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Post Office Box 1147
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Marblehead, Massachusetts 01945
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“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 — |
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CLT UPDATE
Tuesday, November 9, 2021
Eye-Popping Revenue
Bonanza = Beacon Hill Spending Frenzy
Jump directly
to CLT's Commentary on the News
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Most Relevant News
Excerpts
(Full news reports follow Commentary)
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A third of the way into
fiscal 2022, state tax collections are trending
about 20 percent ahead of the pace that led to a
roughly $5 billion surplus in fiscal year 2021, the
Department of Revenue announced Wednesday.
State tax collectors
took in $2.445 billion last month -- $356 million or
17 percent more than what was collected in October
2020 and $197 million or 8.7 percent more than what
DOR was expecting to collect, Revenue Commissioner
Geoffrey Snyder said. October generally brings in
about 6.5 percent of the state's annual tax revenue.
"October 2021 revenue
collections increased in all major tax types in
comparison to October 2020 collections, including
withholding, non-withholding, sales and use tax,
corporate and business tax, and 'all other tax',"
Snyder said....
Year-to-date tax
collections of $11.197 billion stand $1.858 billion
or 19.9 percent above collections through the same
period of fiscal 2021 and have surpassed the Baker
administration's expectations by $723 million or 6.9
percent, DOR said. During fiscal year 2021,
Massachusetts state government collected more than
$5 billion more from residents, workers and
businesses than it was expecting, leading to a
sizeable surplus.
State
House News Service
Wednesday, November 3, 2021
Tax Receipts Shattering Recent
Record Collections
Massachusetts
Department of Revenue (DOR) Commissioner Geoffrey
Snyder today announced that preliminary revenue
collections for October 2021 totaled $2.445 billion,
which is $356 million or 17.0% more than actual
collections in October 2020, and $197 million or
8.7% more than benchmark.
FY2022 year-to-date
collections totaled approximately $11.197 billion,
which is $1.858 billion or 19.9% more than
collections in the same period of FY2021, and $723
million or 6.9% more than year-to-date benchmark.
Massachusetts Department of Revenue
November 3, 2021
October Revenue Collections Total
$2.445 Billion
Monthly collections up $356 million or 17.0% vs.
October 2020 actual;
$197 million above benchmark
As U.S. House Democrats
push to bring cornerstones of President Joe Biden's
domestic spending agenda forward for votes as soon
as Friday, Massachusetts may be closer to receiving
more than $12.5 billion toward its roads, bridges,
water systems and other infrastructure needs.
A breakdown provided by
Congresswoman Lori Trahan's office estimates
Massachusetts would receive at least $12.58 billion
from the $1 trillion infrastructure bill, which the
Senate approved in August and may clear the House
alongside a separate social spending package on
Friday if House leaders succeed in their plans.
Over the next five
years, funding formulas would steer at least $4.2
billion to Massachusetts for road improvements, $1.1
billion for bridge replacements and repairs, and
$1.1 billion to improve water infrastructure by
upgrading community water systems and replacing lead
service lines, according to Trahan's office.
State
House News Service
Friday, November 5, 2021
Mass. Aid In
Infrastructure Bill Could Surpass $12.5 Billion
The influx of billions
of dollars in federal relief funds and surplus money
has lawmakers angling to bring home cash for local
pet projects, programs and initiatives — some of
which has little or nothing to do with pandemic
recovery.
Last week, the state
Senate rolled out its proposal to spend more than
$3.66 billion in American Rescue Plan Act funds and
surplus revenue to make investments in housing, the
workforce, schools and the health care system to
help buoy workers, businesses and communities
hardest-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
But lawmakers are
expected to load the relief bill with scores of
amendments that will likely drive up its final price
tag. The proposal leaves about $2.4 billion in
unallocated surplus and federal relief funds, giving
senators a long leash to stuff more spending items
into the measure before it is taken up next week.
Senate Ways and Means
Chairman Michael Rodrigues, D-Westport, told
reporters on Wednesday he expects the spending bill
to increase to as much as $3.95 billion during the
amendment process.
The
Democratic-controlled House of Representatives
approved a relief bill last week packed with tens of
millions of dollars of earmarks for local programs
and projects.
House leaders met
mostly in private meetings to decide which of the
more than 1,100 proposed amendments would make it
into the final bill.
They agree to several
“mega-amendments” — each including hundreds of
amendments — which bumped up the spending bill’s
bottom line to $3.82 billion.
Beacon Hill watchdogs
say Congress never intended for the relief money to
be spent on local pet projects and say lawmakers
shouldn’t be going on a spending spree.
“This money was
supposed to be spent on pandemic relief, but it’s
clear that many lawmakers saw this is just another
budget spending bill,” said Paul Craney, a spokesman
for the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, a
conservative pro-business group. “They shouldn’t be
using this money for pet projects in an election
year.”
Hundreds of
non-pandemic related earmarks were also added to the
House bill, including $200,000 to improve bicycle
safety in Andover, $100,000 for a turf field in
North Reading, $150,000 to fix elevators at Melrose
high school and $1.3 million for an Italian
immigrant memorial in Boston’s North End.
David Tuerck, an
economist and president of the Boston-based,
right-leaning Beacon Hill Institute, said lawmakers
need to be cautious in how they allocate the
one-time federal relief windfall, and shouldn’t be
spending it on pet projects.
“The Legislature is
treating this windfall of money like it’s Christmas
morning,” he said. “They shouldn’t be spending this
money on frivolous projects.” ...
Massachusetts has
received about $5.3 billion in direct funds from the
American Rescue Plan Act, a $1.9 trillion stimulus
package signed by President Joe Biden.
The Salem
News
Monday, November 8, 2021
Lawmakers load up relief measures
with pet projects
Gov. Charlie Baker —
how can we miss him when he won’t go away? ...
I don’t think he’s
running again — how can he? — but maybe Charlie
needs a final nudge.
Which is why I am
suggesting that everyone get out this weekend and
sign the petitions to put a referendum question on
the November 2022 ballot that would stop Charlie
Parker from unilaterally raising the gasoline tax
per gallon from its current 24 cents to perhaps as
high as 62 cents, according to one study.
You know how badly Tall
Deval wants this.
As much fun as it is to
make little kids wear masks for no rational reason,
how much more satisfying would it be for him to
complete his single-handed destruction of the
Massachusetts economy?
This latest mad scheme
to beggar the working classes is called the
Transportation Climate Initiative — TCI. Every other
state that even briefly considered TCI has pulled
back, because it’s insane, and utterly meaningless
in terms of anything other than providing lots of
good jobs at good wages for otherwise unemployable
fops from Charlie’s social class.
But the governor is all
in on it. He dreams of his own COP26 conference —
private jets mandatory — where he gathers his fellow
trust-funders together to shake their fists at the
skies before heading off to lunch where John Kerry
lovingly explains to all the wokesters each of the
multiple imported vintages they’re savoring.
We only have two more
weekends to finish collecting the 80,000-plus
certified signatures needed to put the
Stop-Charlie’s-Insane-Gas-Tax measure on the
statewide ballot.
Please, sign a petition
to put this before the voters. Which gas tax do you
prefer — the current 24 cents, or Charlie Parker’s
dream of 62 cents per gallon? Go to
stoptcitax.org to find out where you can affix
your signature to stop the steal....
Signing the TCI
petition is a way to tell Charlie how much you
appreciate all he’s, uh, done for you … and everyone
else who works for a living.
You saw the recent poll
that showed that he’s currently running behind
ex-Rep. Geoff Diehl in a hypothetical Republican
primary by a margin of 57-25....
Had enough yet? You
don’t have to wait until next year to tell Charlie
Parker what you think of him.
Go to
stoptcitax.org. Send him a message this weekend.
Sign the anti-Charlie-Parker gas tax petition.
The
Boston Herald
Thursday, November 4, 2021
Please stop Charlie Baker from
raising the gas tax
By Howie Carr
Senate leaders appeared
to throw in the towel Thursday on the issue of an
amendment deadline for the jumbo budget surplus-ARPA
spending bill that still appears on track for
consideration next week. But a shadow deadline has
emerged.
An order introduced
Wednesday would have set a Friday deadline for
amendments to bulk up the $3.668 billion package (S
2564), but it was set aside after Sen. Diana
DiZoglio objected to taking up the order at
Wednesday's lightly attended session, saying more
time was needed to draft and file amendments with
municipal leaders.
The Methuen Democrat
then joined with Minority Leader Bruce Tarr to file
three proposals before Thursday's session that would
have moved the deadline to either Saturday or
Monday.
But Senate leaders, who
have spent part of this week at a legislative
conference in Florida, opted against taking up the
order at a formal session they had called for
Thursday, leaving the so-called ARPA bill without
any deadlines or formal status in the Senate's
formal session calendar.
DiZoglio told the News
Service she had planned to table the order if it
arose Thursday without a compromise from her
caucus's leadership....
"I made it clear that
if we did not reach a compromise of extending the
deadline, to give at least 72 hours to read and
review this $3.6 billion spending bill, alongside of
folks in our communities, that I would be laying the
order on the table," DiZoglio said, referring to a
type of objection that any senator can make and
which automatically punts a matter to the next
session.
Because no order was
adopted, technically there is no amendment deadline.
But for local officials
or constituents who might plan to call their senator
with feedback on the 72-page package, there's a
catch.
President Karen
Spilka's office told the News Service they are
"still operating under a Friday deadline," and a
senior Senate official said that the Ways and Means
Committee is asking senators to submit their
amendments by close of business on Friday.
DiZoglio said there
were "rumors" floating around the East Wing that
amendments filed after Friday would be discriminated
against, even if they're considered in order under
the Senate Rules.
"I'm happy that we now
publicly have no deadline set for offering
amendments. I am, however, concerned that it is now
suggested that senators still file our amendments by
a 5 p.m. [Friday] unofficial deadline. And hearing
rumors that amendments filed after that deadline
will be highly unlikely to pass," DiZoglio said. "
... Underground, subversive, under-the-table
approaches certainly have no place in state
government. And we need to be as transparent as
possible, even when it comes to deadlines, so that
folks in our communities have a seat at the table
and so they're not isolated from this process."...
Another senator, who
asked not to be identified out of concern for
retaliation, said they believed an email from Ways
and Means Chairman Michael Rodrigues to mean the
same thing.
The senator read an
email from Rodrigues in which he asked for
amendments to be filed by 5 p.m. Friday in order to
receive "proper consideration and review."
"That means if you
don't get them in by 5 o'clock tomorrow, they will
not consider them," the senator said, giving their
interpretation of the email.
"We have 48 hours to
read a big old bill that's got $3.5 billion worth of
spending in it, possibly more, and also file
amendments. Even though the Senate did not adopt a
deadline officially for those amendments,
unofficially if you don't get them in by 5 o'clock
tomorrow, they are not going to get adopted," the
senator said.
State
House News Service
Thursday, November 4, 2021
Senate Dems Back Away From ARPA Bill
Order
Investment Package Still On Track For Wednesday
Debate
Whether it's in the
city of Boston, the state of Massachusetts or across
New England, reducing carbon emissions and
transitioning to clean energy is a team sport, and
60 percent of Maine voters, it seems, don't want to
play with their neighbors to the south.
Baker and others have
staked their clean energy agenda, in part, on
importing hydroelectricity from Canada, but that
effort suffered a blow on Tuesday when Maine voters
backed a ballot question opposing the construction
of transmission lines through the Upper Kennebec
Region.
As utilities considered
legal action to save the project and the Baker
administration weighed its options, the governor
refused to throw in the towel. "No, I don't see it
as dead," Baker said.
The governor's comments
were made at Boston Children's Hospital, where he
was visiting to discuss more positive news. The
green light came this week from the Centers for
Disease Control for Pfizer's kid-sized dose of
COVID-19 vaccine to be given to the more than
500,000 children in Massachusetts aged 5 through
11....
And that's the least
confusing thing about the House and Senate maps,
according to Secretary of State William Galvin, who
issued a blistering critique of the redistricting
plan that he urged Baker, to no avail, not to sign.
With many communities
not waiting to see legislative districts before they
drew local precinct lines and the Legislature not
waiting for locals, Galvin said there could be
hundreds of subprecincts, creating mass confusion at
the polls for the next decade.
The problem, he said,
could be made worse by the congressional
redistricting plan, which was released this week and
sparked a debate over who should represent the South
Coast.
State
House News Service
Friday, November 5, 2021
Weekly Roundup - Transitions and
Transmissions
After a slow September,
it feels like lawmakers just returned from their
summer recess but internal legislative rules require
the House and Senate to wrap up work in the first
year of their two-year session by the third
Wednesday in November, with formal sessions resuming
in January.
There's talk from
branch leaders on both sides about advancing health
care bills prior to the recess, though no proposals
have emerged and it appears the bills could address
entirely different topics.
One item once
considered urgent that is no longer even receiving
lip service: reforms to the state's management of
its two long-term care homes for veterans. Lawmakers
criticized Baker for failures exposed by the deadly
COVID-19 outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home but
have not acted on the governor's reforms or a
package of changes recommended by the Joint
Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs.
The state is set to
take its annual pause Thursday for Veterans Day.
House Speaker Ron Mariano this week said "we plan to
make meaningful reforms to support our older
veterans this session" but gave no timetable for
when votes will occur.
State
House News Service
Friday, November 5, 2021
Advances - Week of Nov. 7, 2021
Gunmaker Smith & Wesson
broke ground on their new home in East Tennessee
last week alongside several state and local leaders,
just weeks after announcing the decision to move.
The American
manufacturer of firearms, ammunition, and
restraints, which was founded in 1852, currently has
corporate headquarters in Springfield,
Massachusetts.
The company is
investing more than $125 million to relocate its
headquarters and some operations from Springfield to
Blount County in Tennessee, a move that will create
750 jobs in the area, it said....
Mark Smith, president
and CEO of Smith & Wesson, said he was looking
forward to the move but noted that it was not an
easy decision to make, owing to the fact that it had
to be the right decision for today and future
generations to come.
Announcing the decision
in September, Smith said, “This has been an
extremely difficult and emotional decision for us,
but after an exhaustive and thorough analysis, for
the continued health and strength of our iconic
company, we feel that we have been left with no
other alternative.”
The move comes
following legislation recently proposed in
Massachusetts that, if enacted, would prohibit the
company from manufacturing certain firearms that are
illegal to use in Massachusetts.
Sponsored by Cambridge
Rep. Marjorie Decker, Lawrence Rep. Frank Moran, and
Newton Sen. Cynthia Creem, the legislation (pdf)
was filed in April and would put a ban on the
manufacturing of “any assault weapon or large
capacity feeding device” in the state unless it’s
for the sole purpose of selling to law enforcement
or military agencies....
While Smith & Wesson
remains hopeful that the legislation will not be
passed, the company noted that the ban on firearms
manufacturing would affect up to over 60 percent of
its 2020 revenue.
“The unfortunate
likelihood that such restrictions would be raised
again led to a review of the best path forward for
Smith & Wesson,” Smith added....
On Friday, the CEO
reiterated that the decision to relocate had been a
difficult one, telling reporters, “We’ve got 170
years of history in Springfield, Massachusetts … so,
for us it was especially difficult.”
The company also cited
a better quality of life for employees, more
affordable living, availability of qualified labor
for its operations and headquarter functions, and a
favorable location for efficiency of distribution as
reasons for the move.
While Massachusetts is
looking to clamp down on firearms manufacturing,
Tennessee has in recent years moved to loosen gun
restrictions under Republican leadership.
The Epoch
Times
Monday, November 8, 2021
Gunmaker Smith & Wesson Breaks
Ground on Tennessee Home
After Relocating Over Firearm Manufacturing
Legislation
|
|
Last Wednesday the State
House News Service reported on the Department of Revenue's
release of its
staggering October and year-to-date state
revenue collections ("Tax Receipts Shattering Recent
Record Collections"):
A third of the way into
fiscal 2022, state tax collections are trending
about 20 percent ahead of the pace that led to a
roughly $5 billion surplus in fiscal year 2021, the
Department of Revenue announced Wednesday.
State tax collectors
took in $2.445 billion last month -- $356 million or
17 percent more than what was collected in October
2020 and $197 million or 8.7 percent more than what
DOR was expecting to collect, Revenue Commissioner
Geoffrey Snyder said. October generally brings in
about 6.5 percent of the state's annual tax revenue.
"October 2021 revenue
collections increased in all major tax types in
comparison to October 2020 collections, including
withholding, non-withholding, sales and use tax,
corporate and business tax, and 'all other tax',"
Snyder said....
Year-to-date tax
collections of $11.197 billion stand $1.858 billion
or 19.9 percent above collections through the same
period of fiscal 2021 and have surpassed the Baker
administration's expectations by $723 million or 6.9
percent, DOR said. During fiscal year 2021,
Massachusetts state government collected more than
$5 billion more from residents, workers and
businesses than it was expecting, leading to a
sizeable surplus.
And if that isn't more
than enough hold your seat. The
State
House News Service reported in Friday ("Mass. Aid In
Infrastructure Bill Could Surpass $12.5 Billion"):
As U.S. House Democrats
push to bring cornerstones of President Joe Biden's
domestic spending agenda forward for votes as soon
as Friday, Massachusetts may be closer to receiving
more than $12.5 billion toward its roads, bridges,
water systems and other infrastructure needs.
A breakdown provided by
Congresswoman Lori Trahan's office estimates
Massachusetts would receive at least $12.58 billion
from the $1 trillion infrastructure bill, which the
Senate approved in August and may clear the House
alongside a separate social spending package on
Friday if House leaders succeed in their plans.
Over the next five
years, funding formulas would steer at least $4.2
billion to Massachusetts for road improvements, $1.1
billion for bridge replacements and repairs, and
$1.1 billion to improve water infrastructure by
upgrading community water systems and replacing lead
service lines, according to Trahan's office.
That national
"infrastructure" bill was approved by Congress and sent to Biden for
his signature, likely next week if he remembers.
This obscene amount of
taxpayers' cash pouring into the state's coffers has created an
atmosphere of early Christmas on Beacon Hill.
The Salem News reported
yesterday ("Lawmakers load up relief measures
with pet projects"):
The influx of billions
of dollars in federal relief funds and surplus money
has lawmakers angling to bring home cash for local
pet projects, programs and initiatives — some of
which has little or nothing to do with pandemic
recovery.
Last week, the state
Senate rolled out its proposal to spend more than
$3.66 billion in American Rescue Plan Act funds and
surplus revenue to make investments in housing, the
workforce, schools and the health care system to
help buoy workers, businesses and communities
hardest-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
But lawmakers are
expected to load the relief bill with scores of
amendments that will likely drive up its final price
tag. The proposal leaves about $2.4 billion in
unallocated surplus and federal relief funds, giving
senators a long leash to stuff more spending items
into the measure before it is taken up next week.
Senate Ways and Means
Chairman Michael Rodrigues, D-Westport, told
reporters on Wednesday he expects the spending bill
to increase to as much as $3.95 billion during the
amendment process.
The
Democratic-controlled House of Representatives
approved a relief bill last week packed with tens of
millions of dollars of earmarks for local programs
and projects.
House leaders met
mostly in private meetings to decide which of the
more than 1,100 proposed amendments would make it
into the final bill.
They agree to several
“mega-amendments” — each including hundreds of
amendments — which bumped up the spending bill’s
bottom line to $3.82 billion.
Beacon Hill watchdogs
say Congress never intended for the relief money to
be spent on local pet projects and say lawmakers
shouldn’t be going on a spending spree.
“This money was
supposed to be spent on pandemic relief, but it’s
clear that many lawmakers saw this is just another
budget spending bill,” said Paul Craney, a spokesman
for the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, a
conservative pro-business group. “They shouldn’t be
using this money for pet projects in an election
year.”
Hundreds of
non-pandemic related earmarks were also added to the
House bill, including $200,000 to improve bicycle
safety in Andover, $100,000 for a turf field in
North Reading, $150,000 to fix elevators at Melrose
high school and $1.3 million for an Italian
immigrant memorial in Boston’s North End.
David Tuerck, an
economist and president of the Boston-based,
right-leaning Beacon Hill Institute, said lawmakers
need to be cautious in how they allocate the
one-time federal relief windfall, and shouldn’t be
spending it on pet projects.
“The Legislature is
treating this windfall of money like it’s Christmas
morning,” he said. “They shouldn’t be spending this
money on frivolous projects.” ...
Massachusetts has
received about $5.3 billion in direct funds from the
American Rescue Plan Act, a $1.9 trillion stimulus
package signed by President Joe Biden.
With the cash spigot
jammed wide open, all that remains is to determine when "The Best
Legislature Money Can Buy" can find the time to spend it all.
In its
Advances - Week of Nov. 7, 2021
on Friday the State House News Service reported:
After a slow September,
it feels like lawmakers just returned from their
summer recess but internal legislative rules require
the House and Senate to wrap up work in the first
year of their two-year session by the third
Wednesday in November, with formal sessions resuming
in January.
There's talk from
branch leaders on both sides about advancing health
care bills prior to the recess, though no proposals
have emerged and it appears the bills could address
entirely different topics.
One item once
considered urgent that is no longer even receiving
lip service: reforms to the state's management of
its two long-term care homes for veterans. Lawmakers
criticized Baker for failures exposed by the deadly
COVID-19 outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home but
have not acted on the governor's reforms or a
package of changes recommended by the Joint
Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs.
The state is set to
take its annual pause Thursday for Veterans Day.
House Speaker Ron Mariano this week said "we plan to
make meaningful reforms to support our older
veterans this session" but gave no timetable for
when votes will occur.
Though highly-paid
legislators (especially those among the "leadership" and
committee chairs and members) tout being a "full-time" legislature
they have difficulty year after year justifying their stretching out
sessions from January to January every year. Unlike most state
legislatures that months ago turned off the lights and locked the
doors, in Massachusetts it never adjourns or prorogues
sine die — it merely takes
"recesses" from time to time throughout the year; with justification
some might more accurately call them vacations. 2021 has been
no different.
To add insult to injury,
even when the Legislature is actually working (and not on recess or
off on junkets to Florida or elsewhere as reported below) it is tied
up in knots of dysfunction. The State
House News Service on Thursday reported ("Senate Dems Back Away From ARPA Bill
Order"):
Senate leaders appeared
to throw in the towel Thursday on the issue of an
amendment deadline for the jumbo budget surplus-ARPA
spending bill that still appears on track for
consideration next week. But a shadow deadline has
emerged.
An order introduced
Wednesday would have set a Friday deadline for
amendments to bulk up the $3.668 billion package (S
2564), but it was set aside after Sen. Diana
DiZoglio objected to taking up the order at
Wednesday's lightly attended session, saying more
time was needed to draft and file amendments with
municipal leaders.
The Methuen Democrat
then joined with Minority Leader Bruce Tarr to file
three proposals before Thursday's session that would
have moved the deadline to either Saturday or
Monday.
But Senate leaders, who
have spent part of this week at a legislative
conference in Florida, opted against taking up the
order at a formal session they had called for
Thursday, leaving the so-called ARPA bill without
any deadlines or formal status in the Senate's
formal session calendar.
DiZoglio told the News
Service she had planned to table the order if it
arose Thursday without a compromise from her
caucus's leadership....
"I made it clear that
if we did not reach a compromise of extending the
deadline, to give at least 72 hours to read and
review this $3.6 billion spending bill, alongside of
folks in our communities, that I would be laying the
order on the table," DiZoglio said, referring to a
type of objection that any senator can make and
which automatically punts a matter to the next
session.
Because no order was
adopted, technically there is no amendment deadline.
But for local officials
or constituents who might plan to call their senator
with feedback on the 72-page package, there's a
catch.
President Karen
Spilka's office told the News Service they are
"still operating under a Friday deadline," and a
senior Senate official said that the Ways and Means
Committee is asking senators to submit their
amendments by close of business on Friday.
DiZoglio said there
were "rumors" floating around the East Wing that
amendments filed after Friday would be discriminated
against, even if they're considered in order under
the Senate Rules.
"I'm happy that we now
publicly have no deadline set for offering
amendments. I am, however, concerned that it is now
suggested that senators still file our amendments by
a 5 p.m. [Friday] unofficial deadline. And hearing
rumors that amendments filed after that deadline
will be highly unlikely to pass," DiZoglio said. "
... Underground, subversive, under-the-table
approaches certainly have no place in state
government. And we need to be as transparent as
possible, even when it comes to deadlines, so that
folks in our communities have a seat at the table
and so they're not isolated from this process."...
Another senator, who
asked not to be identified out of concern for
retaliation, said they believed an email from Ways
and Means Chairman Michael Rodrigues to mean the
same thing.
The senator read an
email from Rodrigues in which he asked for
amendments to be filed by 5 p.m. Friday in order to
receive "proper consideration and review."
"That means if you
don't get them in by 5 o'clock tomorrow, they will
not consider them," the senator said, giving their
interpretation of the email.
"We have 48 hours to
read a big old bill that's got $3.5 billion worth of
spending in it, possibly more, and also file
amendments. Even though the Senate did not adopt a
deadline officially for those amendments,
unofficially if you don't get them in by 5 o'clock
tomorrow, they are not going to get adopted," the
senator said.
That courage-deficient
anonymous source senator is wrong. Most certainly whatever's
dropped in front of him/her and all the others with no time to read
will automatically receive the usual Beacon Hill rubber stamp.
"The Best Legislature
Money Can Buy" at its finest indeed.
Here's a follow-up report
to the CLT Update of October 4, 2021 ("Smith
& Wesson Abandons Massachusetts — The Diaspora Grows"):
The Epoch
Times reported yesterday ("Gunmaker Smith & Wesson Breaks
Ground on Tennessee Home
After Relocating Over Firearm Manufacturing
Legislation"). What it failed to mention
is, not only did S&W escape Massachusetts restrictions on firearms
and
the Second Amendment, and control of its business by extremist legislation
— S&W and its transplanted employees no
longer must pay a confiscatory state income tax. Tennessee, "The Volunteer
State," doesn't impose an income tax on its residents!
Excerpts from The Epoch
Times report:
Gunmaker Smith & Wesson
broke ground on their new home in East Tennessee
last week alongside several state and local leaders,
just weeks after announcing the decision to move.
The American
manufacturer of firearms, ammunition, and
restraints, which was founded in 1852, currently has
corporate headquarters in Springfield,
Massachusetts.
The company is
investing more than $125 million to relocate its
headquarters and some operations from Springfield to
Blount County in Tennessee, a move that will create
750 jobs in the area, it said....
Mark Smith, president
and CEO of Smith & Wesson, said he was looking
forward to the move but noted that it was not an
easy decision to make, owing to the fact that it had
to be the right decision for today and future
generations to come.
Announcing the decision
in September, Smith said, “This has been an
extremely difficult and emotional decision for us,
but after an exhaustive and thorough analysis, for
the continued health and strength of our iconic
company, we feel that we have been left with no
other alternative.”
The move comes
following legislation recently proposed in
Massachusetts that, if enacted, would prohibit the
company from manufacturing certain firearms that are
illegal to use in Massachusetts.
Sponsored by Cambridge
Rep. Marjorie Decker, Lawrence Rep. Frank Moran, and
Newton Sen. Cynthia Creem, the legislation (pdf)
was filed in April and would put a ban on the
manufacturing of “any assault weapon or large
capacity feeding device” in the state unless it’s
for the sole purpose of selling to law enforcement
or military agencies....
While Smith & Wesson
remains hopeful that the legislation will not be
passed, the company noted that the ban on firearms
manufacturing would affect up to over 60 percent of
its 2020 revenue.
“The unfortunate
likelihood that such restrictions would be raised
again led to a review of the best path forward for
Smith & Wesson,” Smith added....
On Friday, the CEO
reiterated that the decision to relocate had been a
difficult one, telling reporters, “We’ve got 170
years of history in Springfield, Massachusetts … so,
for us it was especially difficult.”
The company also cited
a better quality of life for employees, more
affordable living, availability of qualified labor
for its operations and headquarter functions, and a
favorable location for efficiency of distribution as
reasons for the move.
While Massachusetts is
looking to clamp down on firearms manufacturing,
Tennessee has in recent years moved to loosen gun
restrictions under Republican leadership.
In
my commentary
for the CLT Update of October 4, 2021 I wrote:
I’ve wondered for
many years just what was keeping S&W in the rabidly anti-Second
Amendment, anti-gun People’s Republic of Massachusetts.
Founded and manufacturing firearms in Springfield since 1852
that legacy is worth only so much. Reality finally was
acknowledged. Smith & Wesson had no choice but to cut its
losses and liberate its international business.
As many of us have come to
learn, "It doesn't need to be The Massachusetts Way."
But none of us realize, or apparently can, how much better life is
elsewhere until we've taken the jump, arrived in our own "sanctuary
state," experience it for ourselves —
and wonder why it took us so long.
|
 |
 |
|
Chip Ford
Executive Director |
|
|
State House News
Service
Wednesday, November 3, 2021
Tax Receipts Shattering Recent Record Collections
By Colin A. Young
A third of the way into fiscal 2022, state tax collections
are trending about 20 percent ahead of the pace that led to
a roughly $5 billion surplus in fiscal year 2021, the
Department of Revenue announced Wednesday.
State tax collectors took in $2.445 billion last month --
$356 million or 17 percent more than what was collected in
October 2020 and $197 million or 8.7 percent more than what
DOR was expecting to collect, Revenue Commissioner Geoffrey
Snyder said. October generally brings in about 6.5 percent
of the state's annual tax revenue.
"October 2021 revenue collections increased in all major tax
types in comparison to October 2020 collections, including
withholding, non-withholding, sales and use tax, corporate
and business tax, and 'all other tax'," Snyder said. "The
increase in withholding is likely related to improvements in
labor market conditions while the increase in
non-withholding tax collections is due to an increase in
income tax return payments. The sales and use tax increase
reflects, in part, continued strength in retail sales and
the easing of COVID-19 restrictions. The increase in 'all
other tax' is primarily attributable to estate tax, a
category that tends to fluctuate."
Year-to-date tax collections of $11.197 billion stand $1.858
billion or 19.9 percent above collections through the same
period of fiscal 2021 and have surpassed the Baker
administration's expectations by $723 million or 6.9
percent, DOR said. During fiscal year 2021, Massachusetts
state government collected more than $5 billion more from
residents, workers and businesses than it was expecting,
leading to a sizeable surplus.
By the time fiscal 2022 ends after June 30, 2022, DOR
expects that it will have collected $34.401 billion in tax
revenue. Revenues for the month of November, which DOR said
"is among the lower months for revenue collection," are due
to be announced Dec. 3. DOR has set the monthly collection
benchmark at $2.223 billion.
Massachusetts Department of
Revenue
November 3, 2021
Press Release
October Revenue Collections Total $2.445 Billion
Monthly collections up $356 million or 17.0% vs. October
2020 actual; $197 million above benchmark
BOSTON, MA — Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR)
Commissioner Geoffrey Snyder today announced that
preliminary revenue collections for October 2021 totaled
$2.445 billion, which is $356 million or 17.0% more than
actual collections in October 2020, and $197 million or 8.7%
more than benchmark. [1]
FY2022 year-to-date collections totaled approximately
$11.197 billion, which is $1.858 billion or 19.9% more than
collections in the same period of FY2021, and $723 million
or 6.9% more than year-to-date benchmark.
“October 2021 revenue collections increased in all major tax
types in comparison to October 2020 collections, including
withholding, non-withholding, sales and use tax, corporate
and business tax, and ‘all other tax’,” said Commissioner
Snyder. “The increase in withholding is likely related to
improvements in labor market conditions while the increase
in non-withholding tax collections is due to an increase in
income tax return payments. The sales and use tax increase
reflects, in part, continued strength in retail sales and
the easing of COVID-19 restrictions. The increase in “all
other tax” is primarily attributable to estate tax, a
category that tends to fluctuate.”
In general, October is among the lower months for revenue
collection, because neither individual nor business
taxpayers make significant estimated payments during the
month.
Historically, roughly 6.5% of annual revenue, on average,
has been received during October.
Details:
• Income tax collections for October were $1.329 billion,
$115 million or 9.5% above benchmark, and $155 million or
13.2% more than October 2020.
• Withholding tax collections for October totaled $1.187
billion, $52 million or 4.6% above benchmark, and $116
million or 10.9% more than October 2020.
• Income tax estimated payments totaled $73 million for
October, $13 million or 20.9% more than benchmark, and $12
million or 19.8% more than October 2020.
• Income tax returns and bills totaled $184 million for
October, $33 million or 21.5% more than benchmark, and $41
million or 28.5% more than October 2020.
• Income tax cash refunds in October totaled $115 million in
outflows, $17 million or 13% below benchmark, but $14
million or 14% more than October 2020.
• Sales and use tax collections for October totaled $686
million, $59 million or 7.9% below benchmark, but $72
million or 11.8% more than October 2020.
• Meals tax collections, a sub-set of sales and use tax,
totaled $108 million, $37 million or 25.6% below benchmark,
but $27 million or 33.8% more than October 2020.
• Corporate and business tax collections for the month
totaled $98 million, $31 million or 46.3% above benchmark,
and $22 million or 29.2% more than October 2020.
• “All other” tax collections for October totaled $332
million, $110 million or 49.5% above benchmark, and $106
million or 47.2% more than October 2020.
[1] With the recent enactment of the
FY2022 budget, monthly revenue benchmarks were developed for
the August 2021 through June 2022 period only.
###
State House News
Service
Friday, November 5, 2021
Mass. Aid In Infrastructure Bill Could Surpass $12.5 Billion
By Chris Lisinski
As U.S. House Democrats push to bring cornerstones of
President Joe Biden's domestic spending agenda forward for
votes as soon as Friday, Massachusetts may be closer to
receiving more than $12.5 billion toward its roads, bridges,
water systems and other infrastructure needs.
A breakdown provided by Congresswoman Lori Trahan's office
estimates Massachusetts would receive at least $12.58
billion from the $1 trillion infrastructure bill, which the
Senate approved in August and may clear the House alongside
a separate social spending package on Friday if House
leaders succeed in their plans.
Over the next five years, funding formulas would steer at
least $4.2 billion to Massachusetts for road improvements,
$1.1 billion for bridge replacements and repairs, and $1.1
billion to improve water infrastructure by upgrading
community water systems and replacing lead service lines,
according to Trahan's office.
The infrastructure bill would direct no less than $2.5
billion to Massachusetts to modernize public transportation
systems and make them more accessible. That money could go
toward repairing and upgrading bus and rail fleets,
replacing bus fleets with zero-emission vehicles, and
retraining operators for modern vehicles, though it wasn't
clear from the summary if agencies like the MBTA could use
the funding to make up for decreases in fare revenue
stemming from the pandemic.
Massachusetts is also poised to get a minimum of $3.5
billion to help weatherize homes and buildings in the face
of threats from climate change, which Trahan said would
reduce energy costs for families, $100 million to provide
statewide broadband coverage, $63 million to expand electric
vehicle charging networks, $15.7 million to prevent
cyberattacks, and $5.8 million to protect against wildfires.
The Bay State's total haul could be padded even further by
grant funding. On top of dollars that will flow via formula,
Massachusetts or individual communities could apply for
competitive grants addressing issues such as combined sewage
overflows and additional electric vehicle charging.
After months of stalled deliberations and reductions to the
packages Biden initially proposed, Democrats in the U.S.
House are pushing to vote on both a social spending bill and
the Senate-passed infrastructure bill Friday, according to
reports from outlets such as the New York Times and CNN.
The Salem
News
Monday, November 8, 2021
Lawmakers load up relief measures with pet projects
By Christian M. Wade, Statehouse reporter
The influx of billions of dollars in federal relief funds
and surplus money has lawmakers angling to bring home cash
for local pet projects, programs and initiatives — some of
which has little or nothing to do with pandemic recovery.
Last week, the state Senate rolled out its proposal to spend
more than $3.66 billion in American Rescue Plan Act funds
and surplus revenue to make investments in housing, the
workforce, schools and the health care system to help buoy
workers, businesses and communities hardest-hit by the
COVID-19 pandemic.
But lawmakers are expected to load the relief bill with
scores of amendments that will likely drive up its final
price tag. The proposal leaves about $2.4 billion in
unallocated surplus and federal relief funds, giving
senators a long leash to stuff more spending items into the
measure before it is taken up next week.
Senate Ways and Means Chairman Michael Rodrigues,
D-Westport, told reporters on Wednesday he expects the
spending bill to increase to as much as $3.95 billion during
the amendment process.
The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives approved
a relief bill last week packed with tens of millions of
dollars of earmarks for local programs and projects.
House leaders met mostly in private meetings to decide which
of the more than 1,100 proposed amendments would make it
into the final bill.
They agree to several “mega-amendments” — each including
hundreds of amendments — which bumped up the spending bill’s
bottom line to $3.82 billion.
Beacon Hill watchdogs say Congress never intended for the
relief money to be spent on local pet projects and say
lawmakers shouldn’t be going on a spending spree.
“This money was supposed to be spent on pandemic relief, but
it’s clear that many lawmakers saw this is just another
budget spending bill,” said Paul Craney, a spokesman for the
Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, a conservative pro-business
group. “They shouldn’t be using this money for pet projects
in an election year.”
Hundreds of non-pandemic related earmarks were also added to
the House bill, including $200,000 to improve bicycle safety
in Andover, $100,000 for a turf field in North Reading,
$150,000 to fix elevators at Melrose high school and $1.3
million for an Italian immigrant memorial in Boston’s North
End.
David Tuerck, an economist and president of the
Boston-based, right-leaning Beacon Hill Institute, said
lawmakers need to be cautious in how they allocate the
one-time federal relief windfall, and shouldn’t be spending
it on pet projects.
“The Legislature is treating this windfall of money like
it’s Christmas morning,” he said. “They shouldn’t be
spending this money on frivolous projects.”
House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz, D-Boston, said
the bill approved by the House was based on public hearings
and input from hundreds of individuals and organizations. In
remarks, he called it “a truly equitable spending package”
that focuses on communities hardest hit by the pandemic.
A centerpiece of the relief package calls for spending $500
million on bonus checks for frontline workers who stayed on
the job during the pandemic.
To be sure, the House bill included $500 million to help
bailout the state’s unemployment trust fund and $200 million
in tax relief for small-business owners who paid personal
income taxes on state or federal pandemic relief money.
It also included money for safety-net hospitals, public
health systems and mental health services that have
struggled to meet demand during the pandemic.
There were also of unrelated spending items, such as $12
million to help with the resettling of Afghan refugees and
$5 million to create a website tracking the number of
contracts awarded to minority businesses.
The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation noted that the House
bill tapped mostly surplus money to cover the cost of
amendments to the measure, not federal funds.
The Senate bill makes no distinction on the funding sources,
leaving that up to the state Office of Administration and
Finance to decide.
Massachusetts has received about $5.3 billion in direct
funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, a $1.9 trillion
stimulus package signed by President Joe Biden.
Gov. Charlie Baker has been quarreling with legislative
leaders over control of the money. He initially proposed
spending $2.8 billion, leaving lawmakers to distribute the
rest. But lawmakers rejected his plan and swept most of the
money into a fund controlled by the Legislature.
Baker responded with legislation calling for $2.9 billion in
spending on housing, the environment, transportation and
other priorities.
Legislative leaders held public hearings on the governor’s
proposal but ultimately decided on their own plans.
— Christian M. Wade covers
the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media
Group’s newspapers and websites.
The Boston
Herald
Thursday, November 4, 2021
Please stop Charlie Baker from raising the gas tax
By Howie Carr
Gov. Charlie Baker — how can we miss him when he won’t go
away?
So there he was Thursday at Boston Children’s Hospital,
stumbling through his prepared remarks like an oversized
Dementia Joe Biden, muttering, “Vaccines are whale widely
available.”
He referred to “vaxy-nations” and also informed the
cheerleading Boston media that “these medical efforts know
that the vaccine is safe and has proven to be highly
effective.”
Efforts?
But hey, the important thing for Charlie was that he got to
issue some more nonsensical orders — “masks in schools can
only be removed if 80% of the building is vaccinated.”
Please, Charlie Parker, as Dementia Joe calls him, put us
out of our misery. Haven’t you done … enough? Third in the
nation for overall death rate for most of the Panic,
sometimes the highest unemployment rate in the entire U.S.
Charlie, you’re already the worst governor in state history.
In terms of sheer incompetence, you’re the Massachusetts
political equivalent of Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting
streak or Tom Brady’s seven Super Bowl rings. You’ll never
be equaled.
I don’t think he’s running again — how can he? — but maybe
Charlie needs a final nudge.
Which is why I am suggesting that everyone get out this
weekend and sign the petitions to put a referendum question
on the November 2022 ballot that would stop Charlie Parker
from unilaterally raising the gasoline tax per gallon from
its current 24 cents to perhaps as high as 62 cents,
according to one study.
You know how badly Tall Deval wants this.
As much fun as it is to make little kids wear masks for no
rational reason, how much more satisfying would it be for
him to complete his single-handed destruction of the
Massachusetts economy?
This latest mad scheme to beggar the working classes is
called the Transportation Climate Initiative — TCI. Every
other state that even briefly considered TCI has pulled
back, because it’s insane, and utterly meaningless in terms
of anything other than providing lots of good jobs at good
wages for otherwise unemployable fops from Charlie’s social
class.
But the governor is all in on it. He dreams of his own COP26
conference — private jets mandatory — where he gathers his
fellow trust-funders together to shake their fists at the
skies before heading off to lunch where John Kerry lovingly
explains to all the wokesters each of the multiple imported
vintages they’re savoring.
We only have two more weekends to finish collecting the
80,000-plus certified signatures needed to put the
Stop-Charlie’s-Insane-Gas-Tax measure on the statewide
ballot.
Please, sign a petition to put this before the voters. Which
gas tax do you prefer — the current 24 cents, or Charlie
Parker’s dream of 62 cents per gallon? Go to
stoptcitax.org to find out where you can affix your
signature to stop the steal.
But there’s another reason to sign the petition.
Over the past 20 months, perhaps you lost your job. Were you
fired because you refused to bow to one of his superstitious
mandates?
Or perhaps couldn’t visit a loved one in their final days,
or even hold a proper funeral. You may have been
unconstitutionally forbidden from attending church. Your
kids may have lost more than a year of education. You
couldn’t go to the gym, or play golf for months.
Did a Karen yell at you because you weren’t observing
Parker’s idiotic diktats like one-way aisles and “social
distancing” in supermarkets?
Did your favorite restaurant shut down? Maybe you had a
relative at the Holyoke Soldiers Home which was run by an
incompetent hack who gave Charlie $950, and his lieutenant
governor a grand.
Or maybe you just got tired of his hysterical daily
fear-mongering and panic porn. Or his fiddling, Cuomo-like,
with the state’s official death statistics to make himself
and his corrupt regime look less criminal.
Signing the TCI petition is a way to tell Charlie how much
you appreciate all he’s, uh, done for you … and everyone
else who works for a living.
You saw the recent poll that showed that he’s currently
running behind ex-Rep. Geoff Diehl in a hypothetical
Republican primary by a margin of 57-25.
That’s just among registered GOP voters, and I think that
actually understates how much Tall Deval is loathed by the
Republican base in this state.
But the corrupt hacks who are still getting rich off his
dismantling of the state’s economy could make the argument
that only 9% of the population is Republican, and that about
half the state is “unenrolled,” and could take GOP ballots
next September.
How many would, though, if you were just doing it to extend
Charlie Parker’s reign of error?
To survive even a primary, Parker would have to create an
entirely new GOP electorate, to offset the hundreds of
thousands of deplorables who would crawl across broken glass
to vote against him.
How much would such an unprecedented effort cost, even if
could be accomplished? Three, four, maybe five million
dollars. He has less than $700,000 in his campaign account.
Meanwhile, he goes about his daily hackery. Meet one of his
most recent judicial nominees — Pacifico DeCapua Jr. of
Milford. He’s eminently qualified — he gave Karyn “Pay to
Play” Polito $500, another $500 to very ethical Worcester DA
Joe Early Jr. and $100 to disgraced House speaker Felon
Finneran.
Then there’s Maureen Flaherty, ticketed for the BMC. Another
nationwide search — $350 to Polito and $150 to Charlie.
Had enough yet? You don’t have to wait until next year to
tell Charlie Parker what you think of him.
Go to
stoptcitax.org. Send him a message this weekend. Sign
the anti-Charlie-Parker gas tax petition.
— Listen to Howie 3-7 p.m.
weekdays on WRKO-AM 680.
State House News
Service
Thursday, November 4, 2021
Senate Dems Back Away From ARPA Bill Order
Investment Package Still On Track For Wednesday Debate
By Sam Doran
Senate leaders appeared to throw in the towel Thursday on
the issue of an amendment deadline for the jumbo budget
surplus-ARPA spending bill that still appears on track for
consideration next week. But a shadow deadline has emerged.
An order introduced Wednesday would have set a Friday
deadline for amendments to bulk up the $3.668 billion
package (S 2564), but it was set aside after Sen. Diana
DiZoglio objected to taking up the order at Wednesday's
lightly attended session, saying more time was needed to
draft and file amendments with municipal leaders.
The Methuen Democrat then joined with Minority Leader Bruce
Tarr to file three proposals before Thursday's session that
would have moved the deadline to either Saturday or Monday.
But Senate leaders, who have spent part of this week at a
legislative conference in Florida, opted against taking up
the order at a formal session they had called for Thursday,
leaving the so-called ARPA bill without any deadlines or
formal status in the Senate's formal session calendar.
DiZoglio told the News Service she had planned to table the
order if it arose Thursday without a compromise from her
caucus's leadership.
"I made it clear that if we did not reach a compromise of
extending the deadline, to give at least 72 hours to read
and review this $3.6 billion spending bill, alongside of
folks in our communities, that I would be laying the order
on the table," DiZoglio said, referring to a type of
objection that any senator can make and which automatically
punts a matter to the next session.
Because no order was adopted, technically there is no
amendment deadline.
"In the absence of an order, an amendment can be filed at
any time," said Tarr, a Gloucester Republican, after
Thursday's session. "We usually do an order for a variety of
reasons, including allowing the clerk to be able to process,
and the Ways and Means Committee to evaluate, filed
amendments. But generally speaking, in the absence of an
order, an amendment can be filed at any time -- including
while the bill is under consideration on the floor."
But for local officials or constituents who might plan to
call their senator with feedback on the 72-page package,
there's a catch.
President Karen Spilka's office told the News Service they
are "still operating under a Friday deadline," and a senior
Senate official said that the Ways and Means Committee is
asking senators to submit their amendments by close of
business on Friday.
DiZoglio said there were "rumors" floating around the East
Wing that amendments filed after Friday would be
discriminated against, even if they're considered in order
under the Senate Rules.
"I'm happy that we now publicly have no deadline set for
offering amendments. I am, however, concerned that it is now
suggested that senators still file our amendments by a 5
p.m. [Friday] unofficial deadline. And hearing rumors that
amendments filed after that deadline will be highly unlikely
to pass," DiZoglio said. " ... Underground, subversive,
under-the-table approaches certainly have no place in state
government. And we need to be as transparent as possible,
even when it comes to deadlines, so that folks in our
communities have a seat at the table and so they're not
isolated from this process."
Another senator, who asked not to be identified out of
concern for retaliation, said they believed an email from
Ways and Means Chairman Michael Rodrigues to mean the same
thing.
The senator read an email from Rodrigues in which he asked
for amendments to be filed by 5 p.m. Friday in order to
receive "proper consideration and review."
"That means if you don't get them in by 5 o'clock tomorrow,
they will not consider them," the senator said, giving their
interpretation of the email.
"We have 48 hours to read a big old bill that's got $3.5
billion worth of spending in it, possibly more, and also
file amendments. Even though the Senate did not adopt a
deadline officially for those amendments, unofficially if
you don't get them in by 5 o'clock tomorrow, they are not
going to get adopted," the senator said.
As for debate on the bill, Spilka's office said that "is
still anticipated for next Wednesday." Senators could agree
before then to place it in the Orders of the Day on
Wednesday's Senate calendar, or it could instead be located
in the Notice Section of the calendar.
A Spilka spokesman told the News Service that next week's
schedule is shaping up to include an informal session on
Monday, a virtual caucus for Democrats on Tuesday, and a
formal session starting at 11 a.m. Wednesday. Veterans Day
falls on Thursday.
State House News
Service
Friday, November 5, 2021
Weekly Roundup - Transitions and Transmissions
Recap and analysis of the week in state government
By Matt Murphy
Elections, it's been said, have consequences. Even ones in
Maine.
Voters in Boston made history this week, choosing Michelle
Wu to become the first woman and person of color to be
elected to lead the city after 199 years of electing mayors.
Wu romped to victory over fellow City Councilor Annissa
Essaibi George, winning 64 percent of the vote on the back
of a progressive platform that included free MBTA, rent
control and an aggressive approach to climate change.
The mayor-elect now has just weeks before she takes the oath
of office and inherits a suite of challenges that includes
addressing the addiction and homelessness crisis at Mass.
and Cass, improving the schools, coming up with a new
waterfront development plan and simply bringing the capital
city back to life from COVID-19.
To do any of that, Wu will need a team and it didn't take
long for the questions to come about who the new mayor will
lean on to try to implement her agenda, some of which could
find its way to Beacon Hill.
Vacationland voters didn't make Wu's job any easier. Or the
job of Gov. Charlie Baker.
Whether it's in the city of Boston, the state of
Massachusetts or across New England, reducing carbon
emissions and transitioning to clean energy is a team sport,
and 60 percent of Maine voters, it seems, don't want to play
with their neighbors to the south.
Baker and others have staked their clean energy agenda, in
part, on importing hydroelectricity from Canada, but that
effort suffered a blow on Tuesday when Maine voters backed a
ballot question opposing the construction of transmission
lines through the Upper Kennebec Region.
As utilities considered legal action to save the project and
the Baker administration weighed its options, the governor
refused to throw in the towel. "No, I don't see it as dead,"
Baker said.
The governor's comments were made at Boston Children's
Hospital, where he was visiting to discuss more positive
news. The green light came this week from the Centers for
Disease Control for Pfizer's kid-sized dose of COVID-19
vaccine to be given to the more than 500,000 children in
Massachusetts aged 5 through 11.
Baker said more than 500 locations will start to book
appointments, as doses already began arriving last week in
anticipation of final federal approval.
"We've come a long way," Baker said, reflecting on the fact
that a year ago no one could get vaccinated and now 92
percent of adults and 80 percent of children aged 12 and
older have gotten at least one dose.
That wouldn't be a bad campaign slogan for the governor, but
Baker was still not ready or willing to say if his name will
be back on the ballot in 2022.
As the state's political world eagerly awaits a third-term
decision from the governor, the off-year election was a
mixed bag for Baker, even though he spent very little
political capital.
The governor didn't get involved in Boston's mayoral race,
but it could easily be argued that Wu's agenda for Boston
clashes with that of the moderate Republican. He also saw a
mayoral ally in Gloucester's Sefatia Romeo Theken go down to
challenger Greg Verga, and Republican Rep. Jim Kelcourse's
bid to topple incumbent Amesbury Mayor Kassandra Gove came
up short, despite the governor's support.
Other candidates backed by the Massachusetts Majority super
PAC had better results, like Framingham's Mayor-elect
Charlie Sisitsky, who defeated Mayor Yvonne Spicer. Baker
has raised money for the super PAC and said he supports its
mission, but has no control over its activities or the
candidates it supports.
It's unclear precisely how many House lawmakers can be
counted in that 92 percent of vaccinated adults, but Speaker
Ron Mariano's office said this week that at least seven
won't be cleared to work from the State House because they
have not complied with a vaccine mandate.
The House's vaccine mandate kicked in on Nov. 1, and the
speaker's office said there was 96 percent compliance among
legislators and 98 percent compliance with staff. The seven
non-conformists are either unvaccinated or unwilling to play
by the rules set by House Democratic leaders. Either way,
they won't be allowed back into the building unless they
change their mind.
And speaking of changing one's mind, Rep. Andy Vargas
announced Friday that he would seek reelection rather than
continue his campaign for state Senate after Baker signed
off on new Senate districts that split his home city of
Haverhill in two, and made it a very different race.
But he's not the only person facing a decision next year
influenced by redistricting.
Democrat Jamie Belsito and Republican Bob Snow emerged from
Tuesday's primaries to replace former North Shore state
representative Brad Hill, but depending on who wins the
general election they could be one year and done.
Belsito, of Topsfield, will find herself in incumbent Rep.
Sally Keran's district in 2022, while Snow's town of Rowley
shifts into Republican Rep. Lenny Mirra's district.
And that's the least confusing thing about the House and
Senate maps, according to Secretary of State William Galvin,
who issued a blistering critique of the redistricting plan
that he urged Baker, to no avail, not to sign.
With many communities not waiting to see legislative
districts before they drew local precinct lines and the
Legislature not waiting for locals, Galvin said there could
be hundreds of subprecincts, creating mass confusion at the
polls for the next decade.
The problem, he said, could be made worse by the
congressional redistricting plan, which was released this
week and sparked a debate over who should represent the
South Coast.
While the job of mapmakers was made easier this cycle by the
fact that Massachusetts kept all nine House Congressional
seats, legislative leaders sparked a controversy by
proposing to unite Fall River, just not with New Bedford.
As proposed, Fall River would no longer be split, but the
whole city would be drawn into U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss's
4th District, while New Bedford would remain in U.S. Rep.
William Keating's 9th District.
Keating, New Bedford Sen. Mark Montigny and former U.S. Rep.
Joe Kennedy were among those leading the push to unite the
two cities in Keating's district, arguing that their shared
diversity and economic interests in fishing and offshore
wind make them a logical pairing.
The sentiment, however, was not universal, and Beacon Hill
Democrats will be under pressure over the next week to make
a call that inevitably will leave someone unhappy.
Senate Ways and Means Chairman Michael Rodrigues, a Westport
Democrat who represents Fall River, was among those pushing
for South Coast unification as he also pitched his
colleagues on a $3.67 billion plan to spend American Rescue
Plan Act and state surplus funds.
While Senate leaders have proposed to put money in many of
the same buckets as the House did, the bill Rodrigues
drafted would increase spending on local public health
infrastructure by $100 million to $250.9 million, and would
make a greater investment of $400 million in mental and
behavioral health supports.
Rodrigues was in Florida on Tuesday night and Wednesday
morning at meetings of the National Conference of State
Legislatures when he presented the ARPA bill to Senate
Democrats over Zoom calls, laying the groundwork for a
debate on the bill next week.
Rodrigues said the goal is to put a final bill on Baker's
desk by Nov. 17, when the Legislature plans to recess from
formal sessions for the year. "Little differences around the
edges," he said.
STORY OF THE WEEK: It's Wu.
State House News
Service
Friday, November 5, 2021
Advances - Week of Nov. 7, 2021
Voting reforms, health care proposals and sports betting
plans are still sitting on the fall agenda, but the only
sure bets to reach Gov. Charlie Baker's desk heading into
the last few days of formal sessions appear to be urgent
redistricting proposals and a massive fiscal stimulus bill
that the governor wanted to be passed over the summer.
The Senate plans next week to bulk up and pass an investment
package worth more than $3.65 billion, leaving top House and
Senate Democrats with just a few days to pick and choose
from competing proposals (H 4234 / S 2564) and decide which
ones will be funded with American Rescue Plan Act funds
gifted by the federal government and surplus tax revenues
handed over by state taxpayers.
A public hearing is set for Tuesday on maps laying out new
district boundaries for members of Congress and the
Governor's Council, with the House and Senate planning to
get those bills to Baker before embarking on a seven-week
recess starting on Nov. 17.
After a slow September, it feels like lawmakers just
returned from their summer recess but internal legislative
rules require the House and Senate to wrap up work in the
first year of their two-year session by the third Wednesday
in November, with formal sessions resuming in January.
There's talk from branch leaders on both sides about
advancing health care bills prior to the recess, though no
proposals have emerged and it appears the bills could
address entirely different topics.
One item once considered urgent that is no longer even
receiving lip service: reforms to the state's management of
its two long-term care homes for veterans. Lawmakers
criticized Baker for failures exposed by the deadly COVID-19
outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home but have not acted on
the governor's reforms or a package of changes recommended
by the Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs.
The state is set to take its annual pause Thursday for
Veterans Day. House Speaker Ron Mariano this week said "we
plan to make meaningful reforms to support our older
veterans this session" but gave no timetable for when votes
will occur.
The lights are dimming in the Senate on a sports betting
bill that supporters hoped to see passed, or even debated,
this fall. And while this week's election in Boston showed
most voters didn't want to participate no matter the method,
the House is still weighing Senate-approved changes to make
permanent voting options adopted during the pandemic and
popular with many residents.
The Epoch
Times
Monday, November 8, 2021
Gunmaker Smith & Wesson Breaks Ground on Tennessee Home
After Relocating Over Firearm Manufacturing Legislation
By Katabella Roberts
Gunmaker Smith & Wesson broke ground on their new home in
East Tennessee last week alongside several state and local
leaders, just weeks after announcing the decision to move.
The American manufacturer of firearms, ammunition, and
restraints, which was founded in 1852, currently has
corporate headquarters in Springfield, Massachusetts.
The company is investing more than $125 million to relocate
its headquarters and some operations from Springfield to
Blount County in Tennessee, a move that will create 750 jobs
in the area, it said.
The groundbreaking ceremony took place on Friday at
Partnership Park North in Blount County, which is 240 acres
in size and will house both the company headquarters and
manufacturing operations, according to local reports.
Mark Smith, president and CEO of Smith & Wesson, said he was
looking forward to the move but noted that it was not an
easy decision to make, owing to the fact that it had to be
the right decision for today and future generations to come.
Announcing the decision in September, Smith said, “This has
been an extremely difficult and emotional decision for us,
but after an exhaustive and thorough analysis, for the
continued health and strength of our iconic company, we feel
that we have been left with no other alternative.”
The move comes following legislation recently proposed in
Massachusetts that, if enacted, would prohibit the company
from manufacturing certain firearms that are illegal to use
in Massachusetts.
Sponsored by Cambridge Rep. Marjorie Decker, Lawrence Rep.
Frank Moran, and Newton Sen. Cynthia Creem, the legislation
(pdf)
was filed in April and would put a ban on the manufacturing
of “any assault weapon or large capacity feeding device” in
the state unless it’s for the sole purpose of selling to law
enforcement or military agencies.
“These bills would prevent Smith & Wesson from manufacturing
firearms that are legal in almost every state in America and
that are safely used by tens of millions of law-abiding
citizens every day exercising their constitutional Second
Amendment rights, protecting themselves and their families,
and enjoying the shooting sports,” said Smith.
While Smith & Wesson remains hopeful that the legislation
will not be passed, the company noted that the ban on
firearms manufacturing would affect up to over 60 percent of
its 2020 revenue.
“The unfortunate likelihood that such restrictions would be
raised again led to a review of the best path forward for
Smith & Wesson,” Smith added.
On Friday, the CEO reiterated that the decision to relocate
had been a difficult one, telling reporters, “We’ve got 170
years of history in Springfield, Massachusetts … so, for us
it was especially difficult.”
The company also cited a better quality of life for
employees, more affordable living, availability of qualified
labor for its operations and headquarter functions, and a
favorable location for efficiency of distribution as reasons
for the move.
While Massachusetts is looking to clamp down on firearms
manufacturing, Tennessee has in recent years moved to loosen
gun restrictions under Republican leadership.
In April, Gov. Bill Lee signed the state’s constitutional
carry bill into law, which allows most adults 21 and older
to carry handguns without having to apply for a permit or go
through a state-level background check and training.
Numerous lawmakers, including state Reps. John Gillespie and
Mark White, both Republicans,
opposed the bill.
Lee on Friday praised Smith & Wesson’s decision to move to
Tennessee and said the multi-million-dollar investment will
have a lasting impact on employment in the state.
“If you really want to change a family’s life then you
insert into that family meaningful work. When people have a
good job and make a good living for their family, then
they’re generationally impacted,” he said.
Smith & Wesson will also close facilities in Connecticut and
Missouri as part of consolidating in Tennessee, but the
company noted that the move will not begin officially until
2023 and will not have an impact on its employees’ jobs
until then.
“Our loyal employees are the reason for our success and are
always our number one priority,” it said in a statement. |
NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this
material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior
interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes
only. For more information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
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