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THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, August 11, 2023 Page 17 Beacon Hill Roll Call By Bob Katzen GET A FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO MASSTERLIST – Join more than 25,000 people, from movers and shakers to political junkies and interested citizens, who start their weekday morning with MASSterList—the popular newsletter that chronicles news and informed analysis about what’s going on up on Beacon Hill, in Massachusetts politics, policy, media and influence. The stories are drawn from major news organizations as well as specialized publications selected by MASSterlist’s editor, Erin Tiernan, with help from Matt Murphy. Both are pros, with a wealth of experience, who introduce each article in their own clever way. MASSterlist will be e-mailed to you FREE every Monday through Friday morning and will give you a leg up on what’s happening in the blood sport of Bay State politics. For more information and to get your free subscription, go to: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/aPTLucK THE HOUSE AND SENATE: Beacon Hill Roll Call records local representatives' and senators' votes on roll calls from the week of July 31-August 4. $56.2 BILLION FISCAL 2024 STATE BUDGET (H 4040) House 156-2, Senate 39-0, approved and sent to Gov. Maura Healey a conference committee version of a $56.2 billion fiscal 2024 state budget for the fiscal year that began July 1. The price tag represents a $3.8 billion increase over last year’s fiscal 2023 budget. The House and Senate had approved different versions of the budget and a conference committee hammered out a compromise version agreeable to both branches. Provisions include $171.5 million to require public schools to provide universal free school meals to all students; $50 million to support free community colleges; $50 million to create Green School Works, a program to fund projects to install and maintain clean energy infrastructure at public schools; $6.59 billion in Chapter 70 education funding for cities and towns, an increase of $604 million over last year; $504.5 million for the special education circuit breaker; $181 million for MBTA capital projects; $19.81 billion for MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid program that provides health care for low-income and disabled persons; and a new law that prisons must provide free unlimited incoming and outgoing phone calls for prisoners. Another provision would allow undocumented/illegal immigrants to qualify for the lower in-state college tuition rate if they attended high school here for at least three years and graduated or completed a GED. “This budget represents a major step forward for our commonwealth, particularly in making higher education more affordable and more accessible to everyone,” said Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland). “Tuition equity, free community college for nursing students and students 25 and older and laying the groundwork for free universal community college starting next fall—all part of the Senate’s Student Opportunity Plan—are crucial to securing our long-term competitiveness, providing residents with concrete ways to create the futures they dream of, and continuing our state’s commitment to education at every level.” “From critical investments in health care and workforce development, to funding for new initiatives that are designed to increase educational opportunities, better support working families and provide for a safer and more reliable public transportation system, this fiscal year 2024 budget will help to make Massachusetts more affordable, while ensuring that the commonwealth’s most consequential institutions work better for Massachusetts residents,” said House Speaker Ron Mariano (D-Quincy). “Massachusetts continues to move in a positive direction by making significant investments in this budget,” said Rep. Todd Smola (R-Warren), the ranking House member of the Committee on Ways and Means. “We prioritize local funding by increasing general government aid to municipalities and double the minimum aid contribution per pupil for education." "While there were many good provisions in the budget, the final version contained policies, unrelated to the budget itself, that we could not support,” said Reps. Nick Boldyga (R-Southwick) and Marc Lombardo (R-Billerica) in a joint statement. The statement continued, “Seniors, renters, small businesses and hard-working families can barely afford to make ends meet. As a result, Massachusetts continues to see one of the highest out-migrations in the country. At the same time, this budget provides a massive expansion in financial benefits for illegal immigrants. It's easier for Hollywood movie studios and multi-national corporations to get massive tax cuts than for the working-class to catch a break. The people of Massachusetts deserve better." “Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka once again demonstrated that the Massachusetts legislature is not open to transparency or tax relief," said Paul Craney, spokesman for the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance. "They released the budget from conference committee after 8 p.m. on a Sunday night in late July and are requiring their members to vote on the $56.2 billion dollar budget less than 24 hours later." Craney continued, "They go through great lengths to hide a secret we already know, the Massachusetts legislature failed to provide any tax tangible relief in their budget. Despite an obvious need for the state to become more economically competitive after the narrow passage of the income surtax which is driving taxpayers to New Hampshire and Florida, Speaker Mariano and Senate President Spilka failed to respond." (A “Yes” vote is for the budget. A “No” vote is against it.) Rep. Paul Donato Yes Rep. Steven Ultrino Yes Sen. Jason Lewis Yes SUSPEND RULES TO ALLOW AMENDMENTS TO THE BUDGET (H 4040)_ House 25-132, voting strictly along party lines, rejected a motion to suspend House rules in order to allow the House to consider amendments to the conference committee version of the budget. House rules prohibit any amendments from being offered to a conference committee version of a state budget and allows only an up or down vote on the entire package. Suspending the rules would allow representatives to offer an unlimited number of amendments to the spending plan. Republicans supported rule suspension while Democrats opposed it. The debate centered around a provision in the conference committee version of the budget that would allow undocumented/illegal immigrants to qualify for the lower in-state college tuition rate if they attended high school here for at least three years and graduated or completed a GED. They would also be required to provide a college or university with a valid social security number or taxpayer identification number, an affidavit indicating they applied for citizenship or legal permanent residence, or plan to do so once eligible and proof they registered for selective service if applicable. Under current law, in-state students pay $17,357 in tuition to attend UMass Amherst, while their undocumented/illegal immigrant classmates who do not qualifypay $39,293. The provision was included in the Senate version of the budget but was not included in the House version. The conference committee opted to include the provision in the compromise version. Supporters of rule suspension said it is unfair and undemocratic for the provision to be included in the final budget when the House never had the opportunity to vote on it. Opponents of rule suspension said that suspending the rule would result in hundreds of amendments, not just the one dealing with undocumented/ illegal immigrants' tuition rates, being proposed to the budget and starting budget debate all over again. They noted that both Republican members of the conference committee signed off on including the tuition provision. The provision seems headed to become state law since Gov. Healey in the past has expressed support for alBHRC | SEE PAGE 19

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