Page 16 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2024 BEACON | FROM Page 14 one year. (A “Yes” vote is for maintaining the current 90/5/5 formula. A “No” vote is for the 60/20/20 formula.) Sen. Lydia Edwards No ALSO UP ON BEACON HILL ONLINE CAR SALES (H 351) – The House gave initial approval to a bill that makes online sales of cars subject to the same law as if the sales were executed at the dealership’s physical place of business. Supporters said the bill aims to modernize the law regarding online car buying by not forcing dealers to provide a threeday return policy for online auto purchases. The measure would make it so the businesses selling these cars would have the choice to make all purchases fi - nal as long as that fact is clearly disclosed to the customer, instead of making the dealer pay for the sometimes significant transportation costs associated with a customer changing their mind. They noted that people shopping for a car online have the benefi t of a lot of information to make this important decision, as well as the luxury to shop for many cars at once located over a great distance. “Due to the increasing reliance on online automotive purchases and the changing landscape of the modern economy, this legislation would modernize the motor vehicle purchase process by bringing online automotive purchases into the 21st century,” said co-sponsor Rep. Jack Lewis (D-Framingham). “This legislation does not have any impact on current consumer protections such as inspections or lemon laws.” “I’m proud to join auto dealers in Framingham and across the commonwealth in keeping up with how car buying takes place in 2024,” said co-sponsor Rep. - LEGAL NOTICE - D To all interested persons: A Petition for of requesting that the Court enter a formal Decree and Order and for such other relief as requested in the Petition. The Petitioner requests that: of be appointed as Personal Representative(s) of said estate to serve on the bond in Priscila Sousa (D-Framingham). “I believe if shoppers are given the proper information to make an informed decision, auto dealers should not be forced to adhere to antiquated policies that ultimately hurt our businesses. The passing of this bill would make the benefi ts of online car buying more evenly shared between the dealer and customer while still protecting both.” FORTUNE TELLERS (H 3893) – The House gave initial approval to legislation that would eliminate the current state law requiring that all fortune telling applicants must have lived in the city or town in which they are seeking their license to practice for at least one continuous year prior to fi ling their application. “This law was brought to my attention by one of my municipalities as they were doing research on entertainment,” said sponsor Rep. Susannah Whipps (U-Athol). “The bill [was] fi led on their behalf and in the interest of removing old laws that have become antiquated.” BAN ALL PRODUCTS MADE IN RUSSIA (H 343) – A bill before the Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee would ban the purchase and/or consumption by all Massachusetts consumers and entities of any product made in Russia. The bill’s co-sponsors, Reps. Patrick Kearney (D-Scituate) and Michelle DuBois (D-Brockton) did not respond to repeated requests by Beacon Hill Roll Call asking why they fi led the bill and why it would be good for the Bay State. Mark Marget from Needham Massachusetts, a student who attends Bentley College, was the only person who has testifi ed on the measure. He told the committee there are many moral, ethical, strategic, practical and safety reasons to pass an imports ban. “Russian products simply are not safe because of the current regime,” said Marget who describes himself as a “well-informed historian and geopolitician who has conducted academic research on the war in Ukraine.” “Authoritarian dictatorships fundamentally have no legal accountability to their own citizens and as such a regime like Putin’s would have no reason to make his people accountable towards international laws,” continued Marget. “And unlike China, Russia is not swayed by economic consequences for political gain. In fact, part of Putin’s own regime security policy involves depoliticizing the masses through cheap and easy access to alcohol. Therefore, there is nothing deterring the Russian State from striking our own citizens with harmful consumer goods and as such, an imports ban needs to be considered for the safety of the commonwealth.” QUOTABLE QUOTES “Massachusetts has the opportunity to be a global leader in Applied AI – but it’s going to take us bringing together the brightest minds in tech, business, education, health care and government. That’s exactly what this task force will do. Members of the task force will collaborate on strategies that keep us ahead of the curve by leveraging AI and GenAI technology, which will bring signifi cant benefi t [to] our economy and communities across the state.” ---Gov. Maura Healey upon signing an Executive Order establishing the Artificial Intelligence Strategic Task Force to study AI and Generative Artifi - cial Intelligence (GenAI) technology and its impact on the state, private businesses, higher education institutions and constituents. “This latest report proves that Massachusetts is not immune from 21st century anti-abortion attacks—this data privacy crisis is right here in our backyard. If these extremists are able to use our location data to target abortion seekers with digital advertising, they can also use it to harass, threaten or litigate against patients and providers in our state. Massachusetts has a responsibility to protect our location data and ensure that this personal information cannot be sold to hostile, out-of-state actors.” ---Rebecca Hart Holder, president of Reproductive Equity Now, on reports that a data broker company allegedly tracked people’s visits to nearly 600 Planned Parenthood locations across 48 states, including Massachusetts, and provided that data to inform one of the nation’s largest anti-abortion ad campaigns. “These programs will put Massachusetts further on the path to greater food security and economic prosperity and achieving our climate goals. The more food grown here, the less reliance we will have on importing from other parts of the country and world, ultimately decreasing our carbon footprint.” ---Energy and Environmental Aff airs Secretary Rebecca Tepper announcing $8.2 million to support greater food access to residents in underserved Massachusetts communities in order to help strengthen the local food system and address food insecurity. “Given that candidates are already able to draw nomination papers for the regularly scheduled state election for the 6th Plymouth House District, the House will not call a special election, as doing so would burden communities with the added costs associated with holding a special election, only to hold another election a few months later for that same seat.” ---House Speaker Ron Mariano (D-Quincy) telling the State House News Service why he will not call for a special election for the South Shore House seat vacated by former Rep. Josh Cutler (D-Plymouth) who resigned from the House to become Gov. Maura Healey’s Undersecretary of Apprenticeship, Work-based Learning and Policy in the Executive Offi ce of Labor and Workforce Development. “Amidst the legislative session’s peak, Speaker Mariano apparently prioritizes politics over delivering tangible legislative outcomes for the residents of Pembroke, Duxbury, Marshfi eld, Hanson and Halifax. Should a constituent raise concerns regarding bills or community issues, Speaker Mariano and the Beacon Hill leadership bear full responsibility as those phone calls and e-mails are met with a limited response from staff or go unanswered all together.” ---MassGOP Chairwoman Amy Carnevale on Marian’s decision not to hold a special election. 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 February 12-16, the House met for a total of 28 minutes and the Senate met for a total of 23 minutes. Mon. Feb. 12 House 11:01 a.m. to 11:17 a.m. Senate 11:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. Tues. Feb. 14 No House session No Senate session Wed. Feb. 15 No House session No Senate session Thurs. Feb. 16 House 11:01 a.m. to 11:13 a.m. Senate 11:29 a.m. to 11:37 a.m. Fri. Feb. 9 No House session No Senate session Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com Bob founded Beacon Hill Roll Call in 1975 and was inducted into the New England Newspaper and Press Association (NENPA) Hall of Fame in 2019.
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