faced with a surprisingly tight budget
situation, is tempering some of his campaign promises, saying yesterday
that he may have to stretch his much touted plan for 1,000 new police
officers over several years and stabilize, rather than cut, property
taxes.
"We can definitely start, and we will start down the path of adding more
cops on the beat, because I think that's critical," Patrick said
yesterday.
Last month, he said on a radio station that "we may not need 1,000 cops"
all at once.
He also made it clear that property tax cuts, a recurring campaign
theme, are not going to be implemented anytime soon.
"What we can do is stabilize property taxes to be sure," he said
yesterday. "We've got to start there."
Last week he also told a radio interviewer that investments in
transportation might have to be deferred, though he did not name
specific projects.
Patrick has said a budget deficit could exceed $1 billion in the fiscal
year that starts July 1. Despite that prediction, he restored $383
million in budget cuts last week made by former governor Mitt Romney in
November.
Yesterday, Patrick also proposed the Commonwealth Corps, an agency that
would place volunteers in nonprofit jobs across the state. That program
will cost $3 million, he said.
Patrick conducted his first weekly meeting yesterday with Senate
President Robert E. Travaglini, House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, and
House and Senate budget aides. The budget was one of the items on the
agenda of the closed-door meeting.
Before the meeting, Patrick defended restoring the Romney cuts, saying
the money is available to pay for the programs and services this year,
if not into the future. "I think that we have what we need to meet those
expectations this year," he said during a brief encounter with reporters
yesterday morning. "I think you have many cases of agencies and
individuals who have relied on those appropriations, in some cases had
spent against these appropriations. I think the right thing to do is
make good on those promises."
But he warned that next fiscal year will be different. "I think going
forward we're going to have a very tough and tight time, and there are
some tough decisions we're going to have to make and choices we're going
to have to make."
When asked whether he was attempting to lower expectations of voters and
politicians on Beacon Hill by painting a grim financial picture as
previous governors have done, Patrick smiled and said, "You've never
seen a governor like me."
Asked how he can justify spending $3 million on Commonwealth Corps given
the financial forecast, Patrick said: "No one is interested in wasting
money or spending money frivolously."
Patrick is expected this weekend to address the Massachusetts Municipal
Association, whose members are hoping for financial relief from the new
governor.
According to the group's executive director, Geoff Beckwith, cities and
towns are looking for more local aid and more police officers. They
still have questions about Patrick's pledge to hire 1,000 police
officers, including which communities would receive the officers and who
would bear the ongoing costs, including their yearly salaries and
benefits.
"There are ancillary costs that come with any employee, from training,
equipment, staffing, cruisers," he said. "We would want to make sure
[the costs] are sustainable on a state and local level."
Patrick pledged during the campaign "to cut the property tax by
reinvesting in cities and towns" and to provide other property tax
relief for certain elderly residents. He proposed that a portion of
local aid be dedicated to "direct property tax relief," a pledge that
even then budget specialists doubted could be kept.
Even if property taxes can't be reduced, Beckwith said, their rate of
growth can be slowed if the administration takes two steps: restoring
local aid and setting aside a specific percentage of the state budget
for cities and towns.
Meanwhile, Patrick said after meeting with legislative leaders that they
share many priorities. He specified only one: "updating our energy
policy and our approach to energy."
"We are all of us committed to coming together as much as possible to
advance that agenda," Patrick said. "I see that as a real opening for us
in terms of job creation."
Travaglini and DiMasi called Patrick's openness a "refreshing" change of
style from Romney's approach.
"The tone of the discussion and the degree of detail was a refreshing
change from the historical conversations we've had in this office, and
what we're trying to do now is to again find common ground in all three
legislative agendas," Travaglini said.
Asked specifically what was different from the relationship with the
Romney administration, DiMasi said lawmakers frequently learned about
Romney initiatives only after he held a news conference to announce
them.
"It's very nice to find out what the governor is proposing, thinking
about what his ideas are, in a frank discussion on the issues and
whether or not they can be accomplished in a manner in which we can
agree to, as opposed to learning what the proposals are after the former
governor would have a press conference like this and then let us know
after," DiMasi said.
Patrick said that before unveiling the Commonwealth Corps initiative, he
notified the Senate president and the House speaker -- both of whom said
they like the idea.
"I think the concept is noble and worthy of support," said Travaglini.
"It seemed to be in a controlled state and in a limited form. . . .
We've given an indication to the administration that we can be
supportive of the concept."
The Boston Globe
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Group seeks debt relief for the T
By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff
A coalition of lawmakers and public interest groups plan s to file
legislation tomorrow requiring the state to take over a portion of the
MBTA's debt, allowing the transit agency to become less dependent on
fare increases and to spend more on maintaining the rail and bus system
and improving service.
In return, the bill would bar the T from raising fares beyond the local
cost-of-living index. If that provision had been in effect, it would
have reduced the fare increase that on Jan. 1 raised the price of
one-way subway rides from $1.25 to $1.70 and bus trips from 90 cents to
$1.25.
The consumer price index for the Boston region rose about 6.5 percent
between January 2004, when the last fare increase took effect, and the
first half of last year, the most recent figure available. The most
recent fare increases raised subway fares by 36 percent and bus fares
nearly 39 percent.
The legislation is backed by groups that opposed the fare hike,
including the T Riders Union, the Conservation Law Foundation, and
Livable Streets Alliance.
The groups' leaders now say they recognize the larger financial problems
that forced the T to raise fares three times in the past seven years .
"The T has serious financial problems that go way beyond fixing through
efficiencies and fare increases," said Eric Bourassa of the
Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group . "The T's huge debt
challenges the long-term viability of the authority and needs to be
seriously addressed by the Legislature."
The bill, which will be introduced by Senator Jarrett T. Barrios and
Representatives Alice K. Wolf and Carl M. Sciortino Jr., calls for the
state to accept $2.9 billion of the T's $5 billion debt ($8.1 billion if
interest is included). The state paid the T's debts until the
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's funding system was changed
seven years ago to make the authority more fiscally responsible. As part
of the change, the MBTA took on $2.9 billion in existing debt from the
state. The proposal is the first legislative attempt to relieve any of
that burden.
Under the funding system in place since 2000, the T receives 20 percent
of the state's 5 percent sales tax, with guarantees that the amount will
never go down.
But since then, overall sales tax receipts have slowed instead of rising
as they did through most of the 1990s . And the T has taken on more
debt, mostly to build major transit projects required in an agreement
with environmental groups to offset pollution and congestion from the
Big Dig.
The T's debt is now the highest of any transit agency in the nation,
with payments and interest of $370 million annually eating up 27 percent
of the T's operating budget.
"That's not money being invested to expand service," said Daniel A.
Grabauskas , the T's general manager. "It's a very difficult situation."
State Senator Steven A. Baddour , a Methuen Democrat and co chairman of
the Joint Committee on Transportation, called the legislation "a good
first step," but said his committee will probably hold comprehensive
hearings on reforming how the T is funded.
"The debt is crushing the MBTA, and we as legislators need to look at
ways to alleviate this debt," Baddour said
He said the committee could consider guaranteeing more revenue by
revising how the T is funded, as well as relieving some of its debt. One
possible proposal would be to guarantee 3 percent annual growth in the
state appropriation to the T regardless of what happens to the sales
tax.
T officials said that relieving some of its debt would be a huge help to
the 109-year-old transit system, which requires $500 million annually to
maintain and repair existing services. It would also allow the T to
invest more money in the system. Over the last two budget cycles, the T
dipped into its reserves twice, losing $4.7 million and $7.2 million
from its emergency fund.
The proposals to change the T's funding come at a tough time for the
state and new Governor Deval Patrick , who says the Commonwealth is
facing a budget deficit of $1 billion or more.
Patrick has made extending commuter rail service to New Bedford and Fall
River a top priority, and also wants to increase the number of trains
running between Boston and other regional hubs.
A spokeswoman for Patrick said yesterday that his administration has not
decided whether to support the T financing bill.
Stephen J. Silveira , chairman of a commission studying the state's
long-term transportation funding, said "the T's finances are absolutely
in crisis."
The commission, which is scheduled to issue its recommendations in a few
weeks, estimates that the T is short between $4 billion and $8 billion
to cover its maintenance needs over the next 20 years, even without any
expansion.
Barrios, a Cambridge Democrat, said the bill to relieve $2.9 billion in
T debt is essential for the agency, whose health is crucial to the
state's economy, serving 1.1 million commuters each workday.
"The 800-pound gorilla in the middle of the room is debt that should
never have been given to the T in the first place," he said. "It has
become an unmanageable problem. It affects the ability of the T to
deliver good service today, to develop good service for tomorrow, and
forces them to raise fares and work to generate alterative revenues in a
way that's just not sustainable. This bill isn't a luxury. It's a
necessity."
The Boston Herald
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Hey Deval, start with dance lessons
when you’re looking for budget cuts
By Dave Wedge
Cash-strapped Beacon Hill -- facing demands for more cops and school
programs -- has found thousands to pay for Cambodian dance lessons,
Shakespeare for jailed teens and Japanese tea parties.
The $438,000 in grants dished out by the taxpayer-funded Massachusetts
Cultural Council comes as Gov. Deval Patrick struggles to close a $1
billion state budget gap while coming up with money for cities and towns
clamoring for more police, education funding and other essential
services.
The agency, which got a $2.5 million budget boost this year, is spending
$10,000 to teach Lowell teens “Cambodian classical dance and costume,”
and another $15,000 on a “Cambodian folk tales” and theater program, a
Herald review found.
The council has also awarded $30,000 to teach incarcerated teens
Shakespeare and graphic arts and $10,000 for singing and writing lessons
for pregnant teens. The money was awarded under former Gov. Mitt Romney.
Massachusetts Cultural Council spokesman Greg Liakos defended the “Youth
Reach” grant program, saying it has helped hundreds of Bay State teens
and been nationally recognized by President Bush.
“Well-developed, community-based arts programs for young people are an
effective way to help keep them out trouble,” Liakos said. He added that
the Cambodian cultural programs have helped many Lowell teens avoid the
lure of dangerous street gangs.
“It’s more than just about teaching them how to dance,” Liakos said.
“It’s about connecting them with their community and building
self-esteem through creativity.”
But one legislative staffer questioned the use of taxpayer dollars on
such programs when many agencies are struggling to provide basic
services.
“We’re cutting some pretty crucial programs and spending state money on
programs where it really doesn’t need to be spent,” said the legislative
source. “As far as I know, there is no Cambodian folk dancing crisis in
the state.”
Patrick spokeswoman Cyndi Roy did not specifically address the arts
grants, but said all spending by the state will be scrutinized.
“Given the fiscal constraints and challenges we are facing, we are
looking at everything in the budget to find efficiencies and savings,”
Roy said.
The cultural council, which received $13.4 million in taxpayer dollars
this year in addition to a small amount from national endowments, had
its budget cut by 65 percent in 2002 but arts funding has been on the
rise in recent years. Romney tried to slash some arts spending as part
of a $400 million budget cut package but most of those cuts have been
reinstated by Patrick.
Dan Hunter, director of the Massachusetts Advocates of the Arts,
Sciences and Humanities, which oversees the grants, said the cultural
council’s budget is a “miniscule” three-tenths of one percent of the
overall state budget and called the youth programs “invaluable.”
“How do you build a community? Someone has to make an investment,” he
said. “It’s money well-spent.”
The Boston Herald
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
A Boston Herald editorial
Another taxing proposition
Apparently John McDonough and his colleagues at Health Care for All
didn’t get the memo from Senate President Robert Travaglini -- the one
we were thrilled to receive last week in the form of his speech on the
Senate floor pledging not to raise taxes.
The health care advocacy group is lobbying for a $1-per-pack increase on
the sale of cigarettes in the commonwealth, already taxed by the state
at $1.51 per pack. The increase would boost revenues for public health
programs but advocates see another benefit. “There’s lots and lots of
legislators who are quite sympathetic . . . simply as a public health
measure,” McDonough told the State House News Service.
In other words, a liberal two-fer! A nanny state solution to a public
health problem, bought and paid for with a tax increase. Thank goodness
Travagalini was as emphatic as he was about holding the line on taxes.
The pressure is just beginning.
State House News Service
Friday, January 5, 2007
CLT targets lawmakers, Patrick in Bar Overseers complaint
Citizens for Limited Taxation forged ahead Friday with a
complaint to the state's Board of Bar Overseers regarding 34
lawyer-legislators who voted to bottle up a health care amendment during
Tuesday's Constitutional Convention. The 34 legislators targeted all
graduated from law school and took oaths to uphold the constitution,
which CLT claims they violated, pursuant to recent Supreme Judicial
Court rulings, by declining to bring the health care amendment to an
up-or-down vote.
A CLT spokeswoman said legislators thought they got off the hook when
they voted on a contentious gay marriage amendment after speculation
that they would ignore it.
"They still don't seem to grasp the concept that they have to vote on
all initiative petitions, not just the ones whose subject is sexy," the
spokeswoman, Barbara Anderson, said. "I'd be absolutely delighted
to see them disbarred, the whole bunch of them."
Anderson said disbarment seemed unlikely, but her organization would
push for a reprimand to reaffirm the constitution's authority.
Gov. Deval Patrick, who urged legislators to adjourn without a vote on
the marriage amendment, was listed in the complaint for allegedly
fostering an atmosphere that condoned violating the constitution.
A copy of the complaint was not available Friday. The Health Care
Amendment Campaign is not a party to the complaint, according to a
campaign spokesperson.
LAWMAKERS TARGETED BY CLT COMPLAINT
REPRESENTATIVES
1) House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi
2) Garrett Bradley
3) Arthur Broadhurst (former rep.)
4) Gale Candaras (now serving in the Senate)
5) Michael Costello
6) Robert DeLeo
7) James Fagan
8) Michael Festa
9) Colleen Garry
10) Rachel Kaprielian
11) Peter Koutoujian
12) Charles Murphy
13) James Murphy
14) Kevin Murphy
15) Eugene O'Flaherty
16) Robert Rice
17) John Rogers
18) Angelo Scaccia
19) Marie St. Fleur
20) William Straus
21) Walter Timilty
22) Stephen Tobin
23) David Torrisi
24) Eric Turkington
25) Steven Walsh
SENATORS
1) Robert Antonioni
2) Stephen Baddour
3) Scott Brown
4) Stephen Buoniconte
5) Robert Creedon
6) Robert Havern
7) Steven Pangiatakos
8) Karen Spilka
9) Dianne Wilkerson
The Boston Globe
Saturday, January 6, 2007
Group to push health petition
Says legislators have duty to vote on citizen initiative
By Jonathan Saltzman
Three days after Massachusetts lawmakers bowed to pressure and voted on
a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, an
advocacy group took aim yesterday at 34 lawyers in the Legislature who
refused to vote on a citizens' petition for an amendment to guarantee
affordable health coverage.
Citizens for Limited Taxation said it plans to file a complaint with the
state Board of Bar Overseers against the lawyers, asserting they ignored
a ruling by the state's highest court that said legislators had a
constitutional duty to vote on certified ballot initiatives, even though
the justices could not order them to do so.
After the Dec. 27 ruling and intense lobbying by opponents of same-sex
marriage, the Legislature on Tuesday advanced the proposed ban, which
requires at least 50 votes in a second constitutional convention to get
on the 2008 state ballot.
But the joint session of the House and Senate refused to vote on the
proposed healthcare amendment, effectively killing it.
"All the publicity and attention were paid to gay marriage because it's
a sexy issue," said Barbara Anderson, executive director of Citizens for
Limited Taxation. But the Supreme Judicial Court ruling applied to the
healthcare amendment as well, she said. "We want them to vote up or
down, just like the constitution requires."
Anderson said her group has no view on the merits of either amendment.
The group also plans to file a complaint with the Board of Bar Overseers
against Governor Deval Patrick, also a lawyer, for remarks he made
shortly before the joint session. Patrick, two days before he took the
oath of office, held a impromptu State House news conference at which he
urged legislators to use "whatever means appropriate" to kill the
same-sex marriage measure.
Anderson said Patrick displayed contempt for the democratic process.
Cyndi Roy, a spokeswoman for Patrick, said the governor had no comment
yesterday.
Senator Steven C. Panagiotakos, a Lowell Democrat who is one of the
legislators targeted by Anderson's group, said he was not worried about
disciplinary action and that legislators have immunity from such claims.
"I think they're trying to make a political statement, but I don't think
it really has any legal foundation," he said yesterday.
The proposed healthcare amendment would guarantee "comprehensive,
affordable, and equitably financed health insurance coverage" for all
state residents.
In 2003, the Committee for Health Care for Massachusetts said it
gathered more than 71,000 signatures in favor of the amendment.
In July 2004, the Legislature approved the amendment by a vote of 153 to
41, giving it more than three times the 50 votes required for a citizen
petition to advance to a mandated second legislative session.
But in July, the Legislature ducked a vote by sending the amendment to a
special study committee. This week, the Legislature voted 101 to 92 not
to send the measure to the floor of the Legislature. Thirty-four of the
101 opponents were lawyers, Anderson said.
Like the supporters of the proposed same-sex marriage ban, the advocates
of the healthcare measure sued the Legislature last year anticipating
that lawmakers would kill their measure.
But they did not ask the SJC to intervene by Tuesday, as supporters of
the same-sex marriage ban did, according to Donald K. Stern, a lawyer
for the Committee for Health Care for Massachusetts.
Stern said Anderson is one of 10 plaintiffs in that suit, but had no
comment on her group's effort to seek disciplinary action against the
legislators and Patrick.
He did say, however, "It's hard to see, as a matter of constitutional
principle, why you would vote on one and not the other."
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