Page 14 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – Friday, January 17, 2020 The bill was fi led as a response to a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees case that public employees cannot be forced to pay fees or dues to a union to which he or she does not belong. Freedom of speech advocates hailed the decision while labor advocates said it was an unjust attack on unions. (A «Yes» vote is for the bill. A «No» vote is against it.) Rep. Bob DeLeo THE HOUSE AND SENATE There were no roll calls in the House or Senate last week. This week Beacon Hill Roll Call reports on some of the bills that were approved by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Charlie Baker in the 2019 sessions. Of the more than 6,000 bills that have been filed for consideration, only 148 have been approved and signed by the governor. And only 25 of those were bills that aff ect the entire state while the vast majority were either sick leave banks, local land taking measures or other local-related measures applying to just one city or town. Sick leave banks allow public employees to voluntarily donate sick, personal or vacation days to a sick leave bank for use by a fellow worker so he or she can get paid while on medical leave. Land takings are local land measures that usually only aff ect one city or town. Here are five of the 25 important, statewide-related bills signed into law: BAN CONVERSION THERAPY FOR ANYONE UNDER 18 (H 140) House 148-8, Senate 34-0, approved and on April 8 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. (A “Yes” vote is for the bill. A “No” vote is against it.) Rep. Bob DeLeo Yes Yes Rep. RoseLee Vincent Yes Sen. Joseph Boncore ALLOW UNIONS TO CHARGE NON-UNION MEMBERS FOR SOME COSTS (H 3854) House 154-1, Senate 39-1, on September 19th, overrode Gov. Baker’s veto of a bill that would allow unions to charge non-members for the cost of some services and representation. The measure would also give unions several new rights including access to state workers’ personal contact information with their home addresses, home and cell phone numbers and personal e-mail addresses. Yes Yes Rep. RoseLee Vincent Yes Sen. Joseph Boncore REPEAL CAP ON WELFARE BENEFITS FOR KIDS (S 2186) House 155-1, Senate 37-3, on April 25 overrode Gov. Baker’s veto of a bill that repeals the current law that denies an additional $100 in welfare benefi ts to children conceived while—or soon after—the family began receiving welfare benefi ts, or if they had received family welfare benefi ts 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. (A “Yes” vote is for repealing the cap. A “No” vote is against repealing it.) Rep. Bob DeLeo Yes Yes Rep. RoseLee Vincent Yes Sen. Joseph Boncore COLLEGE CLOSURE (H 4099) House 158-0, Senate 37-0. approved and on November 14 the governor signed into law legislation that would require colleges and universities to post fi nancial information online in a publicly accessible fashion, undergo regular budgetary screening and alert state offi cials if they face imminent closure. The possible closure information would remain private to allow struggling institutions to recoup without alarming the public. The measure also requires board members at every college and university to undergo regular fi duciary and accreditation training. If the board determines that a school does in fact face closure, the school would be required to create a contingency plan with details outlining how students can complete their programs, how their records would be maintained and how deposits would be refunded. The board would impose a fi ne of up to $1,000 per day if it determines that an institution has failed to comply with this new law. The board would also have the power to suspend state funding to the institution or revoke degree-granting authority. (A “Yes” vote is for the bill.) Rep. Bob DeLeo Yes Yes Rep. RoseLee Vincent Yes Sen. Joseph Boncore BAN FLAVORED VAPING AND TOBACCO PRODUCTS (H 4196) House 119-33, Senate 32-6, and on November 22 Gov. Baker signed into law a bill that would ban the sale of fl avored vaping and tobacco products—including mint and menthol cigarettes—and impose a 75 percent excise tax on e-cigarettes. Businesses that don’t comply with the bill’s provisions could have their Lottery licenses temporarily suspended. The bill also requires commercial health insurers and MassHealth to cover the costs of smoking cessaTues. January 7 No House session Wed. January 8 No House session Fri. January 10 No House session tion programs and nicotine replacement therapy. Another provision raises the penalties on retailers for illegal tobacco sales. (A “Yes” vote is for the bill. A “No” vote is against it.) Rep. Bob DeLeo Yes Yes Rep. RoseLee Vincent Yes Sen. Joseph Boncore 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 6-10, the House met for a total of one hour and ten minutes while the Senate met for a total of three hours and 16 minutes. Mon. January 6 House 11:01 a.m. to 11:13 a.m. Senate 11:12 a.m. to 11:16 a.m. No Senate session No Senate session Thurs. January 9 House 11:02 a.m. to 12:01 p.m. Senate 11:13 a.m. to 2:25 p.m. No Senate session Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com
15 Publizr Home