 |
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, September 5, 2021
Are You Ready to Rock
& Roll ?!?
Jump directly
to CLT's Commentary on the News
|
Most Relevant News
Excerpts
(Full news reports follow Commentary)
|
|
Supporters of a ballot
petition seeking to scuttle a proposed carbon fee on
fuel can bring the question before Massachusetts
voters if they get enough signatures, the state
Attorney General said.
The petition, called
“An Act Preserving Consumer Access To Gasoline and
Other Motor Fuels,” seeks to defeat Governor Charlie
Baker’s Transportation and Climate Initiative, which
would add a carbon fee on fuel that would make
gasoline and diesel more expensive at the pump, with
the revenue to go toward improving public
transportation.
Supporters of the
Transportation and Climate Initiative say the
program, which they call “cap and invest,” would
fight climate change by limiting emissions,
providing a disincentive for people to drive, and
providing an incentive for people to take public
transportation or buy electric cars.
Opponents say the
likely increase in the cost of gasoline and diesel
would hurt drivers and drive up costs of consumer
goods with no justifying benefit in return.
The anti-carbon-fee
petition would add the following language to state
law:
"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." ...
Another signer is Paul
Craney, spokesman for the Massachusetts Fiscal
Alliance, a conservative watchdog group on Beacon
Hill. He hailed certification of the petition by the
Attorney General’s office, which allows supporters
to begin the mammoth task of collecting enough
signatures to put it on the ballot.
“We are pleased to
learn that Massachusetts voters moved one step
closer to having the final say on this important
question. The TCI ballot question would allow
ordinary residents to decide if the state should
artificially limit the supply of gasoline and diesel
fuels in order to increase fuel costs with hopes to
drive down usage. This scenario is only appealing
for a few people. Unfortunately, those same people
have been making many of the decisions for the
state,” Craney said in a written statement
Wednesday.
The
NewBostonPost
Wednesday, September 1, 2021
Ballot Question Seeking To
Stop Climate-Change Carbon Fee
On Fuel Clears Attorney General Review
The attorney general
has cleared 16 initiative petitions to continue
advancing towards the 2022 statewide ballot,
including potential ballot questions related to
voter identification, the status and benefits of
drivers for app-based transportation companies,
reviving happy hour, legalizing the sale of consumer
fireworks, and the state's participation in a
regional carbon emission reduction program.
The rulings from
Attorney General Maura Healey -- including the
certification of a proposed constitutional amendment
that could go before voters in 2024 to authorize
excuse-free absentee voting -- winnowed the field of
possible ballot questions from 28 proposed
initiative petitions and two constitutional
amendments filed with her office last month....
For any of the
questions, actually securing a spot on the 2022
ballot is still a ways off. The proposals that
Healey's office certified Wednesday will be filed
with Secretary of State William Galvin's office and
the activists, campaigns and interests behind each
measure can then begin to collect the 80,239 voter
signatures that must be filed with local election
officials in November and then with Galvin by Dec.
1. Opponents can also ask the Supreme Judicial Court
to review Healey's certification rulings.
The Legislature will
also have a chance to act on the issues addressed by
the proposed questions themselves. If the
Legislature chooses not to act before May 4, 2022,
petition supporters will have to collect another
13,374 voter signatures by July 6, 2022 to lock in a
spot on the November 2022 ballot....
The attorney general
certified as ballot-eligible under the constitution
a petition filed by Republican Rep. David DeCoste of
Norwell and supported by Republican gubernatorial
candidate Geoff Diehl seeking to undermine
Massachusetts' participation in the Transportation
Climate Initiative Program, a regional cap-and-trade
program that Gov. Charlie Baker has pushed for
years.
Healey's summary of the
proposal said the law proposed would "prohibit
Massachusetts from imposing any tax, fee,
revenue-generating measure, or market-based
compliance measure if it would reduce or restrict
the supply of gasoline, diesel fuel, special fuels,
or other motor fuels available to meet consumer
demand." TCI would put a declining cap on emissions
from on-road diesel and motor gasoline, which
opponents say translates to a reduction in the
number of gallons of fuel that can be sold to
consumers.
"A bi-partisan group of
citizens took the first step to bring TCI before the
voters of Massachusetts in 2022. The people that
will feel the most pressure of the price increases
and shortages that will result from TCI deserve a
voice in this process," Paul Craney of the Mass.
Fiscal Alliance, a longtime TCI opponent, said
Wednesday. "Drivers should be free to make their own
decisions and TCI should never restrict the amount
of gasoline Massachusetts consumers can use."
A slew of advocacy
groups, including the Environmental League of
Massachusetts, Transportation for Mass. and others,
said the potential TCI ballot question "threatens
our environment, our health, and our
transportation."
"This poorly drafted,
overly broad petition could threaten any policy or
revenue source designed to eliminate pollution from
transportation. That includes both existing revenue
sources and potential future policies which benefit
families and communities most burdened by
transportation pollution," the TCI supporters said.
"We are confident that if this petition makes it
onto the ballot, Massachusetts voters will join
Governor Baker, other elected officials, civic
leaders and advocates in opposing this ballot
question." ...
Healey on Wednesday
also certified a petition for a law that would
require voters to present government-issued photo
identification before receiving a ballot at polling
places. Anyone who does not produce an ID, the
proposal says, could "choose to execute an affidavit
attesting to his or her identity and residence" to
get a ballot.
Though Healey certified
that petition, which was filed by former U.S. Sen.
Scott Brown aide and Massachusetts House candidate
Tatyana Semyrog of Duxbury, the attorney general
declined three other initiative petitions related to
voter ID because those proposals "would
significantly interfere with the freedom of
elections by preventing otherwise-qualified persons
from voting," an attorney wrote in the declination
letter.
The attorney general's
office also rejected the initiative petition filed
by Bernadette Lyons, wife of MassGOP Chairman Jim
Lyons, that sought to require "all reasonable steps,
in keeping with good medical practice shall be taken
to preserve the life of the child born alive." The
AG's office said the one-sentence proposal was not
in the proper form for submission to the people, as
required by Article 48 of the Constitution.
"Here, the proposed law
contains several highly ambiguous provisions, which
make it impossible for us to determine, and inform
potential voters of, the meaning and effect of the
proposed law," Anne Sternman, deputy chief of
Healey's government division, wrote. "Specifically,
the proposed law does not define 'a child born
alive' or what is required to 'preserve the life of
a child born alive,' nor does it specify what
'reasonable steps' must be taken or who 'shall' take
them."
State
House News Service
Wednesday, September 1, 2021
AG Review Leaves Large Field of
Potential Ballot Questions
TCI, Worker Benefits, Voter ID Questions Certified
History may be
repeating itself, with an ironic twist.
In 2014, Charlie Baker
barely won the governorship, by 40,000 votes, riding
in on the coattails of a statewide referendum that
repealed a despised gasoline tax increase.
Now, if he runs for a
third term next year, Charlie will again be leading
a crusade on an even more unpopular gasoline tax
increase.
But there’s one big
difference between 2014 and 2022.
Next year, Charlie
would be cheerleading not against, but for jacking
up the gasoline tax per gallon from 24 cents to,
according to one Tufts University study, perhaps as
high as 62 cents a gallon.
As a driver, what would
you prefer to pay in state taxes — 24 cents a
gallon, or Charlie Baker’s dream, 62 cents per
gallon?
If Baker runs, you will
have a choice, at least in the GOP primary. The
incumbent 62-cents-a-gallon-tax governor, or ex-Rep.
Geoff Diehl, who doesn’t even like 24 cents a
gallon.
Which side are you on?
Which side will your wallet be on?
Earlier this week
Attorney General Maura Healey certified 16
referendum questions for next year’s statewide
ballot, including one on what Parker and his
climate-change dead-enders call the Transportation
and Climate Initiative.
In reality, it’s the
Tax ‘Em Back to the Stone Age to Pay for the
Hackerama ballot question....
Apparently Charlie
doesn’t think the cost of gasoline is high enough,
even after his man Dementia Joe’s insane policies
have driven up prices 40% since January.
Personally, I’m still
not even sure Parker wants a third term. Third terms
are always catastrophic, and hasn’t his second term
been enough of a total calamity across the board?
...
Oh, I’d love to see
Charlie defending TCI in a campaign next year,
especially during a Republican primary. All we need
is 80,239 signatures to put TCI on the ballot —
Charlie Parker’s last stand.
The
Boston Herald
Thursday, September 2, 2021
Chilly wind blowing for Baker with
TCI
By Howie Carr
Dozens of Massachusetts
educators citing health conditions and pandemic
stressors advocated for an early retirement bill
during a Wednesday virtual hearing, but costs both
to the state and teachers themselves remain
unclear....
Dearborn and other
teachers of retirement age who struggled to adapt to
remote work during the pandemic or who are at high
risk for coronavirus complications pushed for an
early retirement bill that would allow educators to
purchase years of service or age while also creating
opportunities to usher in a new set of hires....
Under the legislation,
eligible teachers could retire early by purchasing
up to five years of service or up to five years of
age, or a combination of the two as long as it
doesn’t exceed 10 years.
Local authorities such
as school committees, town councils and mayors would
need to vote to allow use of the act in their city
or town, and also agree to backfill the positions so
as not to create a teacher shortage.
Despite many strong
testimonies in support for the bill, questions about
the cost of early retirement still hung in the air,
largely unanswered.
Rep. Ken Gordon, the
committee’s House chair, said teachers who might be
interested in the program “really don’t know what it
will cost” to participate....
The cost of purchasing
service under the bill, which was pioneered by the
Massachusetts Teachers Association, will be
determined by an analysis from the Public Employee
Retirement Administration Commission, which has not
yet been run.
Merrie Najimy,
president of the MTA, said teachers are facing an
impossible choice. “Put themselves or vulnerable
family members at risk, or jeopardize a dignified
and financially secure retirement that they have
been counting on all of their career.”
The [Joint Committee on
Public Service] will accept testimony until Sept. 8
and then close out public comment and take the
matter under consideration.
The
Boston Herald
Wednesday, September 1, 2021
Costs remain unclear as
Massachusetts teachers
advocate for early retirement bill in virtual
hearing
Pass any hospital with
doctors and nurses pulling ungodly shifts, tending
to a fresh surge in COVID patients after a grueling
year. Or have a chat with a delivery person — any
delivery person — about fatigue and long hours. In
that vein, retail workers, especially those who
staffed grocery stores and kept the shelves stocked,
could share some war stories.
But according to
Massachusetts teachers, it doesn’t hurt to ask, even
if they haven’t worked out the details.
As the Herald’s Alexi
Cohan reported, dozens of Massachusetts educators of
retirement age advocated for an early retirement
bill during a Wednesday virtual hearing....
It’s not like
Massachusetts teachers haven’t been driving the bus
since the pandemic shuttered schools.
Last August, when it
seemed viable to return to classrooms in the fall,
the focus was on social distancing and air
quality....
Then the dance between
the CDC’s call for a return to school without
teacher vaccination, and teachers’ stance on
vaccinations began. First teachers said they weren’t
necessary for a return, then they were.
The year may have been
marked by a tough pace for teachers, but consider
the upheaval it caused parents, who had to juggle
work, if they still had jobs, with directing
children’s studies at home. Those lucky enough to
find time took to the streets to protest teachers
staying out of the classroom.
Where is their sweet
deal?
A Boston
Herald editorial
Friday, September 3, 2021
Teachers not only ones who had
it tough
As nearly 304,000 Bay
Staters lose $300 in weekly federal unemployment
benefits — a “lifeline” for many Massachusetts
residents — local retailers hope this expiration of
benefits will help small businesses fill jobs.
“We’ve already seen a
number of small businesses close their doors
permanently,” said Jon Hurst, president of the
Retailers Association of Massachusetts, of the labor
shortage’s effects. “What happens over the course of
the next four months through the holidays will
determine whether there’ll be more small business
closures come January and February.”
The situation for small
businesses began improving in June when
Massachusetts implemented a job search requirement
for folks to continue collecting unemployment, Hurst
said, but the labor shortage from multiple COVID-related
factors put strain on businesses from end to end.
“That’s also hurting
the seller at the consumer level because the choices
are less, prices are higher, and service is not at
an optimum level,” he said. “All those factors are
making it, frankly, a bit of a tenuous situation.”
...
A spokesperson from the
Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development
said that the number of people collecting
unemployment plateaued around mid-summer, and
speculated that job seekers could be waiting until
benefits expire, until children go back to school,
or until the impact of the delta variant of COVID-19
subsides to go back to work.
Now that these are
becoming realities, Hurst said, “I think there’ll be
more people looking and feeling more comfortable and
back into the workforce.” ...
“You’d be hard-pressed
to find any industry that is fully staffed right
now,” he said. “Anybody that really wants to find
work and is serious about it, there are
opportunities out there for them.”
The
Boston Herald
Saturday, September 4, 2021
Massachusetts retailers hope to fill jobs as more
than
300,000 residents lose federal unemployment benefits
Many small businesses have closed their doors
permanently
|
|
Great news this week, for
a change! The anti-TCI ballot question was approved by
Attorney General Maura Healey. Now we await Secretary of State
Bill Galvin to have the petitions printed then the signatures
collection can commence.
80,239 certified
signatures of registered Massachusetts voters are required to
qualify, which means over 100,000 raw signatures will need to be
collected and submitted to city registrars of voters and town
clerks. The deadline they must be turned in by is not later
than 5:00 PM on Wednesday, November 17.
For over a year now I've
been working with Paul Craney and Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance to
oppose and defeat Gov. Baker's Transportation and Climate Initiative
(TCI). MassFiscal is the sponsor of this petition effort and
asked me to send you this invitation. CLT will soon have a PDF
copy of the petition available for you to download and print out,
sign and circulate for more signatures.
|
Next week, an independent
group of citizens fighting the TCI gas tax scheme
through the referendum process are hosting
organizational meetings. They’ve asked us to pass
those details along and we felt many of our members
would be interested. All the meetings start at 6:30pm.
If you would like to attend their meeting, please send
us an email at:
noTCItax@massfiscal.org and we will make sure they
know you’re coming.
PLEASE BE SURE TO
INCLUDE YOUR NAME, EMAIL, AND ADDRESS or you will
not be included. Anonymous RSVPs will not be
passed along.
Tuesday
VFW, 486 Bedford Street, Fall River
Wednesday
VFW, 193 Dean Street, Norwood;
Thursday
The Elks Lodge, 134 North Main Street, Leominster.
|
It turns out that I've
likely been involved in launching, managing, directing, coordinating
and collecting signatures on more statewide petition drives than any living
citizen of Massachusetts. I got an early start I guess, with
the first mandatory seat belt law's repeal in 1986. Chip
Faulkner was my closest competitor but we lost him in 2019.
He's still missed and will be even more so in the weeks ahead.
I just went over
my
political activities history and found that I've been directly
involved in organizing 14 different statewide petition drives over my 36-year
career as an activist:
|
1985-86 |
My first political effort
beyond voting: Petition drive volunteer for a
referendum to repeal the first Massachusetts mandatory
seat belt law. Launched The Committee to Repeal
the Mandatory Seat Belt Law and became chairman and
spokesman. |
|
1987 |
Petition to repeal
Legislative/Executive pay raises (with CLT) |
|
Petition to limit
legislative sessions to 6 months (assisted MTF/CAMEL) |
|
1989 |
Petition to roll back
taxes and fees (with CLT) |
|
1991 |
Petition for Term Limits
(Constitutional Amendment with LIMITS & CLT) |
|
1992 |
Perot for President
nomination papers signature drive (People for Perot) |
|
Petition to repeal
cigarette tax increase (consultant for Committee Against
Unfair Taxes) |
|
1993 |
Second petition for Term
Limits (Initiative Statute/with LIMITS & CLT) |
|
1994 |
Petition to repeal second
mandatory seat belt law |
|
1995 |
Petition to repeal
Legislature's 55% pay raise (with CLT) |
|
Petition to end turnpike
tolls (temporary field director for Free The Pike) |
|
1997-98 |
Petition to roll back 1989
"temporary" income tax hike (CLT) |
|
1999-2000 |
Second petition to roll
back 1989 "temporary" income tax hike (CLT with Gov.
Cellucci) |
No longer being a resident
of Massachusetts this will be one of the only petitions of which I
was unable to be one of the original ten signers. That does
not diminish my hard-earned experience and knowledge of how it's done, best
practices and pitfalls to avoid, through over three decades of
hand-to-hand combat
from the trenches. I hope and intend to assist this effort
with everything I've got left to give. I hope you will too.
On the darker side, here comes
the Teachers Union again with yet another scam to benefit themselves
at taxpayers' expense. Their latest money grab is a proposal
for "early retirement." Combine that with the proposed "retirement
credit," an additional three-year bonus for "essential state
workers," and we're talking about a bonanza for teachers.
Friday's Boston Herald editorial ("Teachers
not only ones who had it tough") highlighted the teachers
union's shamelessness:
Pass any hospital with
doctors and nurses pulling ungodly shifts,
tending to a fresh surge in COVID patients after
a grueling year. Or have a chat with a delivery
person — any delivery person — about fatigue and
long hours. In that vein, retail workers,
especially those who staffed grocery stores and
kept the shelves stocked, could share some war
stories.
But according to
Massachusetts teachers, it doesn’t hurt to ask,
even if they haven’t worked out the details.
As the Herald’s Alexi Cohan
reported, dozens of Massachusetts educators of
retirement age advocated for an early retirement
bill during a Wednesday virtual hearing....
It’s not like Massachusetts
teachers haven’t been driving the bus since the
pandemic shuttered schools.
Last August, when it seemed
viable to return to classrooms in the fall, the
focus was on social distancing and air
quality....
Then the dance between the
CDC’s call for a return to school without
teacher vaccination, and teachers’ stance on
vaccinations began. First teachers said they
weren’t necessary for a return, then they were.
The year may have been
marked by a tough pace for teachers, but
consider the upheaval it caused parents, who had
to juggle work, if they still had jobs, with
directing children’s studies at home. Those
lucky enough to find time took to the streets to
protest teachers staying out of the classroom.
Where is their sweet deal?
Ordinarily I'd say the
sooner we get rid of the dangerous assembly-line indoctrination of
children perversely termed "public education" the better
— but at what cost to taxpayers?
If teachers aren't happy with their overly-generous sinecures then
hand them all pink slips and move on to education vouchers and
charter schools — be done with their
union's relentless discontent, insatiable greed, and corrupt
stranglehold on politicians of all ilk.
|
 |
 |
|
Chip Ford
Executive Director |
|
|
The
NewBostonPost
Wednesday, September 1, 2021
Ballot Question Seeking To Stop Climate-Change Carbon Fee
On Fuel Clears Attorney General Review
By Matt McDonald
Supporters of a ballot petition seeking to scuttle a
proposed carbon fee on fuel can bring the question before
Massachusetts voters if they get enough signatures, the
state Attorney General said.
The petition, called “An Act Preserving Consumer Access To
Gasoline and Other Motor Fuels,” seeks to defeat Governor
Charlie Baker’s Transportation and Climate Initiative, which
would add a carbon fee on fuel that would make gasoline and
diesel more expensive at the pump, with the revenue to go
toward improving public transportation.
Supporters of the Transportation and Climate Initiative say
the program, which they call “cap and invest,” would fight
climate change by limiting emissions, providing a
disincentive for people to drive, and providing an incentive
for people to take public transportation or buy electric
cars.
Opponents say the likely increase in the cost of gasoline
and diesel would hurt drivers and drive up costs of consumer
goods with no justifying benefit in return.
The anti-carbon-fee petition would add the following
language to state law:
"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."
Maura Healey, the Massachusetts Attorney General, certified
the petition on Wednesday, September 1, which means she
found that it passes constitutional muster to go to the
voters.
A series of hurdles await supporters, the hardest of which
is collecting at least 80,239 signatures of registered
voters in Massachusetts by November 17, 2021 – in hopes of
making the statewide general election ballot in November
2022.
Signers of the petition include state Representative David
DeCoste (R-Norwell), state Representative Nicholas Boldyga
(R-Southwick), state Representative Colleen Garry
(D-Dracut), and former state representative Geoff Diehl, a
Whitman Republican who is running for governor in 2022.
Another signer is Paul Craney, spokesman for the
Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, a conservative watchdog group
on Beacon Hill. He hailed certification of the petition by
the Attorney General’s office, which allows supporters to
begin the mammoth task of collecting enough signatures to
put it on the ballot.
“We are pleased to learn that Massachusetts voters moved one
step closer to having the final say on this important
question. The TCI ballot question would allow ordinary
residents to decide if the state should artificially limit
the supply of gasoline and diesel fuels in order to increase
fuel costs with hopes to drive down usage. This scenario is
only appealing for a few people. Unfortunately, those same
people have been making many of the decisions for the
state,” Craney said in a written statement Wednesday.
The governor’s press office could not be reached for
comment.
Opponents of the Transportation and Climate Initiative have
criticized the substance of the proposal and also the
process Governor Baker is using to try to implement it —
administration officials have said the governor doesn’t need
approval from the state Legislature because he already has
the authority to do it from the state’s Global Warming
Solutions Act of 2008.
Craney said the ballot initiative would help bring a more
democratic element to the policy process.
“A bi-partisan group of citizens took the first step to
bring TCI before the voters of Massachusetts in 2022. The
people that will feel the most pressure of the price
increases and shortages that will result from TCI deserve a
voice in this process,” Craney said. “Drivers should be free
to make their own decisions and TCI should never restrict
the amount of gasoline Massachusetts consumers can use.”
Transportation for Massachusetts, a coalition of mostly
left-of-center advocacy groups that support the
Transportation and Climate Initiative, criticized the
petition that seeks to stop it.
“This poorly drafted, overly broad petition could threaten
any policy or revenue source designed to eliminate pollution
from transportation. That includes both existing revenue
sources and potential future policies which benefit families
and communities most burdened by transportation pollution,”
Transportation for Massachusetts said in a written statement
Wednesday. “We are confident that if this petition makes it
onto the ballot, Massachusetts voters will join Governor
Baker, other elected officials, civic leaders and advocates
in opposing this ballot question.”
The Transportation and Climate Initiative began as a
proposed partnership among 12 states and the District of
Columbia, stretching from Maine to Virginia.
Support has dwindled during the past couple of years,
however, as states have dropped out, citing concerns about
predicted increases in the cost of gasoline.
In December 2020, the governors of Massachusetts, Rhode
Island, and Connecticut and the mayor of Washington D.C.
signed a memorandum of understanding to try to implement the
scheme. In June 2021, Connecticut dropped the proposal from
budget talks, though state leaders have not given up on the
idea altogether.
As of now, Massachusetts still plans to implement the policy
in 2023.
Estimates of the added costs of gas and diesel from the
Transportation and Climate Initiative vary.
A December 2020 study produced by the Beacon Hill Institute
(and funded by Fiscal Alliance Foundation, which opposes the
Transportation and Climate Initiative) found that the
proposed carbon fee on fuel would increase the price of
gasoline in Massachusetts by about 18 cents a gallon and the
price of diesel by about 36 cents a gallon.
State House News
Service
Wednesday, September 1, 2021
AG Review Leaves Large Field of Potential Ballot Questions
TCI, Worker Benefits, Voter ID Questions Certified
By Colin A. Young
The attorney general has cleared 16 initiative petitions to
continue advancing towards the 2022 statewide ballot,
including potential ballot questions related to voter
identification, the status and benefits of drivers for
app-based transportation companies, reviving happy hour,
legalizing the sale of consumer fireworks, and the state's
participation in a regional carbon emission reduction
program.
The rulings from Attorney General Maura Healey -- including
the certification of a proposed constitutional amendment
that could go before voters in 2024 to authorize excuse-free
absentee voting -- winnowed the field of possible ballot
questions from 28 proposed initiative petitions and two
constitutional amendments filed with her office last month.
The question that appears poised to be at the center of an
expensive and hotly-contested campaign -- the proposal to
declare all app-based drivers to be independent contractors
and grant them access to some minimum pay guarantees, sick
leave and other benefits -- was among those given the green
light to proceed. Healey certified two versions of the
Massachusetts initiative filed by a group funded by Uber,
Lyft, DoorDash and Instacart. The effort comes on the heels
of a similar and successful measure in California.
"We believe that Massachusetts voters will support what
drivers are asking for: to remain independent contractors,
in control of our own schedules, while gaining new
benefits," Brittney Woods of Boston said in a release from
the Massachusetts Coalition for Independent Work. "That
flexibility and control is why we drive."
Opponents of the app-based driver petition, led by the
Coalition to Protect Workers' Rights, slammed the potential
ballot question as a "racially discriminatory, anti-worker,
anti-consumer" copy of the California proposition.
"The Uber/Big Tech ballot measures cheats workers, shields
these massive companies from liability to customers, and
makes Massachusetts taxpayers pick up the tab," coalition
Director Mike Firestone said. "Massachusetts voters and
app-based workers just want these multi-billion dollar
companies to pay their taxes and follow the law. We believe
their California copycat bill is unconstitutional and will
carefully consider our litigation options..."
For any of the questions, actually securing a spot on the
2022 ballot is still a ways off. The proposals that Healey's
office certified Wednesday will be filed with Secretary of
State William Galvin's office and the activists, campaigns
and interests behind each measure can then begin to collect
the 80,239 voter signatures that must be filed with local
election officials in November and then with Galvin by Dec.
1. Opponents can also ask the Supreme Judicial Court to
review Healey's certification rulings.
The Legislature will also have a chance to act on the issues
addressed by the proposed questions themselves. If the
Legislature chooses not to act before May 4, 2022, petition
supporters will have to collect another 13,374 voter
signatures by July 6, 2022 to lock in a spot on the November
2022 ballot.
Two alcohol-related petitions -- one for a law that would
effectively reverse the state's long-standing ban on
discounted and promotional alcoholic drinks and another to
make a series of changes to the state's retail alcohol laws
-- also cleared constitutional muster Wednesday.
Since 1984, Massachusetts has maintained a ban on happy hour
specials and Beacon Hill has rejected previous efforts to
revive happy hour, including in 2011 as part of the casino
bill. But the issue has gained new life as restaurants and
bars adjust now that the government-imposed restrictions
that shaped business for much of 2020 and into 2021 are
largely gone.
"I think government should police us in the least
restrictive way possible, and I think you can only legislate
behavior so far before it becomes onerous on those who are
behaving," lead sponsor Nick Silveira told the News Service
about his happy hour petition last month. "Public sentiment
and public discouragement and punishment surrounding drunk
driving in particular, which led to the ban in the first
place, has swung. I think people have more negative opinions
of those who drive drunk, and on top of ride-sharing
services in particular, I think it's the perfect storm for
us to revisit this."
The Massachusetts Package Store Association, which filed
what it calls an "olive branch" to the food and convenience
stores that previously sought to uncork an unlimited number
of beer and wine licenses, celebrated that Healey gave the
OK to its proposal to tweak retail alcohol rules by
decreasing the number of full liquor licenses allowed by an
individual or company, progressively increasing the number
of beer and wine licenses allowed, prohibiting self-checkout
for alcohol and allowing alcohol retailers to rely upon
out-of-state licenses as sufficient ID.
"We sincerely hope that the entire alcohol beverages
industry can get behind and support the 21st Century Alcohol
Retail Reform initiative petition," Ryan Maloney, owner of
Julio's Liquors in Westborough and president of the MPSA,
said. "This effort promoted by local retailers ends
controversy, supports public safety while giving the
consumer expanded options. This ballot initiative is a true
compromise that results in a win/win."
The attorney general certified as ballot-eligible under the
constitution a petition filed by Republican Rep. David
DeCoste of Norwell and supported by Republican gubernatorial
candidate Geoff Diehl seeking to undermine Massachusetts'
participation in the Transportation Climate Initiative
Program, a regional cap-and-trade program that Gov. Charlie
Baker has pushed for years.
Healey's summary of the proposal said the law proposed would
"prohibit Massachusetts from imposing any tax, fee,
revenue-generating measure, or market-based compliance
measure if it would reduce or restrict the supply of
gasoline, diesel fuel, special fuels, or other motor fuels
available to meet consumer demand." TCI would put a
declining cap on emissions from on-road diesel and motor
gasoline, which opponents say translates to a reduction in
the number of gallons of fuel that can be sold to consumers.
"A bi-partisan group of citizens took the first step to
bring TCI before the voters of Massachusetts in 2022. The
people that will feel the most pressure of the price
increases and shortages that will result from TCI deserve a
voice in this process," Paul Craney of the Mass. Fiscal
Alliance, a longtime TCI opponent, said Wednesday. "Drivers
should be free to make their own decisions and TCI should
never restrict the amount of gasoline Massachusetts
consumers can use."
A slew of advocacy groups, including the Environmental
League of Massachusetts, Transportation for Mass. and
others, said the potential TCI ballot question "threatens
our environment, our health, and our transportation."
"This poorly drafted, overly broad petition could threaten
any policy or revenue source designed to eliminate pollution
from transportation. That includes both existing revenue
sources and potential future policies which benefit families
and communities most burdened by transportation pollution,"
the TCI supporters said. "We are confident that if this
petition makes it onto the ballot, Massachusetts voters will
join Governor Baker, other elected officials, civic leaders
and advocates in opposing this ballot question."
Healey on Wednesday also certified a petition for a law that
would require voters to present government-issued photo
identification before receiving a ballot at polling places.
Anyone who does not produce an ID, the proposal says, could
"choose to execute an affidavit attesting to his or her
identity and residence" to get a ballot.
Though Healey certified that petition, which was filed by
former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown aide and Massachusetts House
candidate Tatyana Semyrog of Duxbury, the attorney general
declined three other initiative petitions related to voter
ID because those proposals "would significantly interfere
with the freedom of elections by preventing
otherwise-qualified persons from voting," an attorney wrote
in the declination letter.
The attorney general's office also rejected the initiative
petition filed by Bernadette Lyons, wife of MassGOP Chairman
Jim Lyons, that sought to require "all reasonable steps, in
keeping with good medical practice shall be taken to
preserve the life of the child born alive." The AG's office
said the one-sentence proposal was not in the proper form
for submission to the people, as required by Article 48 of
the Constitution.
"Here, the proposed law contains several highly ambiguous
provisions, which make it impossible for us to determine,
and inform potential voters of, the meaning and effect of
the proposed law," Anne Sternman, deputy chief of Healey's
government division, wrote. "Specifically, the proposed law
does not define 'a child born alive' or what is required to
'preserve the life of a child born alive,' nor does it
specify what 'reasonable steps' must be taken or who 'shall'
take them."
Two of the three initiative petitions filed by Massachusetts
Nurses Association Executive Director Julie Pinkham were
certified by the attorney general's office. One would ban
hospital CEOs from receiving compensation from or serving on
the board of a company that develops, manufactures or sells
medical devices or pharmaceutical drugs. The other would
"impose financial penalties on certain hospitals and create
a fund to expand Medicaid reimbursement and maintain certain
essential health services," according to Healey's summary.
An effort to make the sale, possession and use of consumer
fireworks legal in Massachusetts by 2024 was also cleared
Wednesday to continue its path to the 2022 ballot.
Healey's office said the decisions announced Wednesday were
based "strictly" on its constitutional review under Article
48 and "do not represent the office's support or opposition
to the merits of the petitions."
"The Massachusetts Constitution requires that proposed
initiatives be in the proper form for submission to voters,
not be substantially the same as any measure on the ballot
in either of the two preceding statewide elections, contain
only subjects that are related to each other or mutually
dependent, and not involve a narrow set of subjects that are
specifically excluded from the ballot initiative process by
the Massachusetts Constitution," the AG's office said. "For
example, a petition cannot be approved if it relates to
religion, religious practices or religious institutions; the
powers, creation or abolition of the courts; the
appointment, compensation or tenure of judges; a specific
appropriation of funds from the state treasury; or if it
infringes on other protected constitutional rights, such as
trial by jury, freedom of the press and freedom of speech."
The Boston
Herald
Thursday, September 2, 2021
Chilly wind blowing for Baker with TCI
By Howie Carr
History may be repeating itself, with an ironic twist.
In 2014, Charlie Baker barely won the governorship, by
40,000 votes, riding in on the coattails of a statewide
referendum that repealed a despised gasoline tax increase.
Now, if he runs for a third term next year, Charlie will
again be leading a crusade on an even more unpopular
gasoline tax increase.
But there’s one big difference between 2014 and 2022.
Next year, Charlie would be cheerleading not against, but
for jacking up the gasoline tax per gallon from 24 cents to,
according to one Tufts University study, perhaps as high as
62 cents a gallon.
As a driver, what would you prefer to pay in state taxes —
24 cents a gallon, or Charlie Baker’s dream, 62 cents per
gallon?
If Baker runs, you will have a choice, at least in the GOP
primary. The incumbent 62-cents-a-gallon-tax governor, or
ex-Rep. Geoff Diehl, who doesn’t even like 24 cents a
gallon.
Which side are you on? Which side will your wallet be on?
Earlier this week Attorney General Maura Healey certified 16
referendum questions for next year’s statewide ballot,
including one on what Parker and his climate-change
dead-enders call the Transportation and Climate Initiative.
In reality, it’s the Tax ‘Em Back to the Stone Age to Pay
for the Hackerama ballot question.
Originally, all the states in the Northeast, as far south as
Virginia, were supposed to be in on this mad
multibillion-dollar heist. The theory was that if all the
states screwed their drivers at the same moment, they’d have
nowhere nearby to drive to for relief.
Now, every other state — including some with tax-crazed
Democrat governors — has bailed out. The only ones left in
the conspiracy are Charlie Parker and the demented mayor of
the District of Columbia, which isn’t even a state.
Apparently Charlie doesn’t think the cost of gasoline is
high enough, even after his man Dementia Joe’s insane
policies have driven up prices 40% since January.
Personally, I’m still not even sure Parker wants a third
term. Third terms are always catastrophic, and hasn’t his
second term been enough of a total calamity across the
board?
Third highest COVID death rate in the country (until this
month), the Registry of Motor Vehicles, the State Police,
his son’s JetBlue flight, the Department of Public Health’s
65,000 falsified criminal drug tests and the ongoing
cover-up …
Charlie, haven’t you done enough?
His fundraising this year has been anemic — just $46,774
last month, after $57,907 in July. He’s basically just
raising enough to pay his campaign’s fixed expenses,
including payroll.
One reason for sticking around, though: the torrent of money
from D.C. Even Sen. Ed Markey awakened from his decades-long
nap to journey to the Cape Cod Canal last week and talk
about money for Massachusetts institutions that “are over 80
years old, structurally deficient and in desperate need of
replacement.”
For the record, Mr. Frosty was talking not about himself,
but about the Bourne and Sagamore bridges.
There’s an old saying: If you believe in nothing, you’ll
fall for anything. That sums up Charlie Parker.
He fell for the COVID grift hook, line and sinker, and he
sunk the state in the process. Anything any “expert” in a
white lab coat told him — he believed it, 100 percent.
Now he’s all in on the climate-change scam. Which is where
the TCI gas tax comes in.
Ostensibly it’s about reducing carbon emissions, and the
hacks claim it’ll “only” be 5-9 cents a gallon. Yeah right.
The TCI conspiracy is really about Charlie needing billions
more to pay for hundreds or maybe even thousands more
phony-baloney jobs. They’re needed for all these
unemployable Ph.D.’s who want to get paid six-figure
salaries for wringing their hands about rising sea levels,
while not actually doing anything about them or anything
else.
The hacks all gotta go somewhere, right? Anywhere except to
a real job where you’re expected to … work.
I mean, as much as Charlie may want to, he can’t add 600
more hacks to the Cannabis Control Commission. Or even the
Mass. Gaming Commission — right Rep. Brad Hill?
Just as during the COVID panic, Charlie actually believes
the snake oil these climate grifters are peddling. He was
out in Easthampton earlier this week, talking about
“environmental justice populations” in “environmental
justice communities.”
This is the way he actually talks now. His mind is gone,
obviously.
Parker continued with this bureaucratic gibberish:
“resiliency opportunities for folks across the
Commonwealth.”
He and his green wokesters, he babbled, are offering “sound
future-focused solutions.” Not to mention, Parker added with
a straight face, “shovel-ready” jobs.
That’s what his “municipal vulnerability planning program”
is all about. That, of course, and the 62-cent-a-gallon gas
tax he’s been dreaming of.
Oh, I’d love to see Charlie defending TCI in a campaign next
year, especially during a Republican primary. All we need is
80,239 signatures to put TCI on the ballot — Charlie
Parker’s last stand.
Listen to Howie’s radio show from 3-7 p.m. today on WRKO-AM
680.
The Boston
Herald
Wednesday, September 1, 2021
Costs remain unclear as Massachusetts teachers
advocate for early retirement bill in virtual hearing
By Alexi Cohan
Dozens of Massachusetts educators citing health conditions
and pandemic stressors advocated for an early retirement
bill during a Wednesday virtual hearing, but costs both to
the state and teachers themselves remain unclear.
Sandra Dearborn, who has been teaching at Masconomet
Regional School District for 28 years, has a medical
condition that requires an infusion of immunosuppressive
drugs every six weeks, she shared before the Joint Committee
on Public Service.
“I will be exposed to over 100 students every day in a
combined approximately 600 square foot room with poor
ventilation,” Dearborn said, adding that her job puts her in
a very vulnerable spot amid the delta variant surge.
Dearborn and other teachers of retirement age who struggled
to adapt to remote work during the pandemic or who are at
high risk for coronavirus complications pushed for an early
retirement bill that would allow educators to purchase years
of service or age while also creating opportunities to usher
in a new set of hires.
Jeanne DeRosa, a high school math teacher in Burlington,
told the committee, “At the end of the school year, I’ll
have five years left until retirement, and I honestly don’t
know how I’m going to be able to continue teaching at this
pace for five years. The pandemic is not over.”
Under the legislation, eligible teachers could retire early
by purchasing up to five years of service or up to five
years of age, or a combination of the two as long as it
doesn’t exceed 10 years.
Local authorities such as school committees, town councils
and mayors would need to vote to allow use of the act in
their city or town, and also agree to backfill the positions
so as not to create a teacher shortage.
Despite many strong testimonies in support for the bill,
questions about the cost of early retirement still hung in
the air, largely unanswered.
Rep. Ken Gordon, the committee’s House chair, said teachers
who might be interested in the program “really don’t know
what it will cost” to participate.
“I don’t want a situation where the bill that they get is so
close to the benefit increase that it’s a net wash,” Gordon
said.
The cost of purchasing service under the bill, which was
pioneered by the Massachusetts Teachers Association, will be
determined by an analysis from the Public Employee
Retirement Administration Commission, which has not yet been
run.
Merrie Najimy, president of the MTA, said teachers are
facing an impossible choice. “Put themselves or vulnerable
family members at risk, or jeopardize a dignified and
financially secure retirement that they have been counting
on all of their career.”
The committee will accept testimony until Sept. 8 and then
close out public comment and take the matter under
consideration.
The Boston
Herald
Friday, September 3, 2021
A Boston Herald editorial
Teachers not only ones who had it tough
For the immunocompromised, life during the pandemic remains
a nightmare, even with the COVID vaccine. While breakthrough
cases among those who’ve gotten the jab have not been
serious, that’s not the case for those with fragile immune
systems. Extra caution remains the name of the game.
So it’s no wonder that educators in this subgroup of
Massachusetts teachers would seek early retirement. We don’t
know when the pandemic will end, how many more variants will
spread, and what wild card effect the unvaxxed will have on
further spread.
However, for teachers not in this category, those who are
looking at another year’s slog, or longer at a pace dictated
by the pandemic — you are far from alone.
Pass any hospital with doctors and nurses pulling ungodly
shifts, tending to a fresh surge in COVID patients after a
grueling year. Or have a chat with a delivery person — any
delivery person — about fatigue and long hours. In that
vein, retail workers, especially those who staffed grocery
stores and kept the shelves stocked, could share some war
stories.
But according to Massachusetts teachers, it doesn’t hurt to
ask, even if they haven’t worked out the details.
As the Herald’s Alexi Cohan reported, dozens of
Massachusetts educators of retirement age advocated for an
early retirement bill during a Wednesday virtual hearing.
Teachers who struggled to adapt to remote work during the
pandemic or who are at high risk for coronavirus
complications pushed for legislation that would allow them
to purchase years of service or age while also creating
opportunities to usher in a new set of hires.
Jeanne DeRosa, a high school math teacher in Burlington,
told the committee, “At the end of the school year, I’ll
have five years left until retirement, and I honestly don’t
know how I’m going to be able to continue teaching at this
pace for five years. The pandemic is not over.”
Under the legislation, eligible teachers could retire early
by purchasing up to five years of service or up to five
years of age, or a combination of the two as long as it
doesn’t exceed 10 years.
Questions about the cost of early retirement still hung in
the air.
It’s not like Massachusetts teachers haven’t been driving
the bus since the pandemic shuttered schools.
Last August, when it seemed viable to return to classrooms
in the fall, the focus was on social distancing and air
quality.
As WCVB reported, schools around Massachusetts updated their
heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. Teachers
unions called for regular and independent air quality
checks.
School districts in Massachusetts turned to ionization
equipment, HEPA filters and even box fans to boost air
quality. Worcester Public Schools spent $15 million to
upgrade its HVAC systems.
Yet schools continued either remote learning, or a hybrid
model.
Then the dance between the CDC’s call for a return to school
without teacher vaccination, and teachers’ stance on
vaccinations began. First teachers said they weren’t
necessary for a return, then they were.
The year may have been marked by a tough pace for teachers,
but consider the upheaval it caused parents, who had to
juggle work, if they still had jobs, with directing
children’s studies at home. Those lucky enough to find time
took to the streets to protest teachers staying out of the
classroom.
Where is their sweet deal?
The Boston
Herald
Saturday, September 4, 2021
Massachusetts retailers hope to fill jobs as more than
300,000 residents lose federal unemployment benefits
Many small businesses have closed their doors permanently
By Amy Sokolow
As nearly 304,000 Bay Staters lose $300 in weekly federal
unemployment benefits — a “lifeline” for many Massachusetts
residents — local retailers hope this expiration of benefits
will help small businesses fill jobs.
“We’ve already seen a number of small businesses close their
doors permanently,” said Jon Hurst, president of the
Retailers Association of Massachusetts, of the labor
shortage’s effects. “What happens over the course of the
next four months through the holidays will determine whether
there’ll be more small business closures come January and
February.”
The situation for small businesses began improving in June
when Massachusetts implemented a job search requirement for
folks to continue collecting unemployment, Hurst said, but
the labor shortage from multiple COVID-related factors put
strain on businesses from end to end.
“That’s also hurting the seller at the consumer level
because the choices are less, prices are higher, and service
is not at an optimum level,” he said. “All those factors are
making it, frankly, a bit of a tenuous situation.”
Data from the state’s Executive Office of Labor and
Workforce Development has shown that while the state
unemployment rate hovers just under 5% as of July, the
distribution of the unemployed is uneven.
While the number of those seeking employment in food
preparation exceeds the number of jobs threefold, for
example, the inverse is true in sectors like health care and
computer- and mathematical-related jobs.
The unemployment rate also varies widely by race: It’s 12.5%
for Latinos, and 11.1% for Black Bay Staters.
A study by Harvard-run Opportunity Insights showed that
while those earning over $60,000 in Massachusetts saw a 2%
drop in employment since the pandemic began through
November, those earning under $27,000 saw a 29% drop.
A spokesperson from the Executive Office of Labor and
Workforce Development said that the number of people
collecting unemployment plateaued around mid-summer, and
speculated that job seekers could be waiting until benefits
expire, until children go back to school, or until the
impact of the delta variant of COVID-19 subsides to go back
to work.
Now that these are becoming realities, Hurst said, “I think
there’ll be more people looking and feeling more comfortable
and back into the workforce.”
The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development
began preemptively addressing the stoppage of unemployment
benefits last month by holding a historically large job fair
with over 17,000 attendees.
The Baker administration also announced a $240 million
workforce development program to address the longer-term
challenges of matching the workforce’s skills to the jobs
needed. The program aims to train over 52,000 unemployed and
underemployed workers in in-demand fields over the next
three years.
Despite the skills gap, Hurst is optimistic that those soon
to lose their benefits can find work.
“You’d be hard-pressed to find any industry that is fully
staffed right now,” he said. “Anybody that really wants to
find work and is serious about it, there are opportunities
out there for them.”
|
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
|
