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CLT UPDATE
Monday, August 1, 2016
Whirlwind marathon weekend on
Beacon Hill
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Saturday dawned without reports filed from any of the five
conference committees charged with developing consensus energy,
economic development, and municipal government reform bills, as well
as bills regulating the ride-hailing industry and non-compete
agreements.
The conference panels conduct their work in secret. Sen. Jamie
Eldridge, a negotiating on the ride-hailing bill, told the News
Service Saturday that the panel met Friday night but declined to
provide further information.
Conference reports are expected on Saturday, in time for votes
during sessions scheduled for Sunday, although there's no guarantee
that all five conferences will reach compromises. Conference
reports, which are not subject to amendment, need to be filed by 8
p.m. in order to comply with rules aimed at giving lawmakers time to
review bills before voting on them. Reports filed before 8 p.m. may
not be voted upon until after 1 p.m. on Sunday. Lawmakers, already
pressed for time as they scramble to work on other bills, will face
a challenge reviewing details of all five bills prior to votes on
Sunday....
Some lawmakers over the years have claimed they are given too little
time to review complex bills, but conference reports drafted by
Democrats who control both branches are usually rubbber-stamped by
the House and Senate and legislative leaders say the members are
familiar with most of the issues involved.
State House News Service
Saturday, July 30, 2016
Negotiating panels up against deadline on major bills
House and Senate negotiators have agreed on a compromise bill
aimed at modernizing municipal government functions across
Massachusetts. The bill does not include changes favored by the
Senate and Gov. Charlie Baker to give local officials more control
over the flow of alcohol licenses.
A conference committee report (H 4565), signed by all six members
was filed in the House clerk's office Saturday afternoon and will
likely emerge for floor votes in the House and Senate on Sunday.
The 125-page bill is based on House and Senate bills (H 4419 and
S 243) that were assembled after Gov. Charlie Baker offered his
modernization bill....
The bill is one of five major bills that Gov. Charlie Baker and
legislative leaders have identified as top priorities for completion
before formal sessions end for the year on Sunday and only informal
sessions commence for the remainder of 2016.
The House spent much of the afternoon overriding Gov. Baker's
budget vetoes, taking 41 separate votes to restore almost $40.66
million to the fiscal 2017 budget. The Senate is expected to
consider overrides during Saturday's session, Senate President
Stanley Rosenberg announced at 6 p.m.
The House overrides came on top of the 99 line item vetoes the
House overrode last Saturday totaling $86.4 million, and the Senate
has follow suit on almost all those votes.
Baker, when he signed the budget, expressed concern about the
level of spending approved by the Legislature and whether it could
be covered by projected revenues over the next 12 months. That was
before the House added $127 million to the bottom line.
State House News Service
Saturday, July 30, 2016
Muni-guv deal reached, energy conferee sees "little bit" of progress
For months, Democratic legislative leaders thought they could
take care of some of the most important legislative business pending
before the state over three weekend days in late July, while taking
the better part of the two-year session's busiest weeks off to
attend to national political matters.
It may still work out that way, but it's pretty messy right
now....
The Legislature has a rule requiring conference committee reports
to be filed by 8 p.m. in order to be taken up the next day after 1
p.m. The deadline, designed to ensure legislators have time to
review the work product of conference committees that operate in
secret, passed Saturday night without filings on four of the five
major bills. Now both branches will have to suspend their rules by
majority vote on Sunday if they are to consider any agreements that
may be reached late Saturday night or Sunday morning....
Democrats in both branches were of one mind on one thing
Saturday. Lawmakers took dozens of votes to restore vetoed funding
for favored programs to the $39 billion state budget, ignoring
warnings from Gov. Charlie Baker that overrides would throw the
budget off, since Baker says the spending plan doesn't fund $250
million in known expenses.
State House News Service
Saturday, July 30, 2016
Talk, but not results on big bills heading into final formal session
Seven state representatives on Sunday night voted against meeting
beyond 9 p.m., shedding some light on which members might possibly
object to conducting business beyond midnight.
With less than three hours left until midnight, when formal
sessions are supposed to end, House and Senate leaders still appear
intent on trying to ram through several major bills that have not
yet been unveiled.
Most House members are okay with staying in session while
awaiting conference committee bills on energy generation,
ride-hailing industry regulation, non-compete agreements and
economic development.
The House voted 150-7 to suspend a rule and continue meeting past
9 p.m. Voting against suspension of that rule were Reps. Nicholas
Boldyga, David DeCoste, Geoff Diehl, Shawn Dooley, Randy Hunt, James
Lyons and Shaunna O'Connell. Unanimous consent
— agreement of all members — is
required for the branches meet beyond midnight.
State House News Service
Sunday, July 31, 2016
Seven reps object to late-night session
Gov. Charlie Baker will have at least one of his priority bills
on his desk when he returns to the State House on Monday.
The Senate unanimously adopted a bundle of municipal finance and
government reforms Sunday evening, sending to Baker's desk the
compromise bill designed to make municipal governments more
efficient and to give them more flexibility.
The House had approved the package 158-0 earlier Sunday.
State House News Service
Sunday, July 31, 2016
Municipal reform bill clears both branches
The Legislature early Monday sent to Governor Charlie Baker three
key bills — regulating ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft,
requiring utilities to contract with more hydro- and wind-power, and
working to boost the economy through programs such as job training.
But as the House and Senate lurched past a midnight deadline,
lawmakers left a fourth closely watched bill dead: one that would
have restricted noncompete agreements, used by companies to prevent
employees from leaving to work for a competitor or to start a rival
firm.
Perhaps the most significant accomplishment of the final frantic
hours of lawmaking was what is known as the Uber legislation — and
the outcome was seen as largely good news for the ride-hailing
industry....
And legislators were also cheering an economic development bill
that included items ranging from incentives for new housing to
grants for community development to job training.
Notably, it did not include a controversial proposal to tax
short-term rentals on Airbnb and online vacation sites like hotel
stays....
Although lawmakers have had since January 2015 to do the hard
work of legislating — holding hearings, voting in each chamber, and
hashing out compromises — many other items were poised to die a
silent death at midnight....
The graveyard of bills that won’t become law this year is
vast....
And, because the state is grappling with budget troubles — a gap
between authorized spending and anticipated revenue — the
Massachusetts tradition of a summer weekend sales tax holiday will
be suspended....
Earlier Sunday, there was a slow dribble of legislative action.
The House and Senate overrode a series of budget vetoes from
Baker. And a bill closely watched by cities and towns to “modernize”
laws that affect municipalities — from finance to speed limits — was
enacted by the Legislature and sent to Baker.
Notably, the final version did not include a provision that would
have granted cities and towns more control over liquor licenses.
That means the century-old practice of Beacon Hill’s setting local
caps on liquor licenses will continue, and municipalities will still
need lawmakers to sign off to grant more establishments the right to
sell liquor....
Early Monday, [Governor Baker] said he was thankful lawmakers
took action on “several important pieces of legislation.” Baker, who
has veto power, said he would review the bills.
Now that the formal session for the year has concluded, lawmakers
will still meet and advance legislation in informal sessions. In
those sessions, a single legislator can derail proceedings.
The Boston Globe
Monday, August 1, 2016
State lawmakers give late OK to Uber, energy bills
After enacting a small bridge repair bill that would also exempt
billions of dollars of borrowing from the state's debt limit, the
Senate on Sunday night adopted an order requesting that the governor
notify them before any exempted bonds are issued.
The Senate voted 38-1 to enact a bill (H 4424) creating a new $50
million program to finance small bridge repairs, with Sen. Brian
Joyce of Milton dissenting.
Joyce opposed a provision of the bill which exempts from the
state's debt ceiling large amounts of borrowing authorized in the
2014 transportation bond bill, including the Rail Enhancement
Program (REP)....
Since 1989, the state has had a statutory limit in place to cap
the total amount of outstanding direct state debt. The limit
automatically increases by 5 percent each year, and is fixed at
$21.786 billion for the current fiscal year.
The state cannot issue debt in excess of the statutory debt
limit, and hitting that ceiling would prevent the state from issuing
certain types of bonds to pay for large-scale capital projects,
therefore slowing spending on things such as infrastructure
improvements.
The debt ceiling came into full view late in 2015, when state
finance officials reported Massachusetts could hit its debt limit
for the first time in fiscal year 2017, which began July 1. An
official in the Executive Office of Administration and Finance said
Thursday updated projections now show the state remaining just under
the limit this fiscal year and bumping up against it in fiscal
2018....
Joyce, formerly chairman of the Senate Committee on Bonding,
Capital Expenditures and State Assets, said the next session of the
Legislature should conduct a full vetting of any proposal to exempt
borrowing from the statutory limit.
"By authorizing another $6.6 billion as exempt, we will have some
$21.8 billion in debt within the limit and have allowed another
$11.5 billion outside the limit," he said. "That's over 50 percent.
At some point, the exceptions overwhelm the rule."
State House News Service
Sunday, July 31, 2016
Senate order seeks report from Baker on debt exemption
The economic development bill filed late Sunday and enacted right
around midnight Monday does not include an expansion of a tax
incentive aimed at helping low-income workers or authorization for
the Massachusetts Lottery to expand into online gaming, according to
the lead House negotiator on the bill.
Both of those proposals had been included in the Senate's version
of the bill.
"The Senate had a number of outside sections that didn't match up
with things in the House. Most of those were set aside or held in
conference," said Rep. Joe Wagner, the House chairman of the
Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies....
A tax on short-term private room rentals, including through the
online booking site Airbnb, was also dropped from the final version
as was a provision subjecting non-profits to property taxes when
they buy real estate already on local tax rolls, according to
Wagner.
The final version was filed around 11 p.m. Sunday and enacted on
a unanimous 156-0 vote in the House and a 38-1 vote in the Senate
just after midnight. With major borrowing provisions, the economic
development bill required roll call votes on enactment, and the
Legislature's rules prohibit formal sessions - where recorded votes
can be taken - from happening after July 31.
"We needed to get that done tonight," Wagner said.
Sen. Vinny deMacedo, a Plymouth Republican, was the only member
of the six-lawmaker conference committee that came up with the final
version not to sign off on it.
State House News Service
Monday, August 1, 2016
House, Senate rush economic development bill to Baker's desk
The Legislature on Sunday sent a bill financing road and bridge
improvements to Gov. Charlie Baker – and included a directive to the
administration to apply for federal funding to test a new tax on
drivers based on miles traveled.
Baker has already said he is likely to veto the vehicle miles
traveled pilot program....
Baker, a Republican, said he opposes the pilot program. If Baker
vetoes the section of the bill that includes the pilot, lawmakers
will not be able to override his veto, because the formal
legislative session ends Sunday night.
The Springfield Republican
Sunday, July 31, 2016
Lawmakers send mileage tax pilot program to Gov. Charlie Baker
Gov. Charlie Baker said Friday that he opposes a Senate amendment
that would require Massachusetts to apply for federal money to test
out a new tax on drivers.
Baker, a Republican, also criticized the Democratic-controlled
Legislature for making the proposal with only days left before the
end of the legislative session.
"Governor Baker does not support raising taxes on the people of
Massachusetts and does not support this amendment," said Baker
spokesman Billy Pitman. "The administration also believes the waning
hours of the legislative session is not the time to move forward
with any new proposal to require the state to participate in such a
federal program." ...
Supporters of testing the new tax say it could eventually replace
the gas tax. But opponents worry that the gas tax would never be
repealed.
Chip Faulkner, a spokesman for the anti-tax advocacy group
Citizens for Limited Taxation, pointed out that voters in
2014 just rejected automatic indexing of the state's gas tax to
inflation. He said his group would actively oppose this effort as
well. "We're one of the most heavily taxed states in the country,"
Faulkner said. "On top of that, we rejected the gas tax. This is
just insulting."
The Springfield Republican
Saturday, July 29, 2016
Gov. Charlie Baker opposes vehicle miles traveled tax proposal
House and Senate negotiators have finalized an energy bill that
will require utilities to procure large quantities of hydro-electric
and offshore wind power to meet the state's energy demand in the
coming years, but liberal factions of the Senate are upset with the
compromise and threatening to vote against the deal.
The final compromise was signed by five of the six conferees,
with Sen. Marc Pacheco of Taunton withholding his support. The
conference report (H 4568) was filed with House clerks at 9:30 p.m....
In the hours since the News Service first reported a deal and
details began to trickle out, Senate leaders have been working
behind the scenes to sooth the discontent over the final compromise,
which is being viewed by some as short of comprehensive energy bill
that had been promised earlier in the session.
"There's definitely going to be an energy bill next year," said
one senior ranking Senate official, who acknowledged that senators
were being asked to put aside their disappointment in order to get
something done before the midnight deadline.
Many senators, including Downing, had hoped to see the
Legislature go further this session to promote energy efficiency and
other strategies that they view as critical to meeting demand and
the state's clean energy and carbon emission reduction mandates.
The conference committee also adopted the House's preferred
language that would exclude the long-fought, controversial Cape Wind
project in Nantucket Sound from bidding for the long-term offshore
wind contracts.
State House News Service
Sunday, July 31, 2016
Renewable energy compromise filed, some senators disappointed
Local retail advocates say summer commerce will take a hit
after
the Legislature forewent an August sales tax holiday weekend for
this year, a perk Bay State shoppers and businesses have counted on
since 2004.
“They’re going to see a dramatic drop in Massachusetts sales in
August ... there are stores that see as much as 10 to 15 percent of
their annual sales derived out of this promotion,” said Jon Hurst,
president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, predicting
shoppers will be pushed to tax-free online purchases. “The reality
is there are some stores that won’t survive the next 12 months
because they did not have this incentive. That’s just the fact. It
is that important.”
David Tuerck of the Beacon Hill Institute said Bay State
retailers are already under pressure due to the state’s high sales
tax, and could use the boost during a slow season.
“I think the Legislature is kind of tone deaf when it comes to
retailers in this state,” he said. “The Legislature is perfectly
happy to spend a lot of money on questionable purposes, and they
could just as well have tightened their belt a little bit and gone
ahead and had the sales tax holiday again this year.”
The Boston Herald
Monday, August 1, 2016
Retail advocates:
Store receipts will plunge in August without sales tax holiday
While everyone was distracted by the political conventions, it
was quietly announced that there will be no Massachusetts sales tax
holiday this August.
How did this happen? Senate President Stan Rosenberg and Speaker
Robert DeLeo declared that the commonwealth could not spare the tax
revenue to give us a two-day break from the 6.25 percent sales tax.
There was no vote by either the Senate or House to kill the measure.
These two Democratic leaders just dictated it to the 198 other
legislators and the taxpayers.
According to DeLeo and Rosenberg, they could not find $25 million
for the break
within the $39 billion state budget.
Really?
In 2014, the Legislature approved spending $20 million to
renovate the Senate Chamber and another $20 million for the House
Chamber. There is no money? ...
You’re probably thinking there is still time to do a holiday
weekend and we should all call our Legislators. You would be wrong.
The Legislature is done for the year. As of Aug. 1 they are on break
so they can campaign full time to save their jobs. On Nov. 8, hold
accountable legislators who voted against term limits for the
speaker!
The Boston Herald
Monday, August 1, 2016
Dem pols kill sales tax holiday — but
override 90 vetoes
By Holly Robichaud
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Chip Ford's CLT
Commentary
Well that was quite a busy weekend, to
say the least. We were following, tracking what went
on, and are still trying to nail down some facts and votes.
Imagine what it must have been like for our elected
representatives and senators over the weekend of marathon
legislating. Committees, which had months to negotiate
House and Senate versions, finally got around to releasing a
number of huge bills hundreds of pages in length mere hours
before our representatives on Beacon Hill could allegedly
read, digest, then vote intelligently in our best interests.
What they've had nineteen months to accomplish just occurred
in less than forty-eight hours. And they claim we need
a highly-compensated full-time Legislature?
While we continue to delve into what happened over
that whirlwind weekend — and with the
overwhelming amount of information for you and us to digest
— here are some of the highlights of what
happened — and more importantly, what didn't
— as best as we can determine at this time:
It appears that Governor Baker will veto the
requirement that Massachusetts apply for federal money to test out a new
tax on drivers, and with the Legislature now in recess (gone home), if
he does it's dead. We spoke with close aides in his office on
Friday afternoon, were assured the Governor was opposed to this.
We're still trying to find out what happened with the
Downing Amendment (authorizing local governments to impose their own
income and other taxes) that the Senate attached to the municipal
finance and government reforms bill, itself 125 pages, in the final
rush. None of the legislators or aides with whom we spoke today
could say for sure, but don't believe it was included or adopted.
We're still searching for confirmation, yes or no, but expect we’d have
heard if it had passed.
The proposed new tax on short-term private room
rentals which CLT opposed was dropped from the final version of the
municipal finance and government reforms bill.
It looks like the state government intends to go the
way of the federal government when it comes to borrowing and debt.
When it hits the debt ceiling, wants more money, it just raises the
ceiling and keeps the party rolling. As the state hits its $21.8
billion limit, the Legislature simply increased the borrowing limit by
another $11.5 billion by exempting some debt from the "statutory limit."
That's what Congress does every year or two as the federal debt ceiling
approaches — how it's put the nation into
$19-$20 trillion of accumulated debt. As Sen. Brian Joyce
noted: "That's over 50 percent. At some point, the exceptions
overwhelm the rule." He added: "This is a bad idea, it is not
necessary and it is not something we should have agreed to without
rigorous review on the last day of the session." I wonder when the
Legislature will propose that the state begin printing its own money,
like the feds do when they run short?
Most likely, as in the past, unknown and unknowable
details of what was just passed in that blur of activity will bubble to
the surface over the coming days, weeks, and months. Remember the
"tech
tax"? Many legislators will again act shocked, shocked
— excusing themselves as being ignorant of
what they voted for. Maybe I'm wrong. I'm sure we'll find
out soon enough.
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Chip Ford
Executive Director |
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State House News Service
Saturday, July 30, 2016
Negotiating panels up against deadline on major bills
By Michael Norton
It appears Massachusetts lawmakers may have as little time
as possible - hours rather than days - to review major bills
before they are offered up for take-it-or-leave-it votes on
Sunday, the final day of formal sessions during the
2015-2016 of the General Court.
Saturday dawned without reports filed from any of the five
conference committees charged with developing consensus
energy, economic development, and municipal government
reform bills, as well as bills regulating the ride-hailing
industry and non-compete agreements.
The conference panels conduct their work in secret. Sen.
Jamie Eldridge, a negotiating on the ride-hailing bill, told
the News Service Saturday that the panel met Friday night
but declined to provide further information.
Conference reports are expected on Saturday, in time for
votes during sessions scheduled for Sunday, although there's
no guarantee that all five conferences will reach
compromises. Conference reports, which are not subject to
amendment, need to be filed by 8 p.m. in order to comply
with rules aimed at giving lawmakers time to review bills
before voting on them. Reports filed before 8 p.m. may not
be voted upon until after 1 p.m. on Sunday. Lawmakers,
already pressed for time as they scramble to work on other
bills, will face a challenge reviewing details of all five
bills prior to votes on Sunday.
Legislative leaders spent much of the past week at the
Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. "I'm anxious
to get back to Boston. We've got a lot of work to do. I want
to make sure that we end the legislative session on a high
note," House Speaker Robert DeLeo told Boston Herald Radio
while at the DNC.
Some lawmakers over the years have claimed they are given
too little time to review complex bills, but conference
reports drafted by Democrats who control both branches are
usually rubbber-stamped by the House and Senate and
legislative leaders say the members are familiar with most
of the issues involved.
Informal sessions, during which bills need unanimous consent
to advance, are scheduled for the remainder of 2016.
Sam Doran contributed reporting.
State House News Service
Saturday, July 30, 2016
Muni-guv deal reached, energy conferee sees "little bit" of progress
By Michael Norton and Matt Murphy
House and Senate negotiators have agreed on a compromise bill aimed at
modernizing municipal government functions across Massachusetts. The
bill does not include changes favored by the Senate and Gov. Charlie
Baker to give local officials more control over the flow of alcohol
licenses.
A conference committee report (H 4565), signed by all six members was
filed in the House clerk's office Saturday afternoon and will likely
emerge for floor votes in the House and Senate on Sunday.
The 125-page bill is based on House and Senate bills (H 4419 and S 243)
that were assembled after Gov. Charlie Baker offered his modernization
bill.
The House conferees were Reps. Ronald Mariano, Paul Donato and David
Vieira. The Senate conferees were Barbara L'Italien, Michael Rodrigues
and Patrick O'Connor.
Among the many provisions in the bill are an initiative aimed at
bringing down the costs of textbooks in K-12 and public higher
education, a required report from telephone and distribution companies
on double poles, and numerous sections aimed at streamlining municipal
government procurement and operations.
The bill is one of five major bills that Gov. Charlie Baker and
legislative leaders have identified as top priorities for completion
before formal sessions end for the year on Sunday and only informal
sessions commence for the remainder of 2016.
The House spent much of the afternoon overriding Gov. Baker's budget
vetoes, taking 41 separate votes to restore almost $40.66 million to the
fiscal 2017 budget. The Senate is expected to consider overrides during
Saturday's session, Senate President Stanley Rosenberg announced at 6
p.m.
The House overrides came on top of the 99 line item vetoes the House
overrode last Saturday totaling $86.4 million, and the Senate has follow
suit on almost all those votes.
Baker, when he signed the budget, expressed concern about the level of
spending approved by the Legislature and whether it could be covered by
projected revenues over the next 12 months. That was before the House
added $127 million to the bottom line.
Advocates who saw their funding restored were pleased. Erica Mattison,
the legislative director of Environmental League of Massachusetts, said
the override of $1.5 million for the Department of Environmental
Protection's administrative account will "help to stave off devastating
staff cuts to an already severely understaffed agency." "We also urge
overrides for the Department of Conservation and Recreation to ensure
our parks don't suffer massive cuts," Mattison said.
House and Senate negotiating teams are still working on energy and
economic development bills as well as bills regulating the ride-hailing
industry and the terms of non-compete agreements between employers and
employees.
The Senate's lead energy negotiator Sen. Benjamin Downing said late
Saturday afternoon that conferees are still working on the bill that
would direct utilities to purchase significant quantities of new
hydroelectric and offshore wind power.
"It's going," Downing said when asked for a status update on talks with
the House. Asked if lawmakers were making progress toward a deal, the
Pittsfield Democrat said, "A little bit."
The energy bill is probably the most complex of the top five remaining
goals for House and Senate leaders this session, and its is also one of
Gov. Baker's number one priorities.
The Senate on Saturday approved legislation establishing a family and
medical leave and temporary disability leave insurance program but that
bill does not appear to be on the House's near-term to-do list.
State House News Service
Saturday, July 30, 2016
Talk, but not results on big bills heading into final formal session
By Michael Norton and Matt Murphy
For months, Democratic legislative leaders thought they could take care
of some of the most important legislative business pending before the
state over three weekend days in late July, while taking the better part
of the two-year session's busiest weeks off to attend to national
political matters.
It may still work out that way, but it's pretty messy right now.
After private deliberations failed to produce on-time agreements, House
and Senate negotiators were looking ahead to secret Saturday night talks
to try to salvage months of work on economic development and renewable
energy generation bills as well as legislation regulating the
ride-hailing industry and limiting the terms of non-compete agreements
between employers and employees.
"The good news is all the conference committees are still talking. The
bad news is when they stop talking," Senate President Stanley Rosenberg
told the News Service on his way into his office where senators were
breaking for dinner.
Lobbyists and special interest group officials crowded the State House
on a beautiful day, expecting to finally learn of decisions that will
affect residents and businesses for years to come. After hours of
waiting, they left the State House with rumors, but no details.
On talks over regulating ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft, one
lobbyist said, "They've been locked up all day."
As marathon sessions extended into the evening, House-Senate negotiating
panels reached agreement on only one of five major bills on their to-do
list, a municipal government operations reform bill that represented
relatively low-hanging policy fruit.
House Speaker Robert DeLeo, accustomed to performing delicate
end-of-session negotiations with former Senate President Therese Murray,
this year is tangoing with Senate President Stanley Rosenberg and Senate
Democrats who are pushing a more activist, progressive agenda.
Gaps that need to be closed between dueling House and Senate policy
proposals seem larger this session. And those differences are magnified
by an undercurrent of disenchantment among senators remaining after a
months-long power-sharing fight back in early 2015 over rules reforms
and the flow of bills.
After House Speaker Pro Tempore Patricia Haddad suggested early Saturday
afternoon that House-Senate talks had been impeded by senators,
including several serving on conference committees, attending this
week's Democratic National Convention, Rosenberg said later in the day
that some of the late-session problems stemmed from the House waiting
too long to deliver major bills to the Senate.
"Didn't help," said one House Democrat of Rosenberg's comments, who said
it felt like the Senate was setting itself up to blame the House if
something doesn't get across the finish line.
The Legislature has a rule requiring conference committee reports to be
filed by 8 p.m. in order to be taken up the next day after 1 p.m. The
deadline, designed to ensure legislators have time to review the work
product of conference committees that operate in secret, passed Saturday
night without filings on four of the five major bills. Now both branches
will have to suspend their rules by majority vote on Sunday if they are
to consider any agreements that may be reached late Saturday night or
Sunday morning.
As darkness closed in on Beacon Hill, the House recessed until noon on
Sunday, leaving them 12 hours to attempt to ram accords through, if they
are even reached. DeLeo and Rosenberg lead mostly compliant majorities,
so the tardiness of agreements may not matter much if they can be
brokered.
Democrats in both branches were of one mind on one thing Saturday.
Lawmakers took dozens of votes to restore vetoed funding for favored
programs to the $39 billion state budget, ignoring warnings from Gov.
Charlie Baker that overrides would throw the budget off, since Baker
says the spending plan doesn't fund $250 million in known expenses.
Sunday could still end with agreements on all, or most of the major
bills.
"I think we will see a lot of action, probably tomorrow. Obviously I
would have like to have seen a lot of this done before the last two
days, but to say things are slow? Things are feverishly happening as we
speak," said Rep. Brad Hill, the assistant House minority leader and
conferee on the ride-hailing panel.
Hill agreed that Rosenberg's comments were counter productive, even if
he didn't feel it had impacted relationships on his conference
committee.
"As one individual member, that's disappointing to hear because I
thought things were moving pretty smoothly," Hill said.
Sen. Eileen Donoghue, a Lowell Democrat leading negotiations for the
Senate on a major economic development bill, said "no white smoke" as
she retreated to her office during a pause in the session.
"I don't make any prediction. I hope it gets done. I think there's been
an enormous amount of work done for months on this so I hope it gets
done. I think it's important to get it done," Donoghue said.
Asked about friction between the House and Senate, Donoghue said she
hasn't experienced it in her negotiations with lead House economic
development conferee Rep. Joseph Wagner.
"I think the fact that we have so many conference committees going on
simultaneously may add to the atmosphere," Donoghue said.
State House News Service
Sunday, July 31, 2016
Seven reps object to late-night session
By Michael Norton and Katie Lannan
Seven state representatives on Sunday night voted against meeting beyond
9 p.m., shedding some light on which members might possibly object to
conducting business beyond midnight.
With less than three hours left until midnight, when formal sessions are
supposed to end, House and Senate leaders still appear intent on trying
to ram through several major bills that have not yet been unveiled.
Most House members are okay with staying in session while awaiting
conference committee bills on energy generation, ride-hailing industry
regulation, non-compete agreements and economic development.
The House voted 150-7 to suspend a rule and continue meeting past 9 p.m.
Voting against suspension of that rule were Reps. Nicholas Boldyga,
David DeCoste, Geoff Diehl, Shawn Dooley, Randy Hunt, James Lyons and
Shaunna O'Connell. Unanimous consent —
agreement of all members — is required for
the branches meet beyond midnight.
Both branches have approved differing versions of the four bills. While
some members may have problems with pieces of the compromise bill, most
members of both branches are on record in favor of passing bills to
address the four major policy areas.
State House News Service
Sunday, July 31, 2016
Municipal reform bill clears both branches
By Colin A. Young
Gov. Charlie Baker will have at least one of his priority bills on his
desk when he returns to the State House on Monday.
The Senate unanimously adopted a bundle of municipal finance and
government reforms Sunday evening, sending to Baker's desk the
compromise bill designed to make municipal governments more efficient
and to give them more flexibility.
The House had approved the package 158-0 earlier Sunday.
Sen. Barbara L'Italien, who led the conference committee negotiations
for the Senate, said the talks were productive because all six lawmakers
recognized their shared goal was to make life easier for municipal
officials.
"Ours was a fairly collegial conference committee because we all knew
what was at stake was making the work of our local officials easier. We
wanted to bring things up to the 21st century," the Andover Democrat
said.
L'Italien, who co-chairs the Joint Committee on Municipalities and
Regional Government, said the conferees focused on a few themes:
"increasing local autonomy," "creating flexibility to affect positive
change in their communities," and "simplifying and updating processes."
"As a municipal official, I have seen firsthand the roadblocks for
municipalities. This bill clears a lot of those roadblocks," Sen.
Patrick O'Connor, a Weymouth town councilor who represented the Senate
Republicans in negotiations, said. "This bill is another step we are
making to expand the ability for municipalities to act on their own and
grow."
Among other provisions, the bill allows municipalities to offer property
tax breaks to veterans, active-duty military personnel and senior
citizens, permits cranberry farmers to install solar panels for their
own use without risking their preferential tax status, allows cities and
towns to use parking revenue for a greater array of transportation
projects, and allows municipalities to band together to buy school
textbooks at lower prices.
The Boston Globe
Monday, August 1, 2016
State lawmakers give late OK to Uber, energy bills
By Joshua Miller
The Legislature early Monday sent to Governor Charlie Baker three key
bills — regulating ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft, requiring
utilities to contract with more hydro- and wind-power, and working to
boost the economy through programs such as job training.
But as the House and Senate lurched past a midnight deadline, lawmakers
left a fourth closely watched bill dead: one that would have restricted
noncompete agreements, used by companies to prevent employees from
leaving to work for a competitor or to start a rival firm.
Perhaps the most significant accomplishment of the final frantic hours
of lawmaking was what is known as the Uber legislation — and the outcome
was seen as largely good news for the ride-hailing industry.
The bill mandates driver background checks, to be conducted by the
transportation network companies and the state, but does not require
fingerprinting of drivers. It would impose a 20-cent-per-ride fee on the
companies, with the proceeds split among cities, towns, the
Massachusetts Department of Transportation, and a fund to help the taxi
and livery businesses.
And it would allow drivers to pick up passengers from the Boston
Convention & Exhibition Center and, for drivers with the right permits,
Logan International Airport.
“We are pleased that the Legislature came to an agreement on
common-sense legislation that sets high safety standards while keeping
modern transportation options like Lyft available across the Bay State,”
said Adrian Durbin, a Lyft spokesman.
An Uber spokesperson said the company applauds the process and is
reviewing the bill.
House and Senate negotiators also agreed to a renewable energy bill that
would require utilities to contract for up to 2,800 megawatts of
hydropower and wind power in the years ahead.
That’s equal to about a third of the power Massachusetts uses every
year, and legislators see it as a big step toward reducing the state’s
carbon footprint.
And legislators were also cheering an economic development bill that
included items ranging from incentives for new housing to grants for
community development to job training.
Notably, it did not include a controversial proposal to tax short-term
rentals on Airbnb and online vacation sites like hotel stays.
But lawmakers failed to reach a compromise on loosening the state’s
rules for noncompetition contracts, which can bar workers from competing
against a former employer.
The contracts, once an obscure bit of hiring paperwork, have become
controversial among powerful factions in the state’s business community.
Technology startups and their investors say noncompetes stop
entrepreneurs from launching companies and hiring the best people. But
some large employers, including EMC Corp. and Boston Scientific, have
argued that the contracts protect Massachusetts companies from being
raided by ruthless competitors.
Although lawmakers have had since January 2015 to do the hard work of
legislating — holding hearings, voting in each chamber, and hashing out
compromises — many other items were poised to die a silent death at
midnight.
The tension was palpable. Lobbyists with furrowed brows poked at their
iPhones and sipped vending-machine Coca-Cola, legislative aides
speed-walked through the marble halls, and journalists pestered insiders
with increasing intensity.
Under the rules of the Legislature, final compromise bills were supposed
to be released to the public by 8 p.m. Saturday. But in a State House
not known for its transparency, lawmakers suspended the rules and sent
the bills to the governor shortly after the final language became
public.
Asked about the opacity of the proceedings, Speaker Robert A. DeLeo said
Sunday afternoon: “It is always my hope that we can get these pieces of
legislation out earlier than we do.”
Yet, DeLeo indicated, waiting until the last possible minute is human
nature. He cited similar instances of tardiness in the business, sports,
and the legal worlds.
The graveyard of bills that won’t become law this year is vast.
A bill that would have raised the minimum legal sales age for tobacco
products from 18 to 21 passed the Senate, and the general idea of such
an age hike has the support of DeLeo and Baker. But that legislation is
effectively dead because the House did not take it up for a vote.
The Senate also passed a bill creating a paid family and medical leave
program for workers that will not see the light of day in the House.
And, because the state is grappling with budget troubles — a gap between
authorized spending and anticipated revenue — the Massachusetts
tradition of a summer weekend sales tax holiday will be suspended.
Retailers have long asserted that the holiday is a boon to the state’s
economy and that vastly outweighs the revenue the state would forgo.
But opponents fret that the weekend pause on the sales tax diverts money
— $26 million in revenue was forgone in 2015 — from key state programs,
and alters when consumers spend their cash, rather than boosting the
economy more broadly.
Earlier Sunday, there was a slow dribble of legislative action.
The House and Senate overrode a series of budget vetoes from Baker. And
a bill closely watched by cities and towns to “modernize” laws that
affect municipalities — from finance to speed limits — was enacted by
the Legislature and sent to Baker.
Notably, the final version did not include a provision that would have
granted cities and towns more control over liquor licenses. That means
the century-old practice of Beacon Hill’s setting local caps on liquor
licenses will continue, and municipalities will still need lawmakers to
sign off to grant more establishments the right to sell liquor.
Geoff Beckwith, the state’s top lobbyist for cities and towns, said the
bill includes “an impressive array” of updates to the law and gets rid
of “outdated and obsolete statutes” that make it harder for
municipalities to serve their citizens.
For example, it allows a town to use certain insurance proceeds — say,
for a police cruiser that was damaged — without having to wait for a
full vote of the town meeting, which currently means months of delay, he
said. Beckwith said it doesn’t make any sense for a town to have cash
from an insurance company, but have to wait a long time to spend it.
The legislation also allows cities and towns to set lower speed limits
on local streets than those set by Massachusetts law.
For his part, Baker, a Republican, was keeping close tabs on the
legislative back-and-forth, aides said.
Early Monday, he said he was thankful lawmakers took action on “several
important pieces of legislation.” Baker, who has veto power, said he
would review the bills.
Now that the formal session for the year has concluded, lawmakers will
still meet and advance legislation in informal sessions. In those
sessions, a single legislator can derail proceedings.
Curt Woodward and Jon Chesto of the Globe staff contributed to this
report.
State House News Service
Sunday, July 31, 2016
Senate order seeks report from Baker on debt exemption
By Colin A. Young
After enacting a small bridge repair bill that would also exempt
billions of dollars of borrowing from the state's debt limit, the Senate
on Sunday night adopted an order requesting that the governor notify
them before any exempted bonds are issued.
The Senate voted 38-1 to enact a bill (H 4424) creating a new $50
million program to finance small bridge repairs, with Sen. Brian Joyce
of Milton dissenting.
Joyce opposed a provision of the bill which exempts from the state's
debt ceiling large amounts of borrowing authorized in the 2014
transportation bond bill, including the Rail Enhancement Program (REP).
A week ago, as the Senate debated passing the bill, Joyce proposed an
amendment to strike that provision. His colleagues agreed and the
amendment was adopted. But in an informal session Thursday, the Senate
reversed course and agreed to a House version that included the
exemption.
Since 1989, the state has had a statutory limit in place to cap the
total amount of outstanding direct state debt. The limit automatically
increases by 5 percent each year, and is fixed at $21.786 billion for
the current fiscal year.
The state cannot issue debt in excess of the statutory debt limit, and
hitting that ceiling would prevent the state from issuing certain types
of bonds to pay for large-scale capital projects, therefore slowing
spending on things such as infrastructure improvements.
The debt ceiling came into full view late in 2015, when state finance
officials reported Massachusetts could hit its debt limit for the first
time in fiscal year 2017, which began July 1. An official in the
Executive Office of Administration and Finance said Thursday updated
projections now show the state remaining just under the limit this
fiscal year and bumping up against it in fiscal 2018.
Joyce's order, which the Senate adopted, requests that Gov. Charlie
Baker provide the Senate with "a detailed report ... that includes the
reason for excluding these bonds from the statutory debt limit."
"This bill from the governor exempts almost $6.7 billion from the
statutory debt limit," Joyce said. "This is a bad idea, it is not
necessary and it is not something we should have agreed to without
rigorous review on the last day of the session."
The order also calls for the governor to include information about the
impact of the exempted bonds on the state's bond rating, fiscal
solvency, annual debt service payments, and the state's ability to pay
its existing obligations.
Joyce, formerly chairman of the Senate Committee on Bonding, Capital
Expenditures and State Assets, said the next session of the Legislature
should conduct a full vetting of any proposal to exempt borrowing from
the statutory limit.
"By authorizing another $6.6 billion as exempt, we will have some $21.8
billion in debt within the limit and have allowed another $11.5 billion
outside the limit," he said. "That's over 50 percent. At some point, the
exceptions overwhelm the rule."
Administration and Finance and state Treasury officials have pointed to
the 2014 authorization of the Rail Enhancement Program
— $1.86 billion in bonding through 2020 to
finance the Green Line Extension project, the purchase of new Red and
Orange Line trains, the Knowledge Corridor rail extension, South Station
improvements, and the South Coast commuter rail extension
— as a main reason the state is fast
approaching its debt ceiling.
State House News Service
Monday, August 1, 2016
House, Senate rush economic development bill to Baker's desk
By Andy Metzger
The economic development bill filed late Sunday and enacted right around
midnight Monday does not include an expansion of a tax incentive aimed
at helping low-income workers or authorization for the Massachusetts
Lottery to expand into online gaming, according to the lead House
negotiator on the bill.
Both of those proposals had been included in the Senate's version of the
bill.
"The Senate had a number of outside sections that didn't match up with
things in the House. Most of those were set aside or held in
conference," said Rep. Joe Wagner, the House chairman of the Committee
on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies.
A tax on short-term private room rentals, including through the online
booking site Airbnb, was also dropped from the final version as was a
provision subjecting non-profits to property taxes when they buy real
estate already on local tax rolls, according to Wagner.
The final version was filed around 11 p.m. Sunday and enacted on a
unanimous 156-0 vote in the House and a 38-1 vote in the Senate just
after midnight. With major borrowing provisions, the economic
development bill required roll call votes on enactment, and the
Legislature's rules prohibit formal sessions - where recorded votes can
be taken - from happening after July 31.
"We needed to get that done tonight," Wagner said.
Sen. Vinny deMacedo, a Plymouth Republican, was the only member of the
six-lawmaker conference committee that came up with the final version
not to sign off on it.
"One of the things that's very important about conference committees is
that they actually meet and they include their members in discussions of
important matters, and in this case I think Sen. deMacedo was largely
isolated from that process," said Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr.
After a few major bills were finalized on the last day of formals for
the year, Tarr said, "I don't think he felt comfortable signing a
conference committee report where he wasn't included in the development
of the bill and hadn't been kept up to date on its contents."
Lawmakers in touch with Wagner's office about earmarks important to
their districts.
"There were many of my colleagues who had specific earmarks in which
they were interested, and tried to be sensitive to their needs for their
district," Wagner said.
The Chicopee Democrat told the News Service the bill includes $500
million in authorized borrowing for MassWorks infrastructure program,
and $45 million in capital dollars for brownfields, $45 million for
"transformative development," and $45 million for equipment for career
and technical education, among other measures.
The bill includes a new tax deduction intended encourage more families
to save for college tuition costs.
Wagner described those measures as House priorities.
The Springfield Republican
Sunday, July 31, 2016
Lawmakers send mileage tax pilot program to Gov. Charlie Baker
By Shira Schoenberg
The Legislature on Sunday sent a bill financing road and bridge
improvements to Gov. Charlie Baker – and included a directive to the
administration to apply for federal funding to test a new tax on drivers
based on miles traveled.
Baker has already said he is likely to veto the vehicle miles traveled
pilot program.
"There's disappointment, because all it is is a request for a grant so
that we can pilot as was done in Oregon, to see how it would work in
Massachusetts and whether we thought it would be a good policy here,"
said Senate President Stan Rosenberg, D-Amherst. "So we're leaving
federal money on the table."
The bill, H.4424, passed the House unanimously, 158-0, and the Senate on
a 38-1 vote. The only dissenter was State Sen. Brian Joyce, D-Milton,
who has expressed concern that the bill would move a rail program
outside of the state's debt cap – essentially letting the state increase
the amount of money it can borrow.
The bill provides $50 million for a financing program for small bridges
and a $750 million bond authorization for highway project funding,
although most of the highway money would be reimbursed by the federal
government.
During the last week, senators also tacked onto the bill a provision
directing the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to apply to the
U.S. Department of Transportation for grant funding to create a vehicle
miles traveled pilot program. The program would include 500 volunteers.
The point would be to figure out whether a vehicle miles traveled tax
would work, what its impact would be, and how to best collect the
information. If it goes well, lawmakers could consider replacing the
state gas tax with a mileage tax.
Oregon and California are testing similar programs.
Baker, a Republican, said he opposes the pilot program. If Baker vetoes
the section of the bill that includes the pilot, lawmakers will not be
able to override his veto, because the formal legislative session ends
Sunday night.
Rosenberg said Sunday that he is disappointed that the provision is
unlikely to be signed into law. "The gas tax is going to be a declining
revenue source over time as vehicles become more and more efficient, and
yet we will still have roads and bridges to maintain," Rosenberg said.
"So eventually we're going to have to transition to a different form of
revenue over time, and so we need to start wrestling with that."
The Springfield Republican
Saturday, July 29, 2016
Gov. Charlie Baker opposes vehicle miles traveled tax proposal
By Shira Schoenberg
Gov. Charlie Baker said Friday that he opposes a Senate amendment that
would require Massachusetts to apply for federal money to test out a new
tax on drivers.
Baker, a Republican, also criticized the Democratic-controlled
Legislature for making the proposal with only days left before the end
of the legislative session.
"Governor Baker does not support raising taxes on the people of
Massachusetts and does not support this amendment," said Baker spokesman
Billy Pitman. "The administration also believes the waning hours of the
legislative session is not the time to move forward with any new
proposal to require the state to participate in such a federal program."
As The Republican / MassLive.com reported Thursday, an amendment that
senators introduced to a bridge and road funding bill would direct the
Massachusetts Department of Transportation to apply to the U.S.
Department of Transportation for grant funding to create a vehicle miles
traveled pilot program.
A vehicle miles traveled tax is a way to tax drivers based on how many
miles they drive — rather than the current gas tax system, where drivers
pay based on how much gas their cars consume.
State Sen. Thomas McGee, D-Lynn, Senate chairman of the Transportation
Committee, who supports the pilot program, said as cars get more
efficient, revenue from the gas tax will decline, and the state needs to
find new ways to collect the money needed to maintain its transportation
infrastructure.
"It's really an opportunity to look at it as an option for getting
revenue separate from the gas tax," McGee said.
McGee stressed that this would be a revenue-neutral test program,
conducted exclusively with volunteers. "It's an opportunity for us to
create a volunteer pilot program and see if it would work, see if people
would take a look at that as an option," McGee said.
The initial pilot program would include no more than 500 volunteer
participants. The Department of Transportation would design the program
in a way that would ensure that the volunteers are not paying both
taxes. For example, they might be reimbursed for any gas taxes they pay.
Supporters of testing the new tax say it could eventually replace the
gas tax. But opponents worry that the gas tax would never be repealed.
Chip Faulkner, a spokesman for the anti-tax advocacy group Citizens for
Limited Taxation, pointed out that voters in 2014 just rejected
automatic indexing of the state's gas tax to inflation. He said his
group would actively oppose this effort as well. "We're one of the most
heavily taxed states in the country," Faulkner said. "On top of that, we
rejected the gas tax. This is just insulting."
Baker generally opposes raising taxes.
With the legislative session ending Sunday, the amendment involved some
last-minute maneuvering by lawmakers. The Senate first introduced the
amendment on the pilot program to an otherwise uncontroversial road and
bridge bond bill last Saturday. The House and Senate agreed to a
slightly modified version of it on Thursday.
Lawmakers must approve the final version of the bill this Saturday or
Sunday.
State Sen. Don Humason, R-Westfield, a member of the Transportation
Committee, said he anticipates that Republicans will oppose the
amendment. But Democrats are likely to have enough votes to pass it over
GOP objections.
Baker's opposition makes it less certain that the provision will become
law. Because the bill is a spending bill, Baker has line item veto
power. Lawmakers will not be able to override a veto, which requires a
roll call vote of two-thirds of the Legislature, after the session ends.
Whether Baker can return the provision with an amendment will depend on
whether the provision is considered a spending appropriation or an
outside policy section. If Baker does propose an amendment, lawmakers
can approve it in an informal session after Sunday, but only if no
legislator objects.
The pilot program has the support of environmental groups and
transportation advocates.
"As cars become more efficient, we lose revenue generated from the gas
tax, and so this is looking ahead to see if there may be some other
mechanism we can use to raise revenue for transportation, which we
desperately need," said Nancy Goodman, vice president for policy at the
Environmental League of Massachusetts.
California and Oregon are testing similar programs.
The Republican reporter Shannon Young contributed reporting.
State House News Service
Sunday, July 31, 2016
Renewable energy compromise filed, some senators disappointed
By Matt Murphy
House and Senate negotiators have finalized an energy bill that will
require utilities to procure large quantities of hydro-electric and
offshore wind power to meet the state's energy demand in the coming
years, but liberal factions of the Senate are upset with the compromise
and threatening to vote against the deal.
The final compromise was signed by five of the six conferees, with Sen.
Marc Pacheco of Taunton withholding his support. The conference report
(H 4568) was filed with House clerks at 9:30 p.m.
Rep. Thomas Golden of Lowell, the co-chair of the Energy Committee, said
the bill was more than just a procurement of large-scale hydro and wind
power, pointing to sections that also encourage small hydro with dams
and energy storage.
"This should be a celebration," Golden said. "This is the beginning to
having a greener energy future for the commonwealth."
Pacheco may try to persuade his colleagues to reject the deal in the
final hours of the session, but one senior Senate lawmaker said the
Taunton Democrat doesn't have the votes.
The bill, according to Sen. Benjamin Downing, calls for the procurement
of 1,600 megawatts of both offshore wind and hydropower that would
likely be imported from Canada or upstate New York.
Downing said the bill also contains language promoting gas leak repairs
and the development of energy storage technology, but it does not
include Senate language increasing the Renewable Energy Portfolio
Standard (RPS), which requires utilities to obtain a minimum amount of
their electricity from renewable sources like solar and wind.
The Senate had proposed to double the current rate of growth in the RPS
standard from 1 percent a year to 2 percent a year, but the section was
dropped from the final compromise.
The conference committee also dropped Senate-backed language that would
have banned utilities from seeking rate increases from customers to
front the cost of building new natural gas pipelines. The omission,
according to sources, has contributed to the anger and frustration among
some members of the Senate who oppose the expansion of natural gas and
sought the protections for consumers.
In the hours since the News Service first reported a deal and details
began to trickle out, Senate leaders have been working behind the scenes
to sooth the discontent over the final compromise, which is being viewed
by some as short of comprehensive energy bill that had been promised
earlier in the session.
"There's definitely going to be an energy bill next year," said one
senior ranking Senate official, who acknowledged that senators were
being asked to put aside their disappointment in order to get something
done before the midnight deadline.
Many senators, including Downing, had hoped to see the Legislature go
further this session to promote energy efficiency and other strategies
that they view as critical to meeting demand and the state's clean
energy and carbon emission reduction mandates.
The conference committee also adopted the House's preferred language
that would exclude the long-fought, controversial Cape Wind project in
Nantucket Sound from bidding for the long-term offshore wind contracts.
The Boston Herald
Monday, August 1, 2016
Retail advocates:
Store receipts will plunge in August without sales tax holiday
By Jack Encarnacao
Local retail advocates say summer commerce will take a hit
after the
Legislature forewent an August sales tax holiday weekend for this year,
a perk Bay State shoppers and businesses have counted on since 2004.
“They’re going to see a dramatic drop in Massachusetts sales in
August
... there are stores that see as much as 10 to 15 percent of their
annual sales derived out of this promotion,” said Jon Hurst, president
of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, predicting shoppers will
be pushed to tax-free online purchases. “The reality is there are some
stores that won’t survive the next 12 months because they did not have
this incentive. That’s just the fact. It is that important.”
David Tuerck of the Beacon Hill Institute said Bay State retailers are
already under pressure due to the state’s high sales tax, and could use
the boost during a slow season.
“I think the Legislature is kind of tone deaf when it comes to retailers
in this state,” he said. “The Legislature is perfectly happy to spend a
lot of money on questionable purposes, and they could just as well have
tightened their belt a little bit and gone ahead and had the sales tax
holiday again this year.”
The Legislature — engrossed in down-to-wire deliberations on bills
regulating energy, economic development, ride-hailing and noncompete
agreements — let the current session expire without reauthorizing a
two-day break on the 6.25 percent sales tax, saying it will cost the
state too much revenue.
In a statement, Senate President Stanley C. Rosenberg said the budget
sent to the governor for next year contains more than $500 million in
cuts.
“Reducing revenue by an additional $20-30 million, money that could go
towards schools, public safety, and services for the
disabled is not
prudent at this time,” Rosenberg said.
House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo also has said the economic climes make a
sales tax holiday uncalled for. Gov. Charlie Baker, who has supported
the tax holiday in the past, also had cited “concerns about the fiscal
situation we find ourselves in” for next year in
explaining his lack of
advocacy for the holiday.
The last time the state passed on a sales tax holiday was in 2009, in
the throes of recession. Hurst said that led to a “horrible, horrible,
horrible month” for local retailers, with some stores seeing 40 percent
declines in sales.
The Boston Herald
Monday, August 1, 2016
Dem pols kill sales tax holiday – but override 90 vetoes
By Holly Robichaud
While everyone was distracted by the political conventions,
it was quietly announced that there will be no Massachusetts
sales tax holiday this August.
How did this happen? Senate President Stan Rosenberg and
Speaker Robert DeLeo declared that the commonwealth could
not spare the tax revenue to give us a two-day break from
the 6.25 percent sales tax. There was no vote by either the
Senate or House to kill the measure. These two Democratic
leaders just dictated it to the 198 other legislators and
the taxpayers.
According to DeLeo and Rosenberg, they could not find $25
million for the break
within the $39 billion state budget.
Really?
In 2014, the Legislature approved spending $20 million to
renovate the Senate Chamber and another $20 million for the
House Chamber. There is no money?
In the runup to the Democratic National Convention, the
Legislature overrode in record speed 90 of Gov. Baker’s
vetoes, putting $100 million back into the budget. There is
no money?
New Hampshire legislators must be miracle workers because
their state survives all year with no sales or income taxes.
Unfortunately, the tax holiday is the casualty of what
happens when too much power lies in the hands of too few at
the State House. Members, who voted against term limits for
the speaker, gave DeLeo absolute power. These sheep like it
that way.
Legislators are not speaking out because they don’t want to
take a vote on the sales tax holiday during an election
year. Their choice would be go against leadership or against
the people. Taxpayers always lose even when they don’t take
a vote.
“Consumers, retailers and store employees all look forward
to the sales tax holiday as a reason to keep hundreds of
millions of dollars in our economy. It is very disappointing
that Beacon Hill is effectively sending the message that we
are fine with our consumers sending their dollars to Silicon
Valley and to New Hampshire. Government gives the
competitors in New Hampshire and on the internet a
365-day-a-year sales tax holiday; and we can’t afford two
lousy days for our local, real retailers?” said Jon Hurst of
the Massachusetts Retailers Association.
You’re probably thinking there is still time to do a holiday
weekend and we should all call our Legislators. You would be
wrong. The Legislature is done for the year. As of Aug. 1
they are on break so they can campaign full time to save
their jobs. On Nov. 8, hold accountable legislators who
voted against term limits for the speaker!
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