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Marblehead, Massachusetts 01945
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“Every Tax is a Pay Cut ... A Tax Cut is a Pay Raise”
46 years as “The Voice of Massachusetts Taxpayers”
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their Institutional Memory — |
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CLT UPDATE
Monday, November 16, 2020
House Passes $46B Budget
Late
Jump directly
to CLT's Commentary on the News
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Most Relevant News Excerpts
(Full news reports follow
Commentary)
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The state
Republican Party ceded more ground on Beacon Hill in the
Nov. 3 election, which has some activists calling for a
change in leadership.
Gov. Charlie
Baker, the party's de facto leader, is riding a wave of
popularity, fueling speculation the Swampscott Republican
will seek an unprecedented third term when his current one
expires in two years.
Elsewhere in the
state, Republicans have seen their ranks dwindle to the
point of giving Democrats a super-minority in the state
House of Representatives and Senate. That is to say,
Democrats are not only the majority party, they have enough
votes in each chamber to override Baker's vetoes.
The GOP has seen
its Beacon Hill membership drop to historic lows, and it has
struggled to compete in other statewide and federal
contests.
Earlier this year,
the party lost three special legislative races. In the Nov.
3 elections, it ceded another three seats, while flipping a
single House seat previously held by a Democrat....
Republicans
nominated only a handful of candidates to challenge Beacon
Hill's Democratic incumbents this fall. That gave more than
100 Democrats a free pass back to the Legislature for
another two years....
In the upcoming
two-year legislative session, which gets underway in
January, there will be 129 Democrats, 30 Republicans and one
independent in the House of Representatives. The state
Senate, meanwhile, will have 37 Democrats and only three
Republicans.
That means if Sen.
Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, decides to seek the minority
leader post for another term next, he will only have two
other members in his caucus.
The Salem News
Monday, November 16, 2020
Beacon Hill's shrinking GOP minority gets smaller
Nineteen
individuals appear set to join the Legislature for the
2021-2022 session now that the dust has largely settled on
the November elections and voters determined which
candidates to send to Beacon Hill in the new year.
Most of the
incoming class earned their spot in the Massachusetts House
or Massachusetts Senate by winning open districts, though
four toppled incumbents in either the primary or general
election. Some did not face opponents outside their own
party and have been the presumptive winners since the Sept.
1 primary.
The class features
numerous local officeholders and legislative aides and their
arrivals will coincide with the departures in January of
several of the House's longest-serving members: Reps. Angelo
Scaccia, Ted Speliotis, Thomas Petrolati, David Nangle and
Louis Kafka....
This class will
also have the unique experience of watching a November state
budget debate unfold on Beacon Hill, part of a lame duck
session where the House and Senate, including the lawmakers
that the incoming members will succeed, are on track to make
significant post-election spending and policy decisions.
State House News
Service
Monday, November 9, 2020
Nineteen Poised to Join Mass. Legislature in 2021
In a sign that the
branches appear to be working together to quickly wrap up
the fiscal 2021 budget, the Senate's top budget writer said
Monday his committee plans to release a Senate version of
the budget Thursday in anticipation of a debate on the
annual spending plan to begin next Tuesday.
Senate Ways and
Means Chairman Michael Rodrigues said the committee was "in
the final stages of finalizing a responsible budget for the
remainder of Fiscal Year 2021" that it would release on
Thursday.
The Senate put the
budget (S 4) on its schedule as the only item of business
for Nov. 17.
"We want to
congratulate our colleagues and partners in the House on the
release of their budget priorities. Both chambers have
worked collaboratively during these difficult times, and we
will continue to do so as we finalize a FY21 budget,"
Rodrigues said in a statement.
The Senate also
voted on Monday to set a deadline for senators to file
amendments to the still-unreleased bill for 10 p.m. on
Friday, Nov. 13.
State House News
Service
Monday, November 9, 2020
Senate to Launch Budget Debate Nov. 17
Despite Speaker
Robert DeLeo warning House lawmakers off trying to use the
annual budget to advance major policy changes, the top
Democrat blessed a vote this week on an amendment that would
codify abortion rights into state law and make abortions
legal after 24 weeks if a doctor has diagnosed a fatal fetal
abnormality.
The amendment to
the annual budget bill was filed by Rep. Claire Cronin, a
Easton Democrat and the co-chair of the Joint Committee on
the Judiciary, which faces its own deadline of Thursday to
make a recommendation on a bill known as the "ROE Act."
The abortion
debate has picked up steam on Beacon Hill in recent weeks
over concerns that the stronger conservative majority on the
Supreme Court could jeopardize abortion rights across the
country. DeLeo, in a statement Monday, said it was "urgent"
that the House consider the matter.
State House News
Service
Monday, November 9, 2020
Abortion Measure Appears Likely Addition to House Budget
House Democratic
leaders beat back attempts from within their ranks Tuesday
to add a series of transit-related tax hikes into a state
budget bill, in the process renewing their criticism of the
Senate for months of inaction on a bill raising more than
$500 million in new transportation revenues....
Rep. Mark Cusack,
co-chair of the Revenue Committee and one of House Speaker
Robert DeLeo's top deputies, cited the Senate as an obstacle
when he spoke on the floor in opposition to an amendment
that would have raised the tax rate on income from long-term
capital gains, dividends and interest.
"In the House, we
have been a leader in meeting our financial needs and we
have had a revenue debate this session," Cusack said. "Our
transportation revenue package has been sitting in the
Senate since March 4. Frankly, in order to pass revenue, we
need a dance partner, and we don't have one."
The House in March
approved a range of tax and fee hikes, including a 5-cent
gasoline tax increase, but any momentum behind the bill
fizzled as attention turned to the COVID-19 pandemic. The
tax legislation never emerged in the Senate.
House leaders are
not the only ones in their chamber frustrated by their
counterparts. Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, a Pittsfield
Democrat who is a member of the House's Progressive Caucus,
also criticized the Senate during an unsuccessful push
Tuesday for passage of a tax-hiking budget amendment.
She praised the
House for taking "a hard vote" in March on the
transportation package, echoing a similar point DeLeo made
in June.
"I'm really sorry,
and I am disappointed and I am frustrated, that our
colleagues in the Senate did not join us in this effort,"
Farley-Bouvier said. "I believe it is shortsighted."
The argument from
progressives does not end with the Senate, though. Farley-Bouvier,
speaking in favor of a Rep. Mike Connolly amendment
increasing the rate on so-called "unearned income," argued
that the House's $46 billion annual spending plan does not
hit all of the state's needs and that transportation has
"only gotten worse" since the March vote.
Service cuts the T
proposed Monday -- which include eliminating ferries,
halting all weekend commuter rail service, scrapping 25 bus
routes and trimming subway service by 20 percent -- "will
put riders at risk," push the state backwards on its efforts
to reduce traffic and greenhouse gas emissions, and
"disproportionately affect the poor," Farley-Bouvier said.
"The 19
billionaires in our state saw their wealth balloon by $17
billion during the first three months of the pandemic," she
said. "This is unusual. Usually during a recession, even
billionaires lose money. Not this time."
Connolly said his
amendment, which he compared to a proposed income surtax on
household income above $1 million that will likely go before
voters in 2022, could raise $1.7 billion per year in revenue
through increased tax rates on capital gains, interest and
dividends.
That would be
enough, he said, to provide the T with a sustainable funding
source to avoid deep cuts and still help the state replenish
the "rainy day" fund that is being drawn down by nearly half
under the House budget.
"In this time of
worsening pandemic and economic hardship for so many of our
constituents, we know that raising new progressive revenue
will allow us to support the vital programs that can make
the difference between life and death for the most
vulnerable in our communities," Connolly said.
Their push was
unsuccessful: the House voted 127-30 to reject the
amendment, with all 31 Republicans and a wide majority of
Democrats opposing it.
Pointing to the
FY22 budget planning on the horizon, Cusack urged lawmakers
to oppose the tax hikes, warning that the Legislature must
first get a clearer sense of what, if any, federal aid will
arrive and what arc revenues will take.
State House News
Service
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
House Chirps at Senate Over Transportation Revenues
Branch Leaders Opposing Tax Hikes in State Budget
Amendment
opponents said that calling capital gains, dividends, and
interest “unearned income” is totally misleading. They
noted that the taxpayer actually originally earned this
income and should not be taxed more than once on it.
“To a
'progressive' Democrat perpetual tax hikes are the solution
to every problem real or imagined,” said Chip Ford,
Executive Director of Citizens for Limited Taxation,
“and more is never enough.”
“Rep. Mike
Connolly's defeated amendment to hike the tax rate on
so-called 'unearned income' is a perfect example,” added
Ford. “He even compared it to the upcoming
‘Millionaire's Tax’ constitutional amendment to unfairly
soak the wealthy that’s being pushed onto the 2022 ballot by
the liberal wing of the Legislature — most legislators —
that is expected to raise an additional $2 billion annually.
More is never enough for insatiable tax-and-spend
'progressives,’ as this again demonstrates.”
“Through the Raise
Up Mass coalition, my constituents are calling for greater
funding to get us through this crisis and support
progressive revenue to do that,” said Rep. Patricia Farley-Bouvier
(D-Pittsfield) who voted for the amendment. “In fact,
I pledged to a large group just a few weeks back that I
would support progressive revenue increases. Though I
would have much preferred to take this vote outside the
budget process, when faced with an up or down vote, I
believe it was important to keep my promise to my
constituents.”
Beacon Hill Roll
Call
November 9-13, 2020
By Bob Katzen
Increase Some Taxes From 5 Percent to 9 Percent (H 5150)
With the House
poised to debate an amendment this week addressing access to
abortions in Massachusetts, Minority Leader Brad Jones took
issue with folding the matter into the state budget debate
in what he characterized as a hypocritical move by the
chamber's Democratic leadership.
After saying last
week that major policy initiatives had no place in the
House's fiscal 2021 budget plan, House Speaker Robert DeLeo
committed Monday to bring to the floor a budget amendment
that resembles the ROE Act, a priority bill for many
advocates and lawmakers....
Jones told the
News Service Tuesday that he found the move to take up the
substance of the bill as an amendment "disappointing" and
took issue with what he said are conflicting messages from
DeLeo.
"On the one hand,
he's saying this is a major policy. On the other hand, he's
saying we shouldn't do it," said the North Reading
Republican "So it gets to like I said, do as I say, not as I
do. Better to be king because I can do what I want and the
rest of you need to follow."
State House News
Service
Wednesday, November 11, 2020
GOP Leader Balks at Abortion Amendment in Budget
Jones: DeLeo Move Shows "It's Better To Be King"
Massachusetts
lawmakers just can’t help themselves.
After House
leaders hashed out their $46 billion budget for the state,
they asked fellow legislators to hold back on policy
amendments.
It fell on deaf
ears — and some 777 amendments were filed.
Two that stand out
include one from state Rep. Mike Connolly, D-Cambridge,
which would raise the tax rate on unearned income —
long-term capital gains, dividends and interest — from 5% to
9% for the wealthiest tax brackets.
The offering from
state Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, D-Northampton, would hike the
corporate tax rate.
As the Herald
reported, Connolly laid out his reasoning: “We have a real
responsibility to ask the very large corporations that are
doing so well in our state as well as the wealthiest
households to pay their fair share,” he said.
Neither the
sentiment nor the proposed legislation is new. Various
iterations of increasing taxes on the wealthy have made the
rounds in recent years....
The state needs
revenue — no argument. But recasting corporations and
wealthy individuals as ersatz Rainy Day Funds to shore up
shortfalls will come back to bite the Bay State.
Just ask
California.
Michael Yelverton,
principal and managing director at Tiedemann Advisors in San
Francisco, told the San Francisco Business Times that “in
California, the prospect of an income tax hike along with
the proposed wealth tax, which is still TBD on whether it’s
enforceable, is spurring California residents to think even
more earnestly about their current structures and estate
plans.”
One way to remain
on an even keel — leave California.
Accountants in the
Bay Area said they’re having more conversations with their
clients about exiting the state.
A Boston Herald editorial
Wednesday, November 11, 2020
Tax-the-rich plans still bad ideas for Massachusetts
For 40 years, the
legacy of Proposition 13, a landmark California law that
limits property tax increases, has shaped state politics.
The measure weathered various legislative and legal
challenges, including a trip to the Supreme Court, and came
to be considered untouchable.
Now the law has
survived perhaps its biggest test after California voters
rejected a ballot initiative that would have undone a
portion of Proposition 13. The new law, Proposition 15,
would have removed commercial properties like office
buildings and industrial parks from Proposition 13’s limits,
and it would have given labor and progressive groups a
long-sought victory to increase funding for education and
local services.
The Associated
Press called the result of the Nov. 3 vote on the measure on
Tuesday night, when the count was 51.8 percent to 48.2
percent against it.
“This is an
important moment in California political history — the
biggest attempt to reform Proposition 13,” said Manuel
Pastor, an author and sociology professor at the University
of Southern California. “Given that this is the third rail
of California politics, it actually came pretty close with
very significant headwinds including a recession, and the
limits the pandemic placed on door-knocking and other
high-touch voter contact.” ...
Proposition 13 was
spearheaded by a retired businessman, Howard Jarvis, who
harnessed voter anger over rising home prices — and
therefore rising taxes — to amend the state’s Constitution
to limit property tax increases to 2 percent a year.
Properties can be reassessed for tax purposes after they are
sold, however, so the law has created a system in which
owners of recently purchased homes often pay taxes several
times those of neighbors with similar properties....
Proposition 15
would have created a “split roll” system, in which
residential property would continue to be shielded from tax
increases but commercial property would not. Backers hoped
to harness a high-turnout election in a heavily Democratic
state to raise taxes on large corporations without alarming
homeowners.
The New York
Times
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
California’s 40-Year-Old Tax Revolt Survives a Counterattack
Voters rejected a bid to modify Proposition 13, a landmark
1978 measure
House lawmakers
passed a roughly $46 billion budget during a late-night
session on Thursday, slipping in an amendment to expand
access to abortion and avoiding any new broad-based taxes.
Members passed the
budget in a 143-14 vote shortly before midnight, working
through two days of abbreviated debate in an effort to
deliver a spending plan that is already four months behind
schedule.
Lawmakers filed
777 amendments, nearly all of which were rejected wholesale
in a series of bundled mega-amendments that kept nearly all
deliberations behind closed doors.
The Boston Herald
Friday, November 13, 2020
Massachusetts House passes $46B budget in late-night
session;
no new taxes, expands abortion
After two days of
deliberations, the House passed a roughly $46 billion budget
Thursday that includes expanded access to reproductive
health care in Massachusetts, stays away from new
broad-based taxes, and draws $1.5 billion from the state's
"rainy day" fund. Operating on a condensed timeline, the
House passed a budget 143-14 that largely stayed true to the
proposal released by House Ways and Means earlier this
month....
Over the course of
roughly 25 hours in the chamber, the House adopted four
mega-amendments that addressed topics from education and
local aid to labor and economic development.
Two closely
watched amendments did not come up for public consideration
and were instead swept away by the amendment-bundling
process after private talks. Those were a Rep. Mike Connolly
amendment extending an eviction and foreclosure moratorium
through at least Jan. 1, 2021 (777) and a Rep. Mindy Domb
proposal requiring the governor to fill a U.S. Senate
vacancy with an appointee of the same political party as the
person leaving office (695).
The only debate of
the day came when the House adopted a Rep. Claire Cronin
amendment to allow abortions after 24 weeks in the case of
lethal fetal anomalies and lower the age from 18 to 16 that
a minor can choose to have an abortion without parental or
judicial consent.
State House News
Service
Thursday, November 12, 2020
House Passes Budget 143-14
The House this
week raced through a two-day budget debate sandwiched around
Veterans Day to pass a $46 billion spending plan for the
fiscal year that began on July 1, and the Senate plans to
tackle the same task next week.
What has stood out
during the rushed, post-election process is both the speed
and the level of cooperation between House and Senate
leaders. The gift from Michlewitz was another reminder of
the relationship he and Rodrigues have forged trying to
navigate the COVID-19 pandemic together....
Baker remains one
of the few in his party to publicly acknowledge Joe Biden as
the president-elect. And he came out forcefully this week to
criticize President Donald Trump and the Justice Department
for continuing to advance what he called "baseless" claims
of voter fraud and for stalling a transition that could have
life-and-death consequences for the nation's pandemic
response.
"One of the things
I don't believe people should stand for, if you're any place
in elective office, is this idea somehow that elections are
only legit if you win," Baker said. "And more and more of
what I hear coming out of this conversation implies to me
that some of this is just raw double standard and nothing
else."
As for double
standards, state Republicans and some conservative Democrats
felt they didn't have to look to Capitol Hill to find
examples. "We operate in a system that is, "Do as I say, not
as I do," House Minority Leader Brad Jones vented as
Democrats prepared to debate abortion access as part of a
budget that DeLeo said should not be used to advance major
policy changes....
It's debatable
whether a package of tax increases on gas, Uber rides and
corporations still makes sense in the winter of a global
pandemic. But House leaders wanted voters to be aware that
if the bus no longer stops at the top of their street in a
few months, if won't be because they didn't try.
"Our
transportation revenue package has been sitting in the
Senate since March 4. Frankly, in order to pass revenue, we
need a dance partner, and we don't have one," said House
Revenue Committee Chairman Mark Cusack.
But just like the
House, Senate leaders released a $46 billion budget Thursday
that did not include any major, broad-based tax increases,
and that meant no new revenue sources for transportation.
Despite the
chippiness between the branches over transportation taxes,
the two Democrat-controlled sides actually seemed to be
getting along quite well. The Senate budget, which will get
debated next week, looked remarkably similar to the one that
moved through the House, and Speaker DeLeo largely succeeded
in keeping potentially complicating policy proposals -- a
capital gains tax hike, an eviction moratorium, 10-days
emergency sick leave for all state employees -- out of the
late spending bill.
That is with one
notable exception.
Blessed by DeLeo,
the House voted 108-49 for a budget amendment that would
expand access to abortion and codify the right to choose
(already protected by state and federal legal precedent) in
state law. Republicans and some Democrats balked, but when
you control a supermajority like DeLeo does you get to
contradict yourself sometimes....
While Baker hasn't
signaled how he would respond to a ROE provision in the
budget, he did make clear that he would veto any attempt by
Democrats to change the rules of the game for filling a U.S.
Senate vacancy.
With Sen.
Elizabeth Warren being discussed as a candidate to lead
Treasury, Baker said it would be a "bad look" to alter the
law now. Not that it's stopped Beacon Hill Democrats before.
The Legislature
could probably overcome a gubernatorial veto if it wanted,
but for now leading Democrats are not ready to go there,
leaving a Rep. Mindy Domb amendment out of the budget that
would have required Baker to appoint a Democrat to fill
Warren's seat, if she leaves.
Even if Baker did
get the chance and appointed a Republican to the Senate,
that person would only be there for about five months before
there would be a special election in which the Democratic
nominee would be highly favored.
And the Democratic
Party, led by its newly reelected chairman Gus Bickford,
would be on high alert to avoid a Scott Brown repeat.
State House News
Service
Friday, November 13, 2020
Weekly Roundup - April in November
By Matt Murphy
Now, for 2020's
latest round of unprecedented activity, the House and Senate
are set to complete back-to-back budget weeks. After
watching and waiting since the July 1 start of fiscal 2021,
the branches are suddenly hustling to get the long-overdue
$46 billion state budget to Gov. Charlie Baker's desk,
perhaps before Thanksgiving, a holiday that Baker said
Friday he's "scared to death of" due to enhanced COVID-19
transmission risks associated with smaller, long duration
gatherings.
The House late
Thursday night voted 143-14 to pass the bill that raises
state spending by more than 5 percent at a time when tax
collections are forecast to fall 6 percent.
Senate leaders are
on board with the budget approach, which state officials are
planning to pull off by spending down more than 40 percent
of the state's $3.5 billion savings account and taking
advantage of a major jolt in federal funding.
State House News
Service
Friday, November 13, 2020
Advances - Week of Nov. 15, 2020
Gov. Charlie Baker
said Thursday that he would veto any legislation sent to him
changing the rules for how a vacancy in Congress gets
filled, as speculation about whether U.S. Sen. Elizabeth
Warren might be asked to join President-elect Joe Biden's
cabinet intensifies.
Baker, in an
interview with WBZ-TV's Jon Keller, made the threat as the
House considers an amendment to the state budget that would
require Baker to make a temporary appointment to fill a
vacant Senate seat from the same political party as the
person giving up the seat. In this case, the Republican
governor would need to appoint a Democrat, under the
amendment.
The amendment was
filed by Amherst Democrat Rep. Mindy Domb, and has nine
co-sponsors, none of whom are in leadership positions.
If the Legislature
were to change the rules, it would be the third time rule
change in this area since 2004 when the Democrats on Beacon
Hill acted to strip then-Gov. Mitt Romney of his appointment
powers when they thought John Kerry might win the White
House....
The current law
allows the governor to make a temporary appointment to fill
a vacant seat in the U.S. Senate until a special election
can be held within 145 to 160 days of the vacancy. It was
last changed in 2009 at the request of U.S. Sen. Edward
Kennedy, who was ailing and concerned about securing the
votes needed to pass the Affordable Care Act.
The law has been
used twice since 2009, both times by former Gov. Deval
Patrick, following the death of Kennedy and President Barack
Obama's appointment of Kerry in 2013 to become secretary of
state.
Neither House nor
Senate leadership has commented on the Domb amendment, but
the Legislature was quick to change the law in 2004 when it
thought Romney would get to appoint a Republican to the U.S.
Senate to serve for the balance of Kerry term....
Democrats on
Beacon Hill occupy enough seats in both the House and Senate
to potentially override any Baker veto, should it get to
that point.
State House News
Service
Thursday, November 12, 2020
Baker Would Veto Change to Senate Vacancy Law
GOP Guv Says Budget Amendment "A Bad Look"
|
Chip Ford's CLT
Commentary
After a mere two days of debate, late
Thursday night the Massachusetts House finally passed its FY2021 budget
— five months late.
During the late-night session it adopted its $46 billion
budget.
Last fiscal year's budget (FY 2020) upon
its passage totaled $43.3 billion.
Back in January Gov. Baker proposed an
increase of $1.3 billion more spending —
$44.6 billion.
The House budget increased Baker's $44.6
proposal by an additional $1.4 billion — to $46
billion.
The House's $46
billion is $2.7 billion more spending than just the last fiscal year's
budget.
This is in addition
to the federal government's bail-out of Massachusetts in billions of
dollars through the $2.2 TRILLION
CARES Act.
[States
and local governments: State, local and tribal governments will
receive $150 billion. $30 billion is set aside for states, and
educational institutions. $45 billion is for disaster relief, and $25
billion for transit programs.]
A Boston Herald editorial on Wednesday ("Tax-the-rich plans
still bad ideas for Massachusetts") noted:
Massachusetts lawmakers
just can’t help themselves.
After
House leaders hashed out their $46 billion budget for the state,
they asked fellow legislators to hold back on policy amendments.
It
fell on deaf ears — and some 777 amendments were filed. . . .
You may recall
that last week it was
reported:
House leadership is
sending the message that it wants to see its $46 billion spending
bill stay fairly narrow in scope, with House Speaker Robert DeLeo
making that point clear Friday.
Nonetheless, The
Boston Herald reported on Friday
("Massachusetts House passes $46B budget in late-night
session; no new taxes, expands abortion"):
Lawmakers filed 777
amendments, nearly all of which were rejected wholesale in a series
of bundled mega-amendments that kept nearly all deliberations behind
closed doors.
The State House
News Service noted:
Despite Speaker Robert DeLeo warning House lawmakers off trying to
use the annual budget to advance major policy changes, the top
Democrat blessed a vote this week on an amendment that would codify
abortion rights into state law and make abortions legal after 24
weeks if a doctor has diagnosed a fatal fetal abnormality.
The
amendment to the annual budget bill was filed by Rep. Claire Cronin,
a Easton Democrat and the co-chair of the Joint Committee on the
Judiciary, which faces its own deadline of Thursday to make a
recommendation on a bill known as the "ROE Act."
A late budget bill "fairly narrow in scope"
included an abortion rights amendment.
The State House
News Service reported the reaction of some in the shrinking
Republican minority ("GOP Leader Balks at Abortion Amendment
in Budget"):
With
the House poised to debate an amendment this week addressing access
to abortions in Massachusetts, Minority Leader Brad Jones took issue
with folding the matter into the state budget debate in what he
characterized as a hypocritical move by the chamber's Democratic
leadership.
After
saying last week that major policy initiatives had no place in the
House's fiscal 2021 budget plan, House Speaker Robert DeLeo
committed Monday to bring to the floor a budget amendment that
resembles the ROE Act, a priority bill for many advocates and
lawmakers....
Jones
told the News Service Tuesday that he found the move to take up the
substance of the bill as an amendment "disappointing" and took issue
with what he said are conflicting messages from DeLeo.
"On
the one hand, he's saying this is a major policy. On the other hand,
he's saying we shouldn't do it," said the North Reading Republican
"So it gets to like I said, do as I say, not as I do. Better to be
king because I can do what I want and the rest of you need to
follow."
One House budget amendment the House
surprisingly rejected lopsidedly was
(H-5150); "Increase Some Taxes From 5 Percent to 9 Percent"
sponsored by
Rep. Mike Connolly (D-Cambridge). Beacon Hill Roll
Call reported:
House 30-127,
rejected an amendment that would have raised the tax rate on long
term capital gains, dividends and interest income from 5 percent to
9 percent.
Amendment sponsor
Rep. Mike Connolly (D-Cambridge) said that this sort of income
overwhelmingly goes to the wealthiest households. He said the hike
would raise an estimated $1.7 billion annually in new, progressive
revenue. He called capital gains, dividends and interest “unearned
income” that is unfairly taxed at the same rate that the state taxes
“earned income” like wages and salaries. He said this is inherently
inequitable and means the person working a minimum wage job is
subject to the same Massachusetts income tax rate as the person with
a billion dollar investment portfolio.
Beacon Hill Roll Call
further reported:
Amendment opponents said that
calling capital gains, dividends, and interest “unearned
income” is totally misleading. They noted that the
taxpayer actually originally earned this income and
should not be taxed more than once on it.
“To a 'progressive' Democrat
perpetual tax hikes are the solution to every problem
real or imagined,” said
Chip Ford,
Executive Director of
Citizens for Limited Taxation,
“and more is never enough.”
“Rep. Mike Connolly's defeated
amendment to hike the tax rate on so-called 'unearned
income' is a perfect example,” added
Ford.
“He even compared it to the upcoming ‘Millionaire's Tax’
constitutional amendment to unfairly soak the wealthy
that’s being pushed onto the 2022 ballot by the liberal
wing of the Legislature — most legislators — that is
expected to raise an additional $2 billion annually.
More is never enough for insatiable tax-and-spend
'progressives,’ as this again demonstrates.”
“Through the Raise Up Mass
coalition, my constituents are calling for greater
funding to get us through this crisis and support
progressive revenue to do that,” said Rep. Patricia
Farley-Bouvier (D-Pittsfield) who voted for the
amendment. “In fact, I pledged to a large group
just a few weeks back that I would support progressive
revenue increases. Though I would have much
preferred to take this vote outside the budget process,
when faced with an up or down vote, I believe it was
important to keep my promise to my constituents.”
No new taxes were included in
the House budget just passed, and none are expected in the upcoming
Senate version, but The Boston Herald reported on Friday ("Massachusetts
House passes $46B budget in late-night session; no new taxes, expands
abortion"):
The
Senate on Thursday unveiled a similar budget and starts
deliberations Nov. 17 on its $46 billion Senate Ways and Means
budget plan. The House is back in an informal session on Monday at
11 a.m.
Both
versions rely heavily on one-time funding sources, including
siphoning roughly $1.5 billion from the state’s rainy-day fund,
accelerating sales tax payments, federal reimbursements and delaying
charitable tax cuts.
You might recall that the
charitable tax deduction appeared on the 2000 statewide ballot
— along with CLT's income tax rollback
ballot question. The winning sponsors are still waiting for its
implementation, twenty years later. Don't we know how that
feels — with our winning ballot question
finally reaching its full goal just this year of rolling back the
"temporary" 1989 Dukakis income tax hike to 5 percent at last.
The Salem News reported today
("Beacon Hill's shrinking GOP
minority gets smaller"):
The
state Republican Party ceded more ground on Beacon Hill in the Nov.
3 election, which has some activists calling for a change in
leadership.
Gov.
Charlie Baker, the party's de facto leader, is riding a wave of
popularity, fueling speculation the Swampscott Republican will seek
an unprecedented third term when his current one expires in two
years.
Elsewhere in the state, Republicans have seen their ranks dwindle to
the point of giving Democrats a super-minority in the state House of
Representatives and Senate. That is to say, Democrats are not only
the majority party, they have enough votes in each chamber to
override Baker's vetoes.
The
GOP has seen its Beacon Hill membership drop to historic lows, and
it has struggled to compete in other statewide and federal contests.
Earlier this year, the party lost three special legislative races.
In the Nov. 3 elections, it ceded another three seats, while
flipping a single House seat previously held by a Democrat....
Republicans nominated only a handful of candidates to challenge
Beacon Hill's Democratic incumbents this fall. That gave more than
100 Democrats a free pass back to the Legislature for another two
years....
In
the upcoming two-year legislative session, which gets underway in
January, there will be 129 Democrats, 30 Republicans and one
independent in the House of Representatives. The state Senate,
meanwhile, will have 37 Democrats and only three Republicans.
That
means if Sen. Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, decides to seek the minority
leader post for another term next, he will only have two other
members in his caucus.
Sen. Tarr is compensated
$137,547 as the Senate minority leader of two other senators come
January (a 49.1% increase thanks to
the obscene pay grab of 2017). All three will be additionally
paid as minority members of committees (maximum of two committees for
the pay, though they will need to represent the minority in more than
that). Apparently the three remaining Republicans in the Senate
will earn their pay.
Proposition 2½
is under assault as you know, in the Transportation Bond Bill still in
committee. There wasn't a lot of good news coming out of the
recent election, but there was one gem. California's Proposition
13 property tax limit, adopted two years before our Prop 2½ and our
inspiration, withstood a serious attack but prevailed by a vote of
51.8 percent to 48.2 percent.
The New York Times reported last Tuesday, November 10
("California’s 40-Year-Old Tax Revolt Survives a Counterattack
— Voters rejected a bid to modify
Proposition 13, a landmark 1978 measure"):
For
40 years, the legacy of Proposition 13, a landmark California law
that limits property tax increases, has shaped state politics. The
measure weathered various legislative and legal challenges,
including a trip to the Supreme Court, and came to be considered
untouchable.
Now
the law has survived perhaps its biggest test after California
voters rejected a ballot initiative that would have undone a portion
of Proposition 13. The new law, Proposition 15, would have removed
commercial properties like office buildings and industrial parks
from Proposition 13’s limits, and it would have given labor and
progressive groups a long-sought victory to increase funding for
education and local services.
The
Associated Press called the result of the Nov. 3 vote on the measure
on Tuesday night, when the count was 51.8 percent to 48.2 percent
against it.
“This
is an important moment in California political history — the biggest
attempt to reform Proposition 13,” said Manuel Pastor, an author and
sociology professor at the University of Southern California. “Given
that this is the third rail of California politics, it actually came
pretty close with very significant headwinds including a recession,
and the limits the pandemic placed on door-knocking and other
high-touch voter contact.” ...
Proposition 13 was spearheaded by a retired businessman, Howard
Jarvis, who harnessed voter anger over rising home prices — and
therefore rising taxes — to amend the state’s Constitution to limit
property tax increases to 2 percent a year. Properties can be
reassessed for tax purposes after they are sold, however, so the law
has created a system in which owners of recently purchased homes
often pay taxes several times those of neighbors with similar
properties....
Proposition 15 would have created a “split roll” system, in which
residential property would continue to be shielded from tax
increases but commercial property would not. Backers hoped to
harness a high-turnout election in a heavily Democratic state to
raise taxes on large corporations without alarming homeowners.
Of all places for property tax limitations to be
successfully defended — but very few can
afford to remain existing in California even without more tax
increases! And remember, the year Prop 2½
was on the Massachusetts ballot, California Governor Ronald Reagan was
elected to his first term as president.
In its Advances for the week
ahead, on Friday the State House News Service reported:
The
House late Thursday night voted 143-14 to pass the bill that raises
state spending by more than 5 percent at a time when tax collections
are forecast to fall 6 percent.
Senate leaders are on board with the budget approach, which state
officials are planning to pull off by spending down more than 40
percent of the state's $3.5 billion savings account and taking
advantage of a major jolt in federal funding.
The Boston Herald
reported on Friday ("Massachusetts House passes $46B budget
in late-night session; no new taxes, expands abortion"):
The Senate on Thursday
unveiled a similar budget and starts deliberations Nov. 17 on its
$46 billion Senate Ways and Means budget plan. The House is back in
an informal session on Monday at 11 a.m.
Both versions rely heavily on one-time funding sources, including
siphoning roughly $1.5 billion from the state’s rainy-day fund,
accelerating sales tax payments, federal reimbursements and delaying
charitable tax cuts.
They plan to deliver a budget to Baker’s desk by the end of the
month, House and Senate lawmakers agree.
Once the Legislature rushes
the late state budget onto the governor's desk for his rubber stamp I
expect they will turn directly to rushing through the bills that have
been sitting in the five conference committees since July. In a
blur of rubber-stamp frenzy they too will race to Gov. Baker's desk for
his pro forma signature. Let's all hope Proposition 2½
is left untouched, stripped from the Transportation Bond Bill, and that
the governor isn't handed omnipotent power in the final Climate Change
Bill to unilaterally sign on to the multi-state Transportation Climate
Initiative (TCI).
While
there are no new taxes or tax hikes in the House or Senate budgets at
this time, I suspect this paves the way for tax increases nonetheless,
as proposed by the House in its version of the Transportation Bond Bill,
and a big hike in the gas tax if Massachusetts signs on to TCI.
New or hiked taxes in the budget, then in these other massive
bills as well could create the tipping point for tax rebellion.
Keep your eyes and ears open.
On a
closing note, legislators are playing games again with appointing
interim U.S. Senators when a vacancy occurs and a Republican holds the
governorship. It happens every time, then is reset back when a
Democrat is elected governor. The State House News Service
reported on Thursday ("Baker Would
Veto Change to Senate Vacancy Law"):
Gov. Charlie Baker said Thursday
that he would veto any legislation sent to him changing
the rules for how a vacancy in Congress gets filled, as
speculation about whether U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren
might be asked to join President-elect Joe Biden's
cabinet intensifies.
Baker, in an interview with WBZ-TV's
Jon Keller, made the threat as the House considers an
amendment to the state budget that would require Baker
to make a temporary appointment to fill a vacant Senate
seat from the same political party as the person giving
up the seat. In this case, the Republican governor would
need to appoint a Democrat, under the amendment.
The amendment was filed by Amherst
Democrat Rep. Mindy Domb, and has nine co-sponsors, none
of whom are in leadership positions.
If the Legislature were to change
the rules, it would be the third time rule change in
this area since 2004 when the Democrats on Beacon Hill
acted to strip then-Gov. Mitt Romney of his appointment
powers when they thought John Kerry might win the White
House....
The current law allows the governor
to make a temporary appointment to fill a vacant seat in
the U.S. Senate until a special election can be held
within 145 to 160 days of the vacancy. It was last
changed in 2009 at the request of U.S. Sen. Edward
Kennedy, who was ailing and concerned about securing the
votes needed to pass the Affordable Care Act.
The law has been used twice since
2009, both times by former Gov. Deval Patrick, following
the death of Kennedy and President Barack Obama's
appointment of Kerry in 2013 to become secretary of
state.
Neither House nor Senate leadership
has commented on the Domb amendment, but the Legislature
was quick to change the law in 2004 when it thought
Romney would get to appoint a Republican to the U.S.
Senate to serve for the balance of Kerry term....
Democrats on Beacon Hill occupy
enough seats in both the House and Senate to potentially
override any Baker veto, should it get to that point.
Oh well,
after all — it is Massachusetts and the Democrats rule as they wish
without consequence.
|
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Chip Ford
Executive Director |
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Full News Reports Follow
(excerpted above) |
|
The
Salem News
Monday, November 16, 2020
Beacon Hill's shrinking GOP minority gets smaller
By Christian M. Wade, Statehouse Reporter
The state Republican Party ceded more ground on Beacon Hill
in the Nov. 3 election, which has some activists calling for
a change in leadership.
Gov. Charlie Baker, the party's de facto leader, is riding a
wave of popularity, fueling speculation the Swampscott
Republican will seek an unprecedented third term when his
current one expires in two years.
Elsewhere in the state, Republicans have seen their ranks
dwindle to the point of giving Democrats a super-minority in
the state House of Representatives and Senate. That is to
say, Democrats are not only the majority party, they have
enough votes in each chamber to override Baker's vetoes.
The GOP has seen its Beacon Hill membership drop to historic
lows, and it has struggled to compete in other statewide and
federal contests.
Earlier this year, the party lost three special legislative
races. In the Nov. 3 elections, it ceded another three
seats, while flipping a single House seat previously held by
a Democrat.
Observers say those losses will put more pressure on MassGOP
Chairman Jim Lyons, a former lawmaker from Andover. Lyons
took the helm of the party nearly two years ago, pledging to
expand its base and win more seats in the Legislature.
Lyons brushes aside the criticism, saying he is confident
the party will grow.
"In a year when Democrats were supposed to have this 'blue
wave' we basically held serve, and even picked up a House
seat," he said. "We’re focused on trying to build the farm
team up, and I think we’re going into the 2022 election
cycle in a very solid position to be able to increase our
ranks in the Legislature."
But GOP activist Ed Lyons, who is no relation to the
chairman, blames the party's political misfortunes on a
heightened focus on national politics instead of state and
local races, and its chairman's embrace of divisive social
issues and vocal support for an unpopular president.
He thinks it's time for change in leadership.
"He embraced Trump in the state where Trump did second-worst
in the whole country," Lyons the activist said of Lyons the
party leader. "He avoided all the top issues voters care
about, such as housing, transit, the environment and how to
fight the pandemic, in favor of positions on social issues
that the majority of voters oppose."
Anthony Amore, a Swampscott Republican who ran for secretary
of state in 2018, said he believes the state GOP is facing a
crisis.
"As a Republican I'm very concerned about the party's
future," he said. "If you look around the country the GOP
did pretty well in many state legislative races on Election
Day, but here we lost even more ground. It's a bad situation
and we need to remedy it."
Amore doesn't blame the party for supporting President
Donald Trump's reelection bid, but he says the system is
stacked against Republican candidates in Massachusetts,
making it difficult to field candidates and raise money to
support them.
"It’s everything from when the primary is held to where the
names are on the ballot," he said. "They’re all slanted
against Republicans, and that’s a product of having an
overwhelmingly one-party rule in the Legislature."
Republicans nominated only a handful of candidates to
challenge Beacon Hill's Democratic incumbents this fall.
That gave more than 100 Democrats a free pass back to the
Legislature for another two years.
Locally, Reps. Lenny Mirra, R-Georgetown, and James
Kelcourse, R-Amesbury, both fended off Democratic
challengers on Nov. 3 to win reelection.
In the upcoming two-year legislative session, which gets
underway in January, there will be 129 Democrats, 30
Republicans and one independent in the House of
Representatives. The state Senate, meanwhile, will have 37
Democrats and only three Republicans.
That means if Sen. Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, decides to seek
the minority leader post for another term next, he will only
have two other members in his caucus.
Lyons, the activist, said he expects Lyons the chairman to
face challengers to keep his post when it comes up for a
vote in January.
"Everything he has done has been wrong," he said. "It is
time for new leadership that addresses the state issues
voters actually care about in a way that will help our
candidates gain 51% of the electorate."
— Christian M. Wade covers
the Massachusetts Statehouse for The Salem News and its
sister newspapers and websites.
State House
News Service
Monday, November 9, 2020
Nineteen Poised to Join Mass. Legislature in 2021
Class Features Former Aides, Local Officeholders
By Chris Lisinski
Nineteen individuals appear set to join the Legislature for
the 2021-2022 session now that the dust has largely settled
on the November elections and voters determined which
candidates to send to Beacon Hill in the new year.
Most of the incoming class earned their spot in the
Massachusetts House or Massachusetts Senate by winning open
districts, though four toppled incumbents in either the
primary or general election. Some did not face opponents
outside their own party and have been the presumptive
winners since the Sept. 1 primary.
The class features numerous local officeholders and
legislative aides and their arrivals will coincide with the
departures in January of several of the House's
longest-serving members: Reps. Angelo Scaccia, Ted Speliotis,
Thomas Petrolati, David Nangle and Louis Kafka.
In the age of COVID-19, the representatives- and
senators-elect may not undergo the traditional in-person
boot camp at UMass Amherst that is typical, and once they
are sworn in on Jan. 6, 2021, they are also unlikely to be
packed into a State House hearing room, known as "the
bullpen," which is another Beacon Hill custom.
This class will also have the unique experience of watching
a November state budget debate unfold on Beacon Hill, part
of a lame duck session where the House and Senate, including
the lawmakers that the incoming members will succeed, are on
track to make significant post-election spending and policy
decisions.
Gov. Charlie Baker and the Legislature this fall are poised
to make a deep draw from the state's reserves and tap
significant one-time federal revenues to keep state programs
and services operating without raising taxes, a strategy
that sets the arriving class up for tough fiscal 2022 budget
deliberations in early 2021.
Incoming Senators
-- JOHN CRONIN, D-Lunenburg: An Army veteran and Suffolk
University law student, Cronin defeated Republican Sen. Dean
Tran of Fitchburg to wrest control of the Worcester &
Middlesex District seat back to Democrats. Tran had been
penalized in March by the Senate Ethics Committee after it
concluded he had used office staff for campaign work during
business hours, a charge that he denied. This is the seat
formerly held by Democrat Jen Flanagan.
-- ADAM GOMEZ, D-Springfield: Gomez was the only candidate
who beat a Senate incumbent in the September primary
election, toppling Sen. James Welch in the Hampden District.
He is one of two Springfield City Councilors headed to the
Legislature next session, and with Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz he
will be one of only two people of color in the 40-member
Senate following Tran's departure.
Incoming House Members
-- KIP DIGGS, D-Barnstable: Diggs was the only candidate to
defeat a House incumbent in Tuesday's general election by
toppling Republican Rep. William Crocker for the 2nd
Barnstable District. A former professional boxer and current
construction inspector, he is poised to become the first
African-American state lawmaker from Cape Cod in the
Legislature's history. This seat was previously held by
Democrats Brian Mannal and Demetrius Atsalis. Diggs
-- VANNA HOWARD, D-Lowell: Howard, who worked as an aide to
former U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas, ousted 11-term Rep. David
Nangle in September's Democratic primary -- more than six
months after Nangle was indicted on and pleaded not guilty
to federal fraud charges. Nangle had been a member of
Speaker DeLeo's leadership team, as a division chair. Howard
immigrated to the United States from Cambodia, and she will
join Rep. Rady Mom as the second Cambodian-American member
of the Lowell delegation.
-- STEVEN XIARHOS, R-Barnstable: A former Yarmouth Police
Department officer and deputy chief, Xiarhos kept the 5th
Barnstable District, where Rep. Randy Hunt is departing, in
Republican hands with his victory. This seat was previously
held by former Republican Rep. Jeff Perry.
-- ADAM SCANLON, D-North Attleborough: Scanlon, a North
Attleborough Town Councilor who works in social services,
flipped the 14th Bristol District blue by beating fellow
Town Councilor John Simmons. The district has been
represented by Poiriers -- first Kevin, then Elizabeth --
since the 1970s.
-- SALLY KERANS, D-Danvers: Kerans is returning to Beacon
Hill more than two decades after she completed three terms
as representative for the 13th Essex District. Outgoing Rep.
Theodore Speliotis succeeded Kerans, who in turn will now
succeed him.
-- KELLY PEASE, R-Westfield: Pease, a former Sen. Donald
Humason aide and retired Army Officer, brought the House
seat representing Westfield back to the GOP column. Former
Rep. John Velis, a Democrat, won a special election in May
to fill Humason's Senate seat, and this House district will
go without representation in the House through the lame duck
sessions of November, December and early January.
-- ORLANDO RAMOS, D-Springfield: One of two Springfield City
Councilors set to join the Legislature, Ramos emerged
victorious in a primary and then the general election for
the 9th Hampden District. Rep. Jose Tosado, the district's
current representative, did not seek reelection. This
district was previously represented by Democrats Sean Curran
and Christopher Asselin.
-- MICHAEL KUSHMEREK, D-Fitchburg: Kushmerek, president of
the Fitchburg City Council, retained the hold on the 3rd
Worcester District seat for the Democrats by topping
businessman and former police officer Glenn Fossa. Rep.
Stephan Hay did not seek reelection. This district was
previously represented by Stephen DiNatale.
-- MEG KILCOYNE, D-Northborough: The first woman elected to
represent the 12th Worcester House District, Kilcoyne will
step into a role held by her boss of the past 10 years, Rep.
Harold Naughton. She defeated Republican Susan Smiley and
Green-Rainbow candidate Charlene DiCalogero to keep the open
seat blue. Naughton, the longtime House chair of the Public
Safety Committee, announced in April that he would not seek
reelection and was going to work for the New York law firm
Napoli Shkolnik PLLC.
-- BRANDY FLUKER OAKLEY, D-Boston: Fluker Oakley's victory
in the Democratic primary essentially ensured that the seat
currently held by Rep. Dan Cullinane, covering a stretch of
Boston with a roughly 75 percent nonwhite population, will
be represented by a person of color. She worked as a public
defender and a public school teacher before running for
office.
-- ROB CONSALVO, D-Boston: Consalvo, a former city councilor
and senior advisor in the Boston Public Schools
superintendent's office, faced no Republican opponent after
topping the primary for the 14th Suffolk District
represented by retiring Rep. Angelo Scaccia, who has been
serving in the House since 1973.
-- PATRICIA DUFFY, D-Holyoke: An aide to Rep. Aaron Vega,
Duffy will succeed her boss next term after topping a
three-way primary for the 5th Hampden District and facing no
general-election opponent. She is also a former publishing
worker and labor leader.
-- TED PHILIPS, D-Sharon: Philips is another legislative
aide who will join the Legislature with the departure of
their boss. He's worked as staff director for retiring Rep.
Lou Kafka in the 8th Norfolk District, and won a contested
Democratic primary before facing no general-election
opponent.
-- ERIKA UYTERHOEVEN, D-Somerville: The House's progressive
ranks will add Uyterhoeven, a Democratic Socialist and
founder of the Act on Mass organization that has a prominent
advocate on Beacon Hill. She succeeds outgoing Rep. Denise
Provost in the 27th Middlesex District.
-- STEVEN OWENS, D-Watertown: Owens, a transportation
consultant, emerged victorious in a three-way primary race
for the 29th Middlesex District. He faced no
general-election opponent in his bid to succeed Rep.
Jonathan Hecht, who did not seek re-election.
-- JESSICA GIANNINO, D-Revere: The Revere City Councilor won
the Democratic primary election for the 16th Suffolk
District, where Rep. RoseLee Vincent did not pursue another
term.
-- *JAKE OLIVEIRA, D-Ludlow: Oliveira is the one newcomer
whose status is not entirely certain. As of Friday
afternoon, he led Republican James "Chip" Harrington for
outgoing Rep. Thomas Petrolati's 7th Hampden District seat
by 134 votes. Harrington said Friday that, due to concerns
he has with the Belchertown clerk's handling of results, he
planned to seek a recount, though he had not yet decided if
he would ask for one across the district or only in
Belchertown. He planned to start circulating a recount
petition over the weekend. "I'm very well aware that if the
spread is what it is right now, 134 (vote) difference
between myself and Jake, a recount is unlikely to turn that
over," Harrington said in a video posted to Facebook. "If it
was 10 votes or even 30 votes, that would be something, but
the fact that in the Belchertown Town Clerk's office there
are so many issues with details, it needs to be checked."
Oliveira told the News Service on Thursday that he is
confident he will remain in the lead and that there are not
enough outstanding ballots to swing the result, but he will
wait to claim victory until the votes are counted. He has
served as chair of the Ludlow Democratic Town Committee
since 2008 and on its school committee since 2009. He works
as assistant director of the Massachusetts State
Universities Council of Presidents. Petrolati has been
serving in this district since 1987. Oliveira Website
State House
News Service
Monday, November 9, 2020
Senate to Launch Budget Debate Nov. 17
Rodrigues To Release Draft Budget Thursday
By Matt Murphy and Michael P. Norton
In a sign that the branches appear to be working together to
quickly wrap up the fiscal 2021 budget, the Senate's top
budget writer said Monday his committee plans to release a
Senate version of the budget Thursday in anticipation of a
debate on the annual spending plan to begin next Tuesday.
Senate Ways and Means Chairman Michael Rodrigues said the
committee was "in the final stages of finalizing a
responsible budget for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2021"
that it would release on Thursday.
The Senate put the budget (S 4) on its schedule as the only
item of business for Nov. 17.
"We want to congratulate our colleagues and partners in the
House on the release of their budget priorities. Both
chambers have worked collaboratively during these difficult
times, and we will continue to do so as we finalize a FY21
budget," Rodrigues said in a statement.
The Senate also voted on Monday to set a deadline for
senators to file amendments to the still-unreleased bill for
10 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 13.
"In preparation for the forthcoming release of Senate's FY21
budget proposal, and in recognition of the need to finalize
a budget with the House as quickly as possible, an amendment
order was adopted today to ensure members have adequate time
to have their voices be heard in the process," Rodrigues
said in a statement released after Monday's session.
The timeline laid out by Senate leaders means the branch
will almost certainly begin its budget process -- releasing
its own bill and accepting amendments -- before the House
concludes its own debate, which is scheduled to begin this
Tuesday and resume Thursday after the Veterans' Day holiday.
Should two days of debate not be sufficient, House leaders
also told members to be prepared to continue debate on the
$46 billion budget plan Friday and Saturday, if necessary.
This year's state budget is more than four months late and
Gov. Charlie Baker has asked lawmakers to get a budget bill
to his desk by Thanksgiving. House Speaker Robert DeLeo said
last week that he would like to see the budget reach Baker's
desk by the end of the month, or shortly thereafter.
There are 17 days until Thanksgiving and 21 days until the
end of November. Any budgets that pass the House and Senate
by the end of next week will have to be negotiated and
reconciled between the branches before a bill goes to Gov.
Baker for his review and signature.
House Ways and Means Chairman Aaron Michlewitz said last
week that a "framework" for the budget had already been
discussed with the Senate prior to the release of the House
version, and DeLeo has discouraged members from pursuing
major policy initiatives in the budget.
State House
News Service
Monday, November 9, 2020
Abortion Measure Appears Likely Addition to House Budget
ROE Act Coalition "Grateful" for Cronin Amendment
By Matt Murphy
Despite Speaker Robert DeLeo warning House lawmakers off
trying to use the annual budget to advance major policy
changes, the top Democrat blessed a vote this week on an
amendment that would codify abortion rights into state law
and make abortions legal after 24 weeks if a doctor has
diagnosed a fatal fetal abnormality.
The amendment to the annual budget bill was filed by Rep.
Claire Cronin, a Easton Democrat and the co-chair of the
Joint Committee on the Judiciary, which faces its own
deadline of Thursday to make a recommendation on a bill
known as the "ROE Act."
The abortion debate has picked up steam on Beacon Hill in
recent weeks over concerns that the stronger conservative
majority on the Supreme Court could jeopardize abortion
rights across the country. DeLeo, in a statement Monday,
said it was "urgent" that the House consider the matter.
"Following last week's joint statement with Senate President
Spilka, in which we expressed concern over the threat to
women's reproductive rights on the national level, it is
urgent that the House take up an immediate measure to remove
barriers to women's reproductive health options and protect
the concepts enshrined in Roe v. Wade," DeLeo said in a
statement.
Cronin filed a version of the ROE Act as amendment 759. It
would strengthen abortion access laws in Massachusetts by
making abortion explicitly legal in state law, and allowing
for abortions after 24 weeks in more than just cases where
the life of the mother is in jeopardy.
The amendment also spells out a legal process for young
women under the age of 16 who can't or do not want to get
the consent of a parent or guardian to petition a judge for
an abortion.
"I'm grateful to Chair Cronin for filing a thoughtful
amendment that would accomplish those goals, in an
expeditious manner, and look forward to bringing it before
the House this week," DeLeo said.
The legislation has been under consideration since the
session started in 2019, but gained momentum following the
confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme
Court last month to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
DeLeo and Senate President Karen Spilka promised after
Barrett's confirmation that the Legislature would debate
abortion rights before the end of the session in early
January, but last week DeLeo said the fiscal year 2021
budget, which is already four months late, is "not an
appropriate place for major policy reform."
The House and Senate are attempting to get an annual state
budget bill to Gov. Charlie Baker's desk by the end of the
month, but by tacking on such a controversial policy
proposal during the lame-duck portion of the session the
House could complicate that timeline.
Neither House Minority Leader Brad Jones nor Senate Minority
Leader Bruce Tarr could be reached for comment.
Cronin's amendment (759) closely resembles the ROE Act,
which was filed in the House by Speaker Pro Tempore Patricia
Haddad and Rep. Jay Livingstone. Cronin could not be reached
for comment on Monday to discuss her proposal.
Access to abortion in Massachusetts is currently protected
by both the Roe v. Wade decision in the Supreme Court, as
well as a separate state-based decision by the Supreme
Judicial Court.
A spokesman for NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts said he could
not comment specifically to the difference between the ROE
Act and the amendment filed by Cronin, but the ROE Act
Coaltion, which also includes the ACLU of Massachusetts and
Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts, thanked
House leaders.
"We are incredibly grateful that Chair Cronin is working to
protect reproductive freedom in Massachusetts. When
Massachusetts voters reelected every incumbent who supported
the ROE Act and also voted out anti-abortion legislators,
they made it clear that they want state lawmakers to remove
medically unnecessary barriers to abortion care," the
coalition said.
If the Legislature were to include a version of the ROE Act
in the budget, it's unclear if Democratic leaders would need
to muster a veto-proof majority. One hundred fourteen
legislators co-sponsored the original bill, including 22 in
the Senate and 92 in the House.
Baker has said he supports a woman's right to choose to have
an abortion, but doesn't necessarily see a need to change
the current abortion laws in Massachusetts.
He has expressed concern about eliminating parental
notification laws and also said he opposes "late-term
abortion," but hasn't been clear on whether he would apply
such a label to an abortion after 24 weeks in cases when a
doctor determines the fetus will not survive.
The governor has also said he wouldn't want women to feel
like they have to travel outside of Massachusetts "to get
their problem solved."
State House
News Service
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
House Chirps at Senate Over Transportation Revenues
Branch Leaders Opposing Tax Hikes in State Budget
By Chris Lisinski
House Democratic leaders beat back attempts from within
their ranks Tuesday to add a series of transit-related tax
hikes into a state budget bill, in the process renewing
their criticism of the Senate for months of inaction on a
bill raising more than $500 million in new transportation
revenues.
With MBTA officials planning to impose steep cuts on its
public transit service as they grapple with a $579 million
budget gap, the Legislature faces new pressure from riders
and activists to intervene with funding that could help
limit or prevent the most dramatic changes.
A clear response from House leadership emerged as the
chamber on Tuesday set out on its delayed annual budget
deliberations: the ball, they say, is in the Senate's court.
Rep. Mark Cusack, co-chair of the Revenue Committee and one
of House Speaker Robert DeLeo's top deputies, cited the
Senate as an obstacle when he spoke on the floor in
opposition to an amendment that would have raised the tax
rate on income from long-term capital gains, dividends and
interest.
"In the House, we have been a leader in meeting our
financial needs and we have had a revenue debate this
session," Cusack said. "Our transportation revenue package
has been sitting in the Senate since March 4. Frankly, in
order to pass revenue, we need a dance partner, and we don't
have one."
The House in March approved a range of tax and fee hikes,
including a 5-cent gasoline tax increase, but any momentum
behind the bill fizzled as attention turned to the COVID-19
pandemic. The tax legislation never emerged in the Senate.
Senate President Karen Spilka said in April that she is "not
certain that now is the time to be talking about taxes." In
July, the proposal appeared to be dead when Sen. Joseph
Boncore, co-chair of the Transportation Committee, ruled
transportation-related taxes off the table due to the
state's uncertain financial outlook.
The bill, in theory, is still in play because legislative
leaders agreed to extend formal lawmaking sessions beyond
their traditional July 31 expiration, but power players in
the Senate have given no indication if the upheaval at the
MBTA -- or the latest prodding from the House -- has shifted
their position from the summer.
Boncore and Spilka's offices declined News Service requests
for comment Tuesday.
In a radio interview with Bloomberg Baystate Business that
aired Tuesday afternoon, Senate Ways and Means Committee
Chair Michael Rodrigues -- whose committee has had
possession of the House's transportation tax bill since
March 9 -- did not address the legislation or the financial
outlook at the T.
He forecasted the Senate annual budget to be unveiled
Thursday will essentially mirror the House's approach and,
like House leaders, said he did not want the spending plan
to be a vehicle for any tax hikes.
"There are always those in the Legislature that are looking
to increase tax revenue, to make tax revenue more
'progressive,'" Rodrigues said. "We do not plan on utilizing
any new tax revenue in order to balance this budget, at
least not new broad-based taxes."
House leaders are not the only ones in their chamber
frustrated by their counterparts. Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier,
a Pittsfield Democrat who is a member of the House's
Progressive Caucus, also criticized the Senate during an
unsuccessful push Tuesday for passage of a tax-hiking budget
amendment.
She praised the House for taking "a hard vote" in March on
the transportation package, echoing a similar point DeLeo
made in June.
"I'm really sorry, and I am disappointed and I am
frustrated, that our colleagues in the Senate did not join
us in this effort," Farley-Bouvier said. "I believe it is
shortsighted."
The argument from progressives does not end with the Senate,
though. Farley-Bouvier, speaking in favor of a Rep. Mike
Connolly amendment increasing the rate on so-called
"unearned income," argued that the House's $46 billion
annual spending plan does not hit all of the state's needs
and that transportation has "only gotten worse" since the
March vote.
Service cuts the T proposed Monday -- which include
eliminating ferries, halting all weekend commuter rail
service, scrapping 25 bus routes and trimming subway service
by 20 percent -- "will put riders at risk," push the state
backwards on its efforts to reduce traffic and greenhouse
gas emissions, and "disproportionately affect the poor,"
Farley-Bouvier said.
"The 19 billionaires in our state saw their wealth balloon
by $17 billion during the first three months of the
pandemic," she said. "This is unusual. Usually during a
recession, even billionaires lose money. Not this time."
Connolly said his amendment, which he compared to a proposed
income surtax on household income above $1 million that will
likely go before voters in 2022, could raise $1.7 billion
per year in revenue through increased tax rates on capital
gains, interest and dividends.
That would be enough, he said, to provide the T with a
sustainable funding source to avoid deep cuts and still help
the state replenish the "rainy day" fund that is being drawn
down by nearly half under the House budget.
"In this time of worsening pandemic and economic hardship
for so many of our constituents, we know that raising new
progressive revenue will allow us to support the vital
programs that can make the difference between life and death
for the most vulnerable in our communities," Connolly said.
Their push was unsuccessful: the House voted 127-30 to
reject the amendment, with all 31 Republicans and a wide
majority of Democrats opposing it.
Pointing to the FY22 budget planning on the horizon, Cusack
urged lawmakers to oppose the tax hikes, warning that the
Legislature must first get a clearer sense of what, if any,
federal aid will arrive and what arc revenues will take.
"We need to have all the facts before we make such decisions
that will impact our constituents and our economic
recovery," he said.
Business groups, citing pandemic impacts and new costs
associated with other state mandates, have warned against
raising state taxes, which also face the threat of a veto
from Republican Gov. Charlie Baker.
"Left Wing House lawmakers live in fantasy world where any
low value state program should be funded no matter (its)
cost," Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance spokesman Paul Craney
said in a statement. "It's a good day for Massachusetts
taxpayers when their proposals are soundly rejected."
Beacon Hill
Roll Call
Volume 45 - Report No. 46
November 9-13, 2020
By Bob Katzen
INCREASE SOME TAXES FROM 5 PERCENT TO 9 PERCENT (H 5150)
House 30-127, rejected an amendment that would have raised
the tax rate on long term capital gains, dividends and
interest income from 5 percent to 9 percent.
Amendment sponsor Rep. Mike Connolly (D-Cambridge) said that
this sort of income overwhelmingly goes to the wealthiest
households. He said the hike would raise an estimated $1.7
billion annually in new, progressive revenue. He called
capital gains, dividends and interest “unearned income” that
is unfairly taxed at the same rate that the state taxes
“earned income” like wages and salaries. He said this is
inherently inequitable and means the person working a
minimum wage job is subject to the same Massachusetts income
tax rate as the person with a billion dollar investment
portfolio.
“This additional revenue would allow us to stop the cuts at
the MBTA and to boost funding for our regional transit
authorities,” said Connolly. “It would allow us to guarantee
housing stability and it would give us the means to end
homelessness in our commonwealth. It would also enable us to
live up to the commitments we proudly made earlier this
session with the Student Opportunity Act, and it would
further enable us to support our public colleges and
universities and to expand access to the full range of
health care, childcare and social services, programs that
are made all the more critical in this time of worsening
pandemic, economic hardship and legal threat to the
Affordable Care Act.”
Amendment opponents said that calling capital gains,
dividends, and interest “unearned income” is totally
misleading. They noted that the taxpayer actually originally
earned this income and should not be taxed more than once on
it.
“To a 'progressive' Democrat perpetual tax hikes are the
solution to every problem real or imagined,” said Chip
Ford, Executive Director of Citizens for Limited
Taxation, “and more is never enough.”
“Rep. Mike Connolly's defeated amendment to hike the tax
rate on so-called 'unearned income' is a perfect example,”
added Ford. “He even compared it to the upcoming
‘Millionaire's Tax’ constitutional amendment to unfairly
soak the wealthy that’s being pushed onto the 2022 ballot by
the liberal wing of the Legislature—most legislators— that
is expected to raise an additional $2 billion annually. More
is never enough for insatiable tax-and-spend 'progressives,’
as this again demonstrates.”
“Through the Raise Up Mass coalition, my constituents are
calling for greater funding to get us through this crisis
and support progressive revenue to do that,” said Rep.
Patricia Farley-Bouvier (D-Pittsfield) who voted for the
amendment. “In fact, I pledged to a large group just a few
weeks back that I would support progressive revenue
increases. Though I would have much preferred to take this
vote outside the budget process, when faced with an up or
down vote, I believe it was important to keep my promise to
my constituents.”
“Left wing House lawmakers live in a fantasy world where any
low value state program should be funded no matter its
cost,” said Paul Craney, Executive Director of the
Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance. “It’s a good day for
Massachusetts taxpayers when their proposals are soundly
rejected.”
State House
News Service
Wednesday, November 11, 2020
GOP Leader Balks at Abortion Amendment in Budget
Jones: DeLeo Move Shows "It's Better To Be King"
By Chris Van Buskirk
With the House poised to debate an amendment this week
addressing access to abortions in Massachusetts, Minority
Leader Brad Jones took issue with folding the matter into
the state budget debate in what he characterized as a
hypocritical move by the chamber's Democratic leadership.
After saying last week that major policy initiatives had no
place in the House's fiscal 2021 budget plan, House Speaker
Robert DeLeo committed Monday to bring to the floor a budget
amendment that resembles the ROE Act, a priority bill for
many advocates and lawmakers.
The legislation (H 3320 / S 1209) has been pending before
the Judiciary Committee since the start of session in 2019
and more than half of the House membership signed on as
co-sponsors. But Democrats opted not to bring the bills to
the floor before the elections, and now are poised to take
the issue on as a budget amendment.
Jones told the News Service Tuesday that he found the move
to take up the substance of the bill as an amendment
"disappointing" and took issue with what he said are
conflicting messages from DeLeo.
"On the one hand, he's saying this is a major policy. On the
other hand, he's saying we shouldn't do it," said the North
Reading Republican "So it gets to like I said, do as I say,
not as I do. Better to be king because I can do what I want
and the rest of you need to follow."
The amendment, filed by Judiciary Co-Chair Claire Cronin
(D-Easton), would allow abortions after 24 weeks if a doctor
diagnoses a patient with a fatal fetal abnormality and lays
out a process by which women under the age of 16 can
petition a judge for the procedure without parental consent.
Expanding and codifying abortion in Massachusetts gained
renewed momentum among advocates and elected officials after
the confirmation of Supreme Court Judge Amy Coney Barrett,
which solidified a conservative majority on the nation's
highest court.
Speaker Pro Tempore Patricia Haddad, a lead sponsor of the
original House bill and a member of DeLeo's leadership team,
said the vehicle by which a policy proposal is taken up
"doesn't matter," just the subject.
"It's the subject matter that I really feel has to be taken
up, especially when we know that things are going to change
dramatically in the Supreme Court," the Somerset Democrat
said Tuesday. "Again, if people think that vehicle is okay,
then they'll use it. If like the Minority Leader, they don't
think it's the right vehicle, then they won't."
In his statement Monday, as legislative activity ramped up
in lame duck sessions, DeLeo said it was "urgent" to take up
measures on reproductive rights and cement concepts found in
the court decision Roe v. Wade.
"I'm grateful to Chair Cronin for filing a thoughtful
amendment that would accomplish those goals, in an
expeditious manner, and look forward to bringing it before
the House this week," DeLeo said in the statement.
When asked if he would support the amendment when it
eventually comes to the floor, Jones said he would wait to
see how debate unfolds in the House.
"I'm happier with some of the changes, but I'm not happy
with all the changes," he said. "I don't think my caucus is
and I think from a process standpoint, I think given the
marker the speaker put down, we shouldn't be doing this in
the budget."
More than 300 pastors on Tuesday sent a letter to Gov.
Charlie Baker asking him to veto the measure if it reaches
his desk, calling it "one of the most radical pieces of
abortion legislation in the country."
State Republican Party Chairman Jim Lyons also criticized
the effort. "The Democrats' priorities are nothing short of
ghoulish," Lyons said in a statement Monday. "For them to
decide that the height of an emergency health pandemic is a
good time to do something like this is absolutely
disturbing."
After last week's elections, NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts
said every incumbent lawmaker who has supported the ROE Act
won their race, "and in many instances, fended off
anti-abortion opponents."
"Over and over, Bay State voters have made their support for
the ROE Act clear by electing leaders who are committed to
removing politically-motivated barriers to abortion care,"
said Rebecca Hart Holder, executive director of NARAL
Pro-Choice Massachusetts.
House budget deliberations are scheduled to resume on
Thursday at 11 a.m.
— Michael P. Norton
contributed reporting
The Boston
Herald
Wednesday, November 11, 2020
A Boston Herald editorial
Tax-the-rich plans still bad ideas for Massachusetts
Massachusetts lawmakers just can’t help themselves.
After House leaders hashed out their $46 billion budget for
the state, they asked fellow legislators to hold back on
policy amendments.
It fell on deaf ears — and some 777 amendments were filed.
Two that stand out include one from state Rep. Mike
Connolly, D-Cambridge, which would raise the tax rate on
unearned income — long-term capital gains, dividends and
interest — from 5% to 9% for the wealthiest tax brackets.
The offering from state Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa,
D-Northampton, would hike the corporate tax rate.
As the Herald reported, Connolly laid out his reasoning: “We
have a real responsibility to ask the very large
corporations that are doing so well in our state as well as
the wealthiest households to pay their fair share,” he said.
Neither the sentiment nor the proposed legislation is new.
Various iterations of increasing taxes on the wealthy have
made the rounds in recent years.
But this attempt comes amid a pandemic that has shuttered
businesses across the state.
“Additional revenue … will be required to make the long-term
investments necessary for a robust and just recovery,” said
Kurt Wise, senior analyst at the Massachusetts Budget and
Policy Center.
The state needs revenue — no argument. But recasting
corporations and wealthy individuals as ersatz Rainy Day
Funds to shore up shortfalls will come back to bite the Bay
State.
Just ask California.
Michael Yelverton, principal and managing director at
Tiedemann Advisors in San Francisco, told the San Francisco
Business Times that “in California, the prospect of an
income tax hike along with the proposed wealth tax, which is
still TBD on whether it’s enforceable, is spurring
California residents to think even more earnestly about
their current structures and estate plans.”
One way to remain on an even keel — leave California.
Accountants in the Bay Area said they’re having more
conversations with their clients about exiting the state.
“The majority of my conversations lately with my clients are
around the rules of domicile and breaking domicile with
California,” said Sandy Murray, a partner and private client
services co-leader at San Francisco accounting firm BPM. “It
used to be a theoretical conversation. Now there’s more
urgency.”
The rise of working from home only adds flexibility and
bolsters the case for moving to more tax-friendly climes.
It’s this sort of impetus to exodus that spurred
Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation and 25 business
organizations to warn House and Senate in a letter “raising
taxes at this time would be akin to shooting at a moving
target with the potential for dramatic long term impacts for
the Massachusetts economy.”
Economist Arthur Laffer (of the famous Laffer Curve) made
his exit from California years ago. He told NPR back in
2011, “I left California and I moved to Tennessee, because
Tennessee has no income tax.”
Massachusetts companies and residents don’t have to head
South to avoid a tax hike — we’ve got New Hampshire right
over the border.
We need to be attracting businesses and retaining the ones
we have by providing a welcoming environment in which they
can operate — not penalizing them for their success. And
nearly doubling the tax rate on unearned income is a great
incentive for those in the top tax bracket to load up the
car and head north.
Neither is good for a Massachusetts recovery.
The New York
Times
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
California’s 40-Year-Old Tax Revolt Survives a Counterattack
Voters rejected a bid to modify Proposition 13, a landmark
1978 measure,
to remove a tax shield from commercial properties.
By Conor Dougherty
For 40 years, the legacy of Proposition 13, a landmark
California law that limits property tax increases, has
shaped state politics. The measure weathered various
legislative and legal challenges, including a trip to the
Supreme Court, and came to be considered untouchable.
Now the law has survived perhaps its biggest test after
California voters rejected a ballot initiative that would
have undone a portion of Proposition 13. The new law,
Proposition 15, would have removed commercial properties
like office buildings and industrial parks from Proposition
13’s limits, and it would have given labor and progressive
groups a long-sought victory to increase funding for
education and local services.
The Associated Press called the result of the Nov. 3 vote on
the measure on Tuesday night, when the count was 51.8
percent to 48.2 percent against it.
“This is an important moment in California political history
— the biggest attempt to reform Proposition 13,” said Manuel
Pastor, an author and sociology professor at the University
of Southern California. “Given that this is the third rail
of California politics, it actually came pretty close with
very significant headwinds including a recession, and the
limits the pandemic placed on door-knocking and other
high-touch voter contact.”
Proposition 15 would have raised $6.5 billion to $11.5
billion a year for public schools, community colleges and
city and county governments, according to a nonpartisan
state agency. Proponents had promoted the measure as a
needed investment in public services when the economy and
budgets are under stress. The measure had won prominent
endorsements, including those of Gov. Gavin Newsom,
President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Vice President-elect
Kamala Harris, a Californian. The campaign was also backed
by several public employees’ unions and the Chan Zuckerberg
Initiative, the philanthropic organization founded by Mark
Zuckerberg, the Facebook chief executive, and his wife,
Priscilla Chan.
Opponents, including business associations and large
property owners like the Blackstone Group, said the measure
would hurt small businesses and open the door to raising
taxes on residential properties as well.
Proposition 13 was spearheaded by a retired businessman,
Howard Jarvis, who harnessed voter anger over rising home
prices — and therefore rising taxes — to amend the state’s
Constitution to limit property tax increases to 2 percent a
year. Properties can be reassessed for tax purposes after
they are sold, however, so the law has created a system in
which owners of recently purchased homes often pay taxes
several times those of neighbors with similar properties.
While the law was pitched as a way to ease the tax burden on
homeowners, many of its biggest beneficiaries have been
businesses, whose properties do not change hands as often as
homes. In 1975, a little under half the property taxes in
Los Angeles County were paid by commercial properties. By
2017, commercial properties accounted for just over
one-quarter of the property tax roll.
Some of the biggest beneficiaries have been corporations
like the Walt Disney Company and Chevron, whose properties
are assessed at valuations set decades ago.
Proposition 15 would have created a “split roll” system, in
which residential property would continue to be shielded
from tax increases but commercial property would not.
Backers hoped to harness a high-turnout election in a
heavily Democratic state to raise taxes on large
corporations without alarming homeowners.
In addition to keeping residential property under the 1978
limits, the new measure had provisions that various studies
showed would have spared most small businesses from higher
taxes and impose them instead on corporations that control
huge parcels of real estate.
The Boston
Herald
Friday, November 13, 2020
Massachusetts House passes $46B budget in late-night
session;
no new taxes, expands abortion
By Erin Tiernan
House lawmakers passed a roughly $46 billion budget during a
late-night session on Thursday, slipping in an amendment to
expand access to abortion and avoiding any new broad-based
taxes.
Members passed the budget in a 143-14 vote shortly before
midnight, working through two days of abbreviated debate in
an effort to deliver a spending plan that is already four
months behind schedule.
Lawmakers filed 777 amendments, nearly all of which were
rejected wholesale in a series of bundled mega-amendments
that kept nearly all deliberations behind closed doors.
The only debate of the day came when the House adopted an
amendment that — if approved by the Senate and signed by
Gov. Charlie Baker — would enshrine the right to abortion in
state law as well as expand access to abortions after 24
weeks in cases of fatal fetal anomalies and not just when
necessary to save a woman’s life. It would also no longer
require women under age 18 to gain permission from a parent
or judge to get an abortion.
Progressive priorities including state Rep. Mike Connolly’s
amendment that would have extended an eviction moratorium
for one year after the public health emergency ends and
increased resources for housing across the region failed. So
did Rep. Mindy Domb’s amendment that would have forced Gov.
Charlie Baker to stick with a Democrat if Sen. Elizabeth
Warren lands a Cabinet post.
“We know we’re on the clock, because of the idea of FY22,”
Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz said after session.
“With the FY22 process needing to begin pretty soon. So
certainly, we want to make sure that we do it as quickly as
possible. But I don’t want to put a definitive, arbitrary
deadline on that. But I’m confident we’re going to be able
to work with the Senate to get this done.”
Lawmakers pushed the pause button on the budget process that
typically plays out between March and June when the
coronavirus pandemic struck this spring. The state has
operated on a series of interim budgets since then. Tax
revenues are expected to be $3.6 billion under pre-pandemic
estimates.
The Senate on Thursday unveiled a similar budget and starts
deliberations Nov. 17 on its $46 billion Senate Ways and
Means budget plan. The House is back in an informal session
on Monday at 11 a.m.
Both versions rely heavily on one-time funding sources,
including siphoning roughly $1.5 billion from the state’s
rainy-day fund, accelerating sales tax payments, federal
reimbursements and delaying charitable tax cuts.
They plan to deliver a budget to Baker’s desk by the end of
the month, House and Senate lawmakers agree.
— State House News Service
contributed to this report.
State House
News Service
Thursday, November 12, 2020
House Session Summary - Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020
House Passes Budget 143-14
By Chris Van Buskirk
After two days of deliberations, the House passed a roughly
$46 billion budget Thursday that includes expanded access to
reproductive health care in Massachusetts, stays away from
new broad-based taxes, and draws $1.5 billion from the
state's "rainy day" fund. Operating on a condensed timeline,
the House passed a budget 143-14 that largely stayed true to
the proposal released by House Ways and Means earlier this
month.
Gov. Charlie Baker has said he wants the final bill on his
desk by Thanksgiving, now two weeks away.
"We know we're on the clock, because of the idea of FY22,"
Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz said after session.
"With the FY22 process needing to begin pretty soon. So
certainly, we want to make sure that we do it as quickly as
possible. But I don't want to put a definitive, arbitrary
deadline on that. But I'm confident we're going to be able
to work with the Senate to get this done it."
Over the course of roughly 25 hours in the chamber, the
House adopted four mega-amendments that addressed topics
from education and local aid to labor and economic
development.
Two closely watched amendments did not come up for public
consideration and were instead swept away by the
amendment-bundling process after private talks. Those were a
Rep. Mike Connolly amendment extending an eviction and
foreclosure moratorium through at least Jan. 1, 2021 (777)
and a Rep. Mindy Domb proposal requiring the governor to
fill a U.S. Senate vacancy with an appointee of the same
political party as the person leaving office (695).
The only debate of the day came when the House adopted a
Rep. Claire Cronin amendment to allow abortions after 24
weeks in the case of lethal fetal anomalies and lower the
age from 18 to 16 that a minor can choose to have an
abortion without parental or judicial consent.
The amendment process added around $27.9 million to the
bill's bottom line. The Senate starts its deliberations Nov.
17 on its $46 billion Senate Ways and Means budget plan. The
House is back in an informal session on Monday at 11 a.m.
State House
News Service
Friday, November 13, 2020
Weekly Roundup - April in November
Recap and analysis of the week in state government
By Matt Murphy
On a shelf in Sen. Michael Rodrigues's spacious corner
office on the second floor of the State House's East Wing,
there's a box of Wheaties among the frames and cards that
tell a story of the Westport Democrat's time in office.
The cereal box features a photo of tennis great Serena
Williams and a yellow Post-it note with a message scrawled
in blue marker: "I hear that this is good for strength, but
also helps fight off memory loss!"
The note is signed, "Aaron," as in House Ways and Means
Chairman Aaron Michlewitz. And it recalls a comment
Rodrigues made a little more than two months ago when the
Senate Ways and Means chairman was still predicting the
completion of a budget before the end of October.
"I'll have to make sure I eat my Wheaties," Rodrigues said,
when asked at the time how he planned to accomplish the
feat. It turns out he might have been off by only a month.
The House this week raced through a two-day budget debate
sandwiched around Veterans Day to pass a $46 billion
spending plan for the fiscal year that began on July 1, and
the Senate plans to tackle the same task next week.
What has stood out during the rushed, post-election process
is both the speed and the level of cooperation between House
and Senate leaders. The gift from Michlewitz was another
reminder of the relationship he and Rodrigues have forged
trying to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic together.
Unfortunately, just as it would have in April when the House
usually votes on a budget, the debate unfolded this week as
the coronavirus surged outside the marbled halls of the
State House. Massachusetts counted the 10,000th life claimed
by COVID-19 as daily case counts stretched to nearly 2,500
and hospitalizations climbed over 660.
Gov. Charlie Baker, who advisers say has become increasingly
worried about what the winter will bring, was alarmed enough
to release a plan to begin reopening field hospitals,
starting at the DCU Center in Worcester. But the governor
sees things differently than he did in the spring.
Baker visited Carlisle public schools where he said
administrators and teachers are showing how safe, in-person
learning can be done. And he said despite the surge,
Massachusetts is "nowhere near" the danger zone it found
itself in over the spring when hospitals were dealing with
3,000 to 4,000 COVID-19 patients a day.
The governor may trust schools and the health care system to
get it right this time, but he doesn't trust hockey parents.
Baker joined with the other five New England governors and
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy to call off interstate youth
hockey tournaments for the rest of the year as the state
leaders have come to view the day-long sporting and
socializing events as COVID-19 spreaders.
So the House and Senate are getting along, perhaps out of
necessity since the budget was due in July. And the
northeast governors are cooperating. But in Washington,
D.C., Democrats and Republicans still won't play nice.
Baker remains one of the few in his party to publicly
acknowledge Joe Biden as the president-elect. And he came
out forcefully this week to criticize President Donald Trump
and the Justice Department for continuing to advance what he
called "baseless" claims of voter fraud and for stalling a
transition that could have life-and-death consequences for
the nation's pandemic response.
"One of the things I don't believe people should stand for,
if you're any place in elective office, is this idea somehow
that elections are only legit if you win," Baker said. "And
more and more of what I hear coming out of this conversation
implies to me that some of this is just raw double standard
and nothing else."
As for double standards, state Republicans and some
conservative Democrats felt they didn't have to look to
Capitol Hill to find examples. "We operate in a system that
is, "Do as I say, not as I do," House Minority Leader Brad
Jones vented as Democrats prepared to debate abortion access
as part of a budget that DeLeo said should not be used to
advance major policy changes.
The budget passed by the House avoided "drastic" cuts,
according to leaders, but the same cannot be said for the
MBTA.
The transit agency released a gasp-inducing list of proposed
cuts to offset the loss of fare revenues during the
pandemic. The changes would dramatically remake the
transportation network that people have come to expect.
The T brass floated a plan that would eliminate 25 bus
routes, shutter all ferry service to Boston, end weekend
commuter rail and scale back the frequency of core-system
subway trains and trolleys by 20 percent.
While no one disputed the dire financial situation the MBTA
finds itself in after months of people working from home and
avoiding other humans, everyone from members of Congress to
the mayors of cities like Boston and Framingham said the
plan went too far.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, whose name was on everyone's lips
this week as a possible Biden appointee, said sharp cutbacks
in service were "not the right way to move forward, not for
our immediate needs and not for our long-term recovery."
But what is the alternative? House members were quick to
point the finger this week at their Democratic colleagues in
the Senate, who have sat on a revenue plan passed just
before COVID-19 arrived.
It's debatable whether a package of tax increases on gas,
Uber rides and corporations still makes sense in the winter
of a global pandemic. But House leaders wanted voters to be
aware that if the bus no longer stops at the top of their
street in a few months, if won't be because they didn't try.
"Our transportation revenue package has been sitting in the
Senate since March 4. Frankly, in order to pass revenue, we
need a dance partner, and we don't have one," said House
Revenue Committee Chairman Mark Cusack.
But just like the House, Senate leaders released a $46
billion budget Thursday that did not include any major,
broad-based tax increases, and that meant no new revenue
sources for transportation.
Despite the chippiness between the branches over
transportation taxes, the two Democrat-controlled sides
actually seemed to be getting along quite well. The Senate
budget, which will get debated next week, looked remarkably
similar to the one that moved through the House, and Speaker
DeLeo largely succeeded in keeping potentially complicating
policy proposals -- a capital gains tax hike, an eviction
moratorium, 10-days emergency sick leave for all state
employees -- out of the late spending bill.
That is with one notable exception.
Blessed by DeLeo, the House voted 108-49 for a budget
amendment that would expand access to abortion and codify
the right to choose (already protected by state and federal
legal precedent) in state law. Republicans and some
Democrats balked, but when you control a supermajority like
DeLeo does you get to contradict yourself sometimes.
The version of the ROE Act passed by the House would lower
the age for parental consent for an abortion from 18 to 16
and make abortions after 24 weeks legal in cases where a
doctor has diagnosed a fatal fetal abnormality.
The vote would give Democrats a slim two-vote margin to
override a veto from Gov. Baker, who has been quiet so far
on the abortion measure that picked up steam following the
confirmation of Trump nominee Amy Coney Barrett to the
Supreme Court.
While Baker hasn't signaled how he would respond to a ROE
provision in the budget, he did make clear that he would
veto any attempt by Democrats to change the rules of the
game for filling a U.S. Senate vacancy.
With Sen. Elizabeth Warren being discussed as a candidate to
lead Treasury, Baker said it would be a "bad look" to alter
the law now. Not that it's stopped Beacon Hill Democrats
before.
The Legislature could probably overcome a gubernatorial veto
if it wanted, but for now leading Democrats are not ready to
go there, leaving a Rep. Mindy Domb amendment out of the
budget that would have required Baker to appoint a Democrat
to fill Warren's seat, if she leaves.
Even if Baker did get the chance and appointed a Republican
to the Senate, that person would only be there for about
five months before there would be a special election in
which the Democratic nominee would be highly favored.
And the Democratic Party, led by its newly reelected
chairman Gus Bickford, would be on high alert to avoid a
Scott Brown repeat.
STORY OF THE WEEK: The lame duck session roars to life as
the House adds abortion expansion to $46 billion annual
budget.
State House
News Service
Friday, November 13, 2020
Advances - Week of Nov. 15, 2020
Now, for 2020's latest round of unprecedented activity, the
House and Senate are set to complete back-to-back budget
weeks. After watching and waiting since the July 1 start of
fiscal 2021, the branches are suddenly hustling to get the
long-overdue $46 billion state budget to Gov. Charlie
Baker's desk, perhaps before Thanksgiving, a holiday that
Baker said Friday he's "scared to death of" due to enhanced
COVID-19 transmission risks associated with smaller, long
duration gatherings.
The House late Thursday night voted 143-14 to pass the bill
that raises state spending by more than 5 percent at a time
when tax collections are forecast to fall 6 percent.
Senate leaders are on board with the budget approach, which
state officials are planning to pull off by spending down
more than 40 percent of the state's $3.5 billion savings
account and taking advantage of a major jolt in federal
funding.
"It's going to end up being a pretty responsible document,"
Baker told business executives during an Associated
Industries forum Friday morning, likening the reaction of
Wall Street credit rating agencies to the state's budgeting
approach to "the equivalent of a high five although of
course no one's allowed to give anybody a high five
anymore."
The House voted 108-49 to attach an abortion access policy
rider to the budget, a measure that is also expected to be
affixed to the Senate budget via an amendment offered by
Sen. Harriette Chandler.
State House
News Service
Thursday, November 12, 2020
Baker Would Veto Change to Senate Vacancy Law
GOP Guv Says Budget Amendment "A Bad Look"
By Matt Murphy
Gov. Charlie Baker said Thursday that he would veto any
legislation sent to him changing the rules for how a vacancy
in Congress gets filled, as speculation about whether U.S.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren might be asked to join President-elect
Joe Biden's cabinet intensifies.
Baker, in an interview with WBZ-TV's Jon Keller, made the
threat as the House considers an amendment to the state
budget that would require Baker to make a temporary
appointment to fill a vacant Senate seat from the same
political party as the person giving up the seat. In this
case, the Republican governor would need to appoint a
Democrat, under the amendment.
The amendment was filed by Amherst Democrat Rep. Mindy Domb,
and has nine co-sponsors, none of whom are in leadership
positions.
If the Legislature were to change the rules, it would be the
third time rule change in this area since 2004 when the
Democrats on Beacon Hill acted to strip then-Gov. Mitt
Romney of his appointment powers when they thought John
Kerry might win the White House.
"It's a bad look for everybody and if they were to send
legislation to change the rules yet again, you know and I
don't say this very often, I'd veto that because I think
situational dynamics around this stuff when it comes to
process associated with elections, it's just a bad look for
government generally," Baker told Keller on Thursday.
The current law allows the governor to make a temporary
appointment to fill a vacant seat in the U.S. Senate until a
special election can be held within 145 to 160 days of the
vacancy. It was last changed in 2009 at the request of U.S.
Sen. Edward Kennedy, who was ailing and concerned about
securing the votes needed to pass the Affordable Care Act.
The law has been used twice since 2009, both times by former
Gov. Deval Patrick, following the death of Kennedy and
President Barack Obama's appointment of Kerry in 2013 to
become secretary of state.
Neither House nor Senate leadership has commented on the
Domb amendment, but the Legislature was quick to change the
law in 2004 when it thought Romney would get to appoint a
Republican to the U.S. Senate to serve for the balance of
Kerry term.
While it appears that the GOP will retain control of the
Senate after last week's election, the balance of power will
likely hinge on two runoff elections in Georgia for seats
currently held by Republicans. Democrats would have to win
both to take power, and couldn't afford to lose Warren's
seat.
Baker said the notion that the rules should be changed based
on who is in political power is "part of why I'm so upset
about what's going on in Washington right now generally with
the results of the election." Baker has lambasted President
Trump and Republicans for sewing doubt about the results of
the election and the validity of the electoral process.
"So look – if Senator Warren ends up being appointed by the
Biden administration to do something, you know, I'll follow
the law, and I really think everybody else who works in this
building should do the same thing," Baker said.
Democrats on Beacon Hill occupy enough seats in both the
House and Senate to potentially override any Baker veto,
should it get to that point. |
NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this
material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior
interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes
only. For more information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
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