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Page 14 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, September 6, 2024 cords have been lost or damaged by their employing department. PROTECT CATS AND DOGS Beacon Hill Roll Call By Bob Katzen GET A FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO MASSTERLIST – Join more than 22,000 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. 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://massterlist.com/subscribe/ THE HOUSE AND SENATE: There were no roll call votes in the House or Senate last week. This week, Beacon Hill Roll Call reports local senators’ roll call attendance records for the 2024 session through August 30. The Senate has held 150 roll calls so far in the 2024 session. Beacon Hill Roll Call tabulates the number of roll calls on which each senator voted and then calculates that number as a percentage of the total roll call votes held. That percentage is the number referred to as the roll call attendance record. Thirty-six (90 percent) of the current 40 senators did not miss any roll calls and have 100 percent roll call attendance records. Four (10 percent) of the 40 senators missed one or more roll calls. It is a Senate tradition that the Senate president only votes occasionally. Current Senate President Karen Spilka follows that tradition and only voted on 28 (18.7 percent) of the 150 roll calls while not voting on 122 (81.3 percent) of them. Sen. Mike Rush (D-West Roxbury) missed 14 roll calls for a roll call attendance record of 90.6 percent. Sen. Mike Barrett (D-Lexington) missed three roll calls resulting in a 98 percent roll call attendance record. Sen. Liz Miranda (D-Boston) missed one roll call resulting in a 99.3 percent roll call attendance record. Beacon Hill Roll Call contacted Rush, Barrett and Miranda asking why they missed some roll calls. Here are their responses: Sen. Mike Rush: “I am one of three members of the Senate who are active reservists. On April 25th, June 6th and June 13th, I was on orders with the United States Navy and as a result was unable to participate in roll call votes during session. I had submitted letters to the Clerk of the Senate to be included in the Senate Journal stating this fact and recording how I would have voted had I been present.” Sen. Mike Barrett: “I was drafting the Senate's climate bill, exacting work that occasionally had me missing a roll call.” Sen. Liz Miranda: “I missed one roll call because I actually came late into the chamber, from my office while dealing with an emergency constituent issue. I submitted a letter when I arrived moments after.” SENATORS’ 2024 ROLL CALL ATTENDANCE RECORDS THROUGH AUGUST 30, 2024 The percentage listed next to the senator’s name is the percentage of roll call votes on which the senator voted. The number in parentheses represents the number of roll calls that he or she missed. Sen. Jason Lewis 100 percent (0) ALSO UP ON BEACON HILL PUBLIC SAFETY PERSONNEL (S 1666) – The House gave initial approval to a bill that would allow public safety personnel with impaired health, presumed to have suffered in the line of duty, to submit an affidavit attesting that he or she did undergo a physical examination on entry into service, if their employer failed to maintain such records. "Public safety personnel like police and firefighters that are injured in the line of duty or suffer illness due to their occupation shouldn't have to jump through hoops or navigate red tape if their employer fails to maintain proper medical records documenting their service,” said sponsor Sen. Paul Feeney (D-Foxborough).“I am proud to have filed this legislation to help relieve public safety officials of the undue burden of proving an occupational presumption when through no fault of their own, their medical re(S 2908) – The House gave initial approval to legislation that would prohibit the sale or transfer of any puppies and kittens under eight weeks old. Violators would be fined $100 per animal. When the animal is more than eight weeks old, the outright ban is lifted and replaced with a section that would prohibit the sale or transfer of any dogs or cats at specified outdoor locations, such as flea markets and roadsides. This prohibition would not apply to the transfer of a dog or cat by, or to, a shelter, animal control or animal rescue; or to the display of a dog or cat as part of a state or county fair exhibition, a 4-H program or similar exhibition or educational program. Violators would be fined $50 per animal for a first offense, $100 for a second offense and $300 for a third and subsequent offenses. “Passing this legislation would represent an end to the supply-and-demand relationship between Massachusetts and puppy mills and give these animals a better opportunity at finding a home,” said Sen. Patrick O’Connor (R-Weymouth), a sponsor of an earlier version of the measure. “I am a longtime supporter of animal protection issues, even before I ran for Senate. I have co-sponsored many animal protection bills and I am focused on protecting animals as some of the most vulnerable members of our society. All animals deserve to be treated with respect and dignity and I am proud to be a voice for animal rights on Beacon Hill.” "As an animal lover I have been proud to support animal welfare legislation throughout my legislative career including sponsoring [this bill],” said Sen. John Velis (D-Westfield), another sponsor of an earlier version of the measure. “At the most fundamental level this bill seeks to prevent a variety of health issues among dogs and cats because they were prematurely separated from their mother or sold at inappropriate locations such as along the side of a road. I am thrilled that this bill is currently being considered by the House of Representatives following its passage in the Senate a few weeks ago.” The bill still needs additional approval by both the House and Senate prior to it going to Gov. Maura Healey for her signature. RENAME THE MASSACHUSETTS REHABILITATION COMMISSION (S 2941) – The Senate approved legislation that would rename the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission to MassAbility, a change that supporters say will better and properly define the agency’s role in supporting residents with disabilities to live independently. In April, the House approved a different version of the bill and the Senate version now goes to the House for consideration. Supporters said the name change reflects the intention of the commission to empower individuals living with disabilities and move away from outdated terminology as the office undergoes broad changes toward a more expansive model for disability employment services and independent living. They noted that the legislation also removes offensive terminology in current Massachusetts law referring to people with disabilities. “This legislation is not just a name change but a mission enhancement,” said Sen. Nick Collins, Senate Chair of the Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight. “By defining the commonwealth’s response now with emphasis on the abilities of our citizens, we are taking the MassAbility Commission in a new proactive, positive direction to better serve the community’s needs.” “This historic legislation represents the state's commitment to propelling the disability movement forward,” said Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commissioner Toni Wolf. “Language has the power to shape people and culture, tackle stigmas, biases and stereotypes. For too long, the words we’ve used have not reflected the strengths, resilience and determination of the disability community. This legislation changes that. We are changing life in Massachusetts for the better, making it more equitable, accessible and inclusive for people with disabilities.” “Every person has the right to live an independent and meaningful life regardless of ability, with the same access to work, housing and services that every resident deserves,” said Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland). “This name change reflects the strong work of MassAbility to deliver that access to every individual who works with them. In removing archaic laws, we are taking an important step toward making our laws reflective of the equitable commonwealth we continue to strive for.” LONG TERM CARE AND ASSISTED LIVING (H 5033) – The House and Senate approved and sent to Gov. Healey a new version of a bill making changes to the state’s long term care and assisted living industry that supporters said will make sweeping reforms to these two industries and will take a powerful step toward delivering high quality and safe care for older residents across the state. The bill includes provisions related to basic health services administered in assisted living facilities and oversight of long-term care facilities, including creation of a program for the certification, training and oversight of certified medication aides who would be authorized to administer medications to residents of long-term care facilities; several new initiatives to recruit and retain a dedicated long-term care workforce; allowing assisted living residences to offer basic health services such as helping a resident administer drops, manage their oxygen or take a home diagnostic test; giving the Executive Office of Elder Affairs new powers to penalize non-compliance by allowing it to fine assisted living residences up to $500 per day; and authorizing the attorney general to file a civil action against a person who commits abuse, mistreatment or neglect of a patient or resident. Other provisions allow the Department of Public Health (DPH) to limit, restrict or revoke a longterm care facility’s license for cause, such as substantial or sustained failure to provide adequate care, substantial or sustained failure to comply with laws or regulations or lack of financial capacity to operate a facility; streamline the process for small house nursing homes to be licensed;direct DPH to establish and implement training and education programs on topics such as infection prevention and control, resident care plans and staff safety programs; and require long-term care facilities to develop individualized outbreak response plans to contain the spread of disease and ensure consistent communication with DPH, residents, families, and staff. The measure also would require each long-term care facility to provide staff training on the rights and care of LGBTQ+ older adults and older adults living with HIV; forbid any long-term care facility and its staff from discriminating based in whole or in part on a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, intersex status or HIV status, whether through the denial of admission, medical or non-medical care, access to restrooms or through room assignments. “This legislation couldn’t have come at a more critical time when more oversight and accountability are needed in longterm care,” said Rep. Tom Stanley (D-Waltham), House chair of the Committee on Elder Affairs. “[The bill] marks the first major legislative reform to our long term care and assisted living industries in over a quarter of a century. This legislation enhances both access to and quality of care in long-term care settings, tightens suitability standards for operators, strengthens supports for the long-term BHRC| SEE PAGE 15

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