 |
Post Office Box 1147
▪
Marblehead, Massachusetts 01945
▪
(781) 639-9709
“Every Tax is a Pay Cut ... A Tax Cut is a Pay Raise”
47 years as “The Voice of Massachusetts Taxpayers”
— and their Institutional Memory
— |
|
CLT
UPDATE
Sunday, August 8, 2021
Beacon Hill "Awash
With Your Cash"
Jump directly to CLT's Commentary on the
News
|
Most Relevant News
Excerpts
(Full news reports follow
Commentary)
|
|
Beacon Hill is awash
with your old cash.
Over the last year,
Massachusetts state government collected more than
$5 billion more from residents, workers and
businesses than it was expecting, a surge in tax
receipts that should give lawmakers a massive
surplus to spend at the same time that they are
considering how to use billions of dollars that the
federal government has provided in connection with
the pandemic and economic recovery from it.
The Department of
Revenue on Tuesday evening reported that final tax
collections for fiscal year 2021 totaled $34.137
billion, $5.047 billion or 17.3 percent above the
state's benchmark and $4.528 billion or 15.3 percent
more than the actual amount collected in fiscal year
2020....
The year-end numbers
mean the Legislature and Gov. Charlie Baker will
have a sizeable fiscal 2021 surplus to dispense
with, though the exact amount of surplus cash is
still to be determined. DOR said it expects to make
some "year-end" adjustments to fiscal 2021
collections during the month of August. Fiscal 2021
ended June 30.
Through May, the state
had already collected $3.9 billion more than
projected over the first 11 months of fiscal 2021,
and midway through June the Department of Revenue
reported having already collected 80 percent of what
was expected for the full month.
By the end of June, DOR
said it had collected $3.687 billion for the month
-- $1.11 billion or 43.1 percent more than what the
agency had been expecting to bring in. The June haul
capped off a fiscal year during which collections
rose more than 15 percent from the $29.596 billion
collected in fiscal year 2020....
The first indication of
how fiscal year 2022 tax collections are shaping up
is expected to come Wednesday when DOR is due to
report July receipts.
After agreeing in
January to an estimate of $30.12 billion in taxes,
lawmakers and the administration agreed in the
budget signed last month to increase the tax revenue
projections for fiscal 2022 to $34.35 billion, a
$4.23 billion increase.
State
House News Service
Tuesday, August 3, 2021
Tax Collections Soared 15 Percent
Last Fiscal Year
Lawmakers Face Surplus Spending Decisions After
Recess
June 2021 revenue
collections total $3.687 billion, $1.11 billion
above monthly benchmark; FY21 revenue collections
were 17.3% over annual benchmark, 15.3% above FY20
actual.
Massachusetts
Department of Revenue (DOR) Commissioner Geoffrey
Snyder today announced that preliminary June 2021
revenue collections total $3.687 billion as of
August 3, 2021, which is $1.11 billion or 43.1% more
than benchmark...
Revenue collections for
Fiscal Year 2021 were $34.137 billion, $5.047
billion or 17.3% above benchmark and $4.528 billion
or 15.3% over the actual amount collected in Fiscal
Year 2020.
Massachusetts Department of Revenue
Tuesday, August 3, 2021
Press Release
FY21 Revenue Collections Total
$34.137 Billion
The Department of
Revenue's tax collection train kept a-rolling in
July, kicking off fiscal year 2022 by bringing in
more than $2.25 billion and beating last July's
collections by more than 5 percent.
About 24 hours before
announcing July receipts, DOR reported that final
tax collections for fiscal year 2021 totaled $34.137
billion -- more than $5 billion and 17 percent above
the state's benchmark and $4.5 billion or 15 percent
more than the actual amount collected in fiscal year
2020.
The $2.252 billion
hauled in during July was $110 million or 5.1
percent more than what the state took in last July,
DOR announced Wednesday....
State
House News Service
Thursday, August 5, 2021
Tax Collection Growth
Brisk To Start Fiscal 2022
The Department of
Revenue on Tuesday reported an eye-popping number:
in the fiscal year that ended June 30, state
government collected $5.047 billion more in taxes
than budget-writers anticipated.
That haul tees up Baker
and lawmakers for debate on how to spend a hefty
surplus, all while the Legislature continues to hear
pitches for how to disperse roughly $5 billion in
American Rescue Plan Act funding that sits in a
savings account.
If the pace keeps up --
which appears possible, based on the robust July
revenues DOR reported Wednesday -- supporters of a
proposed surtax on income above $1 million on the
2022 ballot next year might decide to adjust their
campaign pitch.
State
House News Service
Friday, August 6, 2021
Weekly Roundup
Fiscal watchdogs
blasted the Massachusetts millionaire tax proposal
as the state is “awash” in more than $5 billion in
excess tax revenues and billions more in federal
coronavirus relief.
“Massachusetts right
now is awash in revenue,” said Greg Sullivan,
research director at the Pioneer Institute. “What
I’m saying is, don’t drive a stake through the
technology economy that’s kept the Massachusetts
economy afloat.”
The Department of
Revenue on Tuesday reported final tax collections
for fiscal year 2021 totaled $34.137 billion, $5.047
billion or 17.3% above the state’s benchmark.
It’s more than $4.528
billion or 15.3% above what the state collected the
prior year — a “remarkable” feat considering most
economists predicted the pandemic business closures
would put Massachusetts tax collections in the red
by more than $5 billion, Sullivan said.
But it’s a position
Sullivan said could soon reverse if the state opts
to impose the millionaire tax with populist appeal.
Twenty-two papers published on the
proposed tax by Pioneer argue the high taxes are
likely to drive high earners — and companies — out
of the Bay State....
Paul D. Craney of the
conservative Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance called
the tax a “dangerous” takedown of a constitutional
protection that requires everyone be taxed the same
rate.
“Clearly the state
doesn’t need more money,” Craney said, noting tax
collections came in 15% above benchmark during an
economic recession. “The state would be wise to give
back some of that money to the taxpayers where it
belongs, but instead legislators — not constituents
— want to raise taxes yet again.”
The
Boston Herald
Wednesday, August 4, 2021
Watchdogs blast Massachusetts
millionaire tax proposal
as state ‘awash’ in excess tax revenues
The Massachusetts state
pension fund ended fiscal year 2021 with the highest
return in its history and saw its assets swell to a
record $95.7 billion.
The 29.5 percent return
net of fees beat the Pension Reserves Investment
Trust fund's benchmark by 8.9 percent, making it the
highest fiscal year return since the 25.6 percent
return realized in the fund's first year, 1986. It
is also the highest relative return since the fund
beat its 2000 benchmark by 5.9 percent....
The record return means
the PRIT fund saw a net investment gain of $22.1
billion in fiscal 2021, $6.7 billion more than the
fund's benchmark return. The fund paid out a net
$1.2 billion in benefits to retirees during fiscal
2021. The retirement funds of state employees,
teachers and many municipal employees in
Massachusetts are invested through PRIM.
"Both the pension
beneficiaries and the taxpayers of Massachusetts are
well served by PRIM. These large gains help secure
pension benefits to more than 300,000 beneficiaries
and also solidify the Commonwealth’s financial
position," Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, who oversees
PRIM, said.
State
House News Service
Tuesday, August 3, 2021
Pension Fund Return
Approached 30 Percent in Fiscal '21
Legislature staffers
got a 6% pay raise and other perks this year when
House and Senate leaders agreed to a bump in
salaries, but at least one lawmaker is pushing to
give them more money.
Sen. Diana DiZoglio,
D-Methuen, has filed several proposals to boost the
base salary of a legislative staffer to $55,000;
provide cost-of-living increases annually, instead
of every two years; and offer them state health
insurance when they're hired, eliminating a current
60-day waiting period.
DiZoglio said a recent
survey of staffers showed many are working long
hours and struggling to pay their bills.
"The results of that
survey were pretty daunting in terms salaries and
overall morale in the building," she said. "We need
to do better for our staffers."
That survey, which
DiZoglio helped organize, found that nearly 90% of
Beacon Hill legislative staffers felt they were not
paid adequately for their work, while 83% believed
their pay was not commensurate with their skill
level....
Earlier this year, the
House and Senate agreed to a 6% cost-of-living raise
for staffers and increased the base pay to $44,000.
Staffers also got a $500 stipend to defray the costs
of working remotely.
In addition, the Senate
expanded its family leave policy to allow up to 16
weeks of paid time off to care for a new child.
Previously staffers qualified for eight weeks of
time off....
The debate over pay
raises for staff comes as lawmakers collect their
third pay raise in as many legislative sessions.
The state’s 200 House
and Senate lawmakers got a $4,280 bump in their base
salaries beginning this year.
The 6.46% raise boosts
lawmakers' base pay to $70,536 a year. That figure
doesn't include stipends for committee
assignments....
Beacon Hill watchdogs
say now isn’t the time to be doling out raises, for
lawmakers or their staff.
"It's inappropriate for
any state government official to take a pay raise at
this time, considering we are still in the depths of
this COVID-19 crisis, and the fact that many many
people have gone without pay for quite some time,"
said David Tuerck, president of the Beacon Hill
Institute. "They should wait."
The Salem
News
Monday, August 2, 2021
Lawmaker wants raises for
legislative staff
Three dozen groups
filed a total of 30 initiative petitions with
Attorney General Maura Healey's office by the
end-of-day deadline Wednesday, kicking off a
months-long process that will determine which
proposed laws and constitutional amendments go
before voters.
In addition to
questions that supporters unveiled in recent days
with public campaign launches, sponsors submitted
proposals that would require all elections in
Massachusetts to use hand-counted paper ballots,
legalize the sale of consumer fireworks, require the
state to make legal assistance available in eviction
proceedings, and once again permit certain "happy
hour" drink specials that have been banned since
1984.
Several groups filed
multiple versions of their question on a single
topic, including those seeking a voter ID
requirement and an overhaul of the status and
benefits for app-based drivers. Proponents sometimes
submit several varying versions of their question to
keep options open during initial steps of the
process.
State
House News Service
Wednesday, August 4, 2021
Deadline Leads To Filing Of 30
Possible Ballot Questions
Three state lawmakers
and Republican gubernatorial candidate Geoff Diehl
helped kick off an effort on Wednesday to undermine
a regional carbon emission reduction program pushed
by Gov. Charlie Baker, filing a proposed ballot
question for 2022 that seeks to effectively block
the state's participation in the Transportation
Climate Initiative.
The potential ballot
initiative is the latest in a series of attempts by
opponents to disrupt the momentum behind the
regional cap-and-trade program that started in 2018
as a coalition of 12 states and the District of
Columbia but has seen the number of commitments from
states along the East Coast shrink.
Rep. David DeCoste, a
Norwell Republican, filed the paperwork with
Attorney General Maura Healey's office, submitting
the language and the initial 10 signatures required
to start the long process of qualifying for next
year's ballot....
The initiative petition
filed on Wednesday stipulates that "the supply of
gasoline, diesel fuel, special fuels or similar
motor fuels available to meet consumer demand shall
not be reduced or restricted by the imposition of
any tax, fee, other revenue generating mechanism, or
market-based compliance mechanism." ...
The petition was also
signed by DeCoste, Rep. Nick Boldyga, a Southwick
Republican, Rep. Colleen Garry, a Dracut Democrat,
and Paul Craney, spokesman for the Massachusetts
Fiscal Alliance.
"TCI will force working
families and middle-class Massachusetts to subsidize
electric vehicles for the affluent. The people that
will feel the pinch deserve a voice in this process.
Consumers should be free to make their own decisions
and TCI should never restrict the amount of gasoline
Massachusetts motorists can purchase. It's bad
economics and cruel," Craney said....
The governors of
Connecticut and Rhode Island are in the process of
working with lawmakers in their states to secure
approval to move forward with TCI, while eight other
states have not formally signed onto TCI but remain
involved in the planning, according to the
Georgetown Climate Center.
Baker did not need to
seek the approval of the Legislature to sign the
memorandum of understanding to join TCI because the
2008 Global Warming Solutions Act authorized the
executive branch to enter into market-based
agreements to reduce emissions from varying sectors.
Craney said that under
the language of the proposed ballot question Baker
could still join TCI, but that the framework of the
program would have to be significantly altered to
allow much broader availability of carbon
allowances....
If the question is
certified by Healey's office, proponents would need
to collect more than 80,000 signatures by Nov. 17 to
proceed to the next step of the ballot qualification
process.
State
House News Service
Wednesday, August 4, 2021
Ballot Proposal Targets
Participation in Transpo Emissions Pact
Diehl Among Critics Of Effort Led by Baker
Among 28 potential
ballot questions that could land on the 2022
statewide ballot are proposals that would gut a
controversial regional plan to slash carbon
emissions, allow Bay Staters to enjoy happy-hour
libations and five iterations of a question that
could compel voters to show ID at the polls.
Three dozen groups
filed the various petition initiatives with Attorney
General Maura Healey’s office by the end-of-day
deadline Wednesday, kicking off a months-long
process that will determine which of the proposals
go before voters next year. Two proposed
constitutional amendments were also filed.
A petition filed
Wednesday by state Rep. David DeCoste would bar
restriction or reduction of gas, something the
Transportation Climate Initiative aims to do in
order to reach its goal of reducing carbon emissions
by 26% by 2032.
Paul D. Craney, of Mass
Fiscal Alliance, said the ballot question would let
“the people who will be on the hook for this get the
final say.” Gov. Charlie Baker, who backs TCI, has
solely decided to involve the state....
The attorney general’s
office will review each initiative petition to
determine if they meet necessary constitutional
requirements. Certified petitions will be listed by
Sept. 1, at which time supporters will then need to
collect signatures from 80,239 registered voters and
file them with local elections officials by Nov. 17.
At least one question
is ready to be put in ink: A so-called “millionaire
tax” constitutional amendment that would impose a 4%
additional income tax on income of more than $1
million.
The
Boston Herald
Thursday, August 5, 2021
Potential Massachusetts 2022
ballot questions would cancel TCI,
require voter ID, allow happy hour
In the first informal
session of the summer recess, the House completed
work it started last week when it began the process
of considering 16 amendments to the fiscal year 2022
budget recommended by Gov. Charlie Baker.
Ways and Means
Assistant Vice Chairman Paul Donato and Rep. Don
Wong oversaw the reenactment of policies ranging
from the creation of a hate crimes task force to
transfers of $250 million to the state pension fund
and $350 million to a new reserve to help pay for
the Student Opportunity Act in future years.
Baker said he would
prefer to use money from last fiscal year's surplus
to make those investments, but now he must consider
whether to sign or veto the spending. The House also
passed a bill naming a bridge in Auburn, and enacted
local bills for Freetown, Randolph and Lunenburg.
State
House News Service
Monday, August 2, 2021
House Session Summary -
Monday, Aug. 2, 2021
Completes Budget Amendment Work That It Started Last
Week
The Senate on Monday
took final steps on 16 of Gov. Charlie Baker's 25
amendments to the fiscal 2022 budget, re-enacting
bills containing sections of that $47.6 billion
spending bill that Baker had sent back to lawmakers
with proposed changes.
Those 16 bills are now back on the governor's desk,
where they could be approved or vetoed.
The Legislature rejected many of Baker's proposed
amendments, but adopted some, including a later
deadline for distributing money to regional tourism
councils. Before adjourning until Thursday, the
Senate also enacted bills affecting municipal
affairs in Freetown, Lunenburg and Randolph.
State House News Service
Monday, August 2, 2021
Senate Session Summary -
Monday, Aug. 2, 2021
Sends 16 Fiscal 2022 Budget Measures Back to Baker
The U.S. Census Bureau is scheduled Thursday to
release the first local-level results from the 2020
Census and host a press conference to provide
analysis of the data on population change, race,
ethnicity, the age 18 and over population, and
housing occupancy status. Once the data is
available, Massachusetts and every other state will
use it to redraw the boundaries of Congressional and
state legislative districts.
"I am delighted that we will soon have the
information we need to redraw our voting districts
in a way that gives every vote equal weight,"
Secretary of State William Galvin, who serves as
Census liaison and will oversee the Census data
analysis, said.
With the detailed local population data on hand, the
Legislature can truly begin the process of reshaping
voting districts with a few sometimes-conflicting
priorities in mind, like maximizing minority
representation and protecting incumbents.
The 2020 Census counted 7,029,917 people living in
Massachusetts, a 7.4 percent increase over the last
decade that outpaced the 4.1 percent average in the
Northeast and equaled the growth rate of the country
as a whole.
The state's growth has been uneven, likely requiring
the western Massachusetts districts represented by
U.S. Rep Richard Neal and U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern's
western/central district to be expanded in size to
meet the 781,497-constituent target set by Census
officials, while the footprint of eastern districts
close to Boston may need to shrink or shift west.
That situation will come into clearer focus with the
release of the local population data. Massachusetts
added 482,288 people since the last Census in 2010,
ensuring that its delegation to the U.S. House will
remain the same size rather than shrinking by one as
happened after the 2010 count.
State House News Service
Friday, August 6, 2021
Advances - Week of Aug. 8, 2021
Data Release Triggers
Redistricting Sprint |
|
"Beacon Hill is awash
with your old cash" the State House News Service
reported on Tuesday ("Tax
Collections Soared 15 Percent Last Fiscal Year
— Lawmakers Face
Surplus Spending Decisions After Recess"):
Over the last
year, Massachusetts state government collected more than $5
billion more from residents, workers and businesses than it was
expecting, a surge in tax receipts that should give lawmakers a
massive surplus to spend at the same time that they are
considering how to use billions of dollars that the federal
government has provided in connection with the pandemic and
economic recovery from it.
The Department
of Revenue on Tuesday evening reported that final tax
collections for fiscal year 2021 totaled $34.137 billion, $5.047
billion or 17.3 percent above the state's benchmark and $4.528
billion or 15.3 percent more than the actual amount collected in
fiscal year 2020....
The year-end
numbers mean the Legislature and Gov. Charlie Baker will have a
sizeable fiscal 2021 surplus to dispense with, though the exact
amount of surplus cash is still to be determined. DOR said it
expects to make some "year-end" adjustments to fiscal 2021
collections during the month of August. Fiscal 2021 ended June
30.
Through May,
the state had already collected $3.9 billion more than projected
over the first 11 months of fiscal 2021, and midway through June
the Department of Revenue reported having already collected 80
percent of what was expected for the full month.
By the end of
June, DOR said it had collected $3.687 billion for the month --
$1.11 billion or 43.1 percent more than what the agency had been
expecting to bring in. The June haul capped off a fiscal year
during which collections rose more than 15 percent from the
$29.596 billion collected in fiscal year 2020....
The first
indication of how fiscal year 2022 tax collections are shaping
up is expected to come Wednesday when DOR is due to report July
receipts.
After agreeing
in January to an estimate of $30.12 billion in taxes, lawmakers
and the administration agreed in the budget signed last month to
increase the tax revenue projections for fiscal 2022 to $34.35
billion, a $4.23 billion increase.
Earlier in the day in its press release
("FY21 Revenue
Collections Total $34.137 Billion") the Massachusetts
Department of Revenue acknowledged:
June 2021 revenue
collections total $3.687 billion, $1.11 billion
above monthly benchmark; FY21 revenue
collections were 17.3% over annual benchmark,
15.3% above FY20 actual.
Massachusetts Department of
Revenue (DOR) Commissioner Geoffrey Snyder today
announced that preliminary June 2021 revenue
collections total $3.687 billion as of August 3,
2021, which is $1.11 billion or 43.1% more than
benchmark...
Revenue collections for
Fiscal Year 2021 were $34.137 billion, $5.047
billion or 17.3% above benchmark and $4.528
billion or 15.3% over the actual amount
collected in Fiscal Year 2020.
On Thursday upon release of the DOR's updated
numbers the State House News Service reported ("Tax
Collection Growth Brisk To Start Fiscal 2022"):
The Department
of Revenue's tax collection train kept a-rolling in July,
kicking off fiscal year 2022 by bringing in more than $2.25
billion and beating last July's collections by more than 5
percent.
About 24 hours
before announcing July receipts, DOR reported that final tax
collections for fiscal year 2021 totaled $34.137 billion -- more
than $5 billion and 17 percent above the state's benchmark and
$4.5 billion or 15 percent more than the actual amount collected
in fiscal year 2020.
The $2.252
billion hauled in during July was $110 million or 5.1 percent
more than what the state took in last July, DOR announced
Wednesday....
In its
Weekly Roundup the News
Service added:
The Department of Revenue
on Tuesday reported an eye-popping number: in
the fiscal year that ended June 30, state
government collected $5.047 billion more in
taxes than budget-writers anticipated.
That haul tees up Baker and
lawmakers for debate on how to spend a hefty
surplus, all while the Legislature continues to
hear pitches for how to disperse roughly $5
billion in American Rescue Plan Act funding that
sits in a savings account.
Beyond the staggering amount of revenue
raked into the state's treasury over the past fiscal year — despite
the ChiCom virus's crippling lockdown of the state economy and
people's lives and livelihoods — what stunned me most is how
cavalierly the new default position has been accepted, as if there
are no other possibilities, considerations, or outcomes.
"The year-end numbers
mean the Legislature and Gov. Charlie Baker will have a sizeable
fiscal 2021 surplus to dispense with, though the exact amount of
surplus cash is still to be determined."
"That haul tees up
Baker and lawmakers for debate on how to spend a hefty surplus,
all while the Legislature continues to hear pitches for how to
disperse roughly $5 billion in American Rescue Plan Act funding
that sits in a savings account."
A tax revenue surplus — especially one
of this magnitude — presents a demonstrable case of
over-taxation. When any governor and any legislature are
confronted with the conundrum of how to squander a multi-billion
dollar windfall extracted from their constituents then taxpayers are
in dire trouble.
Far more money than is needed has piled
up in the state's coffers, yet not even a fleeting thought is given
to returning it — or even a portion
of it as a token of appreciation —
to its rightful owners, the taxpayers who earned it from whom it was
taken without any need. Recall how quickly the
Legislature killed
Gov. Baker's proposal to extend the weekend "sales tax holiday" to
two months estimated to return to taxpayers $900 million of the
FIVE BILLION-PLUS unexpected revenue surplus —
less than 20 percent of the state's tax over-extraction bonanza.
The News Service's Weekly Round up went
on, adding:
If the pace keeps up --
which appears possible, based on the robust July
revenues DOR reported Wednesday -- supporters of
a proposed surtax on income above $1 million on
the 2022 ballot next year might decide to adjust
their campaign pitch.
"Adjust their campaign
pitch"? No, it should mean The Takers need to drop
their latest assault on taxpayers, their attempt to steal even more
from the productive. Dealing with anyone else I'd think that
they should be embarrassed of themselves —
but we know from experience that embarrassment is absent from the
sponge genes, a defect in the dependent cohort's DNA, a missing link
with the productive taxpayer.
That doesn't mean that we should just
roll over for them and let The Takers have they way with us
without a fight.
The Boston Herald reported on Wednesday ("Watchdogs
blast Massachusetts millionaire tax proposal as state ‘awash’ in
excess tax revenues"):
Fiscal watchdogs blasted
the Massachusetts millionaire tax proposal as
the state is “awash” in more than $5 billion in
excess tax revenues and billions more in federal
coronavirus relief.
“Massachusetts right now is
awash in revenue,” said Greg Sullivan, research
director at the Pioneer Institute. “What I’m
saying is, don’t drive a stake through the
technology economy that’s kept the Massachusetts
economy afloat.” ...
The Department of Revenue
on Tuesday reported final tax collections for
fiscal year 2021 totaled $34.137 billion, $5.047
billion or 17.3% above the state’s benchmark.
It’s more than $4.528
billion or 15.3% above what the state collected
the prior year — a “remarkable” feat considering
most economists predicted the pandemic business
closures would put Massachusetts tax collections
in the red by more than $5 billion, Sullivan
said.
But it’s a position
Sullivan said could soon reverse if the state
opts to impose the millionaire tax with populist
appeal.
Twenty-two papers published on the proposed
tax by Pioneer argue the high taxes are likely
to drive high earners — and companies — out of
the Bay State....
Paul D. Craney of the
conservative Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance
called the tax a “dangerous” takedown of a
constitutional protection that requires everyone
be taxed the same rate.
“Clearly the state doesn’t
need more money,” Craney said, noting tax
collections came in 15% above benchmark during
an economic recession. “The state would be wise
to give back some of that money to the taxpayers
where it belongs, but instead legislators — not
constituents — want to raise taxes yet again.”
Unfortunately for
Massachusetts taxpayers, More Is Never Enough (MINE) and more never
will be — until The Takers have
every last cent of what you've earned the hard way
— you worked for it.
It's not just tax revenues
that are pouring into the state's coffers despite the CCP Pandemic.
The State House News Service reported
on Tuesday ("Pension
Fund Return Approached 30 Percent in Fiscal '21"):
The Massachusetts state
pension fund ended fiscal year 2021 with the
highest return in its history and saw its assets
swell to a record $95.7 billion.
The 29.5 percent return net
of fees beat the Pension Reserves Investment
Trust fund's benchmark by 8.9 percent, making it
the highest fiscal year return since the 25.6
percent return realized in the fund's first
year, 1986. It is also the highest relative
return since the fund beat its 2000 benchmark by
5.9 percent....
The record return means the
PRIT fund saw a net investment gain of $22.1
billion in fiscal 2021, $6.7 billion more than
the fund's benchmark return. The fund paid out a
net $1.2 billion in benefits to retirees during
fiscal 2021. The retirement funds of state
employees, teachers and many municipal employees
in Massachusetts are invested through PRIM.
"Both the pension
beneficiaries and the taxpayers of Massachusetts
are well served by PRIM. These large gains help
secure pension benefits to more than 300,000
beneficiaries and also solidify the
Commonwealth’s financial position," Treasurer
Deborah Goldberg, who oversees PRIM, said.
File this under good news
for taxpayers, as taxpayers are on the hook for unfunded pension
liabilities for all those hard-working, underpaid and unappreciated
government employees. today
there
more than 300,000 beneficiaries collecting their monthly
kisses in the mail.
With all this cash
slushing around Beacon Hill neck deep can pay raises be far off? You
know the answer.
The Salem News reported on Monday ("Lawmaker
wants raises for legislative staff"):
Legislature staffers got a
6% pay raise and other perks this year when
House and Senate leaders agreed to a bump in
salaries, but at least one lawmaker is pushing
to give them more money.
Sen. Diana DiZoglio,
D-Methuen, has filed several proposals to boost
the base salary of a legislative staffer to
$55,000; provide cost-of-living increases
annually, instead of every two years; and offer
them state health insurance when they're hired,
eliminating a current 60-day waiting period.
DiZoglio said a recent
survey of staffers showed many are working long
hours and struggling to pay their bills.
"The results of that survey
were pretty daunting in terms salaries and
overall morale in the building," she said. "We
need to do better for our staffers."
That survey, which DiZoglio
helped organize, found that nearly 90% of Beacon
Hill legislative staffers felt they were not
paid adequately for their work, while 83%
believed their pay was not commensurate with
their skill level....
Earlier this year, the
House and Senate agreed to a 6% cost-of-living
raise for staffers and increased the base pay to
$44,000. Staffers also got a $500 stipend to
defray the costs of working remotely.
In addition, the Senate
expanded its family leave policy to allow up to
16 weeks of paid time off to care for a new
child. Previously staffers qualified for eight
weeks of time off....
The debate over pay raises
for staff comes as lawmakers collect their third
pay raise in as many legislative sessions.
The state’s 200 House and
Senate lawmakers got a $4,280 bump in their base
salaries beginning this year.
The 6.46% raise boosts
lawmakers' base pay to $70,536 a year. That
figure doesn't include stipends for committee
assignments....
Beacon Hill watchdogs say
now isn’t the time to be doling out raises, for
lawmakers or their staff.
"It's inappropriate for any
state government official to take a pay raise at
this time, considering we are still in the
depths of this COVID-19 crisis, and the fact
that many many people have gone without pay for
quite some time," said David Tuerck, president
of the Beacon Hill Institute. "They should
wait."
Can you imagine an
employer asking whether or not an employee thinks he or she is
getting paid enough — and not knowing
the answer before asking? I'm trying to decide
whether legislators are this stupid. or they think we are.
They live in their own cloistered bubble where they vote their own
compensation and benefits and enrichments and for those close within
their sphere. They are a separate species from the taxpayers
they allege to represent.
But they keep getting
re-elected so who are the stupid ones?
Definitely good news this
week for motorists! The
State House News Service reported on Wednesday ("Ballot
Proposal Targets Participation in Transpo Emissions Pact—
Diehl Among Critics Of Effort Led by Baker"):
Three state lawmakers and
Republican gubernatorial candidate Geoff Diehl
helped kick off an effort on Wednesday to
undermine a regional carbon emission reduction
program pushed by Gov. Charlie Baker, filing a
proposed ballot question for 2022 that seeks to
effectively block the state's participation in
the Transportation Climate Initiative.
The potential ballot
initiative is the latest in a series of attempts
by opponents to disrupt the momentum behind the
regional cap-and-trade program that started in
2018 as a coalition of 12 states and the
District of Columbia but has seen the number of
commitments from states along the East Coast
shrink.
Rep. David DeCoste, a
Norwell Republican, filed the paperwork with
Attorney General Maura Healey's office,
submitting the language and the initial 10
signatures required to start the long process of
qualifying for next year's ballot....
The initiative petition
filed on Wednesday stipulates that "the supply
of gasoline, diesel fuel, special fuels or
similar motor fuels available to meet consumer
demand shall not be reduced or restricted by the
imposition of any tax, fee, other revenue
generating mechanism, or market-based compliance
mechanism." ...
The petition was also
signed by DeCoste, Rep. Nick Boldyga, a
Southwick Republican, Rep. Colleen Garry, a
Dracut Democrat, and Paul Craney, spokesman for
the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance.
"TCI will force working
families and middle-class Massachusetts to
subsidize electric vehicles for the affluent.
The people that will feel the pinch deserve a
voice in this process. Consumers should be free
to make their own decisions and TCI should never
restrict the amount of gasoline Massachusetts
motorists can purchase. It's bad economics and
cruel," Craney said....
The governors of
Connecticut and Rhode Island are in the process
of working with lawmakers in their states to
secure approval to move forward with TCI, while
eight other states have not formally signed onto
TCI but remain involved in the planning,
according to the Georgetown Climate Center.
Baker did not need to seek
the approval of the Legislature to sign the
memorandum of understanding to join TCI because
the 2008 Global Warming Solutions Act authorized
the executive branch to enter into market-based
agreements to reduce emissions from varying
sectors.
Craney said that under the
language of the proposed ballot question Baker
could still join TCI, but that the framework of
the program would have to be significantly
altered to allow much broader availability of
carbon allowances....
If the question is
certified by Healey's office, proponents would
need to collect more than 80,000 signatures by
Nov. 17 to proceed to the next step of the
ballot qualification process.
On Thursday
The Boston Herald added ("Potential
Massachusetts 2022 ballot questions would cancel TCI"):
Among 28 potential ballot
questions that could land on the 2022 statewide
ballot are proposals that would gut a
controversial regional plan to slash carbon
emissions, allow Bay Staters to enjoy happy-hour
libations and five iterations of a question that
could compel voters to show ID at the polls.
Three dozen groups filed
the various petition initiatives with Attorney
General Maura Healey’s office by the end-of-day
deadline Wednesday, kicking off a months-long
process that will determine which of the
proposals go before voters next year. Two
proposed constitutional amendments were also
filed.
A petition filed Wednesday
by state Rep. David DeCoste would bar
restriction or reduction of gas, something the
Transportation Climate Initiative aims to do in
order to reach its goal of reducing carbon
emissions by 26% by 2032.
Paul D. Craney, of Mass
Fiscal Alliance, said the ballot question would
let “the people who will be on the hook for this
get the final say.” Gov. Charlie Baker, who
backs TCI, has solely decided to involve the
state....
The attorney general’s
office will review each initiative petition to
determine if they meet necessary constitutional
requirements. Certified petitions will be listed
by Sept. 1, at which time supporters will then
need to collect signatures from 80,239
registered voters and file them with local
elections officials by Nov. 17.
At least one question is
ready to be put in ink: A so-called “millionaire
tax” constitutional amendment that would impose
a 4% additional income tax on income of more
than $1 million.
I was considered for one
of the initial ten signers — but I'm no
longer a legal resident of Massachusetts so I'm not eligible. I've
pledged my (and CLT's) support in any capacity I can be useful;
after pulling off the dozen or so statewide petition drives I've
coordinated and run
over the decades we'll be working together.
This story is a classic,
and so typical for the poor over-worked and unappreciated
Legislature. On Monday the House and Senate held separate
"informal" sessions. While the Legislature is off on its
taxpayer-paid "August recess" vacation two members from each chamber
nonetheless slaved away on Beacon
Hill doing "the people's business." The
State House News Service reported ("House
Session Summary - Monday, Aug. 2, 202 —
Completes Budget Amendment Work That It Started Last Week"):
In the first informal
session of the summer recess, the House
completed work it started last week when it
began the process of considering 16 amendments
to the fiscal year 2022 budget recommended by
Gov. Charlie Baker.
Ways and Means Assistant
Vice Chairman Paul Donato and Rep. Don Wong
oversaw the reenactment of policies ranging from
the creation of a hate crimes task force to
transfers of $250 million to the state pension
fund and $350 million to a new reserve to help
pay for the Student Opportunity Act in future
years.
Baker said he would prefer
to use money from last fiscal year's surplus to
make those investments, but now he must consider
whether to sign or veto the spending. The House
also passed a bill naming a bridge in Auburn,
and enacted local bills for Freetown, Randolph
and Lunenburg.
Of the Senate's
sacrifice and sweat on behalf of the people the News
Service reported ("Senate
Session Summary - Monday, Aug. 2, 202
— Sends 16 Fiscal 2022
Budget Measures Back to Baker"):
The Senate on
Monday took final steps on 16 of Gov. Charlie Baker's 25
amendments to the fiscal 2022 budget, re-enacting bills
containing sections of that $47.6 billion spending bill that
Baker had sent back to lawmakers with proposed changes.
Those 16 bills are now back on the
governor's desk, where they could be approved or vetoed.
The Legislature rejected many of Baker's
proposed amendments, but adopted some, including a later
deadline for distributing money to regional tourism councils.
Before adjourning until Thursday, the Senate also enacted bills
affecting municipal affairs in Freetown, Lunenburg and Randolph.
The two members of the
House spent 1 hour, 11 minutes voting 2-0 to pass those many bills;
the two members of the Senate took a full ten minutes to vote 2-0
for passage of everything. Obviously none of the four blinked.
The incredible news for
Massachusetts is it gained enough population to miraculously hang
onto its nine seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Even
more amazing is, according to the U.S. Census
Bureau report, Massachusetts added 482,288 people
since the last Census in 2010. I can't help but wonder
where they all came from, and why. Maybe we'll find out on
Thursday.
In its weekly Advances the State House News Service
reported on Friday ("Data Release Triggers
Redistricting Sprint"):
The U.S. Census Bureau is
scheduled Thursday to release the first
local-level results from the 2020 Census and
host a press conference to provide analysis of
the data on population change, race, ethnicity,
the age 18 and over population, and housing
occupancy status. Once the data is available,
Massachusetts and every other state will use it
to redraw the boundaries of Congressional and
state legislative districts.
"I am delighted that we
will soon have the information we need to redraw
our voting districts in a way that gives every
vote equal weight," Secretary of State William
Galvin, who serves as Census liaison and will
oversee the Census data analysis, said.
With the detailed local
population data on hand, the Legislature can
truly begin the process of reshaping voting
districts with a few sometimes-conflicting
priorities in mind, like maximizing minority
representation and protecting incumbents.
The 2020 Census counted
7,029,917 people living in Massachusetts, a 7.4
percent increase over the last decade that
outpaced the 4.1 percent average in the
Northeast and equaled the growth rate of the
country as a whole.
The state's growth has been
uneven, likely requiring the western
Massachusetts districts represented by U.S. Rep
Richard Neal and U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern's
western/central district to be expanded in size
to meet the 781,497-constituent target set by
Census officials, while the footprint of eastern
districts close to Boston may need to shrink or
shift west.
That situation will come
into clearer focus with the release of the local
population data. Massachusetts added 482,288
people since the last Census in 2010, ensuring
that its delegation to the U.S. House will
remain the same size rather than shrinking by
one as happened after the 2010 count.
|
 |
 |
|
Chip
Ford
Executive Director |
|
|
State House News
Service
Tuesday, August 3, 2021
Tax Collections Soared 15 Percent Last Fiscal Year
Lawmakers Face Surplus Spending Decisions After Recess
By Colin A. Young
Beacon Hill is awash with your old cash.
Over the last year, Massachusetts state government collected
more than $5 billion more from residents, workers and
businesses than it was expecting, a surge in tax receipts
that should give lawmakers a massive surplus to spend at the
same time that they are considering how to use billions of
dollars that the federal government has provided in
connection with the pandemic and economic recovery from it.
The Department of Revenue on Tuesday evening reported that
final tax collections for fiscal year 2021 totaled $34.137
billion, $5.047 billion or 17.3 percent above the state's
benchmark and $4.528 billion or 15.3 percent more than the
actual amount collected in fiscal year 2020.
"Fiscal Year 2021 revenue collections reflect the impact of
the ongoing economic recovery, federal fiscal and monetary
policies, and the financial markets' performance," Revenue
Commissioner Geoffrey Snyder said.
The year-end numbers mean the Legislature and Gov. Charlie
Baker will have a sizeable fiscal 2021 surplus to dispense
with, though the exact amount of surplus cash is still to be
determined. DOR said it expects to make some "year-end"
adjustments to fiscal 2021 collections during the month of
August. Fiscal 2021 ended June 30.
Through May, the state had already collected $3.9 billion
more than projected over the first 11 months of fiscal 2021,
and midway through June the Department of Revenue reported
having already collected 80 percent of what was expected for
the full month.
By the end of June, DOR said it had collected $3.687 billion
for the month -- $1.11 billion or 43.1 percent more than
what the agency had been expecting to bring in. The June
haul capped off a fiscal year during which collections rose
more than 15 percent from the $29.596 billion collected in
fiscal year 2020.
Total fiscal 2021 tax revenue nearly hit the mark that
lawmakers and the Baker administration have set for the
current budget year. State tax collections will need to grow
by less than 1 percent in fiscal 2022 to hit the revenue
estimate of $34.35 billion that lawmakers included in the
budget that Baker signed last month.
DOR said Tuesday that it had certified $2.5326 billion in
fiscal 2021 capital gains collections, which generates a
$1.098 billion transfer to the stabilization fund, a $61
million deposit into the State Retiree Benefits Trust Fund
and a $61 million contribution to the Pension Liability
Fund.
DOR said Tuesday that Comptroller William McNamara has
already transferred $946.5 million to those funds, meaning
that the year-end numbers will necessitate additional
transfers of $273.7 million.
In late June, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation
published a seven-page analysis that projected the state
could wind up with a discretionary surplus from fiscal 2021
of between $1.13 billion and $1.48 billion after accounting
for an automatic deposit of up to $1.56 billion in reserves
from capital gains collections and $800 million in projected
balances to end the fiscal year.
Gov. Charlie Baker had proposed to use $900 million of the
expected surplus on a two-month sales tax holiday, but that
idea was shot down by top Democrats and died without a vote
in the House or Senate. In addition to the surplus money the
government collected from taxpayers, Massachusetts lawmakers
also have about $4.8 billion in American Rescue Plan Act
money that needs to be allocated by 2024. The Legislature's
public hearing process on how to use that money is expected
to resume once lawmakers return from their summer recess.
The first indication of how fiscal year 2022 tax collections
are shaping up is expected to come Wednesday when DOR is due
to report July receipts.
After agreeing in January to an estimate of $30.12 billion
in taxes, lawmakers and the administration agreed in the
budget signed last month to increase the tax revenue
projections for fiscal 2022 to $34.35 billion, a $4.23
billion increase.
Massachusetts Department of
Revenue
Tuesday, August 3, 2021
Press Release
FY21 Revenue Collections Total $34.137 Billion
June 2021 revenue collections total $3.687 billion, $1.11
billion above monthly benchmark; FY21 revenue collections
were 17.3% over annual benchmark, 15.3% above FY20 actual.
Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) Commissioner
Geoffrey Snyder today announced that preliminary June 2021
revenue collections total $3.687 billion as of August 3,
2021, which is $1.11 billion or 43.1% more than benchmark,
[1] but $1.139 billion or 23.6% less than
the actual collections in June 2020. However, June 2020
actual collections were impacted by the extension of the
Fiscal Year 2020 personal income tax filing deadline from
April 15, 2020, to July 15, 2020. In addition, personal
income tax collections received after the close of Fiscal
Year 2020 were recorded as June 2020 revenue.
[2]
Revenue collections for Fiscal Year 2021 were $34.137
billion, $5.047 billion or 17.3% above benchmark and $4.528
billion or 15.3% over the actual amount collected in Fiscal
Year 2020. Some year-end adjustments will be made to Fiscal
Year 2021 revenue collections in August. [3]
“Fiscal Year 2021 revenue collections reflect the impact of
the ongoing economic recovery, federal fiscal and monetary
policies, and the financial markets’ performance”, said
Commissioner Snyder.
Historically, June is a significant month for revenues,
because both individual and business taxpayers make
estimated payments during the month. In most years, the
month of June has ranked second (behind only April) in the
proportion of annual revenue received during the month.
In a letter to the State Comptroller today, DOR certified
that the preliminary total capital gains tax revenue
collected in Fiscal Year 2021 was $2,532.6 million,
generating a total Fiscal Year 2021 transfer of
approximately $1,220.2 million to the Stabilization Fund,
the State Retiree Benefits Trust Fund, and the Pension
Liability Fund as follows under Section 5G of Chapter 29 of
the General Laws:
• 90% (~$1,098.1 million) into the Stabilization Fund;
• 5% (~$61.0 million) into the State Retiree Benefits Trust
Fund; and
• 5% (~$61.0 million) into the Pension Liability Fund
Based on the Period 3 certification letter issued by DOR on
June 22, 2021, the Comptroller has already transferred
$946.5 million to the aforementioned funds. Therefore,
today’s certification letter requires additional transfers
of approximately $273.7 million.
Details:
Preliminary June Revenue Collections
• Income tax collections for June are $1.828 billion, $386
million or 26.7% above benchmark, but $1.8 billion or 49.6%
less than June 2020. The decline from June 2020 was
expected, as mentioned above.
• Withholding tax collections for June total $1.199 billion,
$93 million or 8.4% above benchmark, and $105 million or
9.6% more than June 2020.
• Income tax estimated payments total $622 million for June,
$288 million or 86.3% more than benchmark, and $25 million
or 4.2% more than June 2020.
• Income tax returns and bills total $91 million for June,
$46 million or 99.7% more than benchmark, but $2.136 billion
or 95.9% less than June 2020.
• Income tax cash refunds in June total $84 million in
outflows, $41 million or 94.6% more than benchmark, but $206
million or 70.9% less than June 2020.
• Sales and use tax collections for June total $785 million,
$234 million or 42.4% above benchmark, and $201 million or
34.5% more than June 2020.
• Corporate and business tax collections for June total $794
million, $353 million or 80% above benchmark, and $344
million or 76.7% more than June 2020.
Other tax collections for June total $280 million, $138
million or 96.5% above benchmark, and $114 million or 69%
more than June 2020.
Fiscal Year 2021 Revenue Collections
• Income tax collections of $19.593 billion are $2.913
billion or 17.5% above benchmark, and $2.232 billion or
12.9% more than Fiscal Year 2020.
• Withholding collections total $14.719 billion, $688
million or 4.9% above benchmark, and $983 million or 7.2%
more than Fiscal Year 2020. Favorable withholding
collections are due in part to much improved labor market
conditions and the impact of federal COVID-19 relief
legislation.
• Estimated payments of $2.942 billion are $729 million or
33% above benchmark, and $592 million or 25.2% more than
Fiscal Year 2020.
• Income tax payments with returns and bills total $3.659
billion, $1.347 billion or 58.3% above benchmark, and $609
million or 19.9% more than Fiscal Year 2020.
• Income tax refunds (outflows) are $1.727 billion, $149
million or 7.9% below benchmark, and $49 million or 2.7%
less than Fiscal Year 2020.
• The favorable performance of non-withholding income tax
collections, which are the total of income tax payments with
returns and bills and income tax estimated payments, net of
income tax refunds, in part reflects the financial markets’
performance.
• Sales and use tax collections of $7.834 billion are $660
million or 9.2% above benchmark, and $1.023 billion or 15.0%
more than Fiscal Year 2020. Sales tax collections are driven
by both on-line sales and brick and mortar sales, as well as
the implementation of rules requiring advanced sales tax
payments.
• Breaking down sales and use tax collections for Fiscal
Year 2021:
— Regular Sales collections are $5.832 billion, $341 million
or 6.2% above benchmark, and $927 million or 18.9% more than
Fiscal Year 2020.
— Meals tax collections are $948 billion, $120 million or
14.6% above benchmark, and $130 million or 12% less than
Fiscal Year 2020.
— Motor vehicles sales tax collections are $1.054 million,
$198 million or 23.2% above benchmark, and $226 million or
27.3% more than Fiscal Year 2020.
• Corporate and business tax collections total $4.116
billion, $892 million or 27.7% above benchmark, and $1.192
billion or 40.8% more than Fiscal Year 2020. Favorable
corporate and business tax collections reflect the impact of
the economic recovery and federal fiscal and monetary
policies.
• Other taxes are $2.594 billion, $582 million or 28.9%
above benchmark, and $80 million or 3.2% more than Fiscal
Year 2020.
June 2021 Tax Collections Summary (in $ millions)
Preliminary as of August, 3 2021
[1] The original benchmark for
Fiscal Year 2021 was $28.390 billion. On January 15, 2021,
as part of the Fiscal Year 2022 Consensus Revenue process,
the Fiscal Year 2021 benchmark was adjusted to $29.090
billion. The adjustment is reflected in DOR’s revenue
releases beginning in January 2021.
[2] Section 12 of Chapter 53 of the
Acts of 2020 extended the personal income tax filing and
payment deadline from April 15, 2020 to July 15, 2020.
Additionally, DOR invoked its administrative authority to
move April and June 2020 quarterly estimated income tax
payment deadlines to July 15. Section 3 of Chapter 78 of the
Acts of 2020 required the State Comptroller to record as
Fiscal Year 2020 revenue income tax payments originally due
in Fiscal Year 2020 but received between July 1 and August
31, 2020.
[3] In early August, DOR will make
the end-of-year fund allocation and local option adjustments
of advanced sales and room occupancy tax payments received
in June. The returns associated with June advanced sales and
room occupancy tax payments, which are needed to make the
year-end adjustments, are not due until the end of July.
###
DOR Website
State House News
Service
Thursday, August 5, 2021
Tax Collection Growth Brisk To Start Fiscal 2022
By Colin A. Young
The Department of Revenue's tax collection train kept
a-rolling in July, kicking off fiscal year 2022 by bringing
in more than $2.25 billion and beating last July's
collections by more than 5 percent.
About 24 hours before announcing July receipts, DOR reported
that final tax collections for fiscal year 2021 totaled
$34.137 billion -- more than $5 billion and 17 percent above
the state's benchmark and $4.5 billion or 15 percent more
than the actual amount collected in fiscal year 2020.
The $2.252 billion hauled in during July was $110 million or
5.1 percent more than what the state took in last July, DOR
announced Wednesday. The monthly benchmarks that show the
progression of tax collections throughout the fiscal year
are still in development and will be included in future
monthly revenue reports, DOR said.
"July revenue included increases relative to July 2020
collections in sales tax, non-withheld income tax, and the
'all other taxes' category, and decreases in withholding and
corporate and business taxes," Revenue Commissioner Geoffrey
Snyder said. "The decrease in withholding tax was the result
of typical periodic fluctuations, while corporate and
business taxes decreased compared to July 2020 due to the
unusually high collections in that month as a result of the
deferral of the income tax return and payment deadline and
the waiver of penalties for corporate excise returns and
payments."
July is one of the least significant revenue months for the
state, typically accounting for about 6.7 percent of annual
revenue, DOR said. The agency said the month's results
"should not be used as a predictor for the rest of the
fiscal year."
July's take begins in a year in which state tax collections
will need to grow by less than 1 percent to hit the revenue
estimate written by lawmakers and the Baker administration
into the $47.6 billion fiscal year 2022 budget. After first
projecting $30.12 billion in tax revenue for fiscal 2022,
lawmakers and the administration agreed in the budget signed
last month to increase the tax revenue projections by more
than $4.2 billion to $34.35 billion.
State House News
Service
Friday, August 6, 2021
Weekly Roundup - Party Safe
Recap and analysis of the week in state government
By Chris Lisinski
If the biennial rush of ballot question campaigns launching
brought a sense of normalcy back to Beacon Hill, the tension
between summertime merriment and lingering health risks is a
reminder of how odd the current moment has become.
Massachusetts is six weeks into life after the end of the
COVID-19 state of emergency, yet cases are increasing at a
rate not seen since early May. And with one of the best
vaccination rates in the country, that upswing has not
translated into a major jump in hospitalizations or
virtually any change in deaths.
Gov. Charlie Baker on Tuesday warned that anyone planning a
large outdoor gathering this summer "should either put them
off or be really careful" if participants are at a greater
risk for COVID-19 complications, yet fans crowded Fenway
Park in close quarters all week to cheer on Guns N' Roses,
Green Day, Weezer, and the Pride of Long Island himself,
Billy Joel.
Baker jabbed at former President Barack Obama's
since-downsized plans for a Martha's Vineyard birthday bash,
yet the governor and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito will host their
own Sept. 2 outdoor fundraiser -- with some precautions in
place -- at the Cape Cod home of public relations exec
George Regan.
With all of these seeming contradictions in play at once,
residents face the uneasy task of balancing the
possibilities that have returned and the risks that remain.
Take a stroll into any grocery store, and you're likely to
find a mix of masked and unmasked shoppers and no one knows
who is vaccinated and who isn't.
Official government guidance has evolved into a complex web,
hinging on dense variables such as whether federal health
officials deem a county as having "moderate" or
"substantial" transmission of the virus.
At the state level, the Baker administration has resisted
calls for a mask mandate, leaving decisions up to
communities or individuals themselves while facing heat from
the Republican governor's left.
Ben Downing, a former state senator running for Baker's job
as a Democrat, said Monday that he believes Baker ended the
state of emergency too soon and called for a new statewide
masking order.
Democrat Sen. Becca Rausch filed a bill that would require
all students and staff to wear masks in K-12 schools and
child care, and Senate President Karen Spilka on Friday
ramped up the pressure by calling for a universal mask
mandate in schools.
On both fronts, Baker stuck to his guns and pointed to the
above-average vaccination rates in Massachusetts as
justification.
"We're in a very different place than other parts of the
country are in," he said Tuesday. "I think our guidance,
which really focused on vulnerable populations and people
who are most at risk, was the right way to go."
While the Bay State has one of the best vaccination rates in
the country, more than 16 percent of the state's population
eligible for a vaccine by age -- roughly 1 million people --
still has not gotten a single shot against COVID-19,
according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control data.
A growing list of industries are ordering their workers to
get vaccinated in an attempt to target those holdouts.
United Airlines announced Friday that all of its 67,000 U.S.
employees, not just new hires, must get vaccinated by late
October or face termination. Other major companies such as
Google, Facebook, and Tyson Foods have also rolled out
vaccine mandates for staff who return to in-person work.
Baker on Wednesday did roll out a vaccine mandate for all
skilled nursing home and soldiers' home workers in
Massachusetts.
Similar requirements appear inbound for the city of Boston's
18,000 employees. Mayor Kim Janey said Thursday that she and
municipal unions are "actively working toward" a requirement
that city employees get vaccinated or face regular testing,
hinting an announcement will come next week.
But that news ended up largely overshadowed by a controversy
Janed invited.
Asked on Tuesday if she would consider mandating proof of
vaccination to enter some public spaces like leaders have
done in New York City, Janey invoked American slavery and
President Donald Trump's birtherism conspiracy theory as
part of "a long history in this country of people needing to
show their papers."
Her remarks drew quick criticism, including from fellow
mayoral candidate and City Councilor Andrea Campbell, who
called the rhetoric "dangerous."
Janey walked back her comparisons to slavery and birtherism
two days later, even as she double down on doubts about a
broader vaccine mandate.
"I wish I had not used those analogies because they took
away from the important issue of ensuring that our
vaccination and public health policies are implemented with
fairness and equity," she said. "If vaccine passports were
imposed today with a government mandate to ban unvaccinated
residents from venues like restaurants or gyms, that would
shut out nearly 40 percent of East Boston and nearly 60
percent of Mattapan. Instead of shutting people out,
shutting out our neighbors who are disproportionately poor
people of color, we are knocking on their doors to build
trust and to expand access to the life-saving vaccines."
Baker and First Lady Lauren Baker jetted off to California
on Thursday for a week-long family vacation, and he won't
need to worry too much in that span about fighting with
state lawmakers over a possible legislative vaccine mandate.
House budget chief Aaron Michlewitz, who is planning his own
trip to New York next week amid the Legislature's
traditional August recess, said Wednesday that the state's
vaccination effort has "peaked out a little bit" but that
mandates are not on the "short-term" legislative agenda.
And when lawmakers do stir back to life from the summer lull
they carve out for themselves, they'll have major decisions
to make about the state's rosy economic outlook.
The Department of Revenue on Tuesday reported an eye-popping
number: in the fiscal year that ended June 30, state
government collected $5.047 billion more in taxes than
budget-writers anticipated.
That haul tees up Baker and lawmakers for debate on how to
spend a hefty surplus, all while the Legislature continues
to hear pitches for how to disperse roughly $5 billion in
American Rescue Plan Act funding that sits in a savings
account.
If the pace keeps up -- which appears possible, based on the
robust July revenues DOR reported Wednesday -- supporters of
a proposed surtax on income above $1 million on the 2022
ballot next year might decide to adjust their campaign
pitch.
One avenue that might resonate with Bay Staters, at least in
the greater Boston area, is to focus on the need for
investments at the MBTA, where a collision between two Green
Line trolleys last week injured 27 people.
The week brought new clarity on which questions might
feature alongside the surtax proposal at the 2022 ballot.
Healey's office, which serves as the gatekeeper for the
start of the initiative petition process, received a total
of 28 proposed laws by a Wednesday deadline.
Depending on Healey's constitutional review and how
campaigns fare gathering signatures, voters could be asked
to decide the future of a multi-state carbon emissions pact,
voter ID requirements, worker classification and benefits in
the gig economy, a ban on happy hour drink promotions, and
hospital financial transparency.
One initiative petition would require the state to provide
legal counsel in all eviction cases, an area of need that
has been thrust into the spotlight. Trial Court data during
the pandemic show that only about 7 percent of defendants
are represented by attorneys when facing eviction for
failing to pay rent, compared to almost 85 percent of
plaintiffs.
Legislative leaders responded with silence when President
Joe Biden on Monday called on states to implement their own
temporary eviction bans after the CDC moratorium lapsed.
Their inaction became moot on Tuesday, when, in the face of
substantial pressure and warnings about a flood of housing
removals, the CDC decided it had the authority after all to
issue a new moratorium in counties experiencing substantial
and high levels of COVID-19 transmission.
The latest policy might be short-lived. Landlords already
brought a lawsuit against the new ban, citing a previous
U.S. Supreme Court decision that said the CDC did not have
authority to extend the former moratorium.
STORY OF THE WEEK: After a mostly unified response to the
early days of the public health crisis, elected officials
are fractured on how to get over the vaccine-holdout hump.
The Boston
Herald
Wednesday, August 4, 2021
Watchdogs blast Massachusetts millionaire tax proposal
as state ‘awash’ in excess tax revenues
By Erin Tiernan
Fiscal watchdogs blasted the Massachusetts millionaire tax
proposal as the state is “awash” in more than $5 billion in
excess tax revenues and billions more in federal coronavirus
relief.
“Massachusetts right now is awash in revenue,” said Greg
Sullivan, research director at the Pioneer Institute. “What
I’m saying is, don’t drive a stake through the technology
economy that’s kept the Massachusetts economy afloat.”
The Department of Revenue on Tuesday reported final tax
collections for fiscal year 2021 totaled $34.137 billion,
$5.047 billion or 17.3% above the state’s benchmark.
It’s more than $4.528 billion or 15.3% above what the state
collected the prior year — a “remarkable” feat considering
most economists predicted the pandemic business closures
would put Massachusetts tax collections in the red by more
than $5 billion, Sullivan said.
But it’s a position Sullivan said could soon reverse if the
state opts to impose the millionaire tax with populist
appeal.
Twenty-two papers published on the proposed tax
by Pioneer argue the high taxes are likely to drive high
earners — and companies — out of the Bay State.
“Since COVID we’ve seen that remote work poses a risk to
Massachusetts,” he said. “Companies are mobile, people are
mobile and it would be a mistake to do this.”
The proposal will appear on the 2022 ballot. Lawmakers for a
second time this past June overwhelmingly approved the Fair
Share Amendment, which would impose a 4% additional income
tax on income of more than $1 million.
A DOR report from 2018 said the tax would bring in an
estimated $2 billion in annual revenue.
Another 30 potential petition initiatives are currently
sitting on Attorney General Maura Healey’s desk, where
they’ll face their first test on the long process to getting
on the 2022 ballot.
Paul D. Craney of the conservative Massachusetts Fiscal
Alliance called the tax a “dangerous” takedown of a
constitutional protection that requires everyone be taxed
the same rate.
“Clearly the state doesn’t need more money,” Craney said,
noting tax collections came in 15% above benchmark during an
economic recession. “The state would be wise to give back
some of that money to the taxpayers where it belongs, but
instead legislators — not constituents — want to raise taxes
yet again.”
State House News
Service
Tuesday, August 3, 2021
Pension Fund Return Approached 30 Percent in Fiscal '21
By Colin A. Young
The Massachusetts state pension fund ended fiscal year 2021
with the highest return in its history and saw its assets
swell to a record $95.7 billion.
The 29.5 percent return net of fees beat the Pension
Reserves Investment Trust fund's benchmark by 8.9 percent,
making it the highest fiscal year return since the 25.6
percent return realized in the fund's first year, 1986. It
is also the highest relative return since the fund beat its
2000 benchmark by 5.9 percent.
Michael Trotsky, executive director and chief investment
officer of the Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment
Management Board, presented the fund performance report
during a meeting of PRIM's Investment Committee on Tuesday
morning.
"We're pleased with a strong one-year performance but even
more pleased that over long periods and through strong
markets and market corrections, the PRIT fund has proven to
be high performing, resilient, and cost-effective. The PRIT
fund's trailing three-, five- and 10-year returns remain
strong and consistently above benchmarks," Trotsky said. "We
also believe our innovative and acclaimed work over the last
10 years in which we developed our own proprietary and
statistically driven tools for asset allocation and also
manager selection is paying off. We have successfully
engineered a portfolio that performs well as, as you've
seen, in a variety of market conditions."
The record return means the PRIT fund saw a net investment
gain of $22.1 billion in fiscal 2021, $6.7 billion more than
the fund's benchmark return. The fund paid out a net $1.2
billion in benefits to retirees during fiscal 2021. The
retirement funds of state employees, teachers and many
municipal employees in Massachusetts are invested through
PRIM.
"Both the pension beneficiaries and the taxpayers of
Massachusetts are well served by PRIM. These large gains
help secure pension benefits to more than 300,000
beneficiaries and also solidify the Commonwealth’s financial
position," Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, who oversees PRIM,
said.
The fund posted a return of 16.4 percent from July 1 through
Dec. 31, outperforming its 12.5 percent benchmark for the
first half of fiscal 2021. That topped a record for a
half-year return that had stood since June 1986, officials
said in February, and the PRIT Fund ended calendar year 2020
having produced a return of 12.1 percent, beating its
benchmark of 10.8 percent.
The Salem
News
Monday, August 2, 2021
Lawmaker wants raises for legislative staff
By Christian M. Wade, Statehouse reporter
Legislature staffers got a 6% pay raise and other perks this
year when House and Senate leaders agreed to a bump in
salaries, but at least one lawmaker is pushing to give them
more money.
Sen. Diana DiZoglio, D-Methuen, has filed several proposals
to boost the base salary of a legislative staffer to
$55,000; provide cost-of-living increases annually, instead
of every two years; and offer them state health insurance
when they're hired, eliminating a current 60-day waiting
period.
DiZoglio said a recent survey of staffers showed many are
working long hours and struggling to pay their bills.
"The results of that survey were pretty daunting in terms
salaries and overall morale in the building," she said. "We
need to do better for our staffers."
That survey, which DiZoglio helped organize, found that
nearly 90% of Beacon Hill legislative staffers felt they
were not paid adequately for their work, while 83% believed
their pay was not commensurate with their skill level.
About 1 in 6 staffers reported struggling to pay for basic
needs, such as food and rent.
Only half of those surveyed said they can support themselves
and their families with their current pay.
Earlier this year, the House and Senate agreed to a 6%
cost-of-living raise for staffers and increased the base pay
to $44,000. Staffers also got a $500 stipend to defray the
costs of working remotely.
In addition, the Senate expanded its family leave policy to
allow up to 16 weeks of paid time off to care for a new
child. Previously staffers qualified for eight weeks of time
off.
DiZoglio has also filed a bill that would allow staffers to
enroll in state health insurance immediately, eliminating
the waiting period.
She points out that lawmakers don't have to wait.
"There's no reason why our employees should be denied those
same benefits," she said.
DiZoglio said the larger issue is that a handful of
legislative leaders control whether staffers are eligible
for raises, unlike other state government workers who
automatically get cost-of-living increases under collective
bargaining agreements.
"We need a more formalized process,” she said.
The debate over pay raises for staff comes as lawmakers
collect their third pay raise in as many legislative
sessions.
The state’s 200 House and Senate lawmakers got a $4,280 bump
in their base salaries beginning this year.
The 6.46% raise boosts lawmakers' base pay to $70,536 a
year. That figure doesn't include stipends for committee
assignments.
House Speaker Ron Mariano, D-Quincy, and Senate President
Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, will each get $178,000, which
includes extra pay for holding leadership positions.
Beacon Hill watchdogs say now isn’t the time to be doling
out raises, for lawmakers or their staff.
"It's inappropriate for any state government official to
take a pay raise at this time, considering we are still in
the depths of this COVID-19 crisis, and the fact that many
many people have gone without pay for quite some time," said
David Tuerck, president of the Beacon Hill Institute. "They
should wait."
— Christian M. Wade covers
the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media
Group’s newspapers and websites.
State House News
Service
Wednesday, August 4, 2021
Deadline Leads To Filing Of 30 Possible Ballot Questions
By Chris Lisinski
Three dozen groups filed a total of 30 initiative petitions
with Attorney General Maura Healey's office by the
end-of-day deadline Wednesday, kicking off a months-long
process that will determine which proposed laws and
constitutional amendments go before voters.
In addition to questions that supporters unveiled in recent
days with public campaign launches, sponsors submitted
proposals that would require all elections in Massachusetts
to use hand-counted paper ballots, legalize the sale of
consumer fireworks, require the state to make legal
assistance available in eviction proceedings, and once again
permit certain "happy hour" drink specials that have been
banned since 1984.
Several groups filed multiple versions of their question on
a single topic, including those seeking a voter ID
requirement and an overhaul of the status and benefits for
app-based drivers. Proponents sometimes submit several
varying versions of their question to keep options open
during initial steps of the process.
One of the two proposed constitutional amendments would
declare that corporations are not people and that state
lawmakers can limit political spending and contributions.
The other, aimed at conflicts of interest, would require
public officials in Massachusetts to file regular financial
disclosures and tax returns.
The attorney general's office will review each initiative
petition to determine if they meet necessary constitutional
requirements. In 2019, Healey certified 12 of the 16
questions submitted, and two questions eventually made it to
the ballot in 2020.
Healey plans to publish a list of certified petitions by
Sept. 1., and voters can ask the Supreme Judicial Court to
review her decisions. After that, supporters of petitions
still in the running would then need to collect signatures
from 80,239 registered voters and file them with local
elections officials by Nov. 17.
Healey's office said it received a total of 28 proposed laws
and two proposed constitutional amendments.
Citizen-sponsored constitutional amendments require approval
by at least 25 percent of two consecutive joint sessions of
the Legislature, which means they could appear on the ballot
no earlier than 2024.
State House News
Service
Wednesday, August 4, 2021
Ballot Proposal Targets Participation in Transpo Emissions
Pact
Diehl Among Critics Of Effort Led by Baker
By Matt Murphy
Three state lawmakers and Republican gubernatorial candidate
Geoff Diehl helped kick off an effort on Wednesday to
undermine a regional carbon emission reduction program
pushed by Gov. Charlie Baker, filing a proposed ballot
question for 2022 that seeks to effectively block the
state's participation in the Transportation Climate
Initiative.
The potential ballot initiative is the latest in a series of
attempts by opponents to disrupt the momentum behind the
regional cap-and-trade program that started in 2018 as a
coalition of 12 states and the District of Columbia but has
seen the number of commitments from states along the East
Coast shrink.
Rep. David DeCoste, a Norwell Republican, filed the
paperwork with Attorney General Maura Healey's office,
submitting the language and the initial 10 signatures
required to start the long process of qualifying for next
year's ballot.
Massachusetts is one of three states, along with the
District of Columbia, invested in launching the
Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) by 2023.
The program has been billed as a way to reduce carbon
emissions by 26 percent by 2032 by capping pollution from
motor gasoline and on-road diesel, and investing the
proceeds from the sale of carbon allowances into clean
energy alternatives, such as electric cars and buses.
The program will also drive up the cost of gas, and last
week the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance Foundation and the
Connecticut Energy Marketers Association raised the specter
of fuel shortages as soon as 2025 unless the state can
replace 80,000 gas-powered vehicles with electric cars and
trucks in the next four years.
The initiative petition filed on Wednesday stipulates that
"the supply of gasoline, diesel fuel, special fuels or
similar motor fuels available to meet consumer demand shall
not be reduced or restricted by the imposition of any tax,
fee, other revenue generating mechanism, or market-based
compliance mechanism."
While TCI does not propose to limit fuel supply, it would
put a declining cap on emissions from on-road diesel and
motor gasoline. Opponents say this translates to a reduction
in the number of gallons of fuel that can be sold to
consumer.
Diehl's name was the first signature on the initiative
petition. The former Whitman lawmaker led a successful
ballot campaign in 2014 to repeal a law indexing the gas tax
to inflation, and now he is running for the Republican
nomination for governor in 2022.
The petition was also signed by DeCoste, Rep. Nick Boldyga,
a Southwick Republican, Rep. Colleen Garry, a Dracut
Democrat, and Paul Craney, spokesman for the Massachusetts
Fiscal Alliance.
"TCI will force working families and middle-class
Massachusetts to subsidize electric vehicles for the
affluent. The people that will feel the pinch deserve a
voice in this process. Consumers should be free to make
their own decisions and TCI should never restrict the amount
of gasoline Massachusetts motorists can purchase. It's bad
economics and cruel," Craney said.
The governors of Connecticut and Rhode Island are in the
process of working with lawmakers in their states to secure
approval to move forward with TCI, while eight other states
have not formally signed onto TCI but remain involved in the
planning, according to the Georgetown Climate Center.
Baker did not need to seek the approval of the Legislature
to sign the memorandum of understanding to join TCI because
the 2008 Global Warming Solutions Act authorized the
executive branch to enter into market-based agreements to
reduce emissions from varying sectors.
Craney said that under the language of the proposed ballot
question Baker could still join TCI, but that the framework
of the program would have to be significantly altered to
allow much broader availability of carbon allowances.
The language of the question also raises questions about
what impact it might have on the ability of the Legislature
to increase the state's 24-cent gas tax. Craney said that
small increases in the gas tax have been shown by research
to have almost no effect on consumer behavior, though he
believes an increase large enough to push drivers off the
road could fall under this proposal.
Neither DeCoste, who is listed as the principal proponent of
the ballot question, nor Diehl could be reached to discuss
the proposal on Wednesday, and the Baker administration did
not reply to a request for comment.
Officials from the Georgetown Climate Center recently
rejected the claims of opponents that TCI would lead to fuel
shortages, accusing them of deliberately misinterpreting
federal energy data to make incorrect assumptions about
demand that did not take into account how investments in
clean energy alternatives will reduce emissions.
The TCI program, the program developers said, also allows
for fuel suppliers to use biofuel blending to reduce the
fossil portion of fuels being sold into participating
markets and meet emission reduction targets.
"Nothing in this bears any resemblance to TCI, which is
designed to reduce air pollution and invest in better, more
equitable transportation choices," said Peter Rafle, a
spokesman for the Georgetown Climate Center.
If the question is certified by Healey's office, proponents
would need to collect more than 80,000 signatures by Nov. 17
to proceed to the next step of the ballot qualification
process.
The Boston
Herald
Thursday, August 5, 2021
Potential Massachusetts 2022 ballot questions would cancel
TCI,
require voter ID, allow happy hour
By Erin Tiernan
Among 28 potential ballot questions that could land on the
2022 statewide ballot are proposals that would gut a
controversial regional plan to slash carbon emissions, allow
Bay Staters to enjoy happy-hour libations and five
iterations of a question that could compel voters to show ID
at the polls.
Three dozen groups filed the various petition initiatives
with Attorney General Maura Healey’s office by the
end-of-day deadline Wednesday, kicking off a months-long
process that will determine which of the proposals go before
voters next year. Two proposed constitutional amendments
were also filed.
A petition filed Wednesday by state Rep. David DeCoste would
bar restriction or reduction of gas, something the
Transportation Climate Initiative aims to do in order to
reach its goal of reducing carbon emissions by 26% by 2032.
Paul D. Craney, of Mass Fiscal Alliance, said the ballot
question would let “the people who will be on the hook for
this get the final say.” Gov. Charlie Baker, who backs TCI,
has solely decided to involve the state.
Fresh off a trip to Washington where she joined hundreds of
federal and state lawmakers and voting rights advocates from
across the nation, state Sen. Becca Rausch called a
MassGOP-backed plan to require voters to present
identification at the polls “voter suppression.”
“We are certainly not in as dire straits as other states in
the nation, but we are not immune to this wave of efforts to
rig the vote by excluding people from being able to actually
cast their ballots,” Rausch said.
National polls have found 81% of voters and 62% of Democrats
back voter ID laws.
Another question asks voters to once again allow “happy
hour” drink specials that have been banned since 1984.
Other potential ballot questions include one backed by
big-tech that would classify app-based gig workers like
those that drive for Uber, Lyft, GrubHub and others as
independent contractors.
The attorney general’s office will review each initiative
petition to determine if they meet necessary constitutional
requirements. Certified petitions will be listed by Sept. 1,
at which time supporters will then need to collect
signatures from 80,239 registered voters and file them with
local elections officials by Nov. 17.
At least one question is ready to be put in ink: A so-called
“millionaire tax” constitutional amendment that would impose
a 4% additional income tax on income of more than $1
million.
State House News
Service
Monday, August 2, 2021
House Session Summary - Monday, Aug. 2, 2021
Completes Budget Amendment Work That It Started Last Week
By Matt Murphy
In the first informal session of the summer recess, the
House completed work it started last week when it began the
process of considering 16 amendments to the fiscal year 2022
budget recommended by Gov. Charlie Baker.
Ways and Means Assistant Vice Chairman Paul Donato and Rep.
Don Wong oversaw the reenactment of policies ranging from
the creation of a hate crimes task force to transfers of
$250 million to the state pension fund and $350 million to a
new reserve to help pay for the Student Opportunity Act in
future years.
Baker said he would prefer to use money from last fiscal
year's surplus to make those investments, but now he must
consider whether to sign or veto the spending. The House
also passed a bill naming a bridge in Auburn, and enacted
local bills for Freetown, Randolph and Lunenburg.
CONVENES: The House convened at 11 a.m. with Rep. Donato
presiding. Rep. Wong was also present.
PLEDGE: Members and staff rose and recited the Pledge of
Allegiance.
RESOLUTION: The House adopted two congratulatory
resolutions.
SICK LEAVE: The House concurred with the Senate referral to
the Committee on Public Service a Sen. Keenan petition (SD
2706) establishing a sick leave bank for Li Zhang, an
employee of the Department of Unemployment Assistance.
STATE CLIMATOLOGIST: The House referred to the Committee on
Environal, Natural Resources and Agriculture a Rep. Gordon
petition (HD 4361) relative to the office of the state
climatologist.
AUBURN BRIDGE: The House engrossed H 3459 designating a
bridge in the town of Auburn the Robert Conroy Memorial
Bridge
RECESS/RETURN: The House took a brief recess and came to
order again at 11:34 a.m.
HATE CRIMES - EP: The House attached an emergency preamble
on a 2-0 standing vote to H 4003 establishing a hate crimes
task force.
PENSION/SOA TRANSFERS - EP: The House attached an emergency
preamble on a 2-0 standing vote to H 4004 relative to
certain statutory funds and transfers of appropriations.
WATER TRUST - EP: The House attached an emergency preamble
on a 2-0 standing vote to H 4005 relative to the water
supply protection trust.
PAYMENT LIENS - EP: The House attached an emergency preamble
on a 2-0 standing vote to H 4006 relative to alternative
compliance payment liens.
POST-RETIREMENT HOURS - EP: The House attached an emergency
preamble on a 2-0 standing vote to H 4007 relative to
post-retirement employment of public retirees.
TAX EXPENDITURES - EP: The House attached an emergency
preamble on a 2-0 standing vote to H 4008 repealing certain
tax expenditures.
PASS-THROUGH TAXES - EP: The House attached an emergency
preamble on a 2-0 standing vote to H 4009 relative to
taxation of pass-through entities.
DCP PARKING - EP: The House attached an emergency preamble
on a 2-0 standing vote to H 4010 relative to parking fees on
Department of Conservation and Recreation roads.
EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE - EP: The House attached an emergency
preamble on a 2-0 standing vote to H 4011 relative to
eligibility for emergency assistance to elderly, disabled
residents and children.
TAFDC BENEFITS - EP: The House attached an emergency
preamble on a 2-0 standing vote to H 4012 relative to
eligibility for transitional aid to families with dependent
children.
RAPE KITS - EP: The House attached an emergency preamble on
a 2-0 standing vote to H 4013 relative to sexual assault
evidence kits.
RTA FUNDING - EP: The House attached an emergency preamble
on a 2-0 standing vote to H 4014 providing operating
assistance to regional transit authorities.
TOURISM GRANTS - EP: The House attached an emergency
preamble on a 2-0 standing vote to H 4015 relative to to the
distribution of certain grants to regional tourism councils.
POVERTY COMMISSION - EP: The House attached an emergency
preamble on a 2-0 standing vote to H 4016 establishing a
special legislative commission to study poverty in the
commonwealth.
NURSING HOME COMMISSION - EP: The House attached an
emergency preamble on a 2-0 standing vote to H 4017
establishing a special commission to examine the Department
of Public Health's nursing home licensure process and
requirements.
COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY - EP: The House attached an emergency
preamble on a 2-0 standing vote to H 4018 establishing a
higher education affordability task force.
RANDOLPH ELECTION: The House enacted S 493 validating the
actions taken at the 2020 biennial state election held in
the city known as the town of Randolph.
FREETOWN CONSERVATION: The House enacted H 2156 providing
for alternate members of the Conservation Commission of the
town of Freetown..
LUNENBURG LIQUOR LICENSE: The House enacted H 3813
authorizing the town of Lunenburg to grant an additional
license for the sale of all alcoholic beverages not to be
drunk on the premises to Jaxx Country Variety.
HATE CRIMES: The House reenacted H 4003 establishing a hate
crimes task force.
PENSION/SOA TRANSFERS: The House reenacted H 4004 relative
to certain statutory funds and transfers of appropriations.
WATER TRUST: The House reenacted H 4005 relative to the
water supply protection trust.
PAYMENT LIENS : The House reenacted H 4006 relative to
alternative compliance payment liens.
POST-RETIREMENT HOURS: The House reenacted H 4007 relative
to post-retirement employment of public retirees.
TAX EXPENDITURES: The House reenacted H 4008 repealing
certain tax expenditures.
PASS-THROUGH TAXES: The House reenacted H 4009 relative to
taxation of pass-through entities.
DCP PARKING: The House reenacted H 4010 relative to parking
fees on Department of Conservation and Recreation roads.
EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE: The House reenacted H 4011 relative to
eligibility for emergency assistance to elderly, disabled
residents and children.
TAFDC BENEFITS: The House reenacted H 4012 relative to
eligibility for transitional aid to families with dependent
children.
RAPE KITS: The House reenacted H 4013 relative to sexual
assault evidence kits.
RTA FUNDING: The House reenacted H 4014 providing operating
assistance to regional transit authorities.
TOURISM GRANTS: The House reenacted H 4015 relative to to
the distribution of certain grants to regional tourism
councils.
POVERTY COMMISSION: The House reenacted H 4016 establishing
a special legislative commission to study poverty in the
commonwealth.
NURSING HOME COMMISSION: The House reenacted H 4017
establishing a special commission to examine the Department
of Public Health's nursing home licensure process and
requirements.
COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY: The House reenacted H 4018
establishing a higher education affordability task force.
ADJOURNS: The House adjourned at 12:11 p.m. to meet
next on Thursday at 11 a.m. in an informal session.
State House News
Service
Monday, August 2, 2021
Senate Session Summary - Monday, Aug. 2, 2021
Sends 16 Fiscal 2022 Budget Measures Back to Baker
By Katie Lannan
The Senate on Monday took final steps on 16 of Gov. Charlie
Baker's 25 amendments to the fiscal 2022 budget, re-enacting
bills containing sections of that $47.6 billion spending
bill that Baker had sent back to lawmakers with proposed
changes.
Those 16 bills are now back on the governor's desk, where
they could be approved or vetoed.
The Legislature rejected many of Baker's proposed
amendments, but adopted some, including a later deadline for
distributing money to regional tourism councils. Before
adjourning until Thursday, the Senate also enacted bills
affecting municipal affairs in Freetown, Lunenburg and
Randolph.
CONVENES: The Senate convened at 11:19 a.m., with Sen.
Collins of South Boston presiding.
PLEDGE: Senators and staff recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
RESOLUTIONS: The Senate adopted congratulatory resolutions
offered by Sens. Brownsberger, O'Connor and Tarr.
RECESS: The Senate stood in a recess at 11:20 a.m.
RETURNS: The Senate returned to order at 11:50 a.m.
HATE CRIMES TASK FORCE: By a 2-0 standing vote, the Senate
adopted an emergency preamble to H 4003 establishing a hate
crimes task force.
STATUTORY FUNDS AND TRANSFERS: By a 2-0 standing vote, the
Senate adopted an emergency preamble to H 4004 relative to
certain statutory funds and transfers of appropriations.
WATER SUPPLY TRUST: By a 2-0 standing vote, the Senate
adopted an emergency preamble to H 4005 relative to the
water supply protection trust.
ALTERNATIVE COMPLIANCE: By a 2-0 standing vote, the Senate
adopted an emergency preamble to H 4006 relative to
alternative compliance payment liens.
POST-RETIREMENT EMPLOYMENT: By a 2-0 standing vote, the
Senate adopted an emergency preamble to H 4007 relative to
post-retirement employment of public retirees.
TAX EXPENDITURES REPEAL: By a 2-0 standing vote, the Senate
adopted an emergency preamble to H 4008 repealing certain
tax expenditures.
PASS-THROUGH ENTITIES: By a 2-0 standing vote, the Senate
adopted an emergency preamble on H 4009 relative to the
taxation of pass-through entities.
DCR PARKING FEES: By a 2-0 standing vote, the Senate adopted
an emergency preamble on H 4010 relative to the taxation of
pass-through entities.
EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE ELIGIBILITY: By a 2-0 standing vote,
the Senate adopted an emergency preamble on H 4011 relative
to the taxation of pass-through entities.
TAFDC ELIGIBILITY: By a 2-0 standing vote, the Senate
adopted an emergency preamble on H 4012 relative to
eligibility for transitional aid to families with dependent
children.
SEXUAL ASSAULT EVIDENCE: By a 2-0 standing vote, the Senate
adopted an emergency preamble on H 4013 relative to sexual
assault evidence kits.
RTA ASSISTANCE: By a 2-0 standing vote, the Senate adopted
an emergency preamble on H 4014 providing operating
assistance to regional transit authorities.
REGIONAL TOURISM GRANTS: By a 2-0 standing vote, the Senate
adopted an emergency preamble on H 4015 relative to the
distribution of certain grants to regional tourism councils.
POVERTY COMMISSION: By a 2-0 standing vote, the Senate
adopted an emergency preamble on H 4016 establishing a
special legislative commission to study poverty in the
Commonwealth.
NURSING HOME LICENSURE: By a 2-0 standing vote, the Senate
adopted an emergency preamble on H 4017 establishing a
special commission to examine the Department of Public
Health's nursing home licensure process and requirements.
HIGHER ED AFFORDABILITY: By a 2-0 standing vote, the Senate
adopted an emergency preamble on H 4018 establishing a
higher education affordability task force.
RECESS: Sen. Collins called a recess at 11:57 a.m.
RETURNS: The Senate returned to order at 12:21 p.m.
STATUTORY FUNDS AND TRANSFERS: The Senate re-enacted H 4004
statutory funds and transfers of appropriations.
ALTERNATIVE COMPLIANCE: The Senate re-enacted H 4006
relative to alternative compliance payment liens.
SEXUAL ASSAULT EVIDENCE: The Senate re-enacted H 4013
relative to sexual assault evidence kits.
REGIONAL TOURISM GRANTS: The Senate re-enacted H 4015
relative to the distribution of certain grants to regional
tourism councils.
HATE CRIMES TASK FORCE: The Senate re-enacted H 4003
establishing a hate crimes task force.
WATER SUPPLY TRUST: The Senate re-enacted H 4005 relative to
the water supply protection trust.
POST-RETIREMENT EMPLOYMENT: The Senate re-enacted H 4007
relative to post-retirement employment of public retirees.
TAX EXPENDITURES REPEAL: The Senate re-enacted H 4008
repealing certain tax expenditures.
PASS-THROUGH ENTITIES: The Senate re-enacted H 4009 relative
to the taxation of pass-through entities.
DCR PARKING FEES: The Senate re-enacted H 4010 relative to
the taxation of pass-through entities.
EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE ELIGIBILITY: The Senate re-enacted H
4011 relative to the taxation of pass-through entities.
TAFDC ELIGIBILITY: The Senate re-enacted H 4012 relative to
eligibility for transitional aid to families with dependent
children.
RTA ASSISTANCE: The Senate re-enacted H 4014 providing
operating assistance to regional transit authorities.
POVERTY COMMISSION: The Senate re-enacted H 4016
establishing a special legislative commission to study
poverty in the Commonwealth.
NURSING HOME LICENSURE: The Senate re-enacted H 4017
establishing a special commission to examine the Department
of Public Health's nursing home licensure process and
requirements.
HIGHER ED AFFORDABILITY: The Senate re-enacted H 4018
establishing a higher education affordability task force.
RANDOLPH ELECTION: The Senate enacted S 493 validating the
actions taken at the 2020 Biennial State Election held in
the city known as the town of Randolph.
FREETOWN CONSERVATION COMMISSION: The Senate enacted H 2156
providing for alternate members of the Conservation
Commission of the town of Freetown.
JAXX COUNTY VARIETY: The Senate enacted H 3813 authorizing
the town of Lunenburg to grant an additional license for the
sale of all alcoholic beverages not to be drunk on the
premises to Jaxx Country Variety.
ADJOURNS: The Senate adjourned at 12:24 p.m. to meet
next on Thursday at 11 a.m. in an informal session.
State House News
Service
Friday, August 6, 2021
Advances - Week of Aug. 8, 2021
Gov. Charlie Baker cut his March 2020 vacation to Utah short
to return to Massachusetts where the COVID-19 pandemic was
beginning to unfold while he was away.
On Thursday, with infections on the rise again but under
much different circumstances, Baker headed out of state for
a family trip, leaving Acting Gov. Karyn Polito, a potential
candidate for governor in 2022, to handle the public health
situation and anything else that might crop up while the
Bakers are in California.
A year ago, Massachusetts was waiting for vaccines to be
developed and approved and was preparing for a second surge
that hit hard over the winter. Now, with nearly 4.4 million
residents fully vaccinated, the debate has turned to whether
to impose mandates to reach the significant segment of the
population that has opted against getting vaccinated, and
how heavy-handed the government should be in forcing people
to get the jabs and put their masks back on to slow virus
transmission in indoor public spaces.
Breakthrough infections affecting people who have been
vaccinated have emerged as a growing concern, and
contributed to the debate over the possibility of booster
shots as some of the people who first received vaccinations
late last year are seven months removed from their initial
shots.
New data on breakthrough cases arrives Tuesday. And with
mid-August approaching, employers are revisiting their
in-person work plans, mindful of the Delta variant's spread,
and local school overseers are juggling conflicting state
and federal recommendations and weighing whether to go
beyond the state's updated mask guidance. Meantime,
retailers are hoping shoppers will visit stores during the
weekend of Aug. 14-15 to make purchases during the sales tax
holiday.
Data Release Triggers Redistricting Sprint
The U.S. Census Bureau is scheduled Thursday to release the
first local-level results from the 2020 Census and host a
press conference to provide analysis of the data on
population change, race, ethnicity, the age 18 and over
population, and housing occupancy status. Once the data is
available, Massachusetts and every other state will use it
to redraw the boundaries of Congressional and state
legislative districts.
"I am delighted that we will soon have the information we
need to redraw our voting districts in a way that gives
every vote equal weight," Secretary of State William Galvin,
who serves as Census liaison and will oversee the Census
data analysis, said.
With the detailed local population data on hand, the
Legislature can truly begin the process of reshaping voting
districts with a few sometimes-conflicting priorities in
mind, like maximizing minority representation and protecting
incumbents.
The 2020 Census counted 7,029,917 people living in
Massachusetts, a 7.4 percent increase over the last decade
that outpaced the 4.1 percent average in the Northeast and
equaled the growth rate of the country as a whole.
The state's growth has been uneven, likely requiring the
western Massachusetts districts represented by U.S. Rep
Richard Neal and U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern's western/central
district to be expanded in size to meet the
781,497-constituent target set by Census officials, while
the footprint of eastern districts close to Boston may need
to shrink or shift west.
That situation will come into clearer focus with the release
of the local population data. Massachusetts added 482,288
people since the last Census in 2010, ensuring that its
delegation to the U.S. House will remain the same size
rather than shrinking by one as happened after the 2010
count.
|
NOTE: In
accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material
is distributed without profit or payment to those who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for
non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more
information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
Citizens for Limited Taxation
▪ PO Box 1147 ▪ Marblehead,
MA 01945
▪ (781) 639-9709
BACK
TO CLT HOMEPAGE
|
