Page 18 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – Friday, April 19, 2019 THE HOUSE AND SENATE. Beacon Hill Roll Call records local representatives’ votes on roll calls from the week of April 8-12. There were no roll calls in the Senate last week. Hey, Beacon Hill Roll Call Readers: Keep your eyes on the 2019 Legislature and the rough and tumble political scene in the Bay State with something that you will read every weekday morning. It’s MASSTERLIST! AND IT’S FREE! More than 17,000 people, from movers and shakers to political junkies and interested citizens, start their morning with a FREE COPY of MASSterList! MASSterList is a daily ensemble of news and commentary about the Legislature, Politics, Media and Judiciary of Massachusetts drawn from major news organizations as well as specialized publications selected by widely acclaimed and highly experienced editor Jay Fitzgerald. Jay introduces each article in his own clever and never-boring, inimitable way. Go to: www.massterlist.com/ subscribe Type in your e-mail address and in 15 seconds you will be signed up for a subscription. REMOVE CAP ON WELFARE BENEFITS FOR KIDS (H 3594) House 155-1, overrode Gov. Charlie Baker’s veto of a bill that repeals the current law that denies an additional $100 in welfare benefi ts to children conceived while—or soon after— the family began receiving welfare benefi ts or, if they had received family welfare benefi ts in the past. The law was adopted in 1995 as part of a welfare reform package that was aimed at discouraging families already receiving public support from having more children. The veto now goes to the Senate which will likely override it at which point the cap will be offi cially repealed. In his veto letter, Baker said that "eliminating this cap should be accompanied by other reforms to the welfare system designed to align the eligibility determination with federal standards and support recipients as they return to work.” “[We should] allow an applicant seeking benefi ts to disregard the value of a single car, so as to protect the family’s access to transportation, including for BUYER1 Beacon Hill Roll Call By Bob Katzen job-seeking, without disqualifying them from receiving benefi ts,” said Baker. “My budget proposal [also] ensures that homeless families would no longer see a benefi t reduction for accessing temporary shelter.” Baker also noted that his proposal would require that adult Supplemental Security Income (SSI) be counted in the eligibility calculation for welfare applicants. “This … would treat SSI the same as other sources of benefi t income—like veterans or retirement, survivors’ benefi ts and disability insurance benefi ts—that are already counted in determining eligibility and benefit level under welfare,” concluded the governor. Supporters of the repeal said that there are some 8,700 children who currently fall under the cap in the Bay State. These families are barred from receiving an additional $100 a month to help support that child. They said there are no facts to back up the charge that families are having more children in order to get the additional $100. “Proud that today the House voted 155-1 to override Gov. Baker’s veto to #LiftTheCap for the second time,” said the bill’s sponsor Rep. Marjorie Decker (D-Cambridge), Chair of the Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery on her Facebook page. “Our message to the 8,700 MA kids living in poverty is clear: you are worthy of the support your siblings receive.” “I believe the governor is correct that we need to put reforms in this ever-growing account,” said Rep. Colleen Garry (D-Dracut), the only member who did not vote to override the veto. “We need to remember the middle-class people we represent. At some point, enough is enough. I personally BUYER2 have friends who would have loved to have more children, but they knew they could not aff ord the cost of raising additional children. There needs to be responsibility and accountability amongst individuals in the commonwealth.” (A “Yes” vote is for lifting the cap. A “No” vote is against lifting it.) Rep. Joseph McGonagle Yes RULES FOR HOUSE BUDGET DEBATE (H 3799) House 127-30, approved a set of Democratic leadership-sponsored rules to be followed when the House considers the $42.7 billion fi scal 2020 state budget beginning on Monday, April 22. Provisions include requiring all amendments to be fi led online by Friday, April 12 and any proposed tax hikes or reductions to be considered early in the process. The rules also prohibit any members from off ering amendments related to gambling or sports betting. Several Republican attempts to amend the rules failed on voice votes without a roll call. An amendment to give representatives until April 16 instead of April 12 to fi le was defeated, as was an amendment making it harder to ship off budget amendments to a study committee instead of voting on the amendment itself. Supporters said these rules are fair and responsible and will help make the budget debate go smoothly. They noted the House has adopted many reforms over the years to make the process more transparent. Opponents said the rules include several provisions that are anti-democratic and weaken the input of individual members. They noted legislators should have more time to fi le budget amendments and review complicated consolidatBasneet, Sandeep Krone, Katie A Araia, Solomon G Clark, Amanda Balboni, Elisa Yohannes, Hadas H Pence, Isaac Rivera, Cesar Van, Kieu H Leduc, Kyle Aguiar, Maria SELLER2 Rivera, Meghan ed amendments which are often voted on before members can fi nish reviewing them. (A “Yes” vote is for the rules. A “No” vote is against the rules.) Rep. Joseph McGonagle Yes ALLOW AMENDMENTS ON GAMBLING AND SPORT BETTING (H 3799) House 31-126, rejected a Republican proposal to allow amendments proposing online wagering, online lottery or sports betting to be allowed on the fl oor for debate and a vote. Supporters said sports betting can be a great revenue source for the state and argued that debating and voting on it should not be forbidden and delayed. They noted the state is already losing sports betting revenue to neighboring states. Opponents said the issue is too important and complicated to be dealt with in a state budget. They argued the bill will be considered as a separate piece of legislation soon and there will be public hearings. They noted that some states rushed into sports betting and are not doing well with it. (A “Yes” vote is for allowing amendments on online wagering, online lottery and sports betting. A “No” vote is against it.) Rep. Joseph McGonagle No ALLOW ONE HOUR TO READ CONSOLIDATED BUDGET AMENDMENTS (H 3799) House 31-126, rejected a Republican proposal that would increase from 30 minutes to one hour the period given to legislators to read any proposed consolidated amendment to the House budget prior to debate and a vote on it. The consolidated amendment system works as follows: Individual representatives fi le dozens of amendments on the same general subject matters including local aid, social services and public safety. They are then invited to “subject meetings” in Room 348 where they pitch their amendments to Democratic leaders who then draft lengthy, consolidated amendments that include some of the individual representatives’ amendments while excluding others. The House then approves the consolidated amendment. Supporters of the one-hour rule said these amendments are often up to 30 pages long. They said that this system is anti-democratic and results in members voting on something that they have not even read. Opponents of the one-hour rule said the current 30-minute rule has worked well. (A “Yes” vote is for allowing one hour. A “No” vote is against allowing it.) Rep. Joseph McGonagle No HOW LONG WAS LAST WEEK'S SESSION? Beacon Hill Roll Call tracks the length of time that the House and Senate were in session each week. Many legislators say that legislative sessions are only one aspect of the Legislature's job and that a lot of important work is done outside of the House and Senate chambers. They note that their jobs also involve committee work, research, constituent work and other matters that are important to their districts. Critics say that the Legislature does not meet regularly or long enough to debate and vote in public view on the thousands of pieces of legislation that have been fi led. They note that the infrequency and brief length of sessions are misguided and lead to irresponsible late-night sessions and a mad rush to act on dozens of bills in the days immediately preceding the end of an annual session. During the week of April 8-12, the House met for a total of four hours and 13 minutes while the Senate met for a total of 40 minutes. Mon. April 8 House 11:04 a.m. to 11:19 a.m. Senate 11:14 a.m. to 11:24 a.m. Tues. April 9 No House session No Senate session Wed. April 10 House 11:02 a.m. to 2:20 p.m. No Senate session Thurs. April 11 House 11:00 a.m. to 11:40 a.m. Senate 11:12 a.m. to 11:42 a.m. Fri. April 12 No House session No Senate session Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com REAL ESTATE TRANSAC TIONS SELLER1 ADDRESS CITY DATE 224 Shute St Matarazzo Betty Z Est Matarazzo, Richard R Tran, Binh T 33 Freeman Ave 115 Glendale St 12 Locust St #3A 128 High St Sanchez-Limon, Francisco Sanchez-Garcia, Laura Woolf, Michael W Kentish, Roland E Moses, Rebecca L Piela, Anna M Fineran, Richard F Chalise, Sarbesh Fineran, Marlene 61 Rich St 56-58 Sycamore St 415-417 Main St #2 Everett Everett Everett Everett Everett Everett Everett Everett 02.04.2019 02.04.2019 29.03.2019 29.03.2019 29.03.2019 28.03.2019 28.03.2019 28.03.2019 PRICE $560 000,00 $320 000,00 $620 000,00 $412 000,00 $636 000,00 $475 000,00 $650 000,00 $360 000,00
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