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Post Office Box 1147
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Marblehead, Massachusetts 01945
▪ (781) 639-9709
“Every Tax is a Pay Cut ... A Tax Cut is a Pay Raise”
46 years as “The Voice of Massachusetts Taxpayers”
— and
their Institutional Memory — |
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CLT UPDATE
Sunday, March 1, 2020
A taxing
week ahead on Beacon Hill
Jump directly
to CLT's Commentary on the News
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Disputing the assertion by House leaders that the money
"isn't fully there" to support his $18 billion
transportation borrowing plan, Gov. Charlie Baker on
Thursday said he was "disappointed" with many of the core
elements of Speaker Robert DeLeo's tax package, raising the
stakes for next week's debate.
Baker, who has already said he opposes increasing the gas
tax, said he also does not support increasing the corporate
minimum excise tax, which is currently set at $456.
When taken together, the governor's opposition to tax
increases in the House bill could endanger at least half --
or $300 million -- of the House's revenue plan, which tops
out at $612 million, unless supporters can amass the
two-thirds vote that would be needed to override any
veto....
Baker said he met with Administration and Finance Secretary
Michael Heffernan on Thursday morning to review the House’s
bill, and he asked the secretary to put together "the
sources and uses on our bond bill and get it to the
Legislature."
"I
don't think we need to raise taxes to fund the plan that we
filed, which is actually a bigger plan than the one that is
going to be debated by the House next week," Baker said.
"And I continue to believe that you can't talk about
transportation unless you're also talking about housing and
about climate change, and, from my point of view, we have
proposals pending on all three of those items, and I would
like to see them dealt with together."
Baker has long said he opposed raising the gas tax, but
reiterated Thursday that he believes it "doesn’t do anything
for climate and it doesn't do anything to change behavior."
The
governor said the regional cap-and-trade program for
emissions, known as the Transportation Climate Initiative,
would be preferable. DeLeo said Wednesday he supports TCI
but considers its prospects "iffy," given the concerns
expressed by other states....
Rep. Ruth Balser, a Newton Democrat and co-chair of the
Committee on Elder Affairs, said the House's goal was to
raise the revenue necessary to respond to the concerns of
the people they represent. She said she would "be hopeful
that there would be that level of support" to override any
possible veto from Baker.
"TCI may be a great approach. We just have no reason to
assume it's going to happen and we in the House couldn't
wait. The people of the state are crying out," Balser said.
Repeating a word used frequently by Baker, Balser said she
was also disappointed that Baker would oppose asking
businesses that do over a $1 million in sales each year to
contribute more.
"It's disappointing that the governor doesn't want employers
to contribute their fair share. It's certainly in the
interest of the employers that their workers get to work on
time," Balser said....
Jim
Lyons, the chair of the Massachusetts Republican Party who
was a member of the House up until last year, recalled how
the last time the Legislature tried to raise money for
transportation, voters subsequently overturned a law to
index the gas tax to inflation.
"Here they are, two years after Speaker DeLeo and company
enacted their $18 million in pay raises, crying poor once
again," Lyons said. "And here are the Massachusetts
taxpayers, again facing a Democrat cash-grab at the gas
pump, even after already having voted in droves to kill
their dream for an automatic gas tax increase."
State House News Service
Friday, February 27, 2020
Baker: My Transpo Plan’s Bigger Without Tax Hikes
Guv's Opposition Threatens $300 Mil in Tax Hikes
“Revenue can’t wait.” That was House Speaker Robert DeLeo’s
justification for legislation he unveiled this week that
would hike gas taxes and boost fees for ride-hailing
services and costs to corporations. The state needs money,
lots of it, and the House plan would net over a half a
billion taxpayer dollars to fix the state’s transportation
problems.
“When it comes to our transportation system … Revenue can’t
wait any longer,” DeLeo said. “Our residents, our
communities and our economy are dependent on an immediate
source of revenue.”
Why
then is the Legislature taking its sweet time to approve
sports betting and getting our state lottery online? ...
Net
Lottery profit for the 2018 fiscal year was $997 million.
Imagine the revenue should the games go online.
One
thing we don’t need to imagine is the revenue spike possible
from sports betting. New Hampshire made it legal in January,
and Gov. Chris Sununu noted that more than $15.8 million had
been wagered in less than a month.
Of
course we don’t expect sports betting or an online lottery
to solve all the state’s money problems — there is just too
much that needs to be covered — but why continue to leave so
much potential funding on the table while launching plans
for a hike in the gas tax?
Especially when such a tax has such a sour history with Bay
Staters.
“It
was just six years ago that the people of Massachusetts
spoke out clearly that they didn’t feel that Beacon Hill was
looking out for their best interests in raising the gas
tax,” former state representative and U.S. Senate candidate
Geoff Diehl told the Herald. Diehl successfully fought to
repeal a gas tax hike in 2014.
The
legislative package calls for a 5-cent gas tax increase,
bringing it up to 29 cents per gallon, and a 9-cent increase
on diesel fuel to 33 cents per gallon
The Boston Herald
Friday, February 28, 2020
A Boston Herald editorial
Need more revenue? Pass sports betting bill
Convincing risk-averse legislators to embrace a tax hike in
an election year may be either an act of political courage
or suicide. But there was House Speaker Robert DeLeo this
week stirring the Kool-Aid and hoping he mixed the sugary
drink just right.
Too
little water, and it may turn people off. Too much water,
and it may not satisfy the craving.
So
how'd he do? Depends on who you asked.
DeLeo and several of his top lieutenants rolled out a
revenue package this week that could raise as much as $612
million a year by taxing gas, corporations, rental car sales
and Uber and Lyft rides.
The
House plan, which will be debated next Wednesday, would
raise the state's 24-cent gas tax by 5 cents, or 9-cents if
the vehicle burns diesel. The current $456 corporate minimum
excise tax would be tiered to max out at $150,000 for the
most profitable businesses, and rental car companies would
no longer enjoy an exemption from the sales tax if they add
to their vehicle fleets...
Just what residents will get for their money, however, is
less clear.
Transportation Committee Co-Chair Rep. William Straus said
the revenue is necessary if the state is going to come
anywhere close to paying for Gov. Charlie Baker's $18
billion capital spending plan. That's why House leaders have
trimmed the governor's bond bill to $14.5 billion, and plan
to debate that on Thursday, after the revenue vote.
House leaders have also set aside $54 million in new money
for the MBTA and and regional transit authorities, and say
the tax increase will help them finally make good on the
funding commitments for public transit that they have fallen
short of for years.
Gov. Baker, however, suggested it was nonsense that his $18
billion, long-term borrowing plan was unaffordable without
tax increases, and asked his top budget official to put
together the documentation to prove it. In the meantime,
Baker said he opposes gas tax and corporate tax hikes, and
is "disappointed" that even with new revenue the House
hasn't proposed spending as much as he has on public
transit.
Baker's position is supported by business groups like the
Massachusetts High Technology Council, while new revenue
advocates like Transportation for Massachusetts are taking a
more wait-and-see approach....
At
the very least, after about a year of letting anticipation
build there's finally a tax plan to examine and debate, and
that's what House legislators will do Wednesday when it hits
the floor.
State House News Service
Friday, February 28, 2020
Weekly Roundup - The Wait Ends
Despite immediate objections raised this week from Gov.
Charlie Baker, the House is gearing up to pass bills raising
taxes and fees and authorizing $14.5 billion in capital
spending on transportation.
The
tax bill is set for debate on Wednesday, and the borrowing
bill is on the House agenda for Thursday. Some Democrats may
attempt to add taxes to the bill while Republicans may
attempt to knock new levies out of the legislation....
Tuesday, March 3, 2020
REVENUE COMMITTEE - TAX PROPOSALS: Joint Committee on
Revenue holds a hearing to consider four bills, three of
which would authorize new taxes or fees. One bill (H 4514)
is a home rule petition from the city of Boston seeking
permission for the city to impose a transfer fee of up to 2
percent on real estate transactions and use the revenue for
affordable housing. Another bill (S 2563) would create a
local option for a 2 percent surcharge on property taxes for
affordable housing goals in any community that approves it.
A third proposal (H 4480) would create a transportation
excise tax on businesses. Agenda (Tuesday, 1 p.m., Room B-2)
State House News Service
Friday, February 28, 2020
Advances - Week of March 1, 2020
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Chip Ford's CLT
Commentary
"[Gov]
Baker has long said he opposed raising the gas tax,
but reiterated Thursday that he believes it 'doesn’t
do anything for climate and it doesn't do anything
to change behavior.'
"The
governor said the regional cap-and-trade program for
emissions, known as the Transportation Climate
Initiative, would be preferable. DeLeo said
Wednesday he supports TCI but considers its
prospects 'iffy,' given the concerns expressed by
other states."
"'TCI
may be a great approach. We just have no reason to
assume it's going to happen and we in the House
couldn't wait. The people of the state are crying
out,' [Rep. Ruth Balser, D-Newton] said.
Governor Baker
has "long opposed" raising the gas tax, which the House
will debate doing on Wednesday by five cents per gallon.
Instead, Baker wants to hike the gas tax starting at up
to 17 cents per gallon by his executive decree alone
then turn over future gas tax hikes to unelected,
unaccountable distant bureaucrats outside of
Massachusetts.
Charlie Baker
will no doubt be "disappointed" once again to be told
that he cannot have it both ways. Baker in fact
certainly does support a gas tax increase
— if it's bigger than even
what the House wants to impose by over 300 percent.
The good news
coming from this disagreement between Baker and House
Speaker DeLeo and others is that it appears "Baker's
Boondoggle," his multistate Transportation Climate
Initiative scheme, is losing any traction it might have
once assumed and seems to be sputtering along on fumes.
Unless, that
is, Royal Governor Charles Baker decrees it to be so and
it becomes so.
“'Revenue can’t wait.' That was House Speaker Robert
DeLeo’s justification for legislation he unveiled
this week that would hike gas taxes and boost fees
for ride-hailing services and costs to corporations.
The state needs money, lots of it, and the House
plan would net over a half a billion taxpayer
dollars to fix the state’s transportation problems."
What are
these people talking about? Over the last
fiscal year the state raked in almost two billion
dollars in excess taxes (aka, "revenue"), an
unanticipated surplus. So far this year "tax
receipts over the first seven months of fiscal 2020 are
up 4.9 percent, or $794 million over the same period in
fiscal 2019" — creating
another unanticipated bonanza to be typically
squandered.
If and when
the "Millionaires Tax," aka "The Fair Share Amendment,"
aka a Graduated Income Tax constitutional amendment
passes on the November ballot, as is expected, that will
pull in an additional anticipated $2 Billion
annually, allegedly "dedicated" to education and
transportation spending.
And yet,
strangely, the lords and ladies on Beacon Hill resist
voluntary revenue streams. Unless they can
impose them on over-burdened citizens, the concept
of revenue collected from voluntary discretionary
spending is regarded with apathy if not disdain.
The Boston
Herald editorial (below) asked an obvious question:
“'When it comes to our
transportation system … Revenue can’t wait any
longer,' DeLeo said. 'Our residents, our communities
and our economy are dependent on an immediate source
of revenue.'
"Why then is the Legislature
taking its sweet time to approve sports betting and
getting our state lottery online?"
The
Legislature has awakened and its formal session ends
five months from now, so they can get home and campaign
fulltime for reelection while continuing to collect the
salaries taxpayers pay them. The usual whirlwind
of proposed new legislation is about to overwhelm.
(See State House News Service's Advances, below)
Besides the transportation revenue bill coming up in the
House on Wednesday, the $14.5 billion transportation
bond bill on Thursday, and other issues that would
affect taxpayers lining up on the runway, the Joint
Committee on Revenue will hold a hearing on Tuesday to
consider:
(H
4514) is a home rule petition from the city of
Boston seeking permission for the city to impose a
transfer fee of up to 2 percent on real estate
transactions and use the revenue for affordable
housing. Another bill (S
2563) would create a local option for a 2
percent surcharge on property taxes for affordable
housing goals in any community that approves it.
Salem News
Statehouse reporter Christian Wade reported on this last
month ("New
2% fee may fund affordable housing; Fiscal watchdogs say
the proposal creates more taxes")
When he asked
for my reaction, I told him this was what the
Community Preservation Act in part was adopted to
address. It requires a majority vote of the
potentially affected municipal residents for it to be
adopted. Revenue raised by a municipal CPA ballot
question could be spent only for and on: 1)
historic preservation, 2) open space, 3) public
recreation, and 4) affordable housing. Why
is another means and method of picking property
taxpayers' pockets necessary?
With the CPA
there is a promise of matching state funds.
With
S-2653, "An Act authorizing a local affordable
housing surcharge," there is no matching state funds
whatsoever, and the revenue raised by a municipality
must be spent only on "affordable housing" within
the community.
"They
just can't keep adding to the taxpayers' burden,"
said Chip Ford, executive director of
Citizens for Limited Taxation. "The Legislature
has got to stop scheming for ways to take more money
from productive taxpayers, or they're going to see
an exodus of people leaving the state. It's the law
of diminishing returns."
According to
many CLT members I've heard from over the past year,
that exodus has already begun.
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Chip Ford
Executive Director |
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State House News Service
Friday, February 27, 2020
Baker: My Transpo Plan’s Bigger Without Tax
Hikes
Guv's Opposition Threatens $300 Mil in Tax Hikes
By Matt Murphy
Disputing the assertion by House leaders that
the money "isn't fully there" to support his $18
billion transportation borrowing plan, Gov.
Charlie Baker on Thursday said he was
"disappointed" with many of the core elements of
Speaker Robert DeLeo's tax package, raising the
stakes for next week's debate.
Baker, who has already said he opposes
increasing the gas tax, said he also does not
support increasing the corporate minimum excise
tax, which is currently set at $456.
When taken together, the governor's opposition
to tax increases in the House bill could
endanger at least half -- or $300 million -- of
the House's revenue plan, which tops out at $612
million, unless supporters can amass the
two-thirds vote that would be needed to override
any veto.
House leaders on Wednesday rolled out a revenue
package that included a 5-cent increase in the
gas tax, a 9-cent increase in the tax on diesel
fuel, a new $150 million tiered corporate
minimum tax structure that tops out at $150,000
for the largest companies, and new fees on Uber
and Lyft rides.
Transportation Committee Co-Chair Rep. William
Straus said that without new revenue like that
proposed by House Democrats, Baker's $18 billion
transportation bond bill would be unaffordable.
House leadership, instead, will put a $14.5
billion bond bill on the floor next Thursday.
"We're going to be honest with the public and
say if you want to come anywhere near $18
billion or more in capital projects, they have
to be paid for," Straus told reporters
Wednesday.
Asked if his plan was affordable without tax
hikes, Baker said, "Absolutely." Senate leaders
have also defended the level of spending in the
governor's bill as appropriate.
"I don't believe you need to raise taxes to fund
transportation at this point in time," Baker
said.
Baker has, however, put forward his own plan to
raise money through higher fees on Uber and Lyft
rides, and said he was "disappointed" that
despite including $145 million in new TNC fees
in their plan House leaders have, so far,
suggested less funding for the MBTA than the
governor.
"I was disappointed that somehow the House
actually funds less public transportation than
we did in our budget," Baker said. "And we
obviously want to have a conversation with them
about that, because I believe what we proposed
was the right amount of money to support not
just the daily operation of the MBTA and the
rest of our public transportation assets, but
also the accelerated capital investment
program."
Baker's budget for next year included $200
million for the MBTA, in addition to fares and
dedicated sales tax revenues that already flow
to the agency. The House's tax bill created a
new $27 million fund for the T, but leaders only
committed to a $160 million operational subsidy
for the MBTA. That total could climb when House
Ways and Means Chairman Aaron Michlewitz files
his budget in April.
Baker said he met with Administration and
Finance Secretary Michael Heffernan on Thursday
morning to review the House’s bill, and he asked
the secretary to put together "the sources and
uses on our bond bill and get it to the
Legislature."
"I don't think we need to raise taxes to fund
the plan that we filed, which is actually a
bigger plan than the one that is going to be
debated by the House next week," Baker said.
"And I continue to believe that you can't talk
about transportation unless you're also talking
about housing and about climate change, and,
from my point of view, we have proposals pending
on all three of those items, and I would like to
see them dealt with together."
Baker has long said he opposed raising the gas
tax, but reiterated Thursday that he believes it
"doesn’t do anything for climate and it doesn't
do anything to change behavior."
The governor said the regional cap-and-trade
program for emissions, known as the
Transportation Climate Initiative, would be
preferable. DeLeo said Wednesday he supports TCI
but considers its prospects "iffy," given the
concerns expressed by other states.
Rep. Ruth Balser, a Newton Democrat and co-chair
of the Committee on Elder Affairs, said the
House's goal was to raise the revenue necessary
to respond to the concerns of the people they
represent. She said she would "be hopeful that
there would be that level of support" to
override any possible veto from Baker.
"TCI may be a great approach. We just have no
reason to assume it's going to happen and we in
the House couldn't wait. The people of the state
are crying out," Balser said.
Repeating a word used frequently by Baker,
Balser said she was also disappointed that Baker
would oppose asking businesses that do over a $1
million in sales each year to contribute more.
"It's disappointing that the governor doesn't
want employers to contribute their fair share.
It's certainly in the interest of the employers
that their workers get to work on time," Balser
said.
The governor said he was also "disappointed"
that House leaders are proposing to extend the
life of the MBTA's Fiscal and Management Control
Board by another three to five years and, in
doing so, have rejected his plan to create a new
MBTA board that would include a member with
"safety expertise."
Baker, in his annual budget, proposed to create
a new seven-member MBTA board to replace the
FMCB, which was put in place on a temporary
basis after the public transit failings during
the the brutal winter of 2015.
Included in that proposal were requirements for
different members of the board to have different
skill sets, including someone with a background
in safety.
Baker's recommendation was based on the findings
of an outside task force led by former U.S.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood that last
year faulted the safety culture at the T, and
suggested MBTA leadership spent too much time in
legally required public meetings.
"I think it's really important that we take the
guidance and the advice we got from the safety
panel, which said you really need to get some
people on here who know something about safety
in transportation and, secondly, you need to
limit the number of times they meet," Baker
said.
The House tax bill puts off a decision on what
should succeed the FMCB by pushing its
authorization through June 30, 2023, with an
option for another two-year extension to 2025.
Jim Lyons, the chair of the Massachusetts
Republican Party who was a member of the House
up until last year, recalled how the last time
the Legislature tried to raise money for
transportation, voters subsequently overturned a
law to index the gas tax to inflation.
"Here they are, two years after Speaker DeLeo
and company enacted their $18 million in pay
raises, crying poor once again," Lyons said.
"And here are the Massachusetts taxpayers, again
facing a Democrat cash-grab at the gas pump,
even after already having voted in droves to
kill their dream for an automatic gas tax
increase."
The Boston Herald
Friday, February 28, 2020
A Boston Herald editorial
Need more revenue? Pass sports betting bill
“Revenue can’t wait.” That was House Speaker
Robert DeLeo’s justification for legislation he
unveiled this week that would hike gas taxes and
boost fees for ride-hailing services and costs
to corporations. The state needs money, lots of
it, and the House plan would net over a half a
billion taxpayer dollars to fix the state’s
transportation problems.
“When it comes to our transportation system …
Revenue can’t wait any longer,” DeLeo said. “Our
residents, our communities and our economy are
dependent on an immediate source of revenue.”
Why then is the Legislature taking its sweet
time to approve sports betting and getting our
state lottery online?
In January of last year, Baker filed “An Act to
Establish Sports Wagering in the Commonwealth” —
which would allow sports wagering lounges at the
three licensed casino operations in the
commonwealth as well as permitting bettors
within Massachusetts to place sports wagers from
their phones and laptops.
The Baker administration estimated the bill
would generate $35 million in tax revenues in
Fiscal Year 2020. Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante,
House chairwoman of the Legislature’s Joint
Committee on Economic Development and Emerging
Technologies, and the other committee members
were “engaged in a thorough review of bills
relating to sports betting,” a spokeswoman for
House Speaker DeLeo said in a statement last
year. “Speaker DeLeo looks forward to the
results of that review in the year ahead.”
State Treasurer Deb Goldberg has already made
the case for the state lottery to offer its
games online.
“The world has changed with fantasy sports,
sports betting, casinos and online lottery in
neighboring states,” Goldberg said during her
inaugural address. “We do not want to go the way
of Sears or Toys R Us.”
Net Lottery profit for the 2018 fiscal year was
$997 million. Imagine the revenue should the
games go online.
One thing we don’t need to imagine is the
revenue spike possible from sports betting. New
Hampshire made it legal in January, and Gov.
Chris Sununu noted that more than $15.8 million
had been wagered in less than a month.
Of course we don’t expect sports betting or an
online lottery to solve all the state’s money
problems — there is just too much that needs to
be covered — but why continue to leave so much
potential funding on the table while launching
plans for a hike in the gas tax?
Especially when such a tax has such a sour
history with Bay Staters.
“It was just six years ago that the people of
Massachusetts spoke out clearly that they didn’t
feel that Beacon Hill was looking out for their
best interests in raising the gas tax,” former
state representative and U.S. Senate candidate
Geoff Diehl told the Herald. Diehl successfully
fought to repeal a gas tax hike in 2014.
The legislative package calls for a 5-cent gas
tax increase, bringing it up to 29 cents per
gallon, and a 9-cent increase on diesel fuel to
33 cents per gallon
“Beacon Hill is obviously tone-deaf. The people
spoke clearly on gas tax hikes,” said Holly
Robichaud, a Republican strategist who worked
with Diehl to defeat the gas tax in 2014.
Lawmakers need to add profits from sports
betting and online lottery sales to the revenue
pie. Given its history with Massachusetts
voters, a hike in the gas tax should be a last
resort, not a default.
State House News Service
Friday, February 28, 2020
Weekly Roundup - The Wait Ends
Recap and analysis of the week in state
government
By Matt Murphy
Convincing risk-averse legislators to embrace a
tax hike in an election year may be either an
act of political courage or suicide. But there
was House Speaker Robert DeLeo this week
stirring the Kool-Aid and hoping he mixed the
sugary drink just right.
Too little water, and it may turn people off.
Too much water, and it may not satisfy the
craving.
So how'd he do? Depends on who you asked.
DeLeo and several of his top lieutenants rolled
out a revenue package this week that could raise
as much as $612 million a year by taxing gas,
corporations, rental car sales and Uber and Lyft
rides.
The House plan, which will be debated next
Wednesday, would raise the state's 24-cent gas
tax by 5 cents, or 9-cents if the vehicle burns
diesel. The current $456 corporate minimum
excise tax would be tiered to max out at
$150,000 for the most profitable businesses, and
rental car companies would no longer enjoy an
exemption from the sales tax if they add to
their vehicle fleets.
The final piece of the House tax package is new
fees on single and luxury-vehicle rides through
services like Uber and Lyft, which legislators
are looking at as a way to incentivize riders to
take shared-trips and reduce congestion.
Just what residents will get for their money,
however, is less clear.
Transportation Committee Co-Chair Rep. William
Straus said the revenue is necessary if the
state is going to come anywhere close to paying
for Gov. Charlie Baker's $18 billion capital
spending plan. That's why House leaders have
trimmed the governor's bond bill to $14.5
billion, and plan to debate that on Thursday,
after the revenue vote.
House leaders have also set aside $54 million in
new money for the MBTA and and regional transit
authorities, and say the tax increase will help
them finally make good on the funding
commitments for public transit that they have
fallen short of for years.
Gov. Baker, however, suggested it was nonsense
that his $18 billion, long-term borrowing plan
was unaffordable without tax increases, and
asked his top budget official to put together
the documentation to prove it. In the meantime,
Baker said he opposes gas tax and corporate tax
hikes, and is "disappointed" that even with new
revenue the House hasn't proposed spending as
much as he has on public transit.
Baker's position is supported by business groups
like the Massachusetts High Technology Council,
while new revenue advocates like Transportation
for Massachusetts are taking a more wait-and-see
approach.
But DeLeo did get buy-in from many House
members, including progressive Democrats, who
were pleased that businesses were being asked to
chip in. "I think it's genius in the way it
appropriately calls on different constituencies
to contribute," said Rep. Sarah Peake, a
Provincetown Democrat, calling herself
"disappointed" that Baker would oppose corporate
contributions to help solve the state's transit
woes.
At the very least, after about a year of letting
anticipation build there's finally a tax plan to
examine and debate, and that's what House
legislators will do Wednesday when it hits the
floor....
STORY OF THE WEEK: After spending nearly a year
in development, DeLeo says, "Revenue can't
wait."
State House News Service
Friday, February 28, 2020
Advances - Week of March 1, 2020
Despite immediate objections raised this week
from Gov. Charlie Baker, the House is gearing up
to pass bills raising taxes and fees and
authorizing $14.5 billion in capital spending on
transportation.
The tax bill is set for debate on Wednesday, and
the borrowing bill is on the House agenda for
Thursday. Some Democrats may attempt to add
taxes to the bill while Republicans may attempt
to knock new levies out of the legislation.
But before that drama unfolds Massachusetts
needs to get through Super Tuesday. In addition
to choosing among party candidates for
president, voters in two House districts and two
Senate districts plan to choose finalists to
succeed former state representatives from
Lunenburg and Taunton and former state senators
from Plymouth and Westfield. Voters in Melrose
will also settle the race to succeed that city's
mayor Paul Brodeur in the House in the only
general election of the day.
The week ahead is book-ended by budget hearings,
with Joint Ways and Means Committee members
visiting Pittsfield Monday to focus on energy,
environment and transportation spending, and to
Malden on Friday where education spending and
local aid levels will be up for discussion.
Tuesday, March 3, 2020
REVENUE COMMITTEE - TAX PROPOSALS: Joint
Committee on Revenue holds a hearing to consider
four bills, three of which would authorize new
taxes or fees.
One bill
(H 4514) is a home rule petition from the city
of Boston seeking permission for the city to
impose a transfer fee of up to 2 percent on real
estate transactions and use the revenue for
affordable housing. Another bill (S 2563) would
create a local option for a 2 percent surcharge
on property taxes for affordable housing goals
in any community that approves it. A
third proposal (H 4480) would create a
transportation excise tax on businesses. Agenda
(Tuesday, 1 p.m., Room B-2)
Wednesday, March 4, 2020
HOUSE SESSION - TRANSPORTATION TAX-AND-FEE BILL:
A major tax hike bill aimed at bulking up
transportation spending is scheduled for House
floor debate one week after its release.
Democratic leaders say the legislation (H 4508)
will raise between $522 million and $612 million
per year through a 5-cent gas tax increase, a
9-cent diesel tax increase, a tiered increase to
the $456 corporate minimum excise tax, higher
fees on ride-hailing services, and applying the
sales tax to vehicle purchases by rental car
companies. On the spending side, the bill would
create new, dedicated $27 million annual revenue
streams to the MBTA and the RTAs, but most of
the new funding is not earmarked in the same
bill and would be appropriated during annual
budget proceedings, if the proposal survives
potential talks with the Senate and overcomes
objections from Gov. Baker. This week, Baker
said he was "disappointed" with the proposal and
outlined his opposition to the gas tax and
corporate tax increases. Representatives filed
62 amendments for consideration ahead of a 5
p.m. Friday deadline. (Wednesday, 11 a.m., House
Chamber)
Thursday, March 5, 2020
HOUSE SESSION - $14.5 BILLION TRANSPORTATION
BOND: House meets in a formal session to
consider a $14.5 billion transportation bond
bill one day after considering a roughly $600
million tax hike package designed to fund
transportation needs. The version offered by the
Ways and Means Committee (H 4506) shaved $3.5
billion from the $18 billion borrowing bill Gov.
Baker filed last year, with House Democrats
contending - over Baker's disagreement - that
the state could not pay for the projects
included without greater revenues. The bill
includes a $100 million increase, to $300
million, in annual Chapter 90 funding the state
pays to fund local road and bridge maintenance,
something municipalities have requested for
years. It also authorizes funding for several
major projects already underway or being
planned, including the Green Line Extension, the
Allston multimodal project and South Coast Rail.
Representatives filed 467 amendments ahead of a
5 p.m. Friday deadline, many seeking earmarks
for projects in their districts. (Thursday, 11
a.m., House Chamber)
SENATE REVENUE WORKING GROUP: Sen. Adam Hinds
and the 21-member Senate Revenue Working Group
he leads holds a meeting. Hinds is also
co-chairman of the Legislature's Joint Revenue
Committee, the panel set up under legislative
rules to deal with tax-related bills. Senate
President Karen Spilka has delegated numerous
large public policy tasks to working groups,
which operate with varying levels of
transparency, or lack thereof.
The
revenue working group was charged with
"assessing the existing Massachusetts revenue
system and exploring ways to update and improve
it." (Thursday, 11 a.m., Room 428)
Friday, March 6, 2020
FISCAL 2021 BUDGET HEARING - EDUCATION AND LOCAL
AID: Joint Ways and Means Committee meets for
public hearing on education and local aid
components in Gov. Baker's $44.6 billion fiscal
2021 budget. The governor's proposal increases
unrestricted local aid to cities and towns by
2.8 percent increase and calls for $305 million
in new Chapter 70 funding for local schools as
part of the first installment of a seven-year
K-12 investment plan. Education Secretary James
Peyser, Higher Education Commissioner Carlos
Santiago, Early Education and Care Commissioner
Samantha Aigner-Treworgy, and Elementary and
Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley
plan to testify. Agenda (Friday, 10 a.m., Malden
Senior Center Auditorium, 7 Washington St.,
Malden)
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