Page 18 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 2021 Beacon Hill Roll Call By Bob Katzen A note from Bob Katzen, Publisher of Beacon Hill Roll Call: Join me this Sunday night and every Sunday night in our new time slot between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. for my talk show “The Bob Katzen Baby Boomer and Gen X Show.” Jump in my time capsule and come back to the simpler days of the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. My guest on Sunday, April 25 will be Jamie Farr best known for playing Corporal Max Klinger on the iconic, award-winning television series M*A*S*H. Listeners are invited to call in and talk with the popular 86-yearold actor. There are many ways you can listen to the show from anywhere in the world: If you have a smart speaker, simply say, “Play WMEX on Audacy.com ” Download the free www.Audacy.com app on your phone or tablet Listen online at www.wmexboston.com Or tune into 1510 AM if you have an AM radio THE HOUSE AND SENATE. Beacon Hill Roll Call record local representatives’ votes on the roll call from the week of April 12-16. There were no roll calls in the Senate last week. HOUSE APPROVES $400 MILLION FOR NEW SOLDIERS’ HOME IN HOLYOKE House 160-0, approved and sent to the Senate a bill authorizing $400 million to fund the construction of a new Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke. The push to construct the new home follows the deaths of 77 veteran residents last year as a result of a COVID-19 outbreak at the current facility. During debate on the House floor, Rep. Danielle Gregoire (D-Marlborough) House chair of Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets addressed what the bill does and does not do. “This bill is solely to finance the long overdue construction of a new soldiers’ home in Holyoke to serve our state’s veterans,” said Gregoire. “The myriad issues in governance and oversight and the geographic, racial and gender inequity issues that have been brought to light, though not created by the COVID-19 crisis, and resulting tragedy in Holyoke last year will be addressed in the near future, through a vehicle that will allow for more extensive research, discussion and debate.” Gregoire also outlined a timeline for the project. She noted the “enabling work” for the project is expected to be done in spring 2022; construction will occur between the summers of 2022 and 2026; the move to the new building will be in the fall of 2026; demolition of the existing facility will follow the move and end in 2028; and final site work and landscaping will take place between the spring and summer of 2028. The Baker administration and House and Senate leaders are all trying to speed the bill’s passage in order to meet deadlines to apply for as much as $260 million in funding from the federal government, which would leave state taxpayers with a $140 million bill. “Holyoke is deeply proud to be home to the Soldiers’ Home and we are grateful to see the House support a bill to prepare the home for the next 50 years,” said Aaron Vega, Director of Holyoke’s Office of Planning and Economic Development and former state representative from Holyoke. “The bonding authorization included in this legislation will allow the commonwealth to move forward with critical upgrades to the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home that will provide our veterans with a state-of-the-art facility that meets their health care and long-term care needs,” said House GOP Minority Leader Brad Jones (R-North Reading). “It also places the commonwealth in a strong position to qualify for significant federal matching funds to complete this work.” Next stop is the Senate where Sen. John Velis (D-Westfield), who represents Holyoke in the upper chamber, said, “I am pleased that the House unanimously passed the … bill today. Our commonwealth needs a new facility that will care for our veterans with the honor and dignity that they deserve. Today’s passage was an important step towards that goal, and I look forward to the Senate promptly acting on this bill.” The office of House Ways and Means chair Rep. Aaron Michlewitz (D-Boston), the author of the bill, did not respond to questions by Beacon Hill Roll Call which were sent repeatedly directly to Michlewitz and his Chief of Staff Blake Webber. (A “Yes” vote is for the bill.) Rep. Joseph McGonagle Yes 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 filed. 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 1216, the House met for a total of three hours and 36 minutes while the Senate met for a total of 17 minutes. Mon. April 12 House 11:00 a.m. to 11:03 a.m. Senate 11:14 a.m. to 11:19 a.m. Tues. April 13 No House session No Senate session Wed. April 14 House 11:00 a.m. to 11:35 a.m. No Senate session Thurs. April 15 House 11:01 a.m. to 1:59 p.m. Senate 11:19 a.m. to 11:31 a.m. Fri. April 16 No House session No Senate session Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com
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