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CLT UPDATE
Sunday, December 20, 2020
TCI and Palace
Intrigue Capture The Week
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After years of
negotiations, Massachusetts and other states on the East
Coast are poised to sign a landmark agreement that would
constitute one of the nation’s most ambitious efforts to
fight climate change.
By the end of
the month, a group of 12 states and Washington, D.C.,
are expected to announce details of the controversial
cap-and-invest pact, which would require substantial
cuts to transportation emissions, the nation’s largest
source of greenhouse gases.
Called the
Transportation Climate Initiative, the accord aims to
cap vehicle emissions from Maine to Virginia and require
hundreds of fuel distributors in participating states to
buy permits for the carbon dioxide they produce. That
limit would decline over time, mirroring a similar pact
that has reduced power plant emissions in the Northeast,
with the goal of reducing tailpipe emissions by as much
as 25 percent over the next decade.
The tax on
fuel distributors would raise billions of dollars over
the next decade for investments in public transit and
other cleaner forms of transportation, while encouraging
fuel efficiency, subsidizing electric vehicles and
charging stations, and other measures that would promote
the transition away from fossil fuels. It could also
lead to higher gas prices throughout the region,
depending on the price of oil.
The number of
states that will sign the agreement remains in flux, as
negotiations over the emissions caps and other key
details continue. Those that don’t sign on this month
will be able to join later on. The pact is scheduled to
take effect in 2022....
Theoharides,
who has chaired the initiative, said states have decided
to revise the pact as a result of the pandemic, which
has delayed the agreement for months....
Governor
Charlie Baker has noted this uncertainty, which some
have interpreted as a sign that the Republican is
backing away from the pact. At a press conference last
month, he said it was important to “reexamine a lot of
the assumptions” behind the agreement, though he said he
remained “very much a fan.”
His comments
buoyed critics of the initiative, which could raise gas
taxes between 5 and 17 cents per gallon for as many as
52 million drivers along the East Coast.
“While the
proponents do not want to describe it as a tax, for the
consumer, it will feel like a tax,” said Paul Diego
Craney, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Fiscal
Alliance, a conservative group. “For a lot of people,
that means they will have to pay higher fuel prices, and
that will most likely fall the hardest on the working
people and the poor.”...
Vicki Arroyo,
executive director of the Georgetown Climate Center,
which has helped facilitate the agreement, said she was
optimistic that a “critical mass” of states would join
the pact.
But she said
there continued to be some “horse trading” between
states as they negotiated the final details, such as how
proceeds will be apportioned, how to report emissions,
and among other things, whether there will be a
controlling authority overseeing the pact.
Many states,
not including Massachusetts, will have to win approval
in their legislatures before they can participate.
“No one has
taken their foot off the accelerator,” she said.
The Boston
Globe
Tuesday, December 15, 2020
Mass., other states near historic agreement
to curb transportation emissions
Two Boston
think tanks are urging Gov. Charlie Baker to reject a
regional collaboration intended to improve
transportation, develop the clean energy economy and
reduce emissions from vehicles and fuels, saying it
would further damage Massachusetts’s economy and slow
its recovery.
A new study
commissioned by the Fiscal Alliance Foundation and
conducted by the Beacon Hill Institute finds the costs
associated with the Transportation and Climate
Initiative will increase across the board over the next
two years as the Massachusetts economy continues to reel
from the pandemic and drivers stay off the roads in
record numbers.
“This tax …
will be regressive. It’s going to drive businesses
elsewhere,” state Rep. David DeCoste, R-Plymouth, said
at a press conference Friday with members of the
foundation and BHI. “I hope … the governor will put it
on the shelf.” ...
“The BHI study
confirms what most people intuitively already understand
— increasing costs to consumers in the midst of one of
the worst pandemics and economic downturns in history is
a bad idea,” said Paul Craney, a spokesman for the
Fiscal Alliance Foundation. “It hurts our workers, it
hurts our businesses, and it hurts our state. Most of
all, the brunt of the costs of this program is going to
be carried by the people who are least able to afford
it: blue collar workers, essential workers and the
poor.”
The Boston
Herald
Friday, December 18, 2020
Two Boston think tanks urge Gov. Charlie Baker to
reject the Transportation and Climate Initiative
With COVID-19
vaccines being administered for the first time in
Massachusetts this week, economists on Tuesday offered a
brighter outlook for the state's finances next year,
predicting the possibility of a strong recovery driven
by job growth and a resurgence in retail sales, dining
and travel.
Economic and
budget experts told legislative leaders and Baker
administration officials to expect tax collections in
fiscal year 2022, which begins in just over six months,
to climb, but by how much depends on the virus and
Congress.
While the
estimates ranged from a low of $29.6 billion to a high
of $31.9 billion, most agreed there were reasons to be
optimistic after a year that saw the sharpest economic
decline in a single quarter in state history in April,
May and June.
Some experts
also said that revenues in the current fiscal year could
turn out stronger than anticipated in the $45.9 billion
budget signed by Gov. Charlie Baker on Friday. That
budget assumed tax revenues will fall by 4 percent in
fiscal 2021 from fiscal 2020 levels, even though the new
$28.44 billion tax estimate was revised upward by Baker
on Friday by $459 million.
But all of the
optimism expressed at a revenue hearing on Tuesday came
with a heavy dose of caveats from experts, who warned
that if the spread of the coronavirus accelerates and
Baker locks down more segments of the economy, the
picture could get gloomier....
"If we
continue to increase expenditures and utilize rainy day
funds, that's going to become a problem for them,"
[state Treasurer Deborah Goldberg] said.
Goldberg
testified that the state's pension fund stands at an
all-time high of $80 billion, and that $1.5 billion in
refunding bonds issued since the pandemic began has
saved the state $298 million in debt service in fiscal
2021 and $109 million for fiscal 2022.
State House
News Service
Tuesday, December 15, 2020
Economists Cautiously Optimistic About State’s Financial
Footing
House Speaker
Robert DeLeo didn't face opposition for reelection this
fall, but he still vastly outspent every other lawmaker
in the 160-member chamber.
The Winthrop
Democrat spent $258,847 from Jan. 1 to Nov. 30 — more
than double what he raised during that time — according
to disclosures filed with the state Office of Campaign
and Political Finance.
DeLeo, the
longest serving House speaker state history, was
unopposed in the Sept. 1 primary and the Nov. 3 general
election.
Senate
President Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, didn't face any
challengers, either, but she still spent nearly $162,000
over the past 11 months, according to filings.
Her campaign
records list about $455,000 in transfers of campaign
funds from one bank to another, which is also noted as
an expense.
Three-quarters
of the state Legislature — at least 150 lawmakers in
both chambers — cruised to reelection with no
opposition.
Few incumbents
faced challengers in the primary, either.
Overall,
lawmakers who didn't face opposition spent nearly $3.3
million in campaign funds, according to a review of
campaign finance disclosures.
House
lawmakers not facing opponents in the primary or general
election spent more than $1.6 million.
In the Senate,
uncontested incumbents dropped more than $1.7 million,
according to campaign filings.
The Salem
News
Tuesday, December 15, 2020
Lawmakers spend big bucks, even with no opponents
A working
group launched by state Senate leaders that's been
studying the state tax code is getting together one more
time before the two-year session ends, but its
long-awaited recommendations may still be months away.
A spokeswoman
for Sen. Adam Hinds, who chairs the working group and
co-chairs the Legislature's Committee on Revenue, tells
the News Service that the group's efforts will likely
spill into the next session, which begins Jan. 6, since
lawmakers are focused on other unfinished business this
session.
Hinds, a
Pittsfield Democrat, is assembling a "draft
comprehensive summary" of the 21-member group's
findings, the spokeswoman said, and that summary will
likely be made publicly available next year, ahead of
the annual budget debates that are usually held in the
House in April and in the Senate in May.
The House in
March approved transportation taxes and fees totaling
more than $500 million. That bill has languished in the
Senate, frustrating House lawmakers who say they took
difficult tax votes. The bill's apparent demise raises
questions about whether House and Senate Democrats can
come together around new taxes and revenues, and comes
as the MBTA, facing a budget crunch, moves ahead with
service reductions to reflect reduced ridership....
The $45.9
billion fiscal 2021 budget Gov. Charlie Baker signed on
Friday blocks the scheduled Jan. 1 start of a charitable
giving tax deduction worth about $300 million in fiscal
2022. Employers are facing massive increases next year
in unemployment insurance taxes as well as a minimum
wage increase on Jan. 1. And the conversation about the
T has switched from ways to prevent crowding and delays
to how long service cuts should last given the sharp
drop in riders.
One important
tax proposal is also on the cusp of reemerging on Beacon
Hill. Lawmakers next session are expected to take the
second necessary vote to put on the November 2022 ballot
a constitutional amendment imposing a 4 percent surtax
on household income above $1 million per year. A
years-old estimate points to a potential for $2 billion
in new annual state revenues should the measure clear
Beacon Hill and be approved by voters.
In June 2019,
legislators voted 147-48 to advance the income surtax (H
86), with backers clearing the 101 votes needed to move
the measure along. The constitution currently mandates
that a tax on income be applied evenly to all
residents....
More
immediately, lawmakers have budgeted this fiscal year
for a year-over-year drop in tax collections and heard
from experts Wednesday that tax revenues are likely to
return to a growth path in fiscal 2022, depending on the
success of COVID-19 vaccines that are beginning to be
administered. Without natural growth in tax collections,
lawmakers next session may turn to tax increases or new
taxes to replace more than $3 billion in one-time
revenues in the budget, prevent cuts in state services,
and avoid deeper dips into state reserves that might
attract negative attention from Wall Street credit
rating agencies.
State House
News Service
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
Senate Group’s Revenue Ideas Likely Still Months Away
Pandemic Impacts Influence Talks Around New Taxes
The ceremony
to swear in Judge Serge Georges to the Supreme Judicial
court, like most other events during the pandemic, was
scaled back from the usual fanfare that accompanies such
affairs....
Georges, a
50-year-old Boston Municipal Court judge, cruised
through his nomination process, earning a unanimous
confirmation vote from the Governor's Council.
Before taking
the oath, Georges repeated a pledge that he made to Gov.
Charlie Baker and Polito earlier in the process when he
was still being weighed as a candidate for a spot on the
high court.
"I know you
didn't put me here to do anything other than what I
think is right, but I do want you all to remember what I
said to you at the interview: I won't let you down," he
said....
All seven
current members were nominated by Baker and confirmed by
the elected Governor's Council, a nearly unprecedented
feat and one that's simply not available to most
governors.
State House
News Service
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
Georges Takes Oath, Making All Seven SJC Justices Baker
Appointees
"I Won't Let You Down," Judge Tells Baker
The House
rejected Gov. Charlie Baker's proposed changes to an
abortion access provision Wednesday, doubling down on
its own attempt to make the procedure more accessible to
16- and 17-year-olds and clarify when abortions are
allowed after 24 weeks of pregnancy.
In a display
of the super-majority that Democrats wield,
representatives voted 49-107 to turn back the Republican
governor's amendment that would have altered two key
sections of the high-profile proposal.
The vote
reiterated the House's support for its original abortion
access language, approved as part of the fiscal year
2021 budget bill...
State House
News Service
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
House Rejects Baker Amendment On Abortions
Veto-Proof Majority Sticks With Original ROE Proposal
House Speaker
Robert DeLeo was reelected to a sixteenth term in
November, but his future on Beacon Hill has been a
matter of much speculation in recent weeks, according to
sources inside and outside the building, who
increasingly believe the Winthrop Democrat may be
readying himself to make a move.
Speculation
about DeLeo's future in the speaker's office reached
fever pitch on Wednesday as House members gathered both
remotely and in person at the State House to begin
considering amendments to the annual state budget
returned by Gov. Charlie Baker.
While it has
not been uncommon in recent years for chatter about
DeLeo's future to turn up in volume near the start of a
new session, the intensity this year has been higher and
people who work on and around Beacon Hill are paying it
more attention....
DeLeo became
the longest serving speaker in state history in
February, after ascending to the top post in early 2009
after the resignation of former Speaker Sal DiMasi, who
was under investigation and eventually indicted by
federal authorities on corruption charges.
He has since
maintained a tight grip on power in the House, inspiring
strong loyalty among those who he keeps close. While
critics on the progressive end of the political spectrum
have grown louder in recent years, DeLeo's leadership is
seldom challenged publicly, especially by members of the
House....
Majority
Leader Ron Mariano, of Quincy, is widely considered to
be the next in line for the speakership, though he could
face a challenge if and when the time comes from a
member of the Progressive Caucus, or from someone like
Speaker Pro Tempore Patricia Haddad, who could try to
make the case to members that it's time for the first
woman to sit in the speaker's chair.
State House
News Service
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
Chatter About DeLeo Future Growing on Beacon Hill
The possible
departure of House Speaker Robert DeLeo will likely
trigger a fierce battle between far left progressives
and more moderate lawmakers for control of one of the
most powerful perches in state government.
Massachusetts
already has one of the most liberal state legislatures
in the nation but it’s not liberal enough for some
frustrated activists who want to see it lurch even
farther to the left.
There’s a
chance that progressives could mount a strong campaign
to insert one of their own into the speaker’s chair but
it would take a major effort....
But it would
take a sharp turn in attitude to turn the Legislature
into a bastion of reform. And that likely won’t happen
as long as lawmakers get free passes term after term
facing no opposition or little more than token
opposition.
If you don’t
have to worry about re-election why would you change?
The Boston
Herald
Thursday, December 17, 2020
Far left looks to pounce if Speaker DeLeo leaves House
post
By Joe Battenfeld
House Speaker
Robert DeLeo filed an ethics disclosure with the House
clerk on Friday indicating that he intended to begin
negotiating "prospective employment opportunities" with
Northeastern University, confirming what had been
speculated on for days and signaling a coming end to his
12-year run atop the House.
The letter
does not specify if or when the speaker intends to
resign, which would likely depend on the speed and
outcome of his talks with his alma mater.
State House
News Service
Friday, December 18, 2020
DeLeo Discloses Plans to Negotiate Job at Northeastern
House Majority
Leader Ron Mariano, in his first public statement since
it became clear that Speaker Robert DeLeo was preparing
to step aside, urged his House colleagues not to lose
focus on rejecting Gov. Charlie Baker's proposed changes
to abortion and policing reforms.
Mariano, a
Quincy Democrat and the most likely successor to DeLeo,
confirmed that he will run for the top job in the House
if DeLeo resigns. But as the change in leadership
threatens to overshadow the end-of-session work that
remains unfinished, Mariano said the House cannot let it
become a distraction....
DeLeo
officially stated his intent Friday to begin negotiating
a post-politics job with Northeastern University, and
people close to Mariano have been saying for days that
the leader has the votes to become the next speaker.
Mariano
stopped short of declaring the contest over Friday,
after Rep. Russell Holmes earlier in the day said he
would challenge Mariano and what he described as a
"backroom deal" to make Mariano the next speaker.
State House
News Service
Friday, December 18, 2020
Officially Declaring for Speakership, Mariano Urges
House to Focus
Rep. Russell
Holmes said Friday morning he intends to challenge
Majority Leader Ron Mariano for control of the House if
Speaker Robert DeLeo steps down, as expected, in the
coming weeks, offering an alternative to DeLeo's top
deputy and altering the course of what was shaping up to
be a smooth leadership transition.
Holmes, a
Mattapan Democrat and past leader of the Black and
Latino Legislative Caucus, said he made his decision
Thursday night after speaking with Speaker Pro Tempore
Patricia Haddad, who told him she did not intend to run.
"I have been
supportive of having a speaker's race to have a broad
conversation about what the building would look like
after DeLeo," Holmes told the News Service in an
interview Friday morning. "At least we won't just roll
over and hand over the speakership in another backroom
deal like they did 12 years ago." ...
Holmes traced
Mariano's ascension to the edge of the speaker's chair
back to former Speaker Sal DiMasi, who put DeLeo in a
position to succeed him before he resigned in 2009 ahead
of his indictment on corruption charges. He said he sees
the same thing happening now between Mariano and House
Ways and Means Chairman Aaron Michlewitz, a Mariano
mentee who is expected to remain in the powerful
budget-writing post if Mariano prevails.
"It's a
pattern. It literally does not matter. Many of us have
been elected since DiMasi, and still his corrupt
poisonous tree still determines who the speaker is 15
years later. That's unacceptable to me. It's like none
of us matter. This is what I call structural racism
personified."
Holmes had
been critical of DeLeo in the past, and lost a committee
vice-chairmanship in 2017 after suggesting that the
Black and Latino Caucus, the Women's Caucus and the
Progressive Caucus should unite to help pick the next
speaker, after Brian Dempsey resigned. Dempsey, a
Haverhill Democrat and Ways and Means chairman at the
time, was considered to be the speaker-in-waiting at the
time.
Holmes said he
would not be running if Haddad had decided to challenge
for the speakership. Even if DeLeo does not step down
now, Holmes said he will keep his name in the running
for speaker in January.
State House
News Service
Friday, December 18, 2020
Holmes Plans to Challenge Mariano for House Speaker
Frames Bid as Alternative to "Another Backroom Deal"
State Rep.
Russell Holmes is running for Speaker, with the Mattapan
Democrat vowing to end “backroom deals” that he says
have plagued the House for too long under Robert DeLeo
and his predecessors.
“We need to
uproot this poisonous tree,” Holmes said, referring to
the criminal corruption under previous Speakers and the
norm of secrecy under the current one, the reportedly
exiting Robert DeLeo....
He said he’d
hoped the number three Democrat, Pat Haddad, would run,
but she told him Thursday night that she’s not going to.
Haddad’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request
for comment.
Holmes said
he’d look to decentralize power, bringing the Speaker’s
pay back down to the other reps and making the processes
from everything from getting parking spaces and staff
members to acquiring committee chairmanships more
transparent.
“It’s all just
so consolidated, financially,” Holmes said. “Politics
has become our careers and life experiences — and that’s
the opposite of what the founding fathers wanted.”
Holmes, who’s
Black — and would be the only Speaker of color in the
state’s history — decried the lack of people of color in
DeLeo’s leadership team and among committee chairs.
The Boston
Herald
Friday, December 18, 2020
Mattapan’s Russell Holmes running for Speaker, vows to
‘uproot this poisonous tree’
There are less
than three weeks left before the two-year lawmaking
session ends, and Gov. Charlie Baker is worried that a
sudden race for the House speakership could pull
attention away from a long list of unfinished business.
Baker said at
a Friday press conference that he received a call from
House Speaker Robert DeLeo earlier that morning in which
DeLeo revealed his newly disclosed plans to negotiate a
job with Northeastern University.
DeLeo has not
indicated a timeline for his potential departure, but
two candidates -- Majority Leader Ronald Mariano and
Rep. Russell Holmes -- have already announced their
interest in succeeding him.
"If I have a
concern about this, and this is very much up to the
House to figure out how they want to handle this, it
would be that we're toward the end of the session and
there's a whole bunch of pretty important pieces of
legislation kicking around," Baker said. "I really hope
that people find a way to focus on trying to get those
through the process and to our desk so that we can sign
them."
Four bills --
covering climate change, health care reform, economic
development and transportation bonds -- remain in
conference committees. Two others, on police reform and
abortion access, need to be finalized following proposed
amendments from Baker.
The governor
also filed a new bill Friday to freeze the tax rate for
business contributions to the unemployment insurance
trust fund and borrow money to repay federal loans.
State House
News Service
Friday, December 18, 2020
Baker Hoping House Succession Frenzy Doesn’t Stall
Progress
On the same
day that House Speaker Robert DeLeo made public his
plans to seek a new job with Northeastern University, a
former DeLeo intern and State House aide filed papers to
run for the House seat that DeLeo could soon vacate.
Juan Pablo
Jaramillo of Revere filed Friday with the Office of
Campaign and Political Finance to run for the 19th
Suffolk House seat, which is the seat DeLeo occupies and
was re-elected to in November. If DeLeo resigns to take
a job outside the State House, the seat would likely be
filled through a special election.
Jaramillo
previously worked as legislative director in the State
House office of Sen. Joseph Boncore of Winthrop and left
in 2019 to work as SEIU 32BJ's political coordinator.
According to a resume attached to Revere Mayor Brian
Arrigo's appointment of Jaramillo to the Revere Planning
Board, Jaramillo was a legislative intern in DeLeo's
office from August 2015 until February 2016.
State House
News Service
Friday, December 18, 2020
Former DeLeo Intern Files to Run for His House Seat
Two top
progressive House lawmakers are backing House Majority
Leader Ronald Mariano in a potential speaker's race
should House Speaker Robert DeLeo resign from his post,
they told the News Service on Friday afternoon.
As a potential
transition of power within the House looms, Reps. Tricia
Farley-Bouvier and Jack Patrick Lewis, co-chairs of the
House Progressive Caucus, said they believe the Quincy
Democrat can provide a smooth transition of power and
strong leadership. The two lawmakers, who spoke to the
News Service in a joint interview, said they were not
speaking on behalf of their caucus but rather as
individuals.
"We've had the
opportunity to work with Leader Mariano as a leader, but
also as a partner in legislation over these last several
years, and in this time of great uncertainty, with so
many issues in our commonwealth and with our
constituents struggling through this unimaginable
pandemic, we need a smooth transition," Lewis said. "We
need a strong leader. We need someone who will be a
partner. And for me, that is Leader Ron Mariano." ...
The talk of
DeLeo potentially stepping out of public life comes at a
busy time for the Legislature and with only 18 days left
in the 2019-2020 session. Farley-Bouvier said the
potential change in leadership "adds another challenge
to one of the most challenging years ever."
"A lot of
people out there, teachers, nurses, doctors, law
enforcement, a lot of people are doing really hard
things and have stepped up," the Pittsfield Democrat
said. "And yes, this is a really hard thing. And we, as
members of the Legislature, just need to step up and do
something hard. And that's what we're gonna do. And part
of that is making sure we have a strong and smooth
transition."
Four
conference committees negotiating bills relating to
health care, transportation funding, economic
development, and climate change have yet to find
compromises. The House is also dealing with amendments
from Gov. Charlie Baker to the fiscal 2021 budget and a
sweeping police reform bill.
State House
News Service
Friday, December 18, 2020
Progressive Caucus Co-Chairs Supporting Mariano for
Speaker
Lewis, Farley-Bouvier Seek "Smooth Transition"
There’s a
revolution brewing on Beacon Hill — and it’s about time.
With Robert
DeLeo exiting his position as House Speaker, presumably
for a job at Northeastern University, business-as-usual
dictates the job would pass seamlessly to his top
deputy, Quincy’s Ron Mariano.
Not so fast,
says state Rep. Russell Holmes, D-Mattapan, who has
thrown his hat in the ring for the speaker’s job.
“I didn’t
think we should just roll over and let this happen,”
Holmes, a financial planner who was elected in 2010,
said in a phone interview Friday morning. “It can’t just
be more backroom deals.”
We’re not sure
if “backroom deals” have ever been spoken of with
derision before on Beacon Hill, and it’s a breath of
fresh air.
Closed-door
deals are part and parcel of the House, particularly
when it comes to the annual budget. Critics have slammed
these covert deliberations as lacking transparency for
years.
In April of
last year, the Herald reported that government watchdogs
and political observers called the House budget process
a “charade,” a “joke” and a “scam” after it finished up
four days of deliberations, mostly done privately in
Room 348.
DeLeo will be
the first speaker in this century to leave the job
without being ousted by criminal charges. That dubious
honor is a key focus of Holmes’ platform.
“We need to
uproot this poisonous tree,” Holmes said, referring to
the criminal corruption under previous speakers and the
norm of secrecy under the DeLeo....
“People should
be able to learn what is happening behind closed doors.
The Legislature is doing the public’s business,” Greg
Sullivan, former state inspector general and research
director at the Pioneer Institute said at the time.
An excellent
point — but that’s not how business is done on Beacon
Hill.
Changing the
status quo is a radical idea. And a much-needed one....
Massachusetts
taxpayers need leadership that puts citizens first and
the political machine second. It’s time for a change in
the Legislature.
But Holmes is
facing an uphill fight....
Holmes said he
spoke to people who said they pledged support to Mariano
two, three years ago.
“I’m a praying
man,” Holmes said.
He is not
alone.
A Boston
Herald editorial
Saturday, December 19, 2020
Holmes calls for much needed change on Beacon Hill
With the state
facing an unprecedented surge in demand for joblessness
aid during the COVID-19 pandemic, the unemployment
insurance trust fund is already in the red and relying
on billions of dollars borrowed from the federal
government to keep jobless aid flowing.
Baker's
legislation, which does no yet have a bill number, would
freeze the rates employers must pay at their current
schedule, replacing a nearly 60 percent increase in the
average per-employee cost in 2021 with a more modest
increase of about 17 percent.
Business
leaders have fretted about the impending hikes for
months, warning that they would struggle to hire more
workers -- particularly if the economy remains on shaky
ground in early 2021 -- if they had to pay significantly
more toward the unemployment fund....
Over the first
10 months of 2020, the state's unemployment insurance
trust fund paid out more than $5.3 billion in benefits,
nearly five times as much as during the same span in
2019, according to a report summarizing the trust fund.
The Executive
Office of Labor and Workforce Development estimated the
trust fund will end the year with a deficit of nearly
$2.4 billion, which could swell to almost $4.8 billion
by the end of 2021.
In its most
recent quarterly report issued in October, the
administration projected the shortfall will trigger a
change in the contribution rate from schedule E to
schedule G for employers, pushing the average cost per
employee from $544 this year to $866 next year....
That change
would limit the per-employee costs to $635 in 2021 and
$665 in 2022, according to Baker's office, providing a
smaller increase that the administration described as
$1.3 billion in unemployment insurance rate relief....
The hike is
also scheduled to take effect alongside two other
substantial cost increases: worker access to paid family
and medical leave and a $0.75 increase in the minimum
wage to $13.50 per hour.
State House
News Service
Friday, December 18, 2020
Baker Bill Would Lower Unemployment Insurance Increases
Governor
Charlie Baker wants to spare employers a $1.3 billion
increase in unemployment insurance taxes over the next
two years and instead sell bonds to shore up the fund
used to pay jobless benefits.
Baker said at
a news conference Friday that his administration filed a
bill with the Legislature that would keep contributions
to the unemployment insurance trust fund on their
current schedule. Without action, employer payments
would jump by 60 percent in 2021, to an average of $866
per employee from $539, a change triggered by the trust
fund’s deteriorating financial condition.
The
legislation, if approved by lawmakers, would limit
average payments to $635 in 2021 and $665 in 2022,
providing “immediate and important relief to all
businesses across the Commonwealth,” Baker said....
The
unemployment insurance trust fund faces an estimated
deficit of nearly $5 billion next year caused by the
spike in joblessness.
Massachusetts
has borrowed $2.2 billion from the federal government to
cover the shortfall, as payments of jobless benefits
have far outstripped employer contributions. Baker wants
to borrow from bond investors to pay back the US
Treasury Department. If the feds aren’t made whole
before November 2022, Massachusetts employers would be
hit with what the administration called “punitive
federal tax increases.” ...
The federal
loans were interest-free this year, but that’s about to
change. Interest begins accruing in January and must be
paid starting in November. The state can’t use the
insurance trust fund for those payments.
Baker’s bill
would establish a surcharge on employers to cover the
interest payments, though Congress could decide to waive
them.
The Boston
Globe
Friday, December 18, 2020
Baker seeks relief for employers on unemployment
insurance taxes
Six years ago,
a former local politician took on a new role: providing
conservatives in the most left-leaning state in the
country a printed outlet to get news and express their
opinions.
Lonnie
Brennan, the 60-year-old publisher of
The Boston Broadside, a monthly conservative print
newspaper, is a former Georgetown selectman. Before that
he served for eight years on the school committee in
Salem, where he grew up. He was a two-time candidate for
state representative in the 18th Essex District, in 2006
and 2008....
In 2014,
repulsed by the left-leaning mainstream media and not
happy with the right-of-center newspaper he was writing
for, Brennan reached a breaking point.
“I got sick of
everybody else writing the headlines,” Brennan told New
Boston Post in a telephone interview. “This is probably
the seventh or eighth paper I’ve been involved with if
you count college. The last one I was writing a monthly
column for, and I’m not sure if you remember the Justina
Pelletier case, they came out and their big headline was
that the government needed more money. That was it for
me.” ...
The Broadside
calls itself “The People’s Paper” and says it covers
“New England Politics And Beyond — Without The Liberal
Spin.” It typically runs 32 pages. Content includes
exclusive news stories and columns by Massachusetts
writers and activists; syndicated columns from
conservatives such as Pat Buchanan, Michelle Malkin, and
Ann Coulter; op-eds written by political candidates; and
letters to the editor....
WRKO radio
talk show host Jeff Kuhner said he has followed the
Boston Broadside since its inception.
“I was
immediately impressed by the paper — frankly by Lonnie.
He’s an editor’s editor. He’s down the middle. It’s the
facts, and follow-the-facts,” Kuhner said in a telephone
interview with New Boston Post.
Kuhner often
mentions Broadside stories during his 6 a.m.-to-10 a.m.
weekday show on AM 680, The Kuhner Report. He said when
it comes to welfare fraud, illegal immigration,
sanctuary cities, and political corruption in
Massachusetts, the Broadside is a vital resource.
“They break a
lot of stories that The Boston Herald, The Boston Globe,
and frankly the local media and the state media will not
cover,” Kuhner said. “… It’s my favorite print
publication in all of New England. To me, it’s what
journalism used to be — what it should be.” ...
As for
Massachusetts, where Democrats outnumber Republicans
nine-to-one in the state Senate and five-to-one in the
state House of Representatives, Brennan also has high
hopes.
He said he
wants to see conservatives unite and revolt against the
moderate-to-liberal faction of the Massachusetts
Republican Party, and use every mode of media to get
their message out. If they can do that, then he thinks
they have a shot at serious growth in the state.
“Conservatives
need to unite, and conservative candidates need to
coordinate every aspect of their campaigns – everything:
message, presentation, canvasing, mailings, visibility,
et cetera,” Brennan said. “Conservatives have virtually
no ‘air game’ in most media. Conservatives need a
message, a voice, a plan, and messengers. Think, for
example, of Barbara Anderson. Prior to her death, she
had an incredible name-recognition status. Anytime there
was a bill at the State House about taxes, Barbara was
on the talk shows, on the TV shows, on the local cable.
She had her weekly column printed in the Salem Evening
News and occasionally elsewhere. Yes, she did not tread
gently into liberal bastions, she charged in, and
explained and fought for the taxpayer.”
The New
Boston Post
Thursday, December 10, 2020
Boston Broadside Providing Voices For Conservatives
Throughout Massachusetts
A change in
leadership atop the Massachusetts House looms as a
massive new wildcard over a Christmas week like no
other.
Majority
Leader Ron Mariano of Quincy appears ready to succeed
Speaker Robert DeLeo should the Winthrop Democrat
relinquish the gavel for a job at Northeastern
University, but he now faces opposition from Rep.
Russell Holmes. A Mattapan Democrat, Holmes acknowledges
an uphill climb but is framing his candidacy as an
alternative to "another backroom deal" with the gavel
flowing from one speaker to one of his top deputies.
The huge move
in the House could come during remote lame duck
sessions, while Massachusetts residents are distracted
by the public health crisis and the holidays, and as
Beacon Hill lawmakers struggle to reach final agreements
on the most significant bills of the two-year session.
Gov. Charlie
Baker, who has a housing production measure riding on
the outcome of House and Senate talks, made clear Friday
that he's concerned about the potential for upheaval in
the House to interfere with the serious legislative
business.
The next
couple of weeks will determine the fate of proposals
dealing with transportation spending, health care,
climate change and economic development, and legislators
still have yet to bring abortion policy and policing
reform bills to a conclusion. The days before Christmas
feature less activity in the way of public events, but
work on those bills, the COVID-19 crisis and the
intrigue over the future of House leadership points to
another eventful week.
Other
storylines to watch in the week ahead:
— TCI Movement: Details
on the path for a multi-state initiative to sharply
reduce carbon emissions from vehicles could emerge any
day now. Under Gov. Baker, Massachusetts is leading the
Transportation Climate Initiative, but it remains
unclear how many states will ultimately go along for the
ride. Supporters say reducing transportation sector
emissions is critical in the fight for clean air and
against climate change, while opponents are protesting
the significant increase in gas prices that a compact
might cause.
—
Short Weeks to Close Session: Christmas is Friday,
cutting into one of only two full weeks remaining for
the 2019-2020 General Court. The following week will be
interrupted by Friday's New Year's Day holiday. The
current session is scheduled to end Tuesday, Jan. 5,
with the new session starting up on Wednesday the 6th.
That leaves 10 non-holiday weekdays for the Legislature
to wrap up. While that may seem daunting, the
high-profile bills remaining on the docket have been
approved already in each branch and if and when
conference committees break through and reach
agreements, their proposals are not subject to amendment
and would likely be greeted with quick approvals in both
branches.
State House
News Service
Friday, December 18, 2020
Advances - Week of Dec. 20, 2020 |
Chip Ford's CLT
Commentary
Greetings CLT members
— and former-members
still lapsed:
 Merry
Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and best wishes to you, your family and
loved ones. This sure has been one horrendous year on a multitude
of fronts — one for the history books — but we’ve made it this far,
we’re all still standing even if not as tall. Let’s hope 2021 brings
at least some improvement.
Thanks for the support of
so many of you through the year. It’s your support that has enabled
us to hang on a while longer. I’m still hoping we can keep CLT alive
and fighting at least into the new year. After that we shall see
what happens.
Feel free to make a gift or contribution
As expected, with less than two weeks
remaining in this endless legislative session nothing of much if any
significance has been accomplished by extending the session since
the end of July instead of recessing as set by the Legislature's own
longstanding rules. All the massive bills are still bottled up
in their respective top-secret conference committees. In
my commentary for the CLT Update of August 16, related to this
extension I wrote:
"There's nothing
like a deadline to focus attention, and there's nothing like
extending a deadline to feed procrastination. Remember a month
ago when everything on Beacon Hill was about getting so much
accomplished before the July 31 recess deadline? Now that
they've agreed to ignore their own rule and remain in session
interminably the pressure is off the pols; it's back to
business-as-usual. Nothing has come out of any of the
numerous conference committees, and nothing likely will until
the next deadline, after they are safely re-elected."
The question now is, will any of the
five major bills see the light of day before
this legislature adjourns on January 5? (The
Transportation Bond Bill contains the stealth attack on our
Proposition 2½; the Global Warming and Climate
Change Bill contains a grant of unilateral power to the governor to
join the Transportation Climate Initiative [TCI] without further
legislative approval.) If they don't get out of their
respective committees, in theory the process for each will start all
over back at the beginning and all that's been invested in reaching
this point will have been for nothing, time (and salaries) wasted.
Another example
of Beacon Hill lethargy was reported by the State House News Service
on Wednesday ("Senate
Group’s Revenue Ideas Likely Still Months Away"):
A
working group launched by state Senate leaders that's been
studying the state tax code is getting together one more time
before the two-year session ends, but its long-awaited
recommendations may still be months away.
A
spokeswoman for Sen. Adam Hinds, who chairs the working group
and co-chairs the Legislature's Committee on Revenue, tells the
News Service that the group's efforts will likely spill into the
next session, which begins Jan. 6, since lawmakers are focused
on other unfinished business this session.
Hinds, a Pittsfield Democrat, is assembling a "draft
comprehensive summary" of the 21-member group's findings, the
spokeswoman said, and that summary will likely be made publicly
available next year, ahead of the annual budget debates that are
usually held in the House in April and in the Senate in May.
The House in March approved transportation taxes and fees
totaling more than $500 million. That bill has languished in the
Senate, frustrating House lawmakers who say they took difficult
tax votes. The bill's apparent demise raises questions about
whether House and Senate Democrats can come together around new
taxes and revenues ...
One important tax proposal is also on the cusp of reemerging on
Beacon Hill. Lawmakers next session are expected to take the
second necessary vote to put on the November 2022 ballot a
constitutional amendment imposing a 4 percent surtax on
household income above $1 million per year. A years-old estimate
points to a potential for $2 billion in new annual state
revenues should the measure clear Beacon Hill and be approved by
voters.
In June 2019, legislators voted 147-48 to advance the income
surtax (H 86), with backers clearing the 101 votes needed to
move the measure along. The constitution currently mandates that
a tax on income be applied evenly to all residents.
The Boston Globe reported on Tuesday ("Mass., other states
near historic agreement to curb transportation emissions"):
After years of negotiations, Massachusetts and other states on
the East Coast are poised to sign a landmark agreement that
would constitute one of the nation’s most ambitious efforts to
fight climate change.
By the end of the month, a group of 12 states and Washington,
D.C., are expected to announce details of the controversial
cap-and-invest pact, which would require substantial cuts to
transportation emissions, the nation’s largest source of
greenhouse gases.
Called the Transportation Climate Initiative, the accord aims to
cap vehicle emissions from Maine to Virginia and require
hundreds of fuel distributors in participating states to buy
permits for the carbon dioxide they produce. That limit would
decline over time, mirroring a similar pact that has reduced
power plant emissions in the Northeast, with the goal of
reducing tailpipe emissions by as much as 25 percent over the
next decade.
The tax on fuel distributors would raise billions of dollars
over the next decade for investments in public transit and other
cleaner forms of transportation, while encouraging fuel
efficiency, subsidizing electric vehicles and charging stations,
and other measures that would promote the transition away from
fossil fuels. It could also lead to higher gas prices throughout
the region, depending on the price of oil.
The number of states that will sign the agreement remains in
flux, as negotiations over the emissions caps and other key
details continue. Those that don’t sign on this month will be
able to join later on. The pact is scheduled to take effect in
2022....
Vicki Arroyo, executive director of the Georgetown Climate
Center, which has helped facilitate the agreement, said she was
optimistic that a “critical mass” of states would join the pact.
But she said there continued to be some “horse trading” between
states as they negotiated the final details, such as how
proceeds will be apportioned, how to report emissions, and among
other things, whether there will be a controlling authority
overseeing the pact.
Many states, not including Massachusetts, will have to win
approval in their legislatures before they can participate.
“No one has taken their foot off the accelerator,” she said.
One of the deceptive
pitches TCI proponents are trying to spin from the excerpt above
follows:
"The tax on
fuel distributors [emphasis added]
would raise billions of dollars over the next decade for
investments in public transit and other cleaner forms of
transportation, while encouraging fuel efficiency, subsidizing
electric vehicles and charging stations, and other measures that
would promote the transition away from fossil fuels. It
could [emphasis added] also lead to
higher gas prices throughout the region, depending on the price
of oil."
No, not "it
could lead to higher gas prices" — it absolutely will.
You'll also find
it in the MassFiscal/CLT news release of December 9, in response to the
advocates' duplicitous poll, in which I called it out:
“Today’s push
poll doesn’t ask a single question on cost, though it did allow
one response to its next question: ‘TCI will be an economic
burden on consumers and families in my state and will increase
costs on basic needs like gas and transportation,’” stated
Chip Ford, executive director of Citizens for Limited
Taxation. “Proponents are aware of those economic
costs, proven by their follow-up question. If this poll
seeks to be considered legitimate, it should have asked
taxpayers and consumers to weigh the benefits of TCI versus its
projected costs.”
“How can the
public or state leaders find any merit in this poll when it
doesn’t ask the most basic questions that are being debated
about the program?” added Ford. “Apparently results from it
didn’t fit the pro-TCI narrative, so they excluded sharing those
results with the public. Without that vital data it would
be appropriate to question this poll’s credibility.”
Within that
TCI proponents' poll this was one of the 60 questions asked:
TCI #11 — As you
may or may not know, 11 Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states and
the District of Columbia have joined together in a regional
transportation agreement, called the Transportation and Climate
Initiative (TCI). Under TCI, states will cap carbon
pollution from the transportation sector and require
gasoline companies to pay for the carbon pollution produced by
the fuel they sell [emphasis added]
by purchasing allowances. The proceeds generated by this
plan would then be reinvested in cleaner, more efficient, and
more accessible transportation options. Do you support or
oppose your state participating in the Transportation and
Climate Initiative (TCI)?
71% strongly or somewhat supported;
18% strongly or somewhat opposed; 12% weren't sure.
When Fiscal Alliance Foundation asked a
truthful question on the cost of TCI in
its own poll, the results flipped:
The Transportation
and Climate Initiative (TCI) is an effort by several states to
reduce carbon emissions from cars and trucks by increasing the
cost of gasoline and diesel fuels. However, TCI was proposed
before the COVID-19 pandemic, which has seen many white-collar
workers begin working from home. Are you more or less likely to
support TCI knowing it will increase the cost of fuel for blue
collar and essential workers who are largely unable to work from
home?
22.8% were more or somewhat more likely
to support TCI; 56.4% were somewhat or much less likely to support
TCI.
The responses all depend on who will be
paying the heavy burden of a major gas tax hike
— if anyone cares to ask the honest
question.
The Salem News reported on Tuesday ("Lawmakers spend big
bucks, even with no opponents"):
House Speaker Robert DeLeo didn't
face opposition for reelection this fall, but he still
vastly outspent every other lawmaker in the 160-member
chamber.
The Winthrop Democrat spent
$258,847 from Jan. 1 to Nov. 30 — more than double what
he raised during that time — according to disclosures
filed with the state Office of Campaign and Political
Finance.
DeLeo, the longest serving House
speaker state history, was unopposed in the Sept. 1
primary and the Nov. 3 general election.
Senate President Karen Spilka,
D-Ashland, didn't face any challengers, either, but she
still spent nearly $162,000 over the past 11 months,
according to filings.
Her campaign records list about
$455,000 in transfers of campaign funds from one bank to
another, which is also noted as an expense.
Three-quarters of the state
Legislature — at least 150 lawmakers in both chambers —
cruised to reelection with no opposition.
Few incumbents faced challengers in
the primary, either.
Overall, lawmakers who didn't face
opposition spent nearly $3.3 million in campaign funds,
according to a review of campaign finance disclosures.
House lawmakers not facing
opponents in the primary or general election spent more
than $1.6 million.
In the Senate, uncontested
incumbents dropped more than $1.7 million, according to
campaign filings.
All this money spent for campaigns with
no opposition.
Meanwhile CLT struggles just to bring
in enough to live and fight its fierce deep-pockets
opposition for another day. Something ain't right here!
"House Speaker Robert
DeLeo didn't face opposition for reelection this fall, but he still
vastly outspent every other lawmaker in the 160-member chamber.
"The Winthrop Democrat
spent $258,847 from Jan. 1 to Nov. 30 — more than double what he
raised during that time — according to disclosures filed with the
state Office of Campaign and Political Finance. . . ."
Despite squandering almost
three times CLT's entire annual budget, this week it became known
that he won't be seeking reelection as House Speaker and will be
retiring from the Legislature. On Wednesday the State House
News Service broke the story ("Chatter
About DeLeo Future Growing on Beacon Hill"):
House Speaker Robert DeLeo was reelected to a sixteenth term in
November, but his future on Beacon Hill has been a matter of
much speculation in recent weeks, according to sources inside
and outside the building, who increasingly believe the Winthrop
Democrat may be readying himself to make a move.
Speculation about DeLeo's future in the speaker's office reached
fever pitch on Wednesday as House members gathered both remotely
and in person at the State House to begin considering amendments
to the annual state budget returned by Gov. Charlie Baker.
While it has not been uncommon in recent years for chatter about
DeLeo's future to turn up in volume near the start of a new
session, the intensity this year has been higher and people who
work on and around Beacon Hill are paying it more attention....
DeLeo became the longest serving speaker in state history in
February, after ascending to the top post in early 2009 after
the resignation of former Speaker Sal DiMasi, who was under
investigation and eventually indicted by federal authorities on
corruption charges.
He has since maintained a tight grip on power in the House,
inspiring strong loyalty among those who he keeps close. While
critics on the progressive end of the political spectrum have
grown louder in recent years, DeLeo's leadership is seldom
challenged publicly, especially by members of the House....
Majority Leader Ron Mariano, of Quincy, is widely considered to
be the next in line for the speakership, though he could face a
challenge if and when the time comes from a member of the
Progressive Caucus, or from someone like Speaker Pro Tempore
Patricia Haddad, who could try to make the case to members that
it's time for the first woman to sit in the speaker's chair.
Over the next few days, drip by drip,
the story unfolded and was slowly confirmed. By Thursday
palace intrigue was ignited and reached full blaze. The Boston
Herald's Joe Battenfeld wrote ("Far
left looks to pounce if Speaker DeLeo leaves House post"):
The possible departure of House
Speaker Robert DeLeo will likely trigger a fierce battle
between far left progressives and more moderate
lawmakers for control of one of the most powerful
perches in state government.
Massachusetts already has one of
the most liberal state legislatures in the nation but
it’s not liberal enough for some frustrated activists
who want to see it lurch even farther to the left.
There’s a chance that progressives
could mount a strong campaign to insert one of their own
into the speaker’s chair but it would take a major
effort....
But it would take a sharp turn in
attitude to turn the Legislature into a bastion of
reform. And that likely won’t happen as long as
lawmakers get free passes term after term facing no
opposition or little more than token opposition.
If you don’t have to worry about
re-election why would you change?
By Friday the heir apparent to the
throne of House Speaker had grabbed the reins. The State House
News Service reported ("Officially
Declaring for Speakership, Mariano Urges House to Focus"):
House Majority Leader Ron Mariano,
in his first public statement since it became clear that
Speaker Robert DeLeo was preparing to step aside, urged
his House colleagues not to lose focus on rejecting Gov.
Charlie Baker's proposed changes to abortion and
policing reforms.
Mariano, a Quincy Democrat and the
most likely successor to DeLeo, confirmed that he will
run for the top job in the House if DeLeo resigns. But
as the change in leadership threatens to overshadow the
end-of-session work that remains unfinished, Mariano
said the House cannot let it become a distraction....
DeLeo officially stated his intent
Friday to begin negotiating a post-politics job with
Northeastern University, and people close to Mariano
have been saying for days that the leader has the votes
to become the next speaker.
The palace intrigue immediately
deepened. The News Service reported ("Holmes
Plans to Challenge Mariano for House Speaker; Frames Bid as
Alternative to 'Another Backroom Deal'"):
Rep. Russell Holmes said Friday morning he intends to challenge
Majority Leader Ron Mariano for control of the House if Speaker
Robert DeLeo steps down, as expected, in the coming weeks,
offering an alternative to DeLeo's top deputy and altering the
course of what was shaping up to be a smooth leadership
transition.
Holmes, a Mattapan Democrat and past leader of the Black and
Latino Legislative Caucus, said he made his decision Thursday
night after speaking with Speaker Pro Tempore Patricia Haddad,
who told him she did not intend to run.
"I have been supportive of having a speaker's race to have a
broad conversation about what the building would look like after
DeLeo," Holmes told the News Service in an interview Friday
morning. "At least we won't just roll over and hand over the
speakership in another backroom deal like they did 12 years
ago." ...
Holmes traced Mariano's ascension to the edge of the speaker's
chair back to former Speaker Sal DiMasi, who put DeLeo in a
position to succeed him before he resigned in 2009 ahead of his
indictment on corruption charges. He said he sees the same thing
happening now between Mariano and House Ways and Means Chairman
Aaron Michlewitz, a Mariano mentee who is expected to remain in
the powerful budget-writing post if Mariano prevails.
"It's a pattern. It literally does not matter. Many of us have
been elected since DiMasi, and still his corrupt poisonous tree
still determines who the speaker is 15 years later. That's
unacceptable to me. It's like none of us matter. This is what I
call structural racism personified."
Holmes had been critical of DeLeo in the past, and lost a
committee vice-chairmanship in 2017 after suggesting that the
Black and Latino Caucus, the Women's Caucus and the Progressive
Caucus should unite to help pick the next speaker, after Brian
Dempsey resigned. Dempsey, a Haverhill Democrat and Ways and
Means chairman at the time, was considered to be the
speaker-in-waiting at the time.
Holmes said he would not be running if Haddad had decided to
challenge for the speakership. Even if DeLeo does not step down
now, Holmes said he will keep his name in the running for
speaker in January.
The Boston Herald added ("Mattapan’s
Russell Holmes running for Speaker, vows to ‘uproot this poisonous
tree’"):
State Rep. Russell Holmes is running for Speaker, with the
Mattapan Democrat vowing to end “backroom deals” that he says
have plagued the House for too long under Robert DeLeo and his
predecessors.
“We need to uproot this poisonous tree,” Holmes said, referring
to the criminal corruption under previous Speakers and the norm
of secrecy under the current one, the reportedly exiting Robert
DeLeo....
He said he’d hoped the number three Democrat, Pat Haddad, would
run, but she told him Thursday night that she’s not going to.
Haddad’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for
comment.
Holmes said he’d look to decentralize power, bringing the
Speaker’s pay back down to the other reps and making the
processes from everything from getting parking spaces and staff
members to acquiring committee chairmanships more transparent.
“It’s all just so consolidated, financially,” Holmes said.
“Politics has become our careers and life experiences — and
that’s the opposite of what the founding fathers wanted.”
Holmes, who’s Black — and would be the only Speaker of color in
the state’s history — decried the lack of people of color in
DeLeo’s leadership team and among committee chairs.
Gov. Baker weighed in on learning the
news. State House News Service reported ("Baker
Hoping House Succession Frenzy Doesn’t Stall Progress"):
DeLeo has not indicated a timeline for his potential departure,
but two candidates -- Majority Leader Ronald Mariano and Rep.
Russell Holmes -- have already announced their interest in
succeeding him.
"If I have a concern about this, and this is very much up to the
House to figure out how they want to handle this, it would be
that we're toward the end of the session and there's a whole
bunch of pretty important pieces of legislation kicking around,"
Baker said. "I really hope that people find a way to focus on
trying to get those through the process and to our desk so that
we can sign them."
Four bills -- covering climate change, health care reform,
economic development and transportation bonds -- remain in
conference committees. Two others, on police reform and abortion
access, need to be finalized following proposed amendments from
Baker.
The governor also filed a new bill Friday to freeze the tax rate
for business contributions to the unemployment insurance trust
fund and borrow money to repay federal loans.
The Boston Herald on Saturday published
an editorial
("Holmes calls for much needed change on Beacon Hill"):
.
. . “We need to uproot this poisonous tree,” Holmes said,
referring to the criminal corruption under previous speakers and
the norm of secrecy under the DeLeo....
“People should be able to learn what is happening behind closed
doors. The Legislature is doing the public’s business,” Greg
Sullivan, former state inspector general and research director
at the Pioneer Institute said at the time.
An excellent point — but that’s not how business is done on
Beacon Hill.
Changing the status quo is a radical idea. And a much-needed
one....
Massachusetts taxpayers need leadership that puts citizens first
and the political machine second. It’s time for a change in the
Legislature.
But Holmes is facing an uphill fight....
Holmes said he spoke to people who said they pledged support to
Mariano two, three years ago.
“I’m a praying man,” Holmes said.
He is not alone.
To which I reply "Be careful
what you wish for." In my opinion we have here a
classic Hobson's choice —
damned if we do and damned if we don't. Apparently one
of two candidates will become the next House Speaker.
It will be either the next "good old boy" in the established
order to move up and seize the power, or it will be one of
the expanding group of progressives who promise "reform" and
deliver ashes and anguish. Oh well, this is the
Massachusetts Great and General Court so what more can be
expected?
There's plenty more news in the full
reports below for those wishing to delve deeper and consume more
— and plenty
more to come in the remaining days of 2020.
Make sure you
read The New Boston Post's report below, published on
Thursday ("Boston Broadside
Providing Voices For Conservatives Throughout Massachusetts"):
Six years ago, a former local
politician took on a new role: providing conservatives
in the most left-leaning state in the country a printed
outlet to get news and express their opinions.
Lonnie Brennan, the 60-year-old
publisher of
The Boston Broadside, a monthly conservative print
newspaper, is a former Georgetown selectman. Before that
he served for eight years on the school committee in
Salem, where he grew up. He was a two-time candidate for
state representative in the 18th Essex District, in 2006
and 2008....
In 2014, repulsed by the
left-leaning mainstream media and not happy with the
right-of-center newspaper he was writing for, Brennan
reached a breaking point.
“I got sick of everybody else
writing the headlines,” Brennan told New Boston Post in
a telephone interview. “This is probably the seventh or
eighth paper I’ve been involved with if you count
college. The last one I was writing a monthly column
for, and I’m not sure if you remember the Justina
Pelletier case, they came out and their big headline was
that the government needed more money. That was it for
me.” ...
I've had a few columns carried in The
Boston Broadside and know well a few of its hard-working staff (some
CLT members) and their dedicated commitment to presenting another
view beyond that of the legacy media. It's good to see them
getting the recognition they richly deserve. I think you'll
agree.
|
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Chip Ford
Executive Director |
|
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Full News Reports Follow
(excerpted above) |
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The Boston
Globe
Tuesday, December 15, 2020
Mass., other states near historic agreement
to curb transportation emissions
By David Abel
After years of negotiations, Massachusetts and other states
on the East Coast are poised to sign a landmark agreement
that would constitute one of the nation’s most ambitious
efforts to fight climate change.
By the end of the month, a group of 12 states and
Washington, D.C., are expected to announce details of the
controversial cap-and-invest pact, which would require
substantial cuts to transportation emissions, the nation’s
largest source of greenhouse gases.
Called the Transportation Climate Initiative, the accord
aims to cap vehicle emissions from Maine to Virginia and
require hundreds of fuel distributors in participating
states to buy permits for the carbon dioxide they produce.
That limit would decline over time, mirroring a similar pact
that has reduced power plant emissions in the Northeast,
with the goal of reducing tailpipe emissions by as much as
25 percent over the next decade.
The tax on fuel distributors would raise billions of dollars
over the next decade for investments in public transit and
other cleaner forms of transportation, while encouraging
fuel efficiency, subsidizing electric vehicles and charging
stations, and other measures that would promote the
transition away from fossil fuels. It could also lead to
higher gas prices throughout the region, depending on the
price of oil.
The number of states that will sign the agreement remains in
flux, as negotiations over the emissions caps and other key
details continue. Those that don’t sign on this month will
be able to join later on. The pact is scheduled to take
effect in 2022.
Kathleen Theoharides, secretary of the Massachusetts
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, said
the agreement is vital for Massachusetts and other states to
reach their goals of eliminating carbon emissions as much as
possible by 2050.
“All of the states have ambitious climate goals, but none of
us can hit those goals without reducing emissions from
transportation,” she said in an interview.
Theoharides, who has chaired the initiative, said states
have decided to revise the pact as a result of the pandemic,
which has delayed the agreement for months.
The coronavirus made clear that the agreement should do more
to benefit those most affected by pollution, she said. So
the final terms will require each state to dedicate at least
35 percent of revenue to helping those in heavily polluted
communities.
States will have discretion how to interpret that provision.
But Theoharides said Massachusetts, which has been leading
the talks, plans greater investments in public transit,
efforts to increase open space and cool urban areas known as
heat islands; more electric vehicle rebates; and greater
subsidies to help residents access broadband Internet,
making it easier to work from home.
The pandemic has also raised questions about the parameters
of the agreement, as transportation emissions have declined
substantially in the past year. Before the pandemic, the
transportation sector was responsible for 28 percent of
greenhouse gas emissions nationally and 40 percent of the
region’s emissions.
In Massachusetts, traffic has steadily increased after
plummeting at the start of the pandemic. But last month it
remained 20 percent below pre-pandemic levels, compared to a
13 percent decrease nationwide. That has cast doubt on
previous projections, which determine how stringent — and
costly for drivers — the carbon allowances will be.
For example, more people continuing to work from home might
mean less traffic. But it’s also possible that fewer people
will return to using public transportation, meaning
emissions could increase.
Governor Charlie Baker has noted this uncertainty, which
some have interpreted as a sign that the Republican is
backing away from the pact. At a press conference last
month, he said it was important to “reexamine a lot of the
assumptions” behind the agreement, though he said he
remained “very much a fan.”
His comments buoyed critics of the initiative, which could
raise gas taxes between 5 and 17 cents per gallon for as
many as 52 million drivers along the East Coast.
“While the proponents do not want to describe it as a tax,
for the consumer, it will feel like a tax,” said Paul Diego
Craney, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, a
conservative group. “For a lot of people, that means they
will have to pay higher fuel prices, and that will most
likely fall the hardest on the working people and the poor.”
Shortly after Baker’s comments, the group released a poll
they said showed a majority of state residents oppose the
initiative.
“The governor should feel confident that he has the support
of the people as he rethinks entering Massachusetts into the
TCI compact during the pandemic,” Craney said.
But TCI supporters cited a new regional poll by the Yale
Program on Climate Change Communication that found 70
percent of those surveyed supported the initiative.
Proponents say a regional pact would support major
investments in public transit and other cleaner forms of
transportation, while creating tens of thousands of jobs in
those sectors in Massachusetts.
They also pointed to a recent study by researchers at the
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston
University, and other universities that estimated the
initiative would provide health benefits worth more than $11
billion over the next decade.
Less pollution from cars and trucks would save lives, reduce
childhood asthma, and reduce the health disparities of
people of color, who on average breathe 66 percent more air
pollution from vehicles than white residents, the study
found.
“Every reputable source of analysis . . . shows that the TCI
program will deliver net economic benefits, will be a job
creator, and will save us billions of dollars in avoided
health costs,” said Jordan Stutt, carbon programs director
for the Acadia Center, an environmental advocacy group in
Boston. “We need TCI and other policies to deliver cleaner
air, better transportation options, and leadership on
climate change.”
Chris Dempsey, director of Transportation for Massachusetts,
another advocacy group that supports the initiative,
compared the opposition to those who claimed the Regional
Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a similarly designed, nine-state
regional cap-and-invest system for power plant emissions,
would cause prices to spike. That pact, however, helped
reduce power plant emissions from Maryland to Maine by at
least 40 percent below 2005 levels without raising
electricity prices, according to RGGI.
“TCI, which is modeled after RGGI, will help us do the same
thing for transportation, saving consumers and businesses on
their transportation costs while also improving the quality
of the air we all breathe,” he said.
Vicki Arroyo, executive director of the Georgetown Climate
Center, which has helped facilitate the agreement, said she
was optimistic that a “critical mass” of states would join
the pact.
But she said there continued to be some “horse trading”
between states as they negotiated the final details, such as
how proceeds will be apportioned, how to report emissions,
and among other things, whether there will be a controlling
authority overseeing the pact.
Many states, not including Massachusetts, will have to win
approval in their legislatures before they can participate.
“No one has taken their foot off the accelerator,” she said.
The Boston
Herald
Friday, December 18, 2020
Two Boston think tanks urge Gov. Charlie Baker
to reject the Transportation and Climate Initiative
By Marie Szaniszlo
Two Boston think tanks are urging Gov. Charlie Baker to reject a
regional collaboration intended to improve transportation,
develop the clean energy economy and reduce emissions from
vehicles and fuels, saying it would further damage
Massachusetts’s economy and slow its recovery.
A new study commissioned by the Fiscal Alliance Foundation and
conducted by the Beacon Hill Institute finds the costs
associated with the Transportation and Climate Initiative will
increase across the board over the next two years as the
Massachusetts economy continues to reel from the pandemic and
drivers stay off the roads in record numbers.
“This tax … will be regressive. It’s going to drive businesses
elsewhere,” state Rep. David DeCoste, R-Plymouth, said at a
press conference Friday with members of the foundation and BHI.
“I hope … the governor will put it on the shelf.”
The study notes that the second quarter of 2020 saw the largest
decline in real gross domestic product in Massachusetts history
and estimates that even with the arrival of vaccines and
potential federal stimulus funds, the state’s economy will not
fully recover to pre-pandemic levels until after 2022.
The study estimates the new costs of TCI to the Massachusetts
economy would be:
● A
reduction of business investment by $305 million
● A reduction of disposable income by $1.649 billion
● A decline of 9,993 jobs in 2022
● A cost of $630 to the average Massachusetts
household and
● A decline of over $1 billion in the state real GDP
“The BHI study
confirms what most people intuitively already understand —
increasing costs to consumers in the midst of one of the worst
pandemics and economic downturns in history is a bad idea,” said
Paul Craney, a spokesman for the Fiscal Alliance Foundation. “It
hurts our workers, it hurts our businesses, and it hurts our
state. Most of all, the brunt of the costs of this program is
going to be carried by the people who are least able to afford
it: blue collar workers, essential workers and the poor.”
Earlier this week, the governor told reporters his
administration likely would make a decision about TCI before the
end of the month.
“I think at this point in time, it’s important to sort of
re-examine a lot of the assumptions that went into what the
impact would be, in terms of carbon reduction, based on the
changing nature of transportation generally,” he said. “… If you
pursue a price on carbon associated with transportation, what
you get for that price on carbon in a world that looks a lot
different now, and potentially will stay a lot different for the
next several years relative to the one we thought we were living
in a year ago.”
State House News
Service
Tuesday, December 15, 2020
Economists Cautiously Optimistic About State’s Financial Footing
Professor: "The Human Stakes Are Quite High"
By Matt Murphy
With COVID-19 vaccines being administered for the first time in
Massachusetts this week, economists on Tuesday offered a
brighter outlook for the state's finances next year, predicting
the possibility of a strong recovery driven by job growth and a
resurgence in retail sales, dining and travel.
Economic and budget experts told legislative leaders and Baker
administration officials to expect tax collections in fiscal
year 2022, which begins in just over six months, to climb, but
by how much depends on the virus and Congress.
While the estimates ranged from a low of $29.6 billion to a high
of $31.9 billion, most agreed there were reasons to be
optimistic after a year that saw the sharpest economic decline
in a single quarter in state history in April, May and June.
Some experts also said that revenues in the current fiscal year
could turn out stronger than anticipated in the $45.9 billion
budget signed by Gov. Charlie Baker on Friday. That budget
assumed tax revenues will fall by 4 percent in fiscal 2021 from
fiscal 2020 levels, even though the new $28.44 billion tax
estimate was revised upward by Baker on Friday by $459 million.
But all of the optimism expressed at a revenue hearing on
Tuesday came with a heavy dose of caveats from experts, who
warned that if the spread of the coronavirus accelerates and
Baker locks down more segments of the economy, the picture could
get gloomier.
The most optimistic forecasts were predicated on renewed hope
that Congress will deliver another round of stimulus by early
2021 and that the state's plan to make vaccines widely available
to the general public by the spring comes to fruition.
"Predicting future revenue figures can be a challenging process
in normal times, as we all know, but in a year dominated by the
havoc and uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, this year
will make it even all the more daunting," said House Ways and
Means Chairman Aaron Michlewitz.
The House and Senate Ways and Means Committees and the Executive
Office of Administration and Finance turned their attention to
planning for fiscal 2022 on Tuesday. Michlewitz, Senate Ways and
Means Chairman Michael Rodrigues and Secretary Michael Heffernan
hosted a revenue hearing to collect forecasts for tax
collections from leading economic experts.
While the hearing is typically an annual event, legislators and
the administration sought the advice of this same group on three
separate occasions over the past year as it developed the fiscal
2021 budget in the midst of the pandemic, and several said they
hoped to avoid a repeat. The Legislature and administration must
agree on a revenue estimate by early January, and Baker will use
that figure to build the fiscal year 2022 budget he must file
before the end of next month.
Revenue Commissioner Geoffrey Snyder said the administration's
forecast predicts that tax collections in fiscal 2022 will fall
within a range of $27.83 billion to $30.61 billion, or between a
1 percent decrease and an 8.8 percent increase.
Synder also said that despite revenues in the current fiscal
year trending 1.3 percent above estimates, tax collections are
actually down $219 million, or 1.9 percent, from the same period
last year when discounting withholding on unemployment benefits,
one-time tax events and business refunds that are due.
"We expect that revenue volatility may increase during the
remainder of this fiscal year," Snyder said.
While DOR offered a wide range of possible outcomes, the
Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation and other fiscal observers
and economists said they were "cautiously optimistic" about what
fiscal 2022 might hold.
The Taxpayers Foundation projected $29.73 billion in tax
revenues in fiscal 2022, which would be roughly 6 percent higher
than the Baker administration's upwardly revised estimate for
fiscal 2021, not counting the one-time gain of accelerated sales
tax collections this fiscal year.
MTF President Eileen McAnneny said the bullish projections were
predicated on sales taxes jumping 7.1 percent, or $484 million,
and withholding income tax climbing nearly 4 percent, or $522
million. Gas and room occupancy taxes could also rebound
significantly, she said.
"There is a light at the end of the tunnel with the development
of a vaccine, but a lot of uncertainty remains," McAnneny said.
McAnneny said said a failure by Congress to deliver another
round of coronavirus relief to states could strain municipal
budgets and prolong the recession by limiting the purchasing
power of individuals and small businesses. MTF's forecast was
built on the assumption that Congress would pass a $1.5 trillion
stimulus bill.
David Tuerck, president of the Beacon Hill Institute, made a
similar prediction to MTF, but his did not count on federal
stimulus spending. BHI estimated that the state would collect
$29.77 billion in fiscal 2022.
"Economic indicators for Massachusetts and the country are
moving in the right direction," Tuerck said. He said one thing
that could alter his forecast would be if Baker were to move the
state into a more complete economic shutdown in the coming weeks
because of the spread of COVID-19.
"That could undermine the accuracy of what I'm offering here,"
Tuerck said.
Alan Clayton-Matthews, a Northeastern University economics
professor and MassBenchmarks senior contributing editor,
predicted that tax revenues in the current fiscal year could top
out at $30.2 billion, which would be significantly higher than
what lawmakers are expecting.
He then said revenues could climb 4.4 percent in fiscal 2022 to
$31.5 billion.
Clayton-Matthews said his "relatively sanguine" outlook depended
on the vaccine being widely distributed by the summer, which
would lead to a rebound in meals taxes and allow the current
trend of strong corporate profits to continue.
He said his fiscal 2021 estimates were inflated based on
estimates that there is an outstanding liability for income
taxes that were not withheld on unemployment benefits, and will
be paid in the spring.
If tax collections in the current fiscal year exceed estimates,
the Legislature and Baker administration may choose to reduce
its draw from the state's "rainy day" fund. The budget
authorizes up to $1.7 billion in spending from the $3.5 billion
reserve account, but Treasurer Deborah Goldberg said credit
rating agencies would welcome a decreased reliance on the fund.
Goldberg said investor demand for state bonds is still strong,
and that the rating agencies have been "overall impressed" with
the state financial management through the crisis, but she said
they are anticipating that the state will look to bulk up its
reserves as the economy improves.
"If we continue to increase expenditures and utilize rainy day
funds, that's going to become a problem for them," Goldberg
said.
Goldberg testified that the state's pension fund stands at an
all-time high of $80 billion, and that $1.5 billion in refunding
bonds issued since the pandemic began has saved the state $298
million in debt service in fiscal 2021 and $109 million for
fiscal 2022.
The treasurer, however, warned that more economic restrictions
to control COVID-19 could hurt the Lottery, which is projecting
$960 million in profits in fiscal 2022, up from $940 million
this year.
"States with online lotteries have done far better than we have
and will continue to be better positioned for any future
crisis," Goldberg said. She also said that changing commuter
patterns, including a lasting switch to working from home, will
impact Lottery sales by decreasing regular visits to convenience
stores, gas stations and markets.
The most optimistic forecast for 2022 also came at the end of
the hearing from Evan Horowitz, director of the Center for State
Policy Analysis at Tufts University.
Horowitz estimated tax revenues of $31.9 billion in fiscal 2022,
banking on a well of pent-up spending energy springing forth
from individuals and families who were most easily able to
transition to working from home. Those families, he said, were
able to build up household savings by not traveling, dining out
or spending on entertainment, and could drive a surge in sales
taxes when they are allowed to move about freely as the pandemic
recedes.
"Unlike recent months, where economic uncertainty has reached
new and sometimes nausea-inducing heights, our forecast for FY
2022 involves a normal, merely dizzying level of uncertainty.
Future crises may still arise, but this one should be receding,"
Horowitz said.
UMass Dartmouth professor Michael Goodman also noted that
household savings for part of the population have grown during
the pandemic, but he said for others food and housing insecurity
has grown and could become a liability for Massachusetts if the
federal government doesn't step in with aid.
"The human stakes are quite high," Goodman said.
Goodman also noted that the stock market has been "counterintuitively
robust" during the pandemic, boding well for capital gains
taxes.
"One way or another, the trajectory of the pandemic over the
next six months in particular is going to have a lot to say
about the last half of FY21 and the momentum we have going into
fiscal 20202," Goodman said.
The
Salem News
Tuesday, December 15, 2020
Lawmakers spend big bucks, even with no opponents
By Christian M. Wade
House Speaker Robert DeLeo didn't face opposition for reelection
this fall, but he still vastly outspent every other lawmaker in
the 160-member chamber.
The Winthrop Democrat spent $258,847 from Jan. 1 to Nov. 30 —
more than double what he raised during that time — according to
disclosures filed with the state Office of Campaign and
Political Finance.
DeLeo, the longest serving House speaker state history, was
unopposed in the Sept. 1 primary and the Nov. 3 general
election.
Senate President Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, didn't face any
challengers, either, but she still spent nearly $162,000 over
the past 11 months, according to filings.
Her campaign records list about $455,000 in transfers of
campaign funds from one bank to another, which is also noted as
an expense.
Three-quarters of the state Legislature — at least 150 lawmakers
in both chambers — cruised to reelection with no opposition.
Few incumbents faced challengers in the primary, either.
Overall, lawmakers who didn't face opposition spent nearly $3.3
million in campaign funds, according to a review of campaign
finance disclosures.
House lawmakers not facing opponents in the primary or general
election spent more than $1.6 million.
In the Senate, uncontested incumbents dropped more than $1.7
million, according to campaign filings.
Expenditures included traditional campaign costs, such as
consulting fees, campaign staff and fundraising events, as well
as contributions to other candidates in contested races and
money transfers to state party leadership.
But they also included tens of thousands of dollars spent on
flowers, gifts for constituents, pizza parties for staff
members, liquor, credit card and car lease payments, and hotel
stays and travel.
Charities were also big beneficiaries, with lawmakers sprinkling
unspent campaign funds around in their districts by sponsoring
or donating supplies to nonprofit groups.
Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, spent $22,566
this year despite facing no opposition. He spent some of that on
consulting, paid off campaign credit card debt, and chipped in
$2,000 to the state Republican Party.
But he also dropped $750 on a turkey dinner for senior citizens
at the Friends of North Reading Council on Aging's Thanksgiving
event.
State campaign finance officials say candidates are allowed to
spend contributions on just about anything as long as they can
justify it as campaign-related.
Lawmakers and their campaigns defend the expenditures, saying
they were made in accordance with state laws and campaign
finance guidelines.
Some point out that campaigns need to stay active even when they
aren't facing challengers.
Sen. Barry Finegold, D-Andover, says he limits his campaign
spending in election cycles when he faces no opposition.
Finegold spent about $50,000 on consulting fees, debit card
payments, fundraising and other expenses from Jan. 1 to Nov. 30,
his campaign filings show.
"I've been pretty frugal," he said. "I try to limit the
spending, because you obviously want to save that money for when
you have a serious contender."
Political observers say spending by unopposed candidates has
become increasingly common and often blurs lines between
campaigning and personal use. They say it's more common in
states like Massachusetts, which lack competitiveness in
legislative races.
"It's happening all over the country," said Pete Quist, research
director with the National Institute on Money in State Politics.
"What’s really important is that this spending is transparent,
so that voters and people who are deciding whether or not to
challenge them can decide whether the expenditures are
questionable."
Quist said the definition of what is campaign-related is often
stretched, such as using contributions to make monthly lease
payments for a personal vehicle in an election cycle, especially
when a candidate faces no opposition.
He said enforcement of state campaign finance laws is mostly
triggered by complaints.
"That really gets into a tough spot on enforcement when you try
to differentiate between personal and political use for these
campaign expenditures," he said.
— Christian M. Wade covers the
Massachusetts Statehouse for The Salem News and its sister
newspapers and websites.
State House News
Service
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
Senate Group’s Revenue Ideas Likely Still Months Away
Pandemic Impacts Influence Talks Around New Taxes
By Michael P. Norton
A working group launched by state Senate leaders that's been
studying the state tax code is getting together one more time
before the two-year session ends, but its long-awaited
recommendations may still be months away.
A spokeswoman for Sen. Adam Hinds, who chairs the working group
and co-chairs the Legislature's Committee on Revenue, tells the
News Service that the group's efforts will likely spill into the
next session, which begins Jan. 6, since lawmakers are focused
on other unfinished business this session.
Hinds, a Pittsfield Democrat, is assembling a "draft
comprehensive summary" of the 21-member group's findings, the
spokeswoman said, and that summary will likely be made publicly
available next year, ahead of the annual budget debates that are
usually held in the House in April and in the Senate in May.
The House in March approved transportation taxes and fees
totaling more than $500 million. That bill has languished in the
Senate, frustrating House lawmakers who say they took difficult
tax votes. The bill's apparent demise raises questions about
whether House and Senate Democrats can come together around new
taxes and revenues, and comes as the MBTA, facing a budget
crunch, moves ahead with service reductions to reflect reduced
ridership.
Senate President Karen Spilka highlighted plans for the working
group when she was sworn in as president at the start of this
session, and later charged the panel with assessing the state's
revenue system and developing a set of recommendations to update
and improve it, with the primary goal of ensuring a system that
"generates sufficient funds in a predictable, sustainable and
fair manner while contributing to a vibrant and competitive
economy and ensuring taxpayer accountability." The group began
meeting in May 2019.
The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the environment around
everything, including taxes and the mobility of workers,
employers and jobs. Change is facilitated by a movement towards
work-from-home jobs, which could reshape everything from where
workers live to whether employers hold on to big office spaces.
The $45.9 billion fiscal 2021 budget Gov. Charlie Baker signed
on Friday blocks the scheduled Jan. 1 start of a charitable
giving tax deduction worth about $300 million in fiscal 2022.
Employers are facing massive increases next year in unemployment
insurance taxes as well as a minimum wage increase on Jan. 1.
And the conversation about the T has switched from ways to
prevent crowding and delays to how long service cuts should last
given the sharp drop in riders.
One important tax proposal is also on the cusp of reemerging on
Beacon Hill. Lawmakers next session are expected to take the
second necessary vote to put on the November 2022 ballot a
constitutional amendment imposing a 4 percent surtax on
household income above $1 million per year. A years-old estimate
points to a potential for $2 billion in new annual state
revenues should the measure clear Beacon Hill and be approved by
voters.
In June 2019, legislators voted 147-48 to advance the income
surtax (H 86), with backers clearing the 101 votes needed to
move the measure along. The constitution currently mandates that
a tax on income be applied evenly to all residents.
Supporters of the constitutional amendment say it addresses
income inequality and that wealthier residents can afford to
help the state invest more in infrastructure and public schools.
Opponents and business groups have warned that its passage could
drive wealthy individuals and employers out of state.
More immediately, lawmakers have budgeted this fiscal year for a
year-over-year drop in tax collections and heard from experts
Wednesday that tax revenues are likely to return to a growth
path in fiscal 2022, depending on the success of COVID-19
vaccines that are beginning to be administered. Without natural
growth in tax collections, lawmakers next session may turn to
tax increases or new taxes to replace more than $3 billion in
one-time revenues in the budget, prevent cuts in state services,
and avoid deeper dips into state reserves that might attract
negative attention from Wall Street credit rating agencies.
In January 2019, Spilka hinted at the working group's charge,
saying the state must create "an economic development and tax
framework for the 21st century where innovative
technology-driven businesses can develop and thrive here, but
where we also capture new revenue to continue providing
essential services, and fund our vision for our future."
"Our economy is growing so rapidly with so many technological
changes, we haven't been keeping up, we've been doing it
piecemeal," Spilka said following her swearing-in. "We make laws
to change in how we tax the home-sharing or the ride-sharing
businesses, but we're years behind. You know the Legislature
moves slowly, it takes time, so it not only decreases our tax
revenue but in terms of regulation and handling all the new
economy, the new technology, it creates a lot of confusion for
the businesses, government officials, consumers themselves."
The working group meets Thursday at 11 a.m. A meeting agenda was
not available Wednesday and a Hinds spokeswoman said the meeting
is closed to the public.
State House News
Service
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
Georges Takes Oath, Making All Seven SJC Justices Baker
Appointees
"I Won't Let You Down," Judge Tells Baker
By Chris Lisinski
The ceremony to swear in Judge Serge Georges to the Supreme
Judicial court, like most other events during the pandemic, was
scaled back from the usual fanfare that accompanies such
affairs.
But Georges, who wore a maroon Boston College Eagles facemask
while taking the oath of office, still welcomed family and
friends to mark the moment, including one former classmate from
his undergraduate days at Chestnut Hill who traveled all the way
from Hawaii.
That friend, Robert Bruhl, wrote a letter of recommendation on
Georges's behalf that Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito described as "the
best letter of recommendation I have ever read" -- so good that
Polito kept a folded-up copy in her pocket during Wednesday's
ceremony -- detailing a bound, black journal that Georges gave
as a gift 17 years ago to mark the birth of Bruhl's first child.
"By that time, we had been close friends for a decade, and he
knew how tender the gift would be, and it came with a solemn
message as its inscription: 'Be committed to this,'" Polito read
from the letter. "If you were looking for someone to toe the
line, he's not your guy."
Georges, a 50-year-old Boston Municipal Court judge, cruised
through his nomination process, earning a unanimous confirmation
vote from the Governor's Council.
Before taking the oath, Georges repeated a pledge that he made
to Gov. Charlie Baker and Polito earlier in the process when he
was still being weighed as a candidate for a spot on the high
court.
"I know you didn't put me here to do anything other than what I
think is right, but I do want you all to remember what I said to
you at the interview: I won't let you down," he said.
With Georges officially sworn in, the SJC is back up to full
strength with seven members. The sudden death of Chief Justice
Ralph Gants in September and the retirement this month of
Justice Barbara Lenk contributed to a further reshuffling of a
court that has undergone a full turnover during Baker's years in
office.
Georges joins Baker's two other recent picks -- Justice Kimberly
Budd, who was elevated to chief justice, and Justice Dalila
Wendlandt -- to complete the governor's reshaping of the state's
highest court.
All seven current members were nominated by Baker and confirmed
by the elected Governor's Council, a nearly unprecedented feat
and one that's simply not available to most governors.
Georges, the son of Haitian immigrants, will be the third
nonwhite member of the historically white panel alongside
Wendlandt and Budd.
He also brings a unique perspective as a district court judge.
Only a handful of SJC justices in the court's lengthy history,
including fellow current Justice David Lowy, have served on
district courts before joining the high panel.
At his confirmation hearing, Georges said that experience will
help tether key decisions to the impacts they will carry on the
ground.
"We are thrilled that you applied and we're very excited to see
what kind of a path you cut over the course of your time in this
critically important role at this very important moment in our
state's history," Baker told Georges.
State House News
Service
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
House Rejects Baker Amendment On Abortions
Veto-Proof Majority Sticks With Original ROE Proposal
By Chris Lisinski
The House rejected Gov. Charlie Baker's proposed changes to an
abortion access provision Wednesday, doubling down on its own
attempt to make the procedure more accessible to 16- and
17-year-olds and clarify when abortions are allowed after 24
weeks of pregnancy.
In a display of the super-majority that Democrats wield,
representatives voted 49-107 to turn back the Republican
governor's amendment that would have altered two key sections of
the high-profile proposal.
The vote reiterated the House's support for its original
abortion access language, approved as part of the fiscal year
2021 budget bill, which would lower the age for teenagers to
receive an abortion without parental or judicial consent from 18
to 16 and make clear that abortions after 24 weeks can be
allowed to "preserve" a patient's physical or mental health.
"One month ago, we stood in this chamber and took action to
protect access to safe and legal abortion care for women in the
commonwealth," said Rep. Claire Cronin, an Easton Democrat who
co-chairs the Judiciary Committee. "The governor's amendment
threatens this significant progress as it would reinstate
barriers and curtail protections contained in the conference
committee report."
The Legislature approved the abortion provisions as part of the
fiscal year 2021 budget, but with Baker's proposed amendment, it
now functions effectively as a standalone bill (H 5179) that
reflects, in large part, an earlier proposal referred to as the
ROE Act.
Baker on Friday returned the section of the fiscal year 2021
budget containing the abortion language with an amendment.
In a letter to lawmakers, he said he supported several sections
such as codification of abortion rights in state law and
allowing abortions after 24 weeks in cases with a fatal fetal
anomaly, but flagged concerns about other provisions.
"These are important changes to protect a women's reproductive
rights and autonomy in the Commonwealth, and I support them,"
Baker wrote. "However, I cannot support the other ways that this
section expands the availability of late-term abortions and
permits minors age 16 and 17 to get an abortion without the
consent of a parent or guardian."
His amendment would keep the current age-based restrictions on
abortion in place, scrapping the Legislature's attempt to reduce
the age to access the procedure without a parent or judge's
involvement by two years.
Baker also aimed to tweak language in another section related to
abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy. The Legislature's bill
would permit abortions after 24 weeks "if it is necessary, in
the best medical judgment of the physician, to preserve the
patient's physical or mental health." The governor proposed
changing the condition to "if a continuation of the pregnancy
will impose, in the best medical judgment of the physician, a
substantial risk to" the patient's physical or mental health.
Speaking in favor of Baker's amendment Wednesday, Republican
Rep. Sheila Harrington of Groton said the Legislature should
impose a stronger condition on abortions after 24 weeks than a
goal to "preserve" health.
"When we allow for that language to prevail, we're playing God
if we are becoming the arbiter of whether a mother's mental
health preservation is more important than that baby's life,"
Harrington said.
Representatives also turned away another amendment from Rep.
Marc Lombardo, a Billerica Republican, that would have added a
section into the proposal requiring physicians to use
life-saving equipment "to preserve the life and health of a live
birth baby and the patient."
Lombardo argued the change would not affect anyone's access to
abortions, but Cronin responded that misinformation about the
procedure served to "stigmatize" those who seek it. The House
rejected the amendment 34-120.
Senate leaders have not yet indicated their plans for Baker's
amendment. If the Senate also rejects the proposed changes, both
branches will need to re-enact a final version of the underlying
proposal and send it to the governor, who can either accept it
or veto it.
If the governor vetoes their ultimate bill on abortion access,
Democratic leaders in the House would need at least 106 votes --
based on the fact that the chamber [is] missing two members from
its usual 160 -- to reach the two-thirds majority necessary for
an override, assuming everyone votes.
Their timeline is increasingly crunched. The current two-year
lawmaking session ends on Jan. 5, 2021, and Baker will have 10
days to review any bill under state law, meaning he could
effectively kill anything sent to him too close to the end of
session by sitting on it.
Legislators also need to decide how to handle Baker's amendments
on major police reform and settle long-running private
negotiations on climate change, health care, economic
development and transportation borrowing.
Reproductive health care advocates who pushed for the expansion
of abortion rights praised the House for rejecting Baker's
proposal on Wednesday.
"Once again, House members have affirmed their commitment to
reproductive freedom by fighting to ensure all Bay Staters can
access abortion care when and where they need it," the ROE Act
Coalition, which includes groups such as NARAL Pro-Choice
Massachusetts, said in a statement. "Governor Baker's proposed
amendments would have completely undermined lawmakers' efforts
to protect and expand abortion access by pushing life-saving
abortion care later in pregnancy out of reach and by fully
maintaining our state's racist and discriminatory, anti-choice
barriers for vulnerable young people."
State House News
Service
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
Chatter About DeLeo Future Growing on Beacon Hill
By Matt Murphy
House Speaker Robert DeLeo was reelected to a sixteenth term in
November, but his future on Beacon Hill has been a matter of
much speculation in recent weeks, according to sources inside
and outside the building, who increasingly believe the Winthrop
Democrat may be readying himself to make a move.
Speculation about DeLeo's future in the speaker's office reached
fever pitch on Wednesday as House members gathered both remotely
and in person at the State House to begin considering amendments
to the annual state budget returned by Gov. Charlie Baker.
While it has not been uncommon in recent years for chatter about
DeLeo's future to turn up in volume near the start of a new
session, the intensity this year has been higher and people who
work on and around Beacon Hill are paying it more attention.
The speaker's office declined to comment when asked if DeLeo was
preparing to step down, or if he planned to run for another term
as speaker when the new session convenes on Jan. 6.
DeLeo told the News Service in October 2019, well before the
COVID-19 pandemic, that it was his intention to run for
reelection to the House and the speakership. "That's my plan,
and to run for speaker." DeLeo said at the time.
DeLeo became the longest serving speaker in state history in
February, after ascending to the top post in early 2009 after
the resignation of former Speaker Sal DiMasi, who was under
investigation and eventually indicted by federal authorities on
corruption charges.
He has since maintained a tight grip on power in the House,
inspiring strong loyalty among those who he keeps close. While
critics on the progressive end of the political spectrum have
grown louder in recent years, DeLeo's leadership is seldom
challenged publicly, especially by members of the House.
"He hasn't said anything to me. I've heard this for the last
three years," said Rep. Paul Donato, a Medford Democrat and the
second assistant majority leaders in the House.
DeLeo, 70, has spent 30 years of his professional career in the
House, and what he would do next remains unknown. Some close to
him don't believe he would want to go into lobbying, which his
recent predecessors in the job did, and he has often been linked
to a move to his alma mater Northeastern University.
Majority Leader Ron Mariano, of Quincy, is widely considered to
be the next in line for the speakership, though he could face a
challenge if and when the time comes from a member of the
Progressive Caucus, or from someone like Speaker Pro Tempore
Patricia Haddad, who could try to make the case to members that
it's time for the first woman to sit in the speaker's chair.
Mariano did not return calls seeking comment.
The Boston
Herald
Thursday, December 17, 2020
Far left looks to pounce if Speaker DeLeo leaves House post
By Joe Battenfeld
The possible departure of House Speaker Robert DeLeo will likely
trigger a fierce battle between far left progressives and more
moderate lawmakers for control of one of the most powerful
perches in state government.
Massachusetts already has one of the most liberal state
legislatures in the nation but it’s not liberal enough for some
frustrated activists who want to see it lurch even farther to
the left.
There’s a chance that progressives could mount a strong campaign
to insert one of their own into the speaker’s chair but it would
take a major effort.
The 70-year-old DeLeo, who has been speaker since 2009 — the
longest run ever for a speaker — is reportedly looking to move
on soon, taking a teaching job at Northeastern University,
though aides deny there have been any talks with the school.
“The speaker has had no such talks with, much less does he have
any agreement with, Northeastern University,” spokeswoman
Catherine Williams said.
But there was no denial in that statement that DeLeo was looking
to resign.
So the behind-the-scenes maneuvering to replace DeLeo is clearly
on.
Sources say the clear favorite to replace DeLeo is 74-year-old
Ronald Mariano of Quincy, who is the current majority leader.
Mariano would be essentially a place holder for a few years
until the real battle emerges to replace him.
But progressives are itching to take power now, and they don’t
want to wait for more of the same old, same old for a few more
years. Now’s the time to pounce.
DeLeo and Mariano are both considered establishment liberals,
which means they still govern from the left but not the far
left.
And they are both white males, which is another problem. Despite
more women and minorities being elected to the Legislature, the
House is still governed by a powerful man.
That could trigger an attempt by a group of women lawmakers to
get behind one of their own, like Speaker Pro Tempore Patricia
Haddad of Somerset.
DeLeo’s departure would also be a chance for lawmakers to enact
real reform — and remake the Legislature from top to bottom and
make it actually transparent.
DeLeo is infamous for keeping a tight rein on his power and
keeping the House behind closed doors for most of its real
debate.
That could change with a new speaker who believes more in
transparency and real ethics reform.
Unlike his three predecessors, DeLeo was never indicted or
convicted of corruption, but he was named as an “unindicted
co-conspirator” in a patronage scheme in the Probation
Department.
If he leaves unscathed, it would end a long streak of corruption
in the House, though one of his top lieutenants is facing
corruption charges now.
But it would take a sharp turn in attitude to turn the
Legislature into a bastion of reform. And that likely won’t
happen as long as lawmakers get free passes term after term
facing no opposition or little more than token opposition.
If you don’t have to worry about re-election why would you
change?
State House News
Service
Friday, December 18, 2020
DeLeo Discloses Plans to Negotiate Job at Northeastern
By Matt Murphy
House Speaker Robert DeLeo filed an ethics disclosure with the
House clerk on Friday indicating that he intended to begin
negotiating "prospective employment opportunities" with
Northeastern University, confirming what had been speculated on
for days and signaling a coming end to his 12-year run atop the
House.
The letter does not specify if or when the speaker intends to
resign, which would likely depend on the speed and outcome of
his talks with his alma mater.
The letter indicates that he asked his personal legal counsel on
Wednesday, Dec. 16 to consult with the Ethics Commission on his
responsibilities under the conflict of interest law, and said he
was filing the disclosure out of "an abundance of caution."
Robert Popeo, an attorney at Mintz Levin, has been a longtime
friend and counsel to DeLeo, but it was not immediately clear
whether that's who he was referring to.
DeLeo, 70, late Wednesday denied that he has had any direct
conversations with Northeastern University about future
employment or that he had a deal in place to go work there once
he ended his legislative career. He repeated that on Friday.
He also said he knew of no "particular matter or general
legislation presently before me in my official role that would
affect Northeastern University."
That last line of the letter immediately sparked questions on
Beacon Hill about the future of campus sexual assault
legislation, which DeLeo has said he wants to get done before
the end of the session on Jan. 5.
Lawmakers and people close to Majority Leader Ron Mariano, 74,
have said this week that the Quincy Democrat and top deputy to
DeLeo has the votes to succeed the speaker if and when he
resigns, but Rep. Russell Holmes, an outspoken critic of DeLeo's
and advocate for diversity, said Friday he would challenge
Mariano for the title and stand up against what he described as
a "backroom deal" and "structural racism personified."
State House News
Service
Friday, December 18, 2020
Officially Declaring for Speakership, Mariano Urges House to
Focus
By Matt Murphy
House Majority Leader Ron Mariano, in his first public statement
since it became clear that Speaker Robert DeLeo was preparing to
step aside, urged his House colleagues not to lose focus on
rejecting Gov. Charlie Baker's proposed changes to abortion and
policing reforms.
Mariano, a Quincy Democrat and the most likely successor to
DeLeo, confirmed that he will run for the top job in the House
if DeLeo resigns. But as the change in leadership threatens to
overshadow the end-of-session work that remains unfinished,
Mariano said the House cannot let it become a distraction.
"And, in the final days of session, the House must remain
focused on rejecting Governor Baker's efforts to weaken a
woman's right to choose and to dilute our police reform
legislation," Mariano said.
DeLeo officially stated his intent Friday to begin negotiating a
post-politics job with Northeastern University, and people close
to Mariano have been saying for days that the leader has the
votes to become the next speaker.
Mariano stopped short of declaring the contest over Friday,
after Rep. Russell Holmes earlier in the day said he would
challenge Mariano and what he described as a "backroom deal" to
make Mariano the next speaker.
"If Speaker DeLeo resigns, I will be a candidate for Speaker of
the Massachusetts House of Representatives. I believe I have
earned the trust and confidence of my colleagues and that I have
gained their support to lead the House forward," he said.
He added, "Our constituents are eager to recover from this
pandemic and emerge stronger by reviving the economy, curbing
the cost of health care, building the housing and transportation
infrastructure we so desperately need, and addressing the
devastating consequences of climate change."
Mariano also spoke about the legacy DeLeo will leave behind,
crediting his leadership for "an unprecedented period of
progress on behalf of Massachusetts residents." He specifically
noted the passage of a health care cost containment law,
comprehensive gun safety reform, the legalization and regulation
of adult use marijuana, which was first approved by voters, and
criminal justice reform.
State House News
Service
Friday, December 18, 2020
Holmes Plans to Challenge Mariano for House Speaker
Frames Bid as Alternative to "Another Backroom Deal"
By Matt Murphy
Rep. Russell Holmes said Friday morning he intends to challenge
Majority Leader Ron Mariano for control of the House if Speaker
Robert DeLeo steps down, as expected, in the coming weeks,
offering an alternative to DeLeo's top deputy and altering the
course of what was shaping up to be a smooth leadership
transition.
Holmes, a Mattapan Democrat and past leader of the Black and
Latino Legislative Caucus, said he made his decision Thursday
night after speaking with Speaker Pro Tempore Patricia Haddad,
who told him she did not intend to run.
"I have been supportive of having a speaker's race to have a
broad conversation about what the building would look like after
DeLeo," Holmes told the News Service in an interview Friday
morning. "At least we won't just roll over and hand over the
speakership in another backroom deal like they did 12 years
ago."
DeLeo is widely expected to announce soon that he intends to
step down after 30 years in the House and 12 years as speaker.
The Winthrop Democrat has not said anything about his plans, but
reports and those close to him believe he will soon enter
negotiations to join his alma mater Northeastern University.
If DeLeo does resign, people close to Mariano, a Quincy
Democrat, have said he has the votes to succeed DeLeo. Holmes
said he believes that might be true, based on calls he has made
to colleagues, but intends to run nonetheless.
Holmes traced Mariano's ascension to the edge of the speaker's
chair back to former Speaker Sal DiMasi, who put DeLeo in a
position to succeed him before he resigned in 2009 ahead of his
indictment on corruption charges. He said he sees the same thing
happening now between Mariano and House Ways and Means Chairman
Aaron Michlewitz, a Mariano mentee who is expected to remain in
the powerful budget-writing post if Mariano prevails.
"It's a pattern. It literally does not matter. Many of us have
been elected since DiMasi, and still his corrupt poisonous tree
still determines who the speaker is 15 years later. That's
unacceptable to me. It's like none of us matter. This is what I
call structural racism personified."
Holmes had been critical of DeLeo in the past, and lost a
committee vice-chairmanship in 2017 after suggesting that the
Black and Latino Caucus, the Women's Caucus and the Progressive
Caucus should unite to help pick the next speaker, after Brian
Dempsey resigned. Dempsey, a Haverhill Democrat and Ways and
Means chairman at the time, was considered to be the
speaker-in-waiting at the time.
Holmes said he would not be running if Haddad had decided to
challenge for the speakership. Even if DeLeo does not step down
now, Holmes said he will keep his name in the running for
speaker in January.
As speaker, Holmes said, he would rein in stipends for
leadership positions, which are wielded by the leader of the
House and can be used as a tool to keep people in line. He has
long advocated for a more equitable and transparent pay
structure and process for assigning offices and other perks, and
he said the House would be a place that encourages people to
continue their careers outside the State House.
"We should bring our careers and life experience to politics.
Not have politics be our careers," Holmes said.
He also said he would respect members who bring different
perspectives than his from their districts to policy debates,
and not retaliate against members who vote against his
legislative priorities.
"We don't just come here and kowtow to you because you were
appointed by some corrupt dude 12 years ago," Holmes said. "I
hear many white people say, 'I don't know what structural racism
is.' This is it. This is structural racism."
Holmes said he didn't know if he could put together a coalition
to win the race for speaker. Based on calls he made Wednesday
night, he said many legislators have already committed to
Mariano after the leader has spent years lining up votes for the
eventuality of DeLeo's exit.
"It will be difficult, but I believe in the power of prayer,"
Holmes said. "You never know how the Lord wants to bless us."
The Boston
Herald
Friday, December 18, 2020
Mattapan’s Russell Holmes running for Speaker, vows to ‘uproot
this poisonous tree’
By Sean Philip Cotter
State Rep. Russell Holmes is running for Speaker, with the
Mattapan Democrat vowing to end “backroom deals” that he says
have plagued the House for too long under Robert DeLeo and his
predecessors.
“We need to uproot this poisonous tree,” Holmes said, referring
to the criminal corruption under previous Speakers and the norm
of secrecy under the current one, the reportedly exiting Robert
DeLeo.
Holmes said DeLeo, who confirmed rumors on Friday when he told
the State Ethics Commission that he’s eyeing a job at
Northeastern University, has consolidated power far too much,
and said he doesn’t want the Speakership to just pass to DeLeo’s
top deputy, Quincy’s Ron Mariano, without a fight.
“I didn’t think we should just roll over and let this happen,”
Holmes, a financial planner who was elected from Boston’s
Mattapan neighborhood in 2010, said in a phone interview Friday
morning. “It can’t just be more backroom deals.”
He said he’d hoped the number three Democrat, Pat Haddad, would
run, but she told him Thursday night that she’s not going to.
Haddad’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for
comment.
Holmes said he’d look to decentralize power, bringing the
Speaker’s pay back down to the other reps and making the
processes from everything from getting parking spaces and staff
members to acquiring committee chairmanships more transparent.
“It’s all just so consolidated, financially,” Holmes said.
“Politics has become our careers and life experiences — and
that’s the opposite of what the founding fathers wanted.”
Holmes, who’s Black — and would be the only Speaker of color in
the state’s history — decried the lack of people of color in
DeLeo’s leadership team and among committee chairs.
“It makes my district and other districts like it have less of a
voice,” Holmes said, referring to his heavily Black district.
Mariano, a longtime rep, has been at DeLeo’s right hand as
Majority Leader since the Winthrop Democrat took the
speakership.
“We have a white guy handing the speakership to another white
guy,” Holmes said.
State Rep. Claire Cronin, D-Easton, told the Herald on Friday
that she doesn’t see a race for the speaker “being any
possibility” because she’s “confident that Leader Mariano has
the votes to be the next speaker of the House once Speaker DeLeo
chooses to step down.”
“I already think that Leader Mariano has more than enough
support,” Cronin, the House chairwoman of the judiciary
committee, said. “I believe strongly that he will be the next
speaker.”
Holmes acknowledged he faces an uphill battle. He said when he
started calling people Thursday night, he spoke to people who
said they pledged support to Mariano two, three years ago.
“I’m a praying man,” Holmes said. “I’ll be working the phones
over the weekend, calling all 160 members.”
DeLeo, 70, is set to be the first Speaker in this century to
leave to top job without being ousted by criminal charges. He’s
already the longest-serving Speaker in the state’s history.
State House News
Service
Friday, December 18, 2020
Baker Hoping House Succession Frenzy Doesn’t Stall Progress
By Chris Lisinski
There are less than three weeks left before the two-year
lawmaking session ends, and Gov. Charlie Baker is worried that a
sudden race for the House speakership could pull attention away
from a long list of unfinished business.
Baker said at a Friday press conference that he received a call
from House Speaker Robert DeLeo earlier that morning in which
DeLeo revealed his newly disclosed plans to negotiate a job with
Northeastern University.
DeLeo has not indicated a timeline for his potential departure,
but two candidates -- Majority Leader Ronald Mariano and Rep.
Russell Holmes -- have already announced their interest in
succeeding him.
"If I have a concern about this, and this is very much up to the
House to figure out how they want to handle this, it would be
that we're toward the end of the session and there's a whole
bunch of pretty important pieces of legislation kicking around,"
Baker said. "I really hope that people find a way to focus on
trying to get those through the process and to our desk so that
we can sign them."
Four bills -- covering climate change, health care reform,
economic development and transportation bonds -- remain in
conference committees. Two others, on police reform and abortion
access, need to be finalized following proposed amendments from
Baker.
The governor also filed a new bill Friday to freeze the tax rate
for business contributions to the unemployment insurance trust
fund and borrow money to repay federal loans.
Baker said he did not urge DeLeo to remain in leadership until
the session ends, calling it "really personal decisions."
He also said he has worked with both Mariano and Holmes, but did
not express support or opposition for either candidate seeking
to be the next top Democrat in the House.
"Ron Mariano, for all intents and purposes, is probably the key
voice in the House on health care issues and we spent a lot of
time with him talking about health care over the last five
years, and Representative Holmes is somebody we've worked with
on housing issues, economic development issues, transportation
issues, and racial and criminal justice issues," Baker said.
State House News
Service
Friday, December 18, 2020
Former DeLeo Intern Files to Run for His House Seat
By Colin A. Young
On the same day that House Speaker Robert DeLeo made public his
plans to seek a new job with Northeastern University, a former
DeLeo intern and State House aide filed papers to run for the
House seat that DeLeo could soon vacate.
Juan Pablo Jaramillo of Revere filed Friday with the Office of
Campaign and Political Finance to run for the 19th Suffolk House
seat, which is the seat DeLeo occupies and was re-elected to in
November. If DeLeo resigns to take a job outside the State
House, the seat would likely be filled through a special
election.
Jaramillo previously worked as legislative director in the State
House office of Sen. Joseph Boncore of Winthrop and left in 2019
to work as SEIU 32BJ's political coordinator. According to a
resume attached to Revere Mayor Brian Arrigo's appointment of
Jaramillo to the Revere Planning Board, Jaramillo was a
legislative intern in DeLeo's office from August 2015 until
February 2016.
In addition to his work at the State House and for SEIU,
Jaramillo spent almost three years as program director for
Revere Youth in Action, which focuses on community outreach
among the city's teens and youth. He graduated from Revere High
School in 2012 and then earned a degree in political science
from the University of Massachusetts Boston in 2017.
The 19th Suffolk District includes all of Winthrop and parts of
Revere. DeLeo was reelected in November and faced no opponent in
the Democratic primary or the general election. As of Friday
afternoon, Jaramillo was the only candidate filed to run for
that seat.
DeLeo's predecessor, former House Speaker Sal DiMasi, was
succeeded in his House seat by a former DiMasi aide, Aaron
Michlewitz, now chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.
State House News
Service
Friday, December 18, 2020
Progressive Caucus Co-Chairs Supporting Mariano for Speaker
Lewis, Farley-Bouvier Seek "Smooth Transition"
By Chris Van Buskirk
Two top progressive House lawmakers are backing House Majority
Leader Ronald Mariano in a potential speaker's race should House
Speaker Robert DeLeo resign from his post, they told the News
Service on Friday afternoon.
As a potential transition of power within the House looms, Reps.
Tricia Farley-Bouvier and Jack Patrick Lewis, co-chairs of the
House Progressive Caucus, said they believe the Quincy Democrat
can provide a smooth transition of power and strong leadership.
The two lawmakers, who spoke to the News Service in a joint
interview, said they were not speaking on behalf of their caucus
but rather as individuals.
"We've had the opportunity to work with Leader Mariano as a
leader, but also as a partner in legislation over these last
several years, and in this time of great uncertainty, with so
many issues in our commonwealth and with our constituents
struggling through this unimaginable pandemic, we need a smooth
transition," Lewis said. "We need a strong leader. We need
someone who will be a partner. And for me, that is Leader Ron
Mariano."
Mariano on Friday publicly announced his bid for the top post in
the lower chamber after DeLeo filed an ethics disclosure with
the House clerk indicating his intention to begin negotiating
"prospective employment opportunities" with Northeastern
University, his alma mater. DeLeo has served as speaker for 12
years and has been in the House for 30 years.
Rep. Russell Holmes also announced Friday his intention to
challenge Mariano for the job should DeLeo resign. The Mattapan
Democrat previously served as leader of the Black and Latino
Legislative Caucus and said he decided to run after speaking
with Speaker Pro Temp. Patricia Haddad, who said she would not
run for the position.
The talk of DeLeo potentially stepping out of public life comes
at a busy time for the Legislature and with only 18 days left in
the 2019-2020 session. Farley-Bouvier said the potential change
in leadership "adds another challenge to one of the most
challenging years ever."
"A lot of people out there, teachers, nurses, doctors, law
enforcement, a lot of people are doing really hard things and
have stepped up," the Pittsfield Democrat said. "And yes, this
is a really hard thing. And we, as members of the Legislature,
just need to step up and do something hard. And that's what
we're gonna do. And part of that is making sure we have a strong
and smooth transition."
Four conference committees negotiating bills relating to health
care, transportation funding, economic development, and climate
change have yet to find compromises. The House is also dealing
with amendments from Gov. Charlie Baker to the fiscal 2021
budget and a sweeping police reform bill.
Lewis said if a speaker's vote occurs before the end of this
session, he is confident "that my colleagues have the ability to
continue to support their constituents to move this vital
legislation forward, and ensure that we elect a strong,
passionate, new speaker."
"As Leader Mariano reiterated earlier, the focus right now needs
to be on getting these bills across the finish line, overriding
several of the governor's recent, problematic vetoes, and making
sure our constituents and small businesses are taken care of
during this pandemic," he said.
The Boston
Herald
Saturday, December 19, 2020
A Boston Herald editorial
Holmes calls for much needed change on Beacon Hill
There’s a revolution brewing on Beacon Hill — and it’s about
time.
With Robert DeLeo exiting his position as House Speaker,
presumably for a job at Northeastern University,
business-as-usual dictates the job would pass seamlessly to his
top deputy, Quincy’s Ron Mariano.
Not so fast, says state Rep. Russell Holmes, D-Mattapan, who has
thrown his hat in the ring for the speaker’s job.
“I didn’t think we should just roll over and let this happen,”
Holmes, a financial planner who was elected in 2010, said in a
phone interview Friday morning. “It can’t just be more backroom
deals.”
We’re not sure if “backroom deals” have ever been spoken of with
derision before on Beacon Hill, and it’s a breath of fresh air.
Closed-door deals are part and parcel of the House, particularly
when it comes to the annual budget. Critics have slammed these
covert deliberations as lacking transparency for years.
In April of last year, the Herald reported that government
watchdogs and political observers called the House budget
process a “charade,” a “joke” and a “scam” after it finished up
four days of deliberations, mostly done privately in Room 348.
DeLeo will be the first speaker in this century to leave the job
without being ousted by criminal charges. That dubious honor is
a key focus of Holmes’ platform.
“We need to uproot this poisonous tree,” Holmes said, referring
to the criminal corruption under previous speakers and the norm
of secrecy under the DeLeo.
Last year, DeLeo and 34 state reps refused to share any details
of bills they paid or gifts received over the previous three
years. The chamber’s legal counsel informed the Herald the
Legislature is “exempt from the Public Records Law.”
That law shields them from detailing their daily schedules,
providing copies of their emails or handing over notes from
closed-door meetings.
“People should be able to learn what is happening behind closed
doors. The Legislature is doing the public’s business,” Greg
Sullivan, former state inspector general and research director
at the Pioneer Institute said at the time.
An excellent point — but that’s not how business is done on
Beacon Hill.
Changing the status quo is a radical idea. And a much-needed
one.
Holmes said he wants to decentralize power, bringing the
speaker’s pay back down to the other reps and making the
processes for everything from getting parking spaces and staff
members acquiring committee chairmanships more transparent.
Cutting a pol’s pay? In Massachusetts? We hope the State House
is stocked with smelling salts.
““Politics has become our careers and life experiences — and
that’s the opposite of what the founding fathers wanted,” Holmes
said.
Massachusetts taxpayers need leadership that puts citizens first
and the political machine second. It’s time for a change in the
Legislature.
But Holmes is facing an uphill fight.
State Rep. Claire Cronin, D-Easton, told the Herald on Friday
that she doesn’t see a race for the speaker “being any
possibility” because she’s “confident that Leader Mariano has
the votes to be the next speaker of the House once Speaker DeLeo
chooses to step down.”
“I already think that Leader Mariano has more than enough
support,” Cronin, the House chairwoman of the judiciary
committee, said. “I believe strongly that he will be the next
speaker.”
Holmes said he spoke to people who said they pledged support to
Mariano two, three years ago.
“I’m a praying man,” Holmes said.
He is not alone.
State House News
Service
Friday, December 18, 2020
Baker Bill Would Lower Unemployment Insurance Increases
Bill Calls for Bonds to Pay Back Federal Loans
By Chris Lisinski
Massachusetts businesses would face smaller increases in taxes
they pay to fund the state unemployment system over the next two
years, under a new bill Gov. Charlie Baker announced on Friday.
With the state facing an unprecedented surge in demand for
joblessness aid during the COVID-19 pandemic, the unemployment
insurance trust fund is already in the red and relying on
billions of dollars borrowed from the federal government to keep
jobless aid flowing.
Baker's legislation, which does no yet have a bill number, would
freeze the rates employers must pay at their current schedule,
replacing a nearly 60 percent increase in the average
per-employee cost in 2021 with a more modest increase of about
17 percent.
Business leaders have fretted about the impending hikes for
months, warning that they would struggle to hire more workers --
particularly if the economy remains on shaky ground in early
2021 -- if they had to pay significantly more toward the
unemployment fund.
The governor's bill would also enable the state to issue bonds
to pay back federal loans that have helped keep the unemployment
insurance trust fund solvent, a step that Baker said will reduce
the cost Massachusetts pays in the long run and guarantee
benefits without hamstringing businesses.
"The fact that it's so much less expensive means people get
their benefits that they're entitled to and employers, in the
midst of a terrible, terrible time for so many of them, continue
to pay what they pay now and don't get a big quarterly increase
that could be hundreds of dollars per employee," Baker said.
Like many states across the country, Massachusetts has been hit
with a deluge of unemployment claims since the pandemic hit and
prompted widespread business closures in March.
Over the first 10 months of 2020, the state's unemployment
insurance trust fund paid out more than $5.3 billion in
benefits, nearly five times as much as during the same span in
2019, according to a report summarizing the trust fund.
The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development
estimated the trust fund will end the year with a deficit of
nearly $2.4 billion, which could swell to almost $4.8 billion by
the end of 2021.
In its most recent quarterly report issued in October, the
administration projected the shortfall will trigger a change in
the contribution rate from schedule E to schedule G for
employers, pushing the average cost per employee from $544 this
year to $866 next year.
Under Baker's bill, the employer tax rate would remain at
schedule E in 2021 and 2022 rather than jump up to schedule G,
as would be required under current law.
That change would limit the per-employee costs to $635 in 2021
and $665 in 2022, according to Baker's office, providing a
smaller increase that the administration described as $1.3
billion in unemployment insurance rate relief.
Baker urged lawmakers to make the suggested unemployment reform
a priority amid the leadership scramble set off by House Speaker
Robert DeLeo's apparent impending departure.
"We could do this in January or February or March, but if you
want to send a really big and positive signal to employees and
to people who are out of work and to employers, this would be an
incredibly positive message to send because it limits the
increase in unemployment exposure to workers and it also limits
the hit financially that would be associated with employers come
January," Baker said.
Baker filed the bill on the same day that labor officials
announced that the Massachusetts unemployment rate dropped 0.7
percentage points to 6.7 percent in November, mirroring the
national rate.
Despite that improvement, however, less than half of the jobs
lost at the start of the crisis have been restored, and
thousands of laid-off workers in Massachusetts still depend on
unemployment benefits to help them pay rent or put food on the
table during the public health emergency.
With the need for more unemployment aid outpacing money brought
into the system, the state has had to rely in recent months on
the federal government.
Massachusetts has received more than $2.2 billion in federal
loans for its unemployment insurance trust fund as of Thursday,
according to federal data, the fifth-most of any state behind
California, New York, Texas and Illinois.
Those advances will accrue interest at a rate of 2.4 percent
starting next year.
Baker's bill would also authorize the state to issue special
obligation bonds to repay money borrowed from the federal
government, supported by an unemployment obligation assessment.
The governor said Friday that private interest rates are lower
and offer a better payment schedule than borrowing from the
federal government.
Another section of the bill would create a surcharge on
employers to help repay interest on the federal advances, which
will be due starting in fall 2021 and cannot be paid directly
from the unemployment insurance trust fund.
It was not immediately clear how much the surcharge would total.
The hike is also scheduled to take effect alongside two other
substantial cost increases: worker access to paid family and
medical leave and a $0.75 increase in the minimum wage to $13.50
per hour.
Beacon Hill leaders on several occasions, including during the
Great Recession, agreed to freeze the unemployment insurance
rates that employers pay. Sen. Patricia Jehlen, who co-chairs
the Labor and Workforce Development Committee, said in September
that another such action is likely.
"Traditionally, and I think we would want to do this again, we
would need to freeze," Jehlen said at the time. "We would love
to freeze rather than allowing it to go up during a recovery
because so many businesses are in trouble. But we really need
help from the feds to make that possible."
The Boston
Globe
Friday, December 18, 2020
Baker seeks relief for employers on unemployment insurance taxes
By Larry Edelman and Amanda Kaufman
Governor Charlie Baker wants to spare employers a $1.3 billion
increase in unemployment insurance taxes over the next two years
and instead sell bonds to shore up the fund used to pay jobless
benefits.
Baker said at a news conference Friday that his administration
filed a bill with the Legislature that would keep contributions
to the unemployment insurance trust fund on their current
schedule. Without action, employer payments would jump by 60
percent in 2021, to an average of $866 per employee from $539, a
change triggered by the trust fund’s deteriorating financial
condition.
The legislation, if approved by lawmakers, would limit average
payments to $635 in 2021 and $665 in 2022, providing “immediate
and important relief to all businesses across the Commonwealth,”
Baker said.
Business groups have urged lawmakers to forgo the tax increase,
as they have done in previous periods of high unemployment.
The Massachusetts unemployment rate fell to 6.7 percent in
November, matching the national rate, the US Labor Department
said Friday. The jobless rate dropped from 7.4 percent in
October as payrolls increased by 12,200 jobs last month.
Massachusetts has added back more than half of the 690,000 jobs
that disappeared in March and April during the pandemic-induced
lockdown, and the unemployment rate has dropped from a high of
17.7 percent in June.
But the pace of job creation is down from earlier in the
recovery, and jobless claims show continued layoffs as well as
an increase in the ranks of the long-term unemployed. Some 3,400
jobs were cut in the government sector, bringing the loss over
the past year to 30,100, a decline of 6.6 percent.
In another sign of weakness, the state’s labor force decreased
by 43,900 to 3.58 million, as many people gave up looking for
work and were no longer counted as unemployed.
In February, before the pandemic forced the shutdown of most
nonessential businesses, the Massachusetts unemployment rate
stood at 2.8 percent, compared with 3.5 percent nationally.
The unemployment insurance trust fund faces an estimated deficit
of nearly $5 billion next year caused by the spike in
joblessness.
Massachusetts has borrowed $2.2 billion from the federal
government to cover the shortfall, as payments of jobless
benefits have far outstripped employer contributions. Baker
wants to borrow from bond investors to pay back the US Treasury
Department. If the feds aren’t made whole before November 2022,
Massachusetts employers would be hit with what the
administration called “punitive federal tax increases.”
Baker’s bill “seeks to address the critical and urgent issues
that left unaddressed will impose a significant tax increase on
the struggling Massachusetts businesses that are working so very
hard to ensure their employees have a good paycheck and strong
benefits,” Brooke Thomson, executive vice president of
Associated Industries of Massachusetts, said in a statement.
The federal loans were interest-free this year, but that’s about
to change. Interest begins accruing in January and must be paid
starting in November. The state can’t use the insurance trust
fund for those payments.
Baker’s bill would establish a surcharge on employers to cover
the interest payments, though Congress could decide to waive
them.
“While [Baker’s bill] will provide much-needed relief to small
businesses, longer term, the state’s UI system still needs
additional review and reform,” the Greater Boston Chamber of
Commerce said in a statement.
Congressional negotiators continued to struggle Friday to reach
agreement on a stimulus package that would extend federal
unemployment programs that run out next week.
Some 477,000people in Massachusetts face a Dec. 26 cutoff of the
federal benefits, according to a report last month by the
Century Foundation.
The New Boston
Post
Thursday, December 10, 2020
Boston Broadside Providing Voices For Conservatives Throughout
Massachusetts
By Tom Joyce
Six years ago, a former local politician took on a new role:
providing conservatives in the most left-leaning state in the
country a printed outlet to get news and express their opinions.
Lonnie Brennan, the 60-year-old publisher of
The
Boston Broadside, a monthly conservative print newspaper, is
a former Georgetown selectman. Before that he served for eight
years on the school committee in Salem, where he grew up. He was
a two-time candidate for state representative in the 18th Essex
District, in 2006 and 2008.
He also wrote a column for a right-leaning regional monthly
publication.
In 2014, repulsed by the left-leaning mainstream media and not
happy with the right-of-center newspaper he was writing for,
Brennan reached a breaking point.
“I got sick of everybody else writing the headlines,” Brennan
told New Boston Post in a telephone interview. “This is probably
the seventh or eighth paper I’ve been involved with if you count
college. The last one I was writing a monthly column for, and
I’m not sure if you remember the Justina Pelletier case, they
came out and their big headline was that the government needed
more money. That was it for me.”
“… I thought of the expression, ‘If not now, when and if not me,
who?’ ” Brennan said. “I’ve been known to do stupid things in
life. I’m sure you have too. I wanted to do something a little
different and give voices to people who normally don’t have a
voice.”
The Pelletier case involved a dispute between the parents of a
14-year-old Connecticut girl and Boston Children’s Hospital. A
doctor at Tufts Medical Center diagnosed the girl with
mitochondrial disease but sent her for a consultation at
Children’s Hospital, where medical staff diagnosed her with a
psychiatric condition. When her parents disagreed with the
diagnosis, doctors accused them of child abuse, and the
Massachusetts Department of Children and Families removed
Justina from her parents’ custody. Medical staff also moved
Justina to the hospital’s psychiatric ward.
The case outraged many, including advocates for parents’ rights
and families. Brennan wrote a column about it, but he was
disappointed to see it buried deep in the paper he was writing
for at the time.
Shortly thereafter, Brennan, a technical writer by trade,
launched his own publication in May 2014: The Boston Broadside.
The first edition ran about 1,000 copies. Six and a half years
later, the monthly newspaper has published 80 editions and
typically prints around 12,000 to 13,000 copies per issue. A
yearly subscription by media mail costs $30.
The Broadside calls itself “The People’s Paper” and says it
covers “New England Politics And Beyond — Without The Liberal
Spin.” It typically runs 32 pages. Content includes exclusive
news stories and columns by Massachusetts writers and activists;
syndicated columns from conservatives such as Pat Buchanan,
Michelle Malkin, and Ann Coulter; op-eds written by political
candidates; and letters to the editor.
“There is no strategic plan,” Brennan said. “It’s basically
wherever we can get it. I was very lucky to get a distributor
because I had been turned down by many. At first, they’re all
excited until they find out it’s not liberal like The Boston
Globe and won’t touch it. We’re able to get it to several
hundred stores in the central part of the state and southern New
Hampshire and the rest is like water. Wherever it spills out —
mostly volunteers spreading it on the North Shore, South Shore,
the Cape, the South Coast, Falmouth.”
A hunger for news and information from a right-of-center
perspective explains its success, he said.
“The people who subscribe really drive the paper. That’s what
keeps it moving, keeps it growing,” Brennan said.
“We’ve done special editions of 16,000 or 20,000 copies, and one
year, we had an election special where we had 100,000 copies and
our volunteers helped us do that, as did the conservative
politicians running for office taking out ads,” he added. “We
had a lot of conservatives running for Republican State
Committee and we were able to do mailings at a great cost. There
were six people who took out full-page ads, and five of those
six won.”
Brennan’s also paper took an interest in the Massachusetts
Republican State Committee races earlier this year. The 80 races
took place in March. While the races drew little coverage from
the mainstream media, the Broadside not only had stories on the
races, but it also offered endorsements of some candidates and
disavowed candidates Brennan considered too closely associated
with the state’s Republican governor, Charlie Baker, who is a
fiscal moderate and a social liberal.
WRKO radio talk show host Jeff Kuhner said he has followed the
Boston Broadside since its inception.
“I was immediately impressed by the paper — frankly by Lonnie.
He’s an editor’s editor. He’s down the middle. It’s the facts,
and follow-the-facts,” Kuhner said in a telephone interview with
New Boston Post.
Kuhner often mentions Broadside stories during his 6 a.m.-to-10
a.m. weekday show on AM 680, The Kuhner Report. He said when it
comes to welfare fraud, illegal immigration, sanctuary cities,
and political corruption in Massachusetts, the Broadside is a
vital resource.
“They break a lot of stories that The Boston Herald, The Boston
Globe, and frankly the local media and the state media will not
cover,” Kuhner said. “… It’s my favorite print publication in
all of New England. To me, it’s what journalism used to be —
what it should be.”
In fact, the first time Brennan handed out copies of the
Broadside was at one of Kuhner’s events.
Kuhner helped organized a rally in support of the Pelletiers
outside of the Massachusetts State House in Boston in May 2014.
Since Brennan had dedicated the first edition of the Broadside
to the Pelletier case, he went to the rally and started handing
out copies. It caused a sensation.
“It was a blazing hot day, I had a stack of papers from the tips
of my fingers stretched to what seemed the ground to bundles
stacked way above my head,” Brennan said. “I must have looked
like a circus juggler. I plopped down and the bundles scattered
at the feet of the crowd assembling at the State House. Wiping
my forehead, I took apart a bundle and started handing them
around. I wanted folks to know that one paper was covering this,
and giving them something in print they could share with others.
“At first, folks naturally were reluctant,” he added. “Then they
saw the paper, took the paper, read the paper, shared the paper.
The place was abuzz. Within minutes more and more rally
attendees were surrounding me, taking papers, and asking if they
could help hand out the papers. Within what seemed liked five
minutes, there were papers in so many hands, it was incredible.”
The Broadside also covered the rally, including photos and
interviews with people who attended, in the June 2014 edition.
Brennan said one of the upsides to his publication is that he
can give a voice to those who might not otherwise have one.
“Our best idea is that our best content comes from our readers,”
Brennan said. “Right now, we’ve got subscribers in probably half
of Massachusetts — mostly based on the east coast. We’re moving
west towards Worcester as well. I’ll be happy when we have at
least a few subscribers in each city and town, and we have
subscribers in 31 states, so I’d like to beef up the map. I’m
surprised by how many people in Texas and Florida get the paper.
We only have a few in places like Arizona, but we’re mostly in
Massachusetts and New Hampshire.”
One of those leaders is conservative activist Adam Lange,
founder of United Cape Patriots.
“As a conservative leader in a blue state, there are very
limited options for me to receive fair news coverage,” Lange
told New Boston Post in an email message. “In 2020, local media
outlets are more concerned with why everybody is not wearing a
mask, rather than why 100’s of people have assembled to have
their voices heard.
“The Boston Broadside provides conservatives with a sense of
belonging, and has never misquoted me to further an agenda,” he
added.
Ted Tripp helps out the paper as a volunteer reporter. He says
he that he enjoys contributing to the publication and being able
to tell people things that the mainstream media will not.
“Back when I was involved in the Merrimack Valley Tea Party, I
thought the area needed a newspaper or publication with
conservative news stories,” Tripp said by email. “When Lonnie
Brennan launched the Boston Broadside, I thought it was the
perfect medium to promote a non-liberal message to readers
around the state who are unhappy with traditional news sources.
I jumped on board and decided to focus on Massachusetts politics
that are rarely covered by anybody else such as how the budget
works, showing light on little-known, liberal non-profits, or
outrageous happenings which defy common sense.
“I feel the more that the Broadside can expose what’s going on
in these areas, the more informed will be our electorate,” he
added. “And an informed electorate should make better choices at
the ballot box. That is the ultimate satisfaction. A bonus is
when something we publish helps stop a bad bill or outcome, or
helps to pass some good or important legislation.”
When Brennan started the Broadside, he had been writing
regularly for The Valley Patriot, a monthly right-of-center
newspaper that circulates in the Merrimack Valley on both sides
of the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border.
Tom Duggan, owner of The Valley Patriot, told New Boston Post
that he supports what Brennan does, but he says the two
publications have different goals.
Duggan said he started his paper to be a news outlet with a
conservative editorial stance, and that he has no problem
publishing differing opinions. One example: a pro-same-sex
marriage lesbian has written a monthly column for The Valley
Patriot, even though it generally takes conservative editorial
stances.
Duggan said he prizes fairness and supporting free speech over
sending a message, but that he also appreciates The Boston
Broadside.
“We wish them well,” Duggan said in an email message. “We read
it. We like it. It’s just not what we wanted to do. There is a
market for the kind of publication. They are valued members of
their community, and their point of view is sorely needed in
this state. But they are not a ‘newspaper.’ They are an advocacy
paper.
“The Valley Patriot continues to be a newspaper after 16 years.
We continue to promote conservative values, but we are not
partisan. We do not let our editorial opinions color news
coverage. We do not refuse submissions because we disagree with
the content.”
The Boston Broadside is a labor of love for Brennan, not a
vehicle of profit. Brennan says all the money the paper makes
ordinarily goes to paying ad salesmen, paying syndicated
columnists, and paying publishing costs.
Lately, though, he has had to divert some funds to defend a
libel lawsuit filed against the newspaper earlier this fall.
The Broadside published an article in May 2019 about a Needham
man in his mid-70s who said he was unjustly persuaded by a
lawyer into signing away control of his assets. The man, who has
no immediate family, was under pressure from town officials
because six properties he owned were deteriorating and he was
behind on property tax payments. The man has said that after he
signed away control, he was subsequently steered to a nursing
home and that he doesn’t get enough benefit from the money the
property sales generated.
A Netflix series called Dirty Money subsequently ran a segment
on the case.
One of the lawyers involved in the Needham case sued The Boston
Broadside and the producers of the Netflix show for libel in
October 2020, claiming that stories about the case inaccurately
portrayed the facts and damaged his reputation. The lawyer,
Nicholas Louisa, who has an office in Cambridge, said in court
papers that the elderly man at the center of the case, John
Savanovich, is a hoarder with memory problems who cannot take
care of himself. Louisa also said he acted under the direction
of the Probate Court when he oversaw the sale of the elderly
man’s assets, and not on his own authority.
The lawyer also says he and another lawyer involved in the case
have acted in their client’s best interests, and that the man
has a court-appointed conservator who handles his financial
affairs, provides regular updates to him on how is money is
handled, and makes sure he gets a fixed amount each month, and
that he can receive more upon request.
Louisa’s attorney, Howard Cooper, told New Boston Post by email,
“Truth matters. We invite anyone interested in the truth to read
Mr. Louisa’s detailed public filings in court including the 150
decision issued by [a probate judge]. Mr. Louisa fully looks
forward to presenting his case to a jury.”
Brennan stands by his reporting, saying that it’s based on court
documents. He says the articles he published offer important
information about how the state’s probate system sometimes
doesn’t serve the best interests of elderly people. He describes
the libel suit as “frivolous,” and says it puts a damper on the
pursuit of truth.
“It’s not just meant to silence us, but any senior or anyone who
doesn’t have a voice, and to put fear into them, their siblings,
spouses or whatever,” Brennan said. “It’s a scary thing. You
don’t want to get letters from lawyers. My attitude has been,
‘Come get me.’ If we make a mistake, fine, we’ll correct it and
print the truth, but if we’re printing the truth, you might not
like it. You can print things that some people will be offended
by.”
The case is pending in Middlesex Superior Court.
For a newspaper that doesn’t make money, a libel suit poses a
threat to its existence. Supporters of The Boston Broadside have
rallied to the paper in an hour of need, contributing to a legal
defense fund.
As of Sunday, December 6, a GoFundMe campaign supporting the
Broadside amid its lawsuit had raised $15,609.
Brennan said the response has thrilled him.
“I have to say, when we took in the first $366 I was stunned,
and felt a touch in my eyes. When we hit $15,000, we were
enabled to begin to fight back. Still, it’s outrageous …”
Brennan said. “… I cannot begin to tell you how many hours I
have had to spend in the past four months sitting before lawyers
and support staff. It’s obscene. And, lawfare is costly. It’s
even more costly if you don’t fight back.”
“I am grateful, humbled, and daily stunned at the ‘extended
Broadside Family’ that has come to our rescue, to keep us in the
game. It is amazing.”
Despite his current troubles, Brennan sees upward mobility for
the Broadside.
“The goal would be to try to grow it whether by word of mouth or
by continuing to put out papers. Everything that comes into the
paper goes into the paper and growing the paper,” Brennan said.
As for Massachusetts, where Democrats outnumber Republicans
nine-to-one in the state Senate and five-to-one in the state
House of Representatives, Brennan also has high hopes.
He said he wants to see conservatives unite and revolt against
the moderate-to-liberal faction of the Massachusetts Republican
Party, and use every mode of media to get their message out. If
they can do that, then he thinks they have a shot at serious
growth in the state.
“Conservatives need to unite, and conservative candidates need
to coordinate every aspect of their campaigns – everything:
message, presentation, canvasing, mailings, visibility, et
cetera,” Brennan said. “Conservatives have virtually no ‘air
game’ in most media. Conservatives need a message, a voice, a
plan, and messengers. Think, for example, of Barbara Anderson.
Prior to her death, she had an incredible name-recognition
status. Anytime there was a bill at the State House about taxes,
Barbara was on the talk shows, on the TV shows, on the local
cable. She had her weekly column printed in the Salem Evening
News and occasionally elsewhere. Yes, she did not tread gently
into liberal bastions, she charged in, and explained and fought
for the taxpayer.”
Brennan has a vision for Massachusetts government that for seem
might seem breathtaking.
“Working strongly, together, conservatives can take over the
House of Representatives,” he added. “Yes, it’s a long march,
but doing what they are currently doing – leaving 83% of the
Democrats unchallenged, year after year, is helping no one.” |
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
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