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Post Office Box 1147
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Marblehead, Massachusetts 01945
▪ (781) 639-9709
“Every Tax is a Pay Cut ... A Tax Cut is a Pay Raise”
47 years as “The Voice of Massachusetts Taxpayers”
— and
their Institutional Memory — |
|
CLT UPDATE
Sunday, September 26, 2021
They Never Stop
Coming for Prop 2½
Jump directly
to CLT's Commentary on the News
|
Most Relevant News
Excerpts
(Full news reports follow Commentary)
|
|
State Sen. Michael
Moore cautioned the Select Board members on Tuesday
that they may get a “cold shoulder’’ from other
towns as Grafton officials try to rally support for
a precedent-setting study to review the viability of
Proposition 2½.
The board invited Moore
and state Rep. David Muradian to its Sept. 21
meeting to discuss the process of revamping
Proposition 2½ and building support among
communities and organizations to do so.
While there are several
political and legislative routes to try to change
Proposition 2½, which was overwhelmingly approved on
a statewide ballot 41 years ago, Moore and Muradian
suggested it’s a lengthy and possibly futile uphill
battle to do so....
Select Board member Ray
Mead said he believes Proposition 2½ is outdated.
“I believe Proposition
2½ has run its course, and a lot of cities and towns
are forced to do overrides,’’ Mead said.
Proposition 2½ allows
communities to increase budgets 2.5% over its levy
limit (taxes). Officials argue that a 2.5% budget
increase covers cost-of-living increases, but not
much more.
Communities like
Grafton wrestle each year with providing town
services and operating the public schools under
Proposition 2½ limitation. As a result, many
communities, such as Grafton, are forced to seek
Proposition 2½ overrides to generate more tax
revenues.
Mead noted that Grafton
voters have passed multimillion-dollar overrides in
2020 and 2014, which was the town’s first override
since the 1980s. But Mead said, “The town does not
have the appetite for another override.’’
In 1980, state voters
overwhelmingly passed Proposition 2½ ; the anti-tax
group Citizens for Limited Taxation
spearheaded the initiative on the statewide ballot.
Moore described the passage of Proposition 2½ as
“the will of the people.’’ ...
There have been
grumblings by other town officials about Proposition
2½ limitations, so Moore has reached out to
community leaders in the past about changing
Proposition 2½.
He warned Grafton
officials “don’t be surprised if you get the cold
shoulder.’’ He was “surprised’’ that so many
officials wanted to hold onto Proposition 2½.
While there are several
routes to try to revamp Proposition 2½, Moore and
Muradian suggested it’s a lengthy and possibly
futile uphill battle.
Both legislators
suggested contacting the Massachusetts Municipal
Association to get a “better grasp’’ on how
officials in other towns will react.
The MMA could be
Grafton’s “strongest advocate,’’ Muradian said.
Mead stressed the goal
is to pay the town’s bills while staying within
Proposition 2½ without an override.
Instead, the “more
progressive’’ way of raising additional revenues is
using a local income tax instead of an override.
The
Grafton News
Wednesday, September 22, 2021
Select Board considers a
precedent-setting study to revamp Prop. 2½
Sal DiMasi, before his
fall from grace, had the life sciences and health
care. Bob DeLeo left his mark with an expansion of
gaming. And whether his speakership ends in a year
or 10, House Speaker Ron Mariano seems to want to be
remembered as the wind whisperer.
The Quincy Democrat
took 23 House colleagues on a boat ride to Block
Island on Tuesday to view the wind turbines that
spin off the coast of Rhode Island.
The three-hour tour
(no, not kidding) allowed the House Skipper and
other lawmakers to get an up-close look at the
industry that they are staking their economic
development and clean energy hopes on.
Under blue skies and
with a microphone in his hand, Mariano harkened back
to the $1 billion the state committed in 2008 to
grow the life sciences over the next decade, and how
it had worked.
"We must pursue the
same strategy to make Massachusetts the leader of
our clean energy future," he said....
But as representatives
mingled on the aft deck in the early fall sunshine,
clouds were gathering above Beacon Hill where the
House's State House reopening plan was not going
over smoothly with all lawmakers.
The House's reopening
working group produced a blueprint, albeit one
without timelines attached, to reopen the State
House to the public in four phases, beginning by
fully welcoming back members and staff once they're
vaccinated.
That proposal, and the
order that followed to implement the vaccine
mandate, triggered days of comments in the press by
disaffected Republicans, building up to a heated,
and at times emotional debate on Thursday.
There were process
arguments made against the mandate and appeals for
personal freedom. Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante, as
someone battling cancer, said her life could
literally depend on a policy like this, while Rep.
Peter Durant suggested she and anyone else at severe
risk from COVID-19 could simply stay home.
"I thought my
colleagues would join together and unite behind an
order that says the protection of the least among us
has to be first and on the forefront," said Ferrante,
who predictably came out on the winning side of the
argument.
Democrats carried the
day on a strict party-line vote of 131-28, with only
one Republican - Rep. Sheila Harrington - crossing
the aisle to support the order. It's expected that
legislators and staff will be given until Nov. 1 to
get vaccinated, otherwise they will be allowed to
continue to participate remotely after the House
also declared an indefinite state of emergency in
the chamber due to COVID-19.
State
House News Service
Friday, September 24, 2021
Weekly Roundup - They Were On a
Boat
Lawmakers are set to
vet some weighty matters next week as they wait for
signals from legislative leaders and Gov. Charlie
Baker about some immediate concerns and
developments.
Bills addressing aid in
dying, decriminalization of drugs, and supervised
drug consumption sites are due up for public
hearings, along with one designating the second
Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples Day. The
governor's office takes Baker's public events and
announcements day by day, and Democratic legislative
leaders also are reticent to give more than a few
days' advance notice of which bills might emerge for
amendments, debate and votes.
The Senate plans a
formal session for Thursday, for instance, but the
agenda was not set on Friday.
The House plans two
informal sessions next week. Among the issues that
could pop at any time are proposed legislative and
Congressional districts, which have already begun to
emerge in some other states.
Lawmakers this week
sent Baker a bill (H 4118) updating the timeline for
local officials to redraw precincts, an effort that,
along with the broader plan to redraw districts,
will be compressed this fall in light of the late
release of decennial population data. Because of the
one-year residency requirement for state
representative candidates, October, by necessity,
will be redistricting month as lawmakers look to
lock in new district boundaries ahead of the 2022
elections.
Democratic legislative
leaders have yet to roll out a plan to allocate a
sizeable fiscal 2021 surplus and to close out the
books on last fiscal year....
The governor may also
soon be drawn back into the vaccination spotlight
since the Biden administration has given clearance
for some people to receive COVID-19 boosters.
What's The Plan For
Booster Shots?
The U.S. Centers for
Disease Control ruled Friday that anyone 65 or
older, anyone 18 or older with certain underlying
health conditions like obesity or diabetes, and
anyone at increased risk of COVID-19 because of
their job can now get a booster shot six months
after their second dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
About 600,000
Massachusetts residents are eligible for Pfizer
booster shots under the federal eligibility rules,
the Baker administration announced Friday afternoon,
saying that Massachusetts should have capacity to
administer more than 300,000 Pfizer boosters per
week by mid-October.
State
House News Service
Friday, September 24, 2021
Advances - Week of Sept. 26,
2021 |
|
Again another week with
little political news of interest. But one news report
definitely caught my attention.
On Wednesday The Grafton
News reported ("Select
Board considers a precedent-setting study to revamp Prop. 2½").
Thank God for the many Google Alerts I've set up to search on numerous keywords
because otherwise I'd have missed this proposed assault of
taxpayers. After all, I can't read every local
newspaper across the state! (One of my daily tasks is to
review the list of results from all those Google Alerts to see if
any are relevant to CLT and its members.)
State Sen. Michael Moore
cautioned the Select Board members on Tuesday
that they may get a “cold shoulder’’ from other
towns as Grafton officials try to rally support
for a precedent-setting study to review the
viability of Proposition 2½.
The board invited Moore and
state Rep. David Muradian to its Sept. 21
meeting to discuss the process of revamping
Proposition 2½ and building support among
communities and organizations to do so.
While there are several
political and legislative routes to try to
change Proposition 2½, which was overwhelmingly
approved on a statewide ballot 41 years ago,
Moore and Muradian suggested it’s a lengthy and
possibly futile uphill battle to do so....
Select Board member Ray
Mead said he believes Proposition 2½ is
outdated.
“I believe Proposition 2½
has run its course, and a lot of cities and
towns are forced to do overrides,’’ Mead said.
Proposition 2½ allows
communities to increase budgets 2.5% over its
levy limit (taxes). Officials argue that a 2.5%
budget increase covers cost-of-living increases,
but not much more.
Communities like Grafton
wrestle each year with providing town services
and operating the public schools under
Proposition 2½ limitation. As a result, many
communities, such as Grafton, are forced to seek
Proposition 2½ overrides to generate more tax
revenues.
Mead noted that Grafton
voters have passed multimillion-dollar overrides
in 2020 and 2014, which was the town’s first
override since the 1980s. But Mead said, “The
town does not have the appetite for another
override.’’
In 1980, state voters
overwhelmingly passed Proposition 2½ ; the
anti-tax group Citizens for Limited Taxation
spearheaded the initiative on the statewide
ballot. Moore described the passage of
Proposition 2½ as “the will of the people.’’ ...
There have been grumblings
by other town officials about Proposition 2½
limitations, so Moore has reached out to
community leaders in the past about changing
Proposition 2½.
He warned Grafton officials
“don’t be surprised if you get the cold
shoulder.’’ He was “surprised’’ that so many
officials wanted to hold onto Proposition 2½.
While there are several
routes to try to revamp Proposition 2½, Moore
and Muradian suggested it’s a lengthy and
possibly futile uphill battle.
Both legislators suggested
contacting the Massachusetts Municipal
Association to get a “better grasp’’ on how
officials in other towns will react.
The MMA could be Grafton’s
“strongest advocate,’’ Muradian said.
Mead stressed the goal is
to pay the town’s bills while staying within
Proposition 2½ without an override.
Instead, the “more
progressive’’ way of raising additional revenues
is using a local income tax instead of an
override.
Grafton Select Board member Ray Mead
believes Proposition 2½ is "outdated." He asserted “I believe
Proposition 2½ has run its course, and a lot of cities and towns are
forced to do overrides.’’
Mr. Mead obviously doesn't grasp that
this is the specific intent of CLT's Proposition 2½ and his
words demonstrate that it is certainly not by any means
"outdated" but instead doing exactly what it was designed to do
against people like him — and without Prop 2½
there would be a multitude of municipal officials like him. Mead just doesn't like the
restrictions it imposes on his ability to take more, more, always
more of his constituents' money without even asking.
That's exactly how it worked before we
passed Proposition 2½ — and precisely why it
was critically necessary.
Mead argued "that Grafton voters have
passed multimillion-dollar overrides in 2020 and 2014, which was the
town’s first override since the 1980s. But Mead said, “The
town does not have the appetite for another override.’’
Mr. Mead —
you allegedly were elected to represent that appetite. Can't
you take no for an answer from the voters who elected you,
those same voters you purport to represent?
State Sen. Michael Moore (D-Millbury)
gets it. He "cautioned the Select Board members on Tuesday
that they may get a 'cold shoulder’ from other towns as Grafton
officials try to rally support for a precedent-setting study to
review the viability of Proposition 2½."
If Selectman Mead can't blow up
Proposition 2½ and go back to the dark old days of onerous,
unlimited property taxes he has a fall-back proposal: "Instead,
the 'more progressive' way of raising additional revenues is using a
local income tax instead of an override."
Voters of Grafton
— is this why you elected Ray Mead? Did you vote him in
to hike your town taxes by any means necessary? If you are a
Grafton resident and taxpayer
you might want to weigh in on his plan to kill Proposition 2½ or
impose a town income tax on you.
You might also want to let your neighbors know, consider voting him
out of office in the 2024 town election when his term expires, and
hope you can stop him from doing further
damage before then.
Beyond catching that
attack on Proposition 2½ here's a sample of some of this week's
headlines from the State House News Service:
Reprecincting Bill
Pops, But No Timeline On New Maps
State Eyes Heating
Fuel Emissions Cap
Senate Again Looks To
Engage House on Sex Ed
Bill Aims To Force
Gender Balance, Diversity On Public Boards
Pols Demand New
Approach To Haitian Migrants
House Adopts Vaccine
Mandate For Reps, House Employees
"No Timeline"
— "State Eyes" —
"Senate Again Looks To" — "Bill
Aims" — "Pols Demand."
Basically all that was accomplished, all that happened
— all that usually gets done these days
— was the imposition of more Wuhan
Pandemic restrictions.
On Friday the State House News Service reported (Weekly
Roundup - They Were On a Boat):
. . . House Speaker Ron
Mariano seems to want to be remembered as the
wind whisperer.
The Quincy Democrat took 23
House colleagues on a boat ride to Block Island
on Tuesday to view the wind turbines that spin
off the coast of Rhode Island.
The three-hour tour (no,
not kidding) allowed the House Skipper and other
lawmakers to get an up-close look at the
industry that they are staking their economic
development and clean energy hopes on.
Under blue skies and with a
microphone in his hand, Mariano harkened back to
the $1 billion the state committed in 2008 to
grow the life sciences over the next decade, and
how it had worked.
"We must pursue the same
strategy to make Massachusetts the leader of our
clean energy future," he said....
But as representatives
mingled on the aft deck in the early fall
sunshine, clouds were gathering above Beacon
Hill where the House's State House reopening
plan was not going over smoothly with all
lawmakers.
The House's reopening
working group produced a blueprint, albeit one
without timelines attached, to reopen the State
House to the public in four phases, beginning by
fully welcoming back members and staff once
they're vaccinated.
That proposal, and the
order that followed to implement the vaccine
mandate, triggered days of comments in the press
by disaffected Republicans, building up to a
heated, and at times emotional debate on
Thursday.
There were process
arguments made against the mandate and appeals
for personal freedom. Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante,
as someone battling cancer, said her life could
literally depend on a policy like this, while
Rep. Peter Durant suggested she and anyone else
at severe risk from COVID-19 could simply stay
home.
"I thought my colleagues
would join together and unite behind an order
that says the protection of the least among us
has to be first and on the forefront," said
Ferrante, who predictably came out on the
winning side of the argument.
Democrats carried the day
on a strict party-line vote of 131-28, with only
one Republican - Rep. Sheila Harrington -
crossing the aisle to support the order. It's
expected that legislators and staff will be
given until Nov. 1 to get vaccinated, otherwise
they will be allowed to continue to participate
remotely after the House also declared an
indefinite state of emergency in the chamber due
to COVID-19.
[Note: If you
didn't recognize State House New Service's Matt Murphy's reference
to "The three-hour tour (no, no kidding)" for a grin you can
find it here]
This is the
highly-paid, alleged fulltime "Best Legislature Money Can Buy" again proving
legislators have far too much time on their hands and are paid way too much
primarily to create nuisance laws and find creative new ways to
further squander taxpayers' money.
As usual everything of any
consequence will be held back to the last moment then bundled into a
huge and incomprehensible bill that must be passed without
amendments in the late- or wee-hours of the night before the
legislative session ends.
In its
Advances for the coming week on what can
be expected, the State House News Service advises:
Lawmakers are set to vet
some weighty matters next week as they wait for
signals from legislative leaders and Gov.
Charlie Baker about some immediate concerns and
developments.
Bills addressing aid in
dying, decriminalization of drugs, and
supervised drug consumption sites are due up for
public hearings, along with one designating the
second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples
Day. The governor's office takes Baker's public
events and announcements day by day, and
Democratic legislative leaders also are reticent
to give more than a few days' advance notice of
which bills might emerge for amendments, debate
and votes.
The Senate plans a formal
session for Thursday, for instance, but the
agenda was not set on Friday.
The House plans two
informal sessions next week. Among the issues
that could pop at any time are proposed
legislative and Congressional districts, which
have already begun to emerge in some other
states....
Democratic legislative
leaders have yet to roll out a plan to allocate
a sizeable fiscal 2021 surplus and to close out
the books on last fiscal year....
The governor may also soon
be drawn back into the vaccination spotlight
since the Biden administration has given
clearance for some people to receive COVID-19
boosters.
Here's a condensed version
of last weeks' news: COVID-19 —
the Boston Mayoral Race — COVID-19
— the Boston Mayoral Race
— rinse and repeat.
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Chip Ford
Executive Director |
|
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The
Grafton News
Wednesday, September 22, 2021
Select Board considers a precedent-setting study to revamp
Prop. 2½
By Lisa Redmond, Special to the Grafton News
GRAFTON – State Sen. Michael Moore cautioned the Select
Board members on Tuesday that they may get a “cold
shoulder’’ from other towns as Grafton officials try to
rally support for a precedent-setting study to review the
viability of Proposition 2½.
The board invited Moore and state Rep. David Muradian to its
Sept. 21 meeting to discuss the process of revamping
Proposition 2½ and building support among communities and
organizations to do so.
While there are several political and legislative routes to
try to change Proposition 2½, which was overwhelmingly
approved on a statewide ballot 41 years ago, Moore and
Muradian suggested it’s a lengthy and possibly futile uphill
battle to do so.
Both legislators suggested contacting the Massachusetts
Municipal Association to get a “better grasp’’ on how
officials in other towns will react. The MMA could be
Grafton’s “strongest advocate,’’ Muradian said.
Run its course
Select Board member Ray Mead said he believes Proposition 2½
is outdated.
“I believe Proposition 2½ has run its course, and a lot of
cities and towns are forced to do overrides,’’ Mead said.
Proposition 2½ allows communities to increase budgets 2.5%
over its levy limit (taxes). Officials argue that a 2.5%
budget increase covers cost-of-living increases, but not
much more.
Communities like Grafton wrestle each year with providing
town services and operating the public schools under
Proposition 2½ limitation. As a result, many communities,
such as Grafton, are forced to seek Proposition 2½ overrides
to generate more tax revenues.
Mead noted that Grafton voters have passed
multimillion-dollar overrides in 2020 and 2014, which was
the town’s first override since the 1980s. But Mead said,
“The town does not have the appetite for another override.’’
In 1980, state voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 2½ ;
the anti-tax group Citizens for Limited Taxation spearheaded
the initiative on the statewide ballot. Moore described the
passage of Proposition 2½ as “the will of the people.’’
Cold shoulder
There have been grumblings by other town officials about
Proposition 2½ limitations, so Moore has reached out to
community leaders in the past about changing Proposition 2½.
He warned Grafton officials “don’t be surprised if you get
the cold shoulder.’’ He was “surprised’’ that so many
officials wanted to hold onto Proposition 2½.
While there are several routes to try to revamp Proposition
2½, Moore and Muradian suggested it’s a lengthy and possibly
futile uphill battle.
Both legislators suggested contacting the Massachusetts
Municipal Association to get a “better grasp’’ on how
officials in other towns will react.
The MMA could be Grafton’s “strongest advocate,’’ Muradian
said.
Mead stressed the goal is to pay the town’s bills while
staying within Proposition 2½ without an override.
Instead, the “more progressive’’ way of raising additional
revenues is using a local income tax instead of an override.
For example, the total filed income tax in Grafton is $962
million. Withholding 0.1% as a local income tax would yield
$962,000. The cost to the average wage earner ($75,000 x
.001) is about $75 or half of the $148 annual cost of an
override to the average homeowner.
The Select Board is requesting that up to .02% of income tax
be withheld for payments to cities and towns to pay for
increased town and school budget. These withholdings will be
paid to the town along with state aid distributions to
negate the need for a Proposition 2½ override.
A local tax option gives the town the ability to raise money
necessary to provide “essential quality of life services
such as education, public safety, health and human services,
culture and recreation,’’ according to a draft resolution
prepared for the board.
State House News
Service
Friday, September 24, 2021
Weekly Roundup - They Were On a Boat
Recap and analysis of the week in state government
By Matt Murphy
Sal DiMasi, before his fall from grace, had the life
sciences and health care. Bob DeLeo left his mark with an
expansion of gaming. And whether his speakership ends in a
year or 10, House Speaker Ron Mariano seems to want to be
remembered as the wind whisperer.
The Quincy Democrat took 23 House colleagues on a boat ride
to Block Island on Tuesday to view the wind turbines that
spin off the coast of Rhode Island.
The three-hour tour (no, not kidding) allowed the House
Skipper and other lawmakers to get an up-close look at the
industry that they are staking their economic development
and clean energy hopes on.
Under blue skies and with a microphone in his hand, Mariano
harkened back to the $1 billion the state committed in 2008
to grow the life sciences over the next decade, and how it
had worked.
"We must pursue the same strategy to make Massachusetts the
leader of our clean energy future," he said.
The Rhode Island trip coincided this week with developments
in the state's third big solicitation for offshore wind
power, resulting in just two companies - Vineyard Wind and
Mayflower Wind - submitting bids. The trip's host, Danish
power company Orsted, was actually one of the developers who
took a pass on the latest round, and the lack of competition
disappointed Mariano.
That's why the speaker announced the House this session will
look to pass a major bill aimed at restoring the state's
competitive edge.
The price of offshore wind power has consistently been more
economical than anyone thought when the state began going
down the road of developing offshore energy. With that and a
desire to see more competition among bidders in mind,
Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy Chairman Jeff Roy
said the bill he is putting together would reconsider the
price caps in place that require bids in each solicitation
to be cheaper than the last.
Roy said the bill will also make investments in port
infrastructure and consider the grid modernization and
transmission infrastructure that will be necessary to
accommodate more and more power arriving from the sea.
But as representatives mingled on the aft deck in the early
fall sunshine, clouds were gathering above Beacon Hill where
the House's State House reopening plan was not going over
smoothly with all lawmakers.
The House's reopening working group produced a blueprint,
albeit one without timelines attached, to reopen the State
House to the public in four phases, beginning by fully
welcoming back members and staff once they're vaccinated.
That proposal, and the order that followed to implement the
vaccine mandate, triggered days of comments in the press by
disaffected Republicans, building up to a heated, and at
times emotional debate on Thursday.
There were process arguments made against the mandate and
appeals for personal freedom. Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante, as
someone battling cancer, said her life could literally
depend on a policy like this, while Rep. Peter Durant
suggested she and anyone else at severe risk from COVID-19
could simply stay home.
"I thought my colleagues would join together and unite
behind an order that says the protection of the least among
us has to be first and on the forefront," said Ferrante, who
predictably came out on the winning side of the argument.
Democrats carried the day on a strict party-line vote of
131-28, with only one Republican - Rep. Sheila Harrington -
crossing the aisle to support the order. It's expected that
legislators and staff will be given until Nov. 1 to get
vaccinated, otherwise they will be allowed to continue to
participate remotely after the House also declared an
indefinite state of emergency in the chamber due to
COVID-19.
The push to mandate vaccines for state employees also got a
boost in court when a Superior Court judge refused to block
Gov. Charlie Baker's mandate taking effect on Oct. 17 for
the 1,800 members of the State Police Association of
Massachusetts. It seems Senate President Karen Spilka is the
only leader not getting hassled about the decision to
require shots.
Even without Thursday's vote, Rep. Maria Robinson, a
second-term Democrat, had to be thinking about getting her
vaccination documentation in order because it's required to
work for the Biden administration as well.
President Joe Biden this week nominated Robinson, of
Framingham, to serve as assistant secretary of energy in the
Office of Electricity. She becomes the latest in a growing
line of Massachusetts officials to be tapped for roles in
Washington, D.C. and the second member of the House.
The other House member is Majority Leader Claire Cronin, who
is still waiting to be confirmed as ambassador to Ireland.
And speaking of waiting, Suffolk County District Attorney
Rachael Rollins will have to wait another week for her
nomination to become U.S. attorney for Massachusetts to get
considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The committee recommended seven other U.S. attorney nominees
to the full Senate, but Rollins's was put on hold by Sen.
Tom Cotton of Arkansas who has vowed to try to block her
confirmation over her progressive prosecutorial approach.
Democrats will look to overcome Cotton's objection, just as
the state Senate hopes to finally break down the wall in the
House that has blocked passage of sex education legislation
three previous times.
The Senate this week again passed a bill designed to make
sure sex education taught in schools is medically accurate
and age-appropriate. Senate leaders paired action on the sex
ed bill with its version of a school nutrition bill and
another that would make sure residents can choose X as their
gender on certain official forms, including birth
certificates.
The Registry of Motor Vehicles has already been offering the
"Gender X" marker on licenses for years, but the bill, if
passed and signed into law, would make sure the option is
never taken away.
Unrelated, some parents this week said they wish the
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education had never
taken away remote learning as an option this fall for
students and families who don't want to risk a return to the
classroom.
The Delta variant has made COVID-19 conditions in many
communities more severe than many anticipated in the spring
when the proliferation of vaccines was driving down case
counts to all-time lows and the decision was made to fully
return to in-person schooling.
Vaccines continue to be effective at preventing serious
illness, but cases have been climbing, and some parents
showed up to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
meeting to call on Gov. Baker and Education Commissioner
Jeff Riley to allow districts to again offer remote learning
as an alternative to in-person schooling.
Baker has shown no impulse toward reconsidering his position
on in-person learning this school year, just as the
Legislature has not heeded his calls to move more quickly to
spend American Rescue Plan Act funding.
This week it was the needs of the health care and human
services sectors invited to make their requests for a piece
of the $5 billion ARPA pie.
Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders urged
the Legislature to look at the rates paid to providers to
begin to address a workforce shortage that is impacting
access to care and threatening to force nursing homes and
other facilities to close.
Lawmakers and advocates also called for $250 million to be
injected into the state's "dangerously inadequate" local
public health system. Next up on Friday is the
second-to-last planned hearing on how to spend ARPA funds,
focused on education, social equity and safety-net programs.
STORY OF THE WEEK: At the State House, it's vax to work.
State House News
Service
Friday, September 24, 2021
Advances - Week of Sept. 26, 2021
Lawmakers are set to vet some weighty matters next week as
they wait for signals from legislative leaders and Gov.
Charlie Baker about some immediate concerns and
developments.
Bills addressing aid in dying, decriminalization of drugs,
and supervised drug consumption sites are due up for public
hearings, along with one designating the second Monday in
October as Indigenous Peoples Day. The governor's office
takes Baker's public events and announcements day by day,
and Democratic legislative leaders also are reticent to give
more than a few days' advance notice of which bills might
emerge for amendments, debate and votes.
The Senate plans a formal session for Thursday, for
instance, but the agenda was not set on Friday.
The House plans two informal sessions next week. Among the
issues that could pop at any time are proposed legislative
and Congressional districts, which have already begun to
emerge in some other states.
Lawmakers this week sent Baker a bill (H 4118) updating the
timeline for local officials to redraw precincts, an effort
that, along with the broader plan to redraw districts, will
be compressed this fall in light of the late release of
decennial population data. Because of the one-year residency
requirement for state representative candidates, October, by
necessity, will be redistricting month as lawmakers look to
lock in new district boundaries ahead of the 2022 elections.
Democratic legislative leaders have yet to roll out a plan
to allocate a sizeable fiscal 2021 surplus and to close out
the books on last fiscal year.
Sports betting supporters and proponents of voting law
reforms are waiting for the Senate to push bills addressing
those topics.
Baker is awaiting the potential confirmation, as early as
next week, of Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael
Rollins as the next U.S. attorney for Massachusetts, a
development that would in turn cause him to name an interim
successor as Suffolk DA. Baker has not been in a rush to
name members to a reconstituted MBTA Board, but those could
come anytime soon as well since the T has been without a
governing board since its old control board dissolved June
30.
Baker this week described the situation near Massachusetts
Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard in Boston as a
"humanitarian crisis" and high-level government talks about
ways to address the problems there - drug addiction,
homelessness and crime - could lead to solutions that extend
beyond city resources.
The governor may also soon be drawn back into the
vaccination spotlight since the Biden administration has
given clearance for some people to receive COVID-19
boosters.
What's The Plan For Booster Shots?
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control ruled Friday that
anyone 65 or older, anyone 18 or older with certain
underlying health conditions like obesity or diabetes, and
anyone at increased risk of COVID-19 because of their job
can now get a booster shot six months after their second
dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
About 600,000 Massachusetts residents are eligible for
Pfizer booster shots under the federal eligibility rules,
the Baker administration announced Friday afternoon, saying
that Massachusetts should have capacity to administer more
than 300,000 Pfizer boosters per week by mid-October.
Bay Staters will be able to get the booster jabs at more
than 460 locations listed online or by calling 2-1-1. Some
appointments are now open, more will come online in the
coming days, and the administration is working with regional
collaboratives and boards of health on opening additional
sites in October.
Biden said 60 million people or the "majority of Americans
who were fully vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine" are now
eligible for a booster shot to up their protection as the
Delta variant continues to spread. He said his
administration had been preparing for the CDC's announcement
by buying enough vaccine supply to give boosters and making
sure states, pharmacies, doctors' offices and community
health centers were preparing to deliver the boosters.
"Booster shots will be available in 80,000 locations,
including over 40,000 pharmacies nationwide," he said.
Gov. Baker has said his administration is thinking about how
it might roll out both booster shots and initial
vaccinations for kids younger than 12 if they become
eligible this fall. "That obviously will be something that
we'll have to figure out how to handle, if it does turn out
to be a lot sooner than that, with our colleagues in the
health care and public health world, to make sure that we
have an infrastructure in place that can do both boosters
and potentially younger kids at the same time if that's
where we land," Baker said earlier in September.
Throughout the pandemic, the governor has participated in
regular calls with the White House and other governors.
Those calls typically have been a venue for the federal
government to fill governors in on details and to give them
expected timelines. |
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