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Page 20 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – Friday, May 31, 2019 Beacon Hill Roll Call By Bob Katzen THE HOUSE AND SENATE. Beacon Hill Roll Call records local senators' votes on roll calls from the week of May 20-24. There were no roll calls in the House last week. All Senate roll calls are on the Senate debate of the $42.8 billion fiscal 2020 state budget. Many of the 1,142 amendments filed by senators never came to a roll call vote and were simply approved or rejected one at a time on voice votes without debate. To move things along even faster, the Senate also did its usual “bundling” of many amendments. Instead of acting on the amendments one at a time, hundreds of the proposed amendments are bundled and put into two piles—one pile that will be approved and the other that will be rejected with a single vote on each pile. Senate President Karen Spilka, or the senator who is filling in for her at the podium, orchestrates the approval and rejection of the bundled amendments with a simple: “All those in favor say ‘aye,’ those opposed say ‘no.’ The ayes have it and the amendments are approved.” Or, “All those in favor say ‘aye,’ those opposed say ‘no.’ The no’s have it and the amendments are rejected.” Senators don’t actually vote yes or no and, in fact, they don't say a word. The outcome was determined earlier behind closed doors. $42.8 BILLION FISCAL 2019 BUDGET (S 3) Senate 40-0, approved an estimated $42.8 billion fiscal 2020 budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1. Over a threeday period, the Senate added an estimated $74 million to the original version of the budget and considered and voted on more than 1,100 proposed amendments. Supporters said the budget is a fiscally responsible and balanced one that makes vital investments in the state while continuing fiscal responsibility. “We can be really proud of the work we have accomplished,” said Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland). “We expressed our best hopes for the future of our commonwealth and together we made the hard decisions to produce a fiscally responsible budget that truly reflects our Senate values.” The House has approved a different version of the budget. A House-Senate conference committee will hammer out a compromise version and send it to the governor. (A “Yes” vote is for the budget.) Sen. Sal DiDomenico Yes INCREASE IN REGISTER OF DEEDS FEES (S 3) Senate 38-2, approved an amendment that would raise the existing surcharge on most Registry of Deeds’ real estate transaction fees by $30 (from $20 to $50). This money helps to fund the Community Preservation Act (CPA) which helps cities and towns preserve open space and historic sites, create affordable housing and develop outdoor recreational facilities. Amendment supporters said that when the fund was created in 2000, the state was able to provide communities with a 100 percent match of the funds the community raised through their local option surcharge of up to 3 percent of the local property tax. The state now only matches about 11 percent because of a lack of funding. “I have been trying to increase revenue for the state CPA matching funds for several sessions,” said Sen. Cindy Creem (D-Newton), the sponsor of the amendment. “Over 170 communities are waiting for us to keep our state’s promise to meaningfully partner with them for housing, historic preservation, open space and recreation. Raising the match from 11 percent to 30 percent will help move these important projects along.” “I do not support making housing transaction costs in the commonwealth more expensive when not all cities and towns are opted into the CPA program,” said Sen. Ryan Fattman (R-Webster). “Massachusetts housing and closing costs are already consistently highest in the nation.” “The state is realizing record tax revenue exceeding our benchmark by over 900 million dollars,” said Sen. Dean Tran (R-Leominster). “This is indicative of a strong economy and an example of why we should put an emphasis on economic development, creating jobs and help put people to work so that they can provide for their families. It is not the time to raise taxes and fees.” (A “Yes” vote is for raising the surcharge. A “No” vote is against raising it.) Sen. Sal DiDomenico Yes SECURITY OF ELECTIONS (S 3) Senate 9-30, rejected an amendment that would require the secretary of state, in consultation with the United States Election Assistance Commission (EAC), to develop new rules and standards to ensure the cyber-security and general security of elections in the commonwealth to combat election fraud and other election security threats. The bill requires the rules to comply with those established by the United States Department of Homeland Security. Amendment supporters said the integrity of our democracy and voting system must be protected. They noted that the state has received $7.9 million from the federal government for the state to spend on election security but has only spent $1 million. Amendment opponents said the EAC and the Department of Homeland Security have not yet issued any guidelines for the state to follow. They noted they support improving election security but argued the state will have to wait until the federal government can get its act together so we can use the funds allocated to us to work on these issues with them. (A “Yes” vote is for the amendment. A “No” vote is against it.) Sen. Sal DiDomenico No RAISE MINIMUM EDUCATION AID TO CITIES AND TOWNS (S 3 ) Senate 7-32, rejected an amendment that would increase the minimum Chapter 70 education aid each city and town receives from $30 per pupil to $100 per pupil. Amendment supporters said that despite the $268 million increase in education aid in the budget, more than 180 school districts would see a hike of only $30 per student this year. They argued that the $30 figure is unfair and insufficient for those districts’ needs. “There are suburban and rural communities that are unfairly represented in the chapter 70 education funding formula and rely upon minimum aid funding per student in the state budget,” said Sen. Ryan Fattman (R-Webster). "One hundred and eighty-two districts across the commonwealth are minimum aid districts with declining student enrollment and $100 per student would have adequately helped these districts which suffer from a broken education funding mechanism.” "I was encouraged by the Senate’s commitment to invest in our public school system,” said Sen. Vinny deMacedo (R-Plymouth). “However, the Senate's $300 million investment would have had a minimal effect on the communities I represent. As minimum aid communities they would benefit most from a higher per pupil commitment. By spending $100 per pupil the Senate would have been able to better meet the budget needs of my communities and the educational goals of their students.” Some amendment opponents said that even districts receiving the minimum will still see an increase in Chapter 70 aid next year. They noted that the education aid in the Senate is significantly higher than the plan proposed by Gov. Baker and the one approved by the House last month. Others said the Senate should tackle the broader issue of school funding through legislation now pending that will update and make major changes in the school funding formula. “The Senate fiscal year 2020 budget provides $268 million more in Chapter 70 funding to our local school districts than in fiscal year 2019, the largest annual increase in two decades,” said Sen. Jason Lewis (D-Winchester) who opposed the amendment. “This budget also makes significant progress in implementing the recommendations of the Foundation Budget Review Commission, in order to ensure that our public schools are adequately and equitably funded so that every student across the commonwealth has access to a great education.” (A “Yes” vote is for the $100 per pupil. A “No” vote is against it.) Sen. Sal DiDomenico No $1.5 MILLION FOR CIVICS EDUCATION (S 3) Senate 39-0, approved an amendment providing $1.5 million for the Civics Project Trust Fund to promote civics education in the state. Amendment supporters said that this funding is a beginning and will capitalize the Civics Project Trust Fund, created by the Legislature last year as part of a broader civics bill, to support the infrastructure, curriculum resources and professional development needed to integrate high-quality civics education into our schools beginning in September 2020. “This money is a down payment on the future of civics education in Massachusetts,” said Sen. Harriette Chandler (D-Worcester), the sponsor of the amendment. “The students that will take these history courses and participate in these civics projects are the future leaders of this state. The future leaders of this state deserve a curriculum that has received robust investment.” The civics education law that was signed into law last year added more topics the civics courses must cover including the function and composition of the branches of local, state and federal government; the roles and responsibilities of a citizen in a democracy; the development of skills to access, analyze and evaluate written and digital media as it relates to history and civics; community diversity and historical trends in voter registration; civic participation relative to disenfranchised voter populations; opportunities to identify and debate issues relative to power, economic status and the common good in democracy. Other provisions include requiring each public school serving grades eight to 12 to provide at least one student-led civics project for each student; and requiring the state to provide information to cities and promote youth membership on municipal boards, committees and commissions. (A “Yes” vote is for the $1.5 million.) Sen. Sal DiDomenico Yes $350,000 FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION (S 3) Senate 39-0, approved an amendment increasing funding by $350,000 (from $4,469,372 to $4,819,372) for suicide prevention. “One of my top priorities this session is mental health and suicide prevention, and this amendment ensures that key programs are maintained to provide much-needed services,” said the amendment’s sponsor Sen. Barry Finegold (D-Andover). “We’re facing an epidemic of teen suicide across the country. While teen drunk driving and teen pregnancy rates are way down, suicide rates for teen girls have doubled in recent years, and suicide rates for teen boys have increased by more than 30 percent. This funding, paired with my legislative agenda this session, would look out for our most vulnerable young people and give them the resources they need.” (A “Yes” vote is for the $350,000.) Sen. Sal DiDomenico Yes $500,000 FOR SECURITY (S 3) Senate 40-0, approved an amendment that would provide $500,000 for a nonprofit secuBEACON | SEE PAGE 23

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