Page 18 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, January 3, 2020 Beacon Hill Roll Call By Bob Katzen W HAT IS MASSTERLIST? More than 15,000 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. MASSterlist will be emailed to you FREE every Monday through Friday morning and will give you a leg up on what’s happening on Beacon Hill, in the blood sport of Bay State politics, in newsrooms across the state and the nation, and in the state’s court system. For more information and to get your free subscription go to: www.massterlist. com/subscribe. SENATORS' VOTES WITH THEIR PARTY LEADERSHIP - There were no roll calls in the House or Senate last week. This week, Beacon Hill Roll Call reports the percentage of times local senators voted with their party's leadership in 2019. Beacon Hill Roll Call uses 144 votes from the 2019 Senate session as the basis for this report. This includes all roll calls that were not on local issues. The votes of the 2019 membership of 32 Democrats ~ LEGAL NOTICE ~ MALDEN BOARD OF APPEAL PUBLIC HEARING The Malden Board of Appeal will hold a public hearing at the John and Christina Markey Malden Senior Community Center, 7 Washington Street, Malden, MA at 6:30 P.M. on Wednesday, January 15, 2020 on Petition 20-001 by Andy Layman of Sign Art, Inc. on behalf of Pleasant Smoke Shop for a variance of Section 3.35.9.2.2.1 Chapter 3, of the Revised Ordinances of 1991 as Amended of the City of Malden, Sign Design Control Ordinances. Namely, Number and placement of signs, as per plans SGER-031660-2019 at the property known as 13 Irving St, Malden, MA and also known by City Assessor’s Parcel ID# 075-283-303. Petition & plans available for public review in Office of Assessor, 110 Pleasant St., 3rd floor. Malden MA or online at www.cityofmalden.org or https://permits.cityofmalden. org/EnerGov_Prod/SelfService. By: James O’Brien Chairman December 24, 2019 & January 3, 2020 were compared to House Majority Leader Cynthia Creem (D-Newton), second-in-command in the Senate. We could not compare the Democrats’ votes to those of Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland) because by tradition, the Senate president rarely votes. Fourteen (or 43 percent) of the 32 Democratic senators voted with Creem 100 percent of the time. The Democratic senators who voted the lowest percentage of times with Creem were Sens. Michael Moore (D-Millbury) and Michael Brady (D-Brockton), who both voted with Creem only 88.1 percent of the time. The votes of the 2019 membership of five Republicans were compared with those of GOP Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester). None of the five GOP senators voted with Tarr 100 percent of the time. The Republican senator who voted the lowest percentage of times with Tarr was Sen. Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton) who voted with Tarr only 90.9 percent of the time. PERCENTAGE OF TIMES SENATORS VOTED WITH THEIR PARTY’S LEADERSHIP IN 2019 The percentage next to the senator’s name represents the percentage of times the senator supported his or her party’s leadership. The number in parentheses represents the number of times the senator opposed his or her party’s leadership. Some senators voted on all 144 roll call votes. Others missed one or more roll call. The percentage for each senator is calculated based on the number of roll calls on which he or she voted and does not count the roll calls for which he or she was absent. Sen. Jason Lewis 100 percent (0) 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 December 23-27, the House met for a total of 28 minutes while the Senate met for a total of 40 minutes. MON. DECEMBER 23\ House 11:01 a.m. to 11:07 a.m. Senate 11:08 a.m. to 11:39 a.m. TUES. DECEMBER 24 No House session No Senate session WED. DECEMBER 25 No House session No Senate session THURS. DECEMBER 26 House 11:00 a.m. to 11:22 a.m. Senate 11:17 a.m. to 11:26 a.m. FRI. DECEMBER 27 No House session No Senate session Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com MassHousing completes first Sustainability Bond transaction M assHousing recently issued $108 million in affordable multifamily Housing Bonds with a Sustainability Bond designation, marking the first time the quasi-public agency has issued Sustainability Bonds. The designated Sustainability Bonds, which will finance the preservation and rehabilitation of affordable rental housing communities in Boston and Cambridge, serve as a new tool for reaching mission-driven institutional and retail investors. “Institutional and retail invesAAA Service • Lockouts Trespass Towing • Roadside Service Junk Car Removal 617-387-6877 26 Garvey St., Everett MDPU 28003 ICCMC 251976 tors are increasingly demanding that their investments drive social impact, and the Sustainability Bond label allows MassHousing to reach new investors who value social equity and environmental action,” said MassHousing Executive Director Chrystal Kornegay. “The proceeds of this bond transaction will allow MassHousing to finance the preservation and modernization of 415 affordable homes, delivering a better quality of life to residents, while lowering property owners’ operating costs and improving environmental performance.” “We are excited that the Sustainability Bond designation allows MassHousing to reach new investors who share our mission, and we look forward to continuing to drive impact, in communities across the Commonwealth,” said MassHousing Chief Financial Officer Charles Karimbakas. MassHousing aligned its first Sustainability Bond offering with the International Capital Market Association’s Green and Social Bond Principles and Sustainability Bond guidelines. The bonds are aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of No Poverty, Affordable and Clean Energy, and Sustainable Cities and Communities. BofA Securities and Morgan Stanley were the co-senior managing underwriters for the transaction. MassHousing expects to use the proceeds from the Sustainability Bond transaction to finance the preservation and substantial rehabilitation of two affordable rental communities: The Blue Mountain Apartments, a 217-unit scattered-site rental community in Dorchester and Roxbury, and the Daniel F. Burns Apartments, a 198-unit Cambridge Housing Authority property for elderly and disabled residents. Through the issuance of the Sustainability Bonds, MassHousing will finance the substantial renovation of both properties, including repairs to building envelopes, electrical and plumbing systems, and HVAC. The renovations will make both properties substantially more efficient by lowering energy consumption and water usage. Housing affordability protections at both properties will also be extended. MassHousing uses two main bond resolutions to raise capital and fund its work: Housing Bonds, which help finance the production and preservation of affordable multifamily rental housing, and Single Family Housing Revenue Bonds, which provide capital for mortgages for first-time homebuyers in Massachusetts. Over the past five fiscal years, MassHousing has issued over $1.2 billion in multifamily Housing Bonds and has generated a total of $6.6 billion in affordable single-family and multifamily housing financing, for the benefit of 43,000 households.
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