THE EVERETT ADVOCATE–Friday, September 13, 2019 Page 17 ing 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. (A “Yes” vote is for repealing the cap. A “No” vote is against repealing it.) Rep. Joseph McGonagle Yes Sen. Sal DiDomenico Yes BAN CONVERSION THERAPY FOR ANYONE UNDER 18 (H 140) SUBSCRIBE TO MASSTERLIST – IT’S FREE! Join more than 17,000 other people from movers and shakers to political junkies and interested citizens who start their morning with a 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 and type in your email address and in 15 seconds you will be signed up for a free subscription. With no strings attached. THE HOUSE AND SENATE: There were no roll calls in the House or Senate last week. This week, Beacon Hill Roll Call looks at the handful of major legislation that was approved by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Charlie Baker so far in 2019. In the first eight months of the 2019 session, only 69 bills out of more than 6,200 filed have been approved by the House and Senate and signed into law by Gov. Charlie Baker. Twenty-six of those were local bills dealing with an individual city or town and 28 were on sick leave banks for individual state workers. Sick leave banks allow employees to voluntarily donate sick, personal or vacation days to a pool for use by ill fellow state workers so they can get paid while on medical leave. Eleven other bills ranged from supplemental budgets and extending simulcast racing to regulating appraisal management companies and establishing a restaurant promotion commission. The remaining four were major bills that were debated and came to a roll call vote in both branches and were signed into law by Gov. Baker. Here they are: $43.3 BILLION FISCAL 2020 STATE BUDGET (H 4000) House 159-0, Senate 39-1, approved and Gov. Baker signed into law a $43.3 billion fiscal 2020 state budget. The package raises spending by $1.6 billion, or 4 percent over fiscal 2019. In an unusual move, Gov. Charlie Baker signed the fiscal 2020 state budget into law without vetoing any of the $43.3 billion in spending approved by the House and Senate. Beacon Hill Roll Call talked to several Statehouse veterans and not one could remember any other time in the last four decades that the governor did not veto funding in the budget. Just last year, Baker vetoed $48.9 million from a $41.7 billion budget. “The lieutenant governor and I and the secretary [of Administration and Finance] and a lot of our team spent a lot of time talking about the line item stuff, and basically came to the conclusion that this budget is balanced,” said Baker when he signed the bill. “We’re obviously going to pay a lot of attention to what happens to revenues in the first two quarters of the year because we did have a lot of volatility in the revenue base for 2019. So we’re going to work pretty hard to pay attention not just to the revenue side but also the spending side going forward.” (A “Yes” vote is for the budget. A “No” vote is against it.) Rep. Joseph McGonagle Yes Sen. Sal DiDomenico Yes REPEAL CAP ON WELFARE BENEFITS FOR KIDS (S 2186) House 155-1, Senate 37-3, overrode Gov. Baker’s veto of a bill that repeals the current law that denies an additional $100 in welfare benefits to children conceived while—or soon after—the family began receiving welfare benefits, or if they had received family welfare benefits 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. “Eliminating the family cap should be accompanied by other reforms to the [welfare] program designed to align the eligibility determination with federal standards and support recipients as they return to work,” said Gov. Baker in his veto message. 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 receivHouse 148-8, Senate 34-0, approved and Gov. Baker signed into law a bill that would prohibit psychiatrists, psychologists and other health care providers from attempting to change the sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression of anyone under 18. Conversion therapy exposes the person to a stimulus while simultaneously subjecting him or her to some form of discomfort. The therapy is primarily used to try to convert gays and lesbians to be straight. Mental health experts and LGBTQ groups charge that the practice is scientifically unproven and unsound and can trigger depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts in these youngsters. “We can offer assurances to those still struggling with coming out, or whose parents are still coming to terms with their orientation or identity, that that they will not be sent to a licensed therapist to change who they know themselves to be,” said Rep. Jack Lewis (D-Framingham) at the time of the vote. “This vote was an appalling assault on parental rights in the commonwealth,” said the president of the Massachusetts Family Institute Andrew Beckwith Joseph D. CatalDo, p.C. BEACON | SEE PAGE 22 who opposed lifting the ban. “Over 140 of our state legislators apparently believe that parents should not be able to get gender-confused children any treatment, even counseling, that might help them avoid crosssex hormone injections, steriliLaw Offices Of “ATTORNEYS AND COUNSELORS AT LAW” • ESTATE/MEDICAID PLANNING • WILLS/TRUSTS/ESTATES • INCOME TAX PREPARATION • WEALTH MANAGEMENT • RETIREMENT PLANNING • ELDER LAW 369 Broadway Everett, MA 02149 (617)381-9600 JOSEPH D. CATALDO, CPA, MST, PFS, ESQUIRE. AICPA Personal Financial Specialist Designee ty or ‘transition’ surgery. (A “Yes” vote is for the bill. A “No” vote is against it.) Rep. Joseph McGonagle Yes Sen. Sal DiDomenico Yes $200 MILLION IN CHAPTER 90 FUNDING FOR LOCAL ROADS (H 69) House 156-0, Senate 40-0, approved and the governor signed into law Senate a bill authorizing $200 million in onetime funding for the maintenance and repair of local roads and bridges in cities and towns across the state. The package is a bond bill under which the funding would be borrowed by the state through the sale of bonds. Other provisions include $200 million for rail improvements and $1.5 billion in bonding to allow for federal interstate repairs to advance. According to officials, 80 percent of the $1.5 billion would be reimbursed by
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