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Page 18 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2021 house gas emissions reduction goal net zero by 2050. “I owe a special debt of gratitude A message from Bob Katzen, Publisher of Beacon Hill Roll Call: Join me Sunday nights between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. as we jump in my time capsule and go back to the simpler days of the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s for my talk show “The Bob Katzen Baby Boomer and Gen X Fun and Nostalgia Show.” My special guests on Sunday, January 17 at 7 p.m. will be Alan Tolz and Steve Elman, co-authors of “Burning Up the Air,” the defi nitive biography of Jerry Williams—one of the world’s most famous radio talk show hosts of all time. There will be a special live appearance by the original, the one and only “Grace, Queen of the Cockamamies.” Steve Elman tracked her down for us. Grace is an icon who was a regularly featured caller on Jerry’s show and is known for her hysterical malapropisms. She has not been heard on the radio for 22 years. Visit us at www.bobkatzenshow. com There are many ways you can listen to the show from anywhere in the world: • If you have a smart speaker, simply say, “Play WMEX on RADIO.COM” • Download the free RADIO.COM app on your phone or tablet • Listen online at: www.radio. com/1510wmex/listen • Tune into 1510 AM if you still have an AM radio THE HOUSE AND SENATE: Beacon Hill Roll Call records local representatives’ and senator’s votes on roll calls from the week of January 4-8. The 2019-2020 legislative session has ended and the 2021-2022 session is now underway. CLIMATE CHANGE (S 2296) House 145-9, Senate 38-2, approved and sent to Gov. Charlie Baker a 57-page climate change bill. A key section makes the state’s greento Speaker Mariano for his invaluable mentorship over my six years as House energy chair,” said Rep. Tom Golden (D-Lowell), House Chair of the Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy. “It is his long-standing recognition of Massachusetts’ opportunity to play a leadership role in off shore wind and his fearless commitment to push forward when others hang back that have led us to advance legislation as ambitious as the Next Generation Roadmap bill.” “While I believe protecting the environment is of the utmost importance, this bill guarantees the construction of nuclear power plants in Massachusetts communities, of which I am deeply concerned about their placement and eventual consequences in Worcester County and Massachusetts in general,” said Sen. Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton) who voted against the measure. “The bill gives unregulated power to unelected bureaucrats with severe consequences on homeowners, communities and the energy sector. Everyday homeowners will be forced to change to a new home heating system, most likely with little to no fi nancial assistance from the government that is forcing these changes upon them.» “The climate change bill takes a comprehensive approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, including recognizing how forests and other natural and working lands can be used to promote carbon sequestration and help Massachusetts reach its goal of net-zero emissions by 2050,” said House Minority Leader Bradley Jones (R-North Reading). “It also incorporates municipal lighting plants as partners in these eff orts by setting greenhouse gas emissions standards and establishing an equal playing fi eld for these facilities. I’m proud to have served on the conference committee that produced this historic bill which reaffi rms Massachusetts’ role as a national leader on clean energy issues.” “This bill steps up the pace of our collective drive to contain climate RevereTV Spotlight R evere’s local government meetings started up again last week after the holiday recess. There were a few instances where some meetings happened simultaneously or overlapped at some point. RTV reassures that all meetings are recorded, aired on the channel, and uploaded if not streamed live to YouTube and Facebook. If there is a time where meetings are overlapping, RevereTV will be airing one meeting on the standard government channels, Comcast 9 and RCN 13/613, and the other on the community channel while streaming both to YouTube. If that is not the case, all meetings will be posted to YouTube to be watched at any time shortly after happening, and will repeatedly air on the RTV government channel. Over the past few months, RevereTV has been participating in and facilitating a grant program aimed at informing the public about protective pandemic measures. The latest bunch of videos were different in that they were solely produced and submitted by community members. The videos all target the importance of wearing a mask in order to be REVERETV | SEE Page 20 change,” said Sen. Mike Barrett (DLexington), Senate Chair of the Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy. “It’s the strongest eff ort of its kind in the country. With the tools the Legislature assembles here, we’re constructing the response we need and providing a blueprint to other states.” “I support green energy research and usage,” said opponent Rep. Paul Frost (R-Auburn). “My concern is this bill would be forcing and mandating higher prices at the gas pumps and on home heating oil, and higher electricity costs on homeowners, renters and small businesses. Green energy is costly to produce with today’s technology and not always reliable, therefore I look forward to a time when it will be cost-eff ective and far more dependable than now.” (A “Yes” vote is for the bill. A “No” vote is against it.) Rep. RoseLee Vincent Sen. Joseph Boncore Ye s Ye s $626.5 MILLION ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (H 5250) House 143-4, Senate 40-0, approved and sent to Gov. Baker a $626.5 million economic development package which did not include a House-backed plan to have Massachusetts join other New England states in legalizing sports betting. Provisions include $50 million in funding for transit-oriented housing; $30 million for a program similar to the federal Paycheck Protection Program that loans money to businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic to pay employee payroll, mortgage interest, rent, utilities and interest on other debt obligations; $35 million for loans for community development lending institutions to extend capital to small businesses, with a focus on minority- and women-owned businesses; $50 million for neighborhood stabilization to help return blighted or vacant housing back to productive use; $6 million for a competitive grant program administered by the Massachusetts Cultural Council to promote artists in creating new mediums to showcase their art, and to promote local museums to showcase their exhibits remotely; $102.3 million for local economic development projects across the state; $20 million for a competitive grant program fund dedicated to supporting community development, infrastructure projects and climate resilience initiatives in rural communities and small towns; and the creation of the Student Loan Borrower Bill of Rights that would require student loan borrowers to be licensed at the state level, prohibit servicers from engaging in predatory, unfair and unlawful practices, and establish a Student Loan Ombudsman in the Attorney General’s offi ce to resolve complaints and help borrowers navigate their repayment options. “The economic development agreement reached is a comprehensive COVID-19 relief package that will provide desperately needed support to our restaurant sector, our small businesses, and especially those most disproportionately impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic,” said Eric Lesser (D-Longmeadow), Senate chair of the Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies. “While no single piece of legislation on its own can repair the damage to our communities and our economy caused by COVID-19, the set of measures included in this report sends an unambiguous signal to the people of our commonwealth that help is on the way. In our time of greatest need, we must be there to support our families, our communities, and our small businesses, and this bill will bring important relief across a variety of sectors and communities.” Opponents did not off er any arguments on the House or Senate fl oor during debate. (A “Yes” vote is for the bill. A “No” vote is against it.) Rep. RoseLee Vincent Didn’t Sen. Joseph Boncore Vote Ye s $52.9 MILLION FOR SCHOOLS DURING COVID (H 5164) House 157-0, Senate 39-0, overrode Gov. Baker’s veto of the entire $52.9 million in funding for onetime grants to school districts, charter schools and educational collaboratives to help in novel coronavirus prevention and to maintain and increase educational quality during the pandemic. Supporters of the $52.9 million said schools desperately need this funding to continue to operate in various modes during the pandemic. In his veto message, Gov. Baker said, “I am fi ling a supplemental budget request today for $53 million to prioritize more targeted measures to address COVID-related learning gaps.” (A “Yes” vote is for the $52.9 million.) Rep. RoseLee Vincent Sen. Joseph Boncore Ye s Ye s $300,000 FOR PACE (H 5164) House 126-27, Senate 37-2, overrode the governor’s veto of the entire $300,000 for the Partnership to Advance Collaboration and Effi ciencies (PACE) initiative. According to its website, PACE is a collaborative initiative of Massachusetts’ nine state universities and 15 community colleges to create a “systematic eff ort for campus collaborations which will benefi t each institution, their geographic region and the state. It is designed to promote cost savings and operational effi ciencies, increase productivity and improve service delivery.” Supporters of the $300,000 said PACE has been successful in cost savings in the long run and short run and generates savings for all 24 campuses. In his veto message, Baker said his reason for vetoing the $300,000 was because it was not in his original version of the budget that he fi led. (A “Yes” vote is for the $300,000. A “No” vote is against it.) Rep. RoseLee Vincent Sen. Joseph Boncore Yes Yes $150,000 FOR AFL-CIO (H 5164) House 131-26, Senate 38-1, overrode the governor’s veto of the entire $150,000 for the operation of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO Workforce Development Programs to provide dislocated worker assistance, layoff aversion and job training with a focus on pathways to quality careers through traditional and non-traditional apprentice and pre-apprenticeship training. “At the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, we provide job-skill-based education and training because we understand that a highly skilled workforce is essential to keeping Massachusetts competitive,” reads the AFL-CIO’s website. “We believe that unions must work with employers to continuously upgrade the skills of workers and that eff ective partnerships are essential to that goal.” In his veto message, Baker said his reason for vetoing the $150,000 was because it was not in his original version of the budget that he fi led. (A “Yes” vote is for the $150,000. A “No” vote is against it.) Rep. RoseLee Vincent Sen. Joseph Boncore Ye s Ye s 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 fi led. 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 January 4-8, the House met for a total of 27 hours and fi ve minutes while the Senate met for a total of 27 hours and 26 minutes. Mon. January 4 House 11:03 a.m. to 6:37 p.m. Senate 12:15 p.m. to 7:33 p.m. Tues. January 5 House 12:03 p.m. to 4:34 a.m.* Senate 12:18 a.m. to 4:41 a.m.* Wed. January 6 House 11:47 a.m. to 2:06 p.m. Senate 11:06 a.m. to 2:47 p.m. Thurs. January 7 House 11:47 a.m. to 12:28 p.m. Senate 11:54 a.m. to 11:58 a.m. Fri. January 8 No House session No Senate session *Tuesday’s sessions did not end until after 4 a.m. on Wednesday morning. Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com

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