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Page 18 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, FEbRuARy 2, 2024 THE HOUSE AND SENATE: There were no roll calls in the House and Senate last week. This week, Beacon Hill Roll Call reports on the number of times each representative sided with Gov. Maura Healey on her 24 vetoes of mostly state budget items in the 2023 legislative session. A two-thirds vote is required to override a gubernatorial veto. In a full 160-member House, the governor needs the support of 54 representatives to sustain a veto when all 160 representatives vote—and fewer votes when some members are absent or a seat is vacant. Healey fell short of that goal as 25 votes was the most support she received on any veto. The House easily overrode all 24 vetoes, including nine that were overridden unanimously. No Democrats voted with Healey to sustain any vetoes. All 134 voted to override all the vetoes. Only GOP members voted with Healey to sustain the vetoes, but no Republican representative voted with Healey 100 percent of the time. The three GOP members who voted with Healey the most times are Reps. Marc Lombardo (R-Billerica) and Nicholas Boldyga (R-Southwick) who both voted with her 14 times (58.3 percent); and Donald Berthiaume (R-Spencer) who voted with her 12 times (50 percent). The GOP member who supported Healey the least numBeacon Hill Roll Call By Bob Katzen ber of times was Rep. David Vieira (R-Falmouth) who voted with Healey only seven times (29.1 percent). NUMBER OF TIMES REPRESENTATIVES SUPPORTED GOV. HEALEY’S VETOES IN THE 2023 SESSION Gov. Healey vetoed 24 proposals that were approved by the Legislature in 2023. Here is how your representative fared in his or her support of Gov. Healey on the vetoes. The percentage next to the representative’s name represents the percentage of times that he or she supported Healey. The number in parentheses represents the actual number of times the representative supported Healey. Rep. Joseph McGonagle (0) ALSO, UP ON BEACON HILL HEALEY FILES $58.15 BILLION FISCAL YEAR 2025 STATE BUDGET – Gov. Maura Healy filed her ~ Legal Notice ~ ADVERTISEMENT TO BID MGL c.149 $50K to $150K EVERETT HOUSING AUTHORITY, the Awarding Authority, invites sealed bids from Contractors for the Replace water supply riser control / drain valves (gate) and hot water recirculation valves at State Aided Development: Glendale Towers (667-2) in Everett, Massachusetts, in accordance with the documents prepared by C.A. CROWLEY ENGINEERING, INC.. The Project consists of but not limited to: Replace water supply riser control / drain valves (gate) and hot water recirculation valves. The work is estimated to cost $140,898.00. All bidding Requests for Information (RFIs) shall be submitted online by 02/19/2024 at 2:00PM EST for general bids. Bids are subject to M.G.L. c.149 §44A-J & to minimum wage rates as required by M.G.L. c.149 §§26 to 27H inclusive. THIS PROJECT IS BEING ELECTRONICALLY BID AND HARD COPY BIDS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Please review the instructions in the bid documents on how to register as an electronic bidder. All Bids shall be submitted online at biddocs.com and received no later than the date and time specified. General Bids will be received until 22 February 2024 on 2:00PM EST and publicly opened online, forthwith. General bids and sub-bids shall be accompanied by a bid deposit that is not less than five (5%) of the greatest possible bid amount (including all alternates) and made payable to the EVERETT HOUSING AUTHORITY. Note: A bid deposit is not required for Projects advertised under $50,000. Bid Forms and Contract Documents will be available for review at biddocs.com (may be viewed and downloaded electronically at no cost). PRE-BID CONFERENCE / SITE VISIT: Scheduled Date and Time: 02/15/2024 at 10:00AM EST Address: 381 Ferry Street, Everett, MA 02149 Instructions: Do not park in tenant spaces. The hard copy Contract Documents may be seen at: Nashoba Blue Inc. 433 Main Street Hudson, MA 01749 978-568-1167 February 02, 2024 second annual state budget, this one with a price tag of $58.15 billion. The package calls for about $2.07 billion or 3.7 percent more spending compared to the fiscal 2024 budget she signed in August 2023. “We are tightening our belts,” 0 percent Healey said. “I want to be clear about that, our economy remains strong, but the revenue picture is changing. Pandemic-era funding relief has gone away, and nationally, the economic recovery has stabilized. So, in this environment, it is important that we manage spending in a way that is making strategic choices, examining the impact of every dollar we propose to spend and that we bring our budget in line with a rate of inflation and in line with the resources and the revenue that we have.” “What Gov. Maura Healey is proposing is an irresponsible budget, coming in higher than last year which was already too high, while missing the much-needed reforms to curtail our immigration problems along with making our state more competitive,” said Paul Craney, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance. “The governor is continuing to spend taxpayer money on immigrants, while cutting spending on taxpayers, closing a state jail and shifting money away from dedicated savings. The governor describes this budget as fiscally responsible, but this budget reflects a state that is fiscally crumbling from the top down.” “As a former mayor, and someone who has traveled around the state listening to our local officials, I’m proud of the way that this budget proposal responds to local needs,” said Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll. “We’re fully funding the Student Opportunity Act to make sure our K-12 schools have equitable access to the resources their students and educators need. We’re also increasing the amount of local aid going to cities and towns and boosting Chapter 90 funding to improve roads and bridges, particularly in rural communities.” “Gov. Healey has filed a fiscal year 2025 budget that calls for significantly increased spending across state government, but those aspirations need to be tempered by the fiscal realities facing the commonwealth,” said House Minority Leader Rep. Brad Jones (R-North Reading). “After six-plus months of tax revenues coming in lower than expected, Gov. Healey has already implemented hundreds of millions of dollars in mid-year cuts and downgraded projected revenues by $1 billion for fiscal year 2024. At the same time, funding for the migrant shelter crisis continues to drain much-needed revenues that would otherwise have been spent on other programs and services, with no end in sight.” The budget now goes to the House which will craft and approve its own version and then it moves to the Senate which will offer a different plan. A House-Senate conference committee will eventually hammer out a compromise version that will be approved by both branches and sent to Gov. Healey who has the power to veto any spending and any other items. The House and Senate can then choose to override any of the governor’s vetoes. GOV. HEALEY SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER INSTITUTING SKILLSBASED HIRING – Gov. Healey signed an executive order requiring all state agencies to institute skills-based hiring practices. The order requires hiring to focus primarily on an applicant’s skills, knowledge and abilities rather than educational credentials. The only jobs exempt from the requirement are jobs when education degree conditions are absolutely necessary for the performance of the job. In addition, people in charge of hiring will receive training to help them implement these new hiring policies. “As the state’s largest employer, we rely on a strong, diverse workforce to deliver crucial services and programs for Massachusetts residents, businesses and communities every day,” said Healey. “But too many job applicants are being held back by unnecessary degree requirements. This Executive Order directs our administration to focus on applicants’ skills and experiences, rather than college credentials. It will expand our applicant pool and help us build a more inclusive and skilled workforce than ever before. Our administration is leading by example, and we encourage the business community to join us by adopting similar skills-based hiring practices.” “Massachusetts has an incredible opportunity to leverage its platform as a major employer, lead by example, and encourage more employers to do the same,” said Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Lauren Jones. “As employers, including the commonwealth, embrace a skills-based hiring practice, we will collectively open more opportunities to hire, retain and develop the diverse, skilled talent employers need to grow and thrive in regions across the state.” FREE BUSES (H 3266) - The Transportation Committee held a hearing on legislation that would create a 1-year pilot program for free access to bus service for the MBTA and regional transit authorities. The measure also would establish advisory committees to evaluate the impacts of the pilot program on ridership, equity, increased access, efficiency, ontime performance, cost savings and other metrics. “Sen. [Pat Jehlen] and I filed [the bill] because access to public transit is critical to the well-being and economic development of our communities,’ said House sponsor Rep. Christine Barber (D-Somerville). “As we continue to see lower ridership compared to before the pandemic, removing barriers to public transit is an important method to get people out of their cars, decrease bus waiting time, decrease carbon emissions, reduce traffic and improve health.” PRIVACY OF COLLEGE STUDENTS (H 4266) – The House gave initial approval to a bill that would prohibit colleges from being required to release certain student education records to third parties that request the records. The prohibition would not apply to federal, state or municipal agency requests. “This bill is about protecting BEACON | SEE PAGE 20

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