CLT UPDATE
Friday, October 28, 2011
Another gas tax hike grab
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Sen. Stanley Rosenberg will helm the Senate's
conference committee on casino and expanded gambling legislation.
Rosenberg will be joined by Sen. Jennifer Flanagan (D-Leominster)
and Sen. Richard Ross (R-Wrentham). The Senate negotiators were
announced just before the Senate adjourned Monday afternoon.
The House negotiators are Rep. Joseph Wagner
(D-Chicopee), Rep. Brian Dempsey (D-Haverhill), and Paul Frost
(R-Auburn).
State House News Service
Monday, October 24, 2011
State Capitol Briefs
Rosenberg, Flanagan, Ross named casino bill negotiators
Casino industry insiders and other supporters of
expanded gambling may find themselves extra grateful this
Thanksgiving. Adding to the chorus of high-level calls for the
completion of work on an expanded gambling bill before the
Legislature recesses on Nov. 16, Senate President Therese Murray
told a local radio station Thursday that she hopes the legislation
lands on Gov. Deval Patrick's desk before members depart for the
holidays in 20 days.
State House News Service
Thursday, October 27, 2011
State Capitol Briefs
Senate president hopes for gambling bill accord before Nov. 16
More than two years after the state passed
omnibus transportation legislation promoted as the cure to systemic
problems, a report released Monday paints a portrait of a system
"maxed out" by debt and unable to pay for basic operations. The
21-page report by the group Transportation for Massachusetts
describes Massachusetts as "unable" to raise sufficient revenues to
operate, repair and enhance its system of roads, bridges and
transit....
The report cites a recent state advisory
committee finding that 45 percent of the combined operating budgets
of the state Department of Transportation and the MBTA will be used
to pay off debt associated with operating and maintaining existing
systems. Without recommending any specific solutions, the report
calls for "new revenue" dedicated to transportation systems.
State House News Service
Monday, October 24, 2011
State Capitol Briefs
Report sees "maxed out" transportation system
Lt. Gov. Tim Murray says every option is on
the table when it comes to shoring up the state’s weak
transportation infrastructure, but let’s face it, what the
administration wants left on the table at the end of the
debate is an increase in the gas tax.
And if the folks on Beacon Hill want to wade
into that thicket, well, lotsa luck....
In a speech to the Greater Boston Chamber of
Commerce last Wednesday, Murray described the state’s
transportation system as “the enabling network of our economy.”
Why, then, does this basic function of government — along with
others — so often seem to take a back seat?
Why did the administration choose to float $1
billion in loans so they could sink taxpayer money into private
companies in the life sciences sector, when the transportation
system is maybe $19 billion in the red? ...
A Boston Herald editorial
Monday, October 24, 2011
Tapping taxpayers
The Patrick administration has been busy
priming the pump for new tax revenue to support more spending on
transportation, and everyone expects it to take the form of a
hike in the state gasoline tax. But yesterday we heard another
couple of kooky ideas for generating funds to support public
transit in particular.
A report prepared for the think tank MassINC
explores the idea of a new payroll tax — at 0.16 percent per
full-time worker — that would be dedicated to transit funding,
helping to close the gaping revenue shortfall for the MBTA and
to prop up underfunded regional transit authorities....
Alternatively, the report suggests a new tax
on vehicle miles driven (VMT) to generate revenue for the T and
for the RTAs.
But that means that what is essentially a tax
on driving will be directed to support spending on trains and
buses. Not to mention that Bay State drivers haven’t exactly
proven open to the idea of having their driving habits tracked
by the state....
Bay State taxpayers and motorists already
fork over more than $2 billion a year in taxes, tolls and fees
that are directed to spending on transportation and transit....
But until this state learns to spend smarter,
how can it demand that taxpayers give more?
A Boston Herald editorial
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Transit taxapalooza
Cities and towns will receive $65 million in
promised local aid, the state’s rainy day fund balance will grow
to $1.4 billion and infrastructure projects will receive a $39
million infusion under a supplemental budget bill signed
Thursday by Gov. Deval Patrick.
The law includes $169 million in spending
initiatives, and directs $350 million to the rainy day fund that
when combined with other deposits into the fund in the fiscal
year that ended June 30 resulted in a total fiscal 2011
stabilization fund deposit of $712 million, according to the
administration.
In addition to imposing spending cuts and tax
increases, Patrick and the Legislature drew down the rainy day
fund from a high of about $2.3 billion before the 2008
recession, but with the new deposits the fund’s balance becomes
the third largest among the states, administration officials
said....
The state Republican Party criticized Patrick
for taking his time to review the bill after Democratic Party
Chairman John Walsh and House leaders whacked Rep. James Lyons
for refusing for two days to let the bill, which they said
contained critical funding for disaster relief and local aid,
move forward without an amendment requiring the Patrick
administration to provide a detailed breakdown of all public
benefits.
“The Democratic Party goes to great lengths
to criticize Republicans when we stand up for transparency and
try to protect taxpayers," MassGOP Chairman Jennifer Nassour
said on Wednesday. “Apparently the legislation is only important
to the Democratic Party when they can score political points
with it.” Lyons, during informal sessions where any one lawmaker
can stop a bill by doubting the presence of a quorum, stayed in
the House chamber for hours, demanding a formal session so that
members could vote on the issue.
State House News Service
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Rainy Day fund balance up to $1.4 billion as Patrick signs
budget bill
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Chip Ford's CLT
Commentary
The September 27 CLT Update ("Twenty-two
years of waiting for maybe . . .") to the membership reported on
attempts in the state Senate to amend the casino gaming bill. Senate
Republicans offered four amendments to use some of the gambling
revenue as a revenue source to complete our rollback of the income
tax to its historic 5 percent. I received a response from
state
Rep. Kevin Kuros (R-Uxbridge):
An additional point to note is that the Gaming Bill, as it
left the House, included a GOP amendment to include the
gaming license fees in the revenue number as well, thereby
increasing the likelihood that the threshold to trigger the
rollback is reached.
Regards,
Kevin Kuros
State Representative - 8th Worcester District
The Senate Republicans' amendments were
ultimately defeated, as reported in the October 24 CLT Update ("Beacon
Hill's Heroes and Good Guys").
But with the Republican amendment having been
adopted in the House version, it's still possible that it can be
included when the bill comes out of the House/Senate conference
committee — if the six Senate and House
negotiators agree to keep it in their compromise bill. If they so
decide, then the full House and Senate must vote the whole bill up
or down, without further amendments.
Now is the time to call your state representative
and state senator. Inform them that you want that amendment included
in the final casino bill; you want gaming license fees included in
the revenue number — demand the
twenty-two year "temporary" income tax hike finally
continue being lowered
to its historic 5 percent, as the voters mandated in 2000, eleven
years ago.
FIND YOUR STATE SENATOR & REPRESENTATIVE HERE
The threat of a gas tax hike
is back. It seems
Gov. Patrick won't rest until he imposes one. And the VMT —
Vehicle Miles Traveled — program is again under consideration, "an
Orwellian-style transponder chip Gov. Deval Patrick is considering
for Bay State inspection stickers" the
Boston Herald reported in February, 2009 of the last attempt.
The usual suspects are behind this latest scheme.
One of the groups pushing to impose a higher gas tax on motorists is
"Transportation for Massachusetts," aka the T4MA Coalition. I'd
never heard of it before, so did some research. Its website is
hosted by The Barr Foundation, a Progressive grant-making
organization. There I found T4MA is led by The
Conservation Law Foundation:
Transportation for Massachusetts Calls on New
Transportation Secretary Davey
to Champion a 21st Century Transportation System for the
Commonwealth
Coalition of Over 20 Organizations Forms
to Promote Safe, Reliable and Convenient Transportation Options for
Massachusetts Residents
"The members of Transportation for
Massachusetts include: Alternatives for Community &
Environment, Conservation Law Foundation, Codman Square
Neighborhood Development Corporation, Dorchester Bay
Economic Development Corporation, Environmental League of
Massachusetts, Fairmount/Indigo Line CDC Collaborative,
Livable Streets Alliance, Local Initiatives Support
Corporation, Massachusetts Association of Community
Development Corporations, MassBike, Massachusetts Public
Health Association, Massachusetts Public Interest Research
Group Education Fund, Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance,
Mattapan Community Development Corporation, Metropolitan
Area Planning Council, On the Move, Progressive Business
Leaders Network, Somerville Community Development
Corporation, Southwest Boston Community Development
Corporation, T Riders Union, Urban Edge, and WalkBoston."
MassINC has come out with a scheme for a gas or
payroll tax hike, to be 'dedicated' to transportation
infrastructure, in its report
Moving Forward with Funding: New strategies to support
transportation and balanced regional economic growth.
The so-called
Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation has yet to announce support
for this gas tax hike on average taxpayers, but how far off
can that be? MTF was
leading the charge the last time with its proposed 25¢
per gallon increase.
We helped defeat that last attempt (CLT News
Release, Feb. 20, 2009, "Proposed
Gas Tax Increase"), but here we go again . . .
The tax-borrow-and-spenders just keep coming back
for more, more, always more — but More
Is Never Enough (MINE) and never will be, until they have it all.
More Is Never Enough. They want more even when
Bacon Hill is again pulling in revenue surpluses. On July 9 the
State House News Service reported on a nearly $2 billion
unanticipated excess in revenue for Fiscal Year 2011 ("FY
2011 tax receipts rise nearly $2 billion, nearly eclipse FY '12
estimate"). Besides spending much of it in the latest
supplemental budget, $350 million was just added to the state's
rainy day fund, bringing that stash of cash to $1.4 billion.
Politics as Usual: Recall all the recent
outrage, complaining and whining by Democrats that was directed at "upstart
freshman" Rep. James Lyons (R-Andover) and his few Republican allies, who held
up that supplemental spending bill until the Patrick administration
agreed to reveal how much the state is spending on various public
benefits and on whom. Oh the sky would fall if the budget wasn't passed quickly
— until Governor Patrick got it, and sat on
it for another ten days before signing off.
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Chip Ford |
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State House News Service
Monday, October 24, 2011
State Capitol Briefs
Rosenberg, Flanagan, Ross named casino bill negotiators
Sen. Stanley Rosenberg will helm the Senate's conference committee
on casino and expanded gambling legislation. Rosenberg will be
joined by Sen. Jennifer Flanagan (D-Leominster) and Sen. Richard
Ross (R-Wrentham). The Senate negotiators were announced just before
the Senate adjourned Monday afternoon.
The House negotiators are Rep. Joseph Wagner (D-Chicopee), Rep.
Brian Dempsey (D-Haverhill), and Paul Frost (R-Auburn).
Now that the conferees have been named it's up to the chairmen to
set up their first meeting. Conference committees may hold open or
closed meetings and members typically vote at their first meeting on
whether to keep their meetings open or not. For the most part,
conference committees in recent years have voted to shutter their
meetings to outsiders.
Tasked with settling differences in major policy proposals or budget
bills, conference committees typically make some of the most
important decisions on Beacon Hill and their powers are enhanced
since their recommendations are not subject to amendment in the
House and Senate.
State House News Service
Thursday, October 27, 2011
State Capitol Briefs – Morning Edition
Senate president hopes for gambling bill accord before Nov. 16
Casino industry insiders and other supporters of expanded gambling
may find themselves extra grateful this Thanksgiving. Adding to the
chorus of high-level calls for the completion of work on an expanded
gambling bill before the Legislature recesses on Nov. 16, Senate
President Therese Murray told a local radio station Thursday that
she hopes the legislation lands on Gov. Deval Patrick's desk before
members depart for the holidays in 20 days.
"My hope is before," she said, when asked if she foresaw the
completion of the bill before or after the six-week recess.
Murray's comment came two days after senior lawmakers in the House
and Senate charged with negotiating competing versions of the bill
said they saw no obstacles to coming to consensus before the break.
State House News Service
Monday, October 24, 2011
State Capitol Briefs
Report sees "maxed out" transportation system
More than two years after the state passed omnibus transportation
legislation promoted as the cure to systemic problems, a report
released Monday paints a portrait of a system "maxed out" by debt
and unable to pay for basic operations. The 21-page report by the
group Transportation for Massachusetts describes Massachusetts as
"unable" to raise sufficient revenues to operate, repair and enhance
its system of roads, bridges and transit.
"The cost savings promised by reform will come over a 20-year
period," according to the report. "But the system is starved for
funds now. Reform before revenue made sense as a first step, but
reform is not a substitute for revenue."
The report's release on Monday comes two days before Lt. Gov. Tim
Murray and Transportation Secretary Richard Davey are scheduled to
sit down at the law offices of Mintz Levin to discuss a separate
MassINC report on "inadequate transportation finances."
The report cites a recent state advisory committee finding that 45
percent of the combined operating budgets of the state Department of
Transportation and the MBTA will be used to pay off debt associated
with operating and maintaining existing systems. Without
recommending any specific solutions, the report calls for "new
revenue" dedicated to transportation systems.
Gov. Deval Patrick recently said the state lacks a transportation
financing plan but needs one. Administration officials have called
for a public discussion of options, a conversation that may be
expedited by expected MBTA fare hikes.
The Boston Herald
Monday, October 24, 2011
A Boston Herald editorial
Tapping taxpayers
Lt. Gov. Tim Murray says every option is on the table when it comes
to shoring up the state’s weak transportation infrastructure, but
let’s face it, what the administration wants left on the table at
the end of the debate is an increase in the gas tax.
And if the folks on Beacon Hill want to wade into that thicket,
well, lotsa luck. Yes, the MBTA is drowning in debt, federal
stimulus dollars are drying up and the bad economy means state tax
revenues to support transportation spending have been sluggish. But
the motoring public isn’t exactly in a tax-hike kind of mood.
But it’s when Murray and other Patrick administration officials talk
about the critical role that infrastructure plays in supporting the
commonwealth’s economy — and, as a result, the pressing need for
more revenue to modernize it — that we get a little confused.
In a speech to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce last
Wednesday, Murray described the state’s transportation system as
“the enabling network of our economy.” Why, then, does this basic
function of government — along with others — so often seem to take a
back seat?
Why did the administration choose to float $1 billion in loans so
they could sink taxpayer money into private companies in the life
sciences sector, when the transportation system is maybe $19 billion
in the red? Massachusetts continues to use taxpayer money to roll
the dice on life-sciences start-ups that may never produce jobs,
while according to a report in The Boston Globe last week, private
venture capital firms are pulling back from the industry.
Meanwhile the “green jobs” bucks continue to be passed around
because that Evergreen “investment” worked out so well, right?
Now some taxpayers might not mind a slight increase in the gas tax
to support road, bridge and other infrastructure improvements if
they weren’t also facing an increase in their utility bills because
the Patrick administration has decided to buddy up with “green”
companies like Cape Wind. The administration continues to pressure
NStar to buy the fledgling wind project’s above-market energy, for
example, which would lead to higher costs for consumers.
Most taxpayers don’t need much. They want government to fulfill its
most basic duties, like ensuring that bridges are safe and that
trains run on time. They want all of that before anyone takes a
flyer with their tax dollars.
The Boston Herald
Thursday, October 27, 2011
A Boston Herald editorial
Transit taxapalooza
The Patrick administration has been busy priming the pump for new
tax revenue to support more spending on transportation, and everyone
expects it to take the form of a hike in the state gasoline tax. But
yesterday we heard another couple of kooky ideas for generating
funds to support public transit in particular.
A report prepared for the think tank MassINC explores the idea of a
new payroll tax — at 0.16 percent per full-time worker — that would
be dedicated to transit funding, helping to close the gaping revenue
shortfall for the MBTA and to prop up underfunded regional transit
authorities.
Such “regional financing” will help to build robust transit systems
across the state, the report insists, and promote economic
development. The authors even trot out the old “less than a cup of
coffee” pitch to support the payroll tax idea.
But can anyone think of a bigger job-killer than a brand new tax on
a company’s payroll?
Slapping a new tax on businesses that might be thinking of adding
jobs, or those that are just struggling to keep their doors open, is
hardly the job generator that the commonwealth needs.
Alternatively, the report suggests a new tax on vehicle miles driven
(VMT) to generate revenue for the T and for the RTAs.
But that means that what is essentially a tax on driving will be
directed to support spending on trains and buses. Not to mention
that Bay State drivers haven’t exactly proven open to the idea of
having their driving habits tracked by the state.
MassINC has focused on a legitimate problem: The continuing funding
crisis for the MBTA, the uneven investment of state transportation
dollars and the need to boost support for RTAs, which should serve
as catalysts for regional economic development.
But are such regional financing solutions really the “clear answer”
the report’s authors claim?
Bay State taxpayers and motorists already fork over more than $2
billion a year in taxes, tolls and fees that are directed to
spending on transportation and transit. Yes, half of that goes to
paying off debt and the system’s needs are overwhelming.
But until this state learns to spend smarter, how can it demand that
taxpayers give more?
State House News Service
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Rainy Day fund balance up to $1.4 billion as Patrick signs budget
bill
By Matt Murphy and Michael Norton
Cities and towns will receive $65 million in promised local aid, the
state’s rainy day fund balance will grow to $1.4 billion and
infrastructure projects will receive a $39 million infusion under a
supplemental budget bill signed Thursday by Gov. Deval Patrick.
The law includes $169 million in spending initiatives, and directs
$350 million to the rainy day fund that when combined with other
deposits into the fund in the fiscal year that ended June 30
resulted in a total fiscal 2011 stabilization fund deposit of $712
million, according to the administration.
In addition to imposing spending cuts and tax increases, Patrick and
the Legislature drew down the rainy day fund from a high of about
$2.3 billion before the 2008 recession, but with the new deposits
the fund’s balance becomes the third largest among the states,
administration officials said.
“I am pleased to approve the vast majority of this legislation,
which provides key investments in job creating projects across the
Commonwealth and programs that spur on-the-job training, continuing
education and workforce development,” Patrick wrote in his signing
letter to the House and Senate.
The bill, which lawmakers tagged with scores of items unrelated to
spending the fiscal 2011 surplus, includes nearly $20 million in aid
for a series of natural disasters, $9 million for collective
bargaining agreements and $10 million to allowing substance abusers
to be committed by the courts to a treatment program for up to 90
days.
The bill also directed $12 million in new assistance and $8 million
in retained revenue to the trial court system where judges and
administrators in recent months have cautioned that budget cuts have
unacceptably hampered basic operations.
“The supplemental funding for the trial court is desperately needed,
as the judicial branch continues to grapple with the effects of
sustained budget cuts and enormous staff reductions over the past
few years,” Martin Healy, chief legal counsel and chief operating
officer of the Massachusetts Bar Association, said in a statement.
Patrick, however, vetoed one section that would have spent $6
million to allow nursing homes to hold beds open for up to 10-days
if a patient is hospitalized for an extended period, and returned
two other outside sections with amendments.
The governor cited a recent audit that found 4,000 empty beds in
nursing homes across the state, making the additional spending
“unnecessary.”
The Legislature had approved a special commission to review the
state electronic benefit transfer card system, which provides cash
assistance for welfare recipients. Patrick’s amendment recommends
adding two additional members to the commission, including a
representative from the Retailers Association of Massachusetts and a
gubernatorial-appointed representative for cash-assistance
recipients.
The governor also proposed a correction to a provision in the bill
governing the public disclosure of small business impact statements
required to be filed by state agencies when proposing new
regulations.
Administration officials predicted “hundreds” of jobs will be
created by spending $39 million on the MassWorks Infrastructure
Program.
Other spending authorized under the new budget law:
● $10
million in aid to cities and towns affected by the June 1 tornadoes;
●
$6.2 million to reimburse cities and towns for costs associated with
the December 2008 ice storms;
●
$9.5 million in tax credits to support affordable housing projects;
●
$3 million for adult basic education programs;
●
$850,000 for adult immunization and vaccines.
Patrick took the full 10-day review period afforded the governor
before signing the legislation Thursday after a number of delays
held the bill back from his desk until Oct 17.
The state Republican Party criticized Patrick for taking his time to
review the bill after Democratic Party Chairman John Walsh and House
leaders whacked Rep. James Lyons for refusing for two days to let
the bill, which they said contained critical funding for disaster
relief and local aid, move forward without an amendment requiring
the Patrick administration to provide a detailed breakdown of all
public benefits.
“The Democratic Party goes to great lengths to criticize Republicans
when we stand up for transparency and try to protect taxpayers,"
MassGOP Chairman Jennifer Nassour said on Wednesday. “Apparently the
legislation is only important to the Democratic Party when they can
score political points with it.” Lyons, during informal sessions
where any one lawmaker can stop a bill by doubting the presence of a
quorum, stayed in the House chamber for hours, demanding a formal
session so that members could vote on the issue.
He dropped his objection only when Secretary of Health and Human
Services JudyAnn Bigby offered to provide the information Lyons
requested.
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