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THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2020 Page 15 Baker-Polito Administration announces legislation to promote participation of women- and minority-owned businesses in state construction projects T he Baker-Polito Administration recently fi led legislation, An Act to Expand Opportunities for Minority and Women Business Enterprises in Public Construction Projects, and announced a series of administrative changes to promote greater participation of minority- and women-owned businesses in public construction, including small businesses. These changes will help optimize and improve the Affi rmative Marketing Program (AMP), which sets goals for participation by minority-owned businesses (MBEs) and women-owned businesses (WBEs) in design and construction for the state and municipalities with vertical construction. “We are committed to increasing opportunities for minorities and women across Massachusetts and strengthening the relationship between the Commonwealth and its diverse business community,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “These improvements to the Commonwealth’s Affi rmative Marketing Program represent the most signifi cant construction reform since the program began and will lead to a more inclusive economy.” “Our administration is pleased to continue empowering and supporting womenowned businesses and minority-owned businesses throughout Massachusetts,” said Lt. Governor Karyn Polito. “By increasing the goals for participation by women and minority businesses in state contracts, reducing burdens and costs on smaller contractors and expanding access to more public projects, we can promote increased participation and greater inclusion for all businesses.” This legislation will help afford new opportunities to MBEs and WBEs in two ways. First, it proposes an increase in the dollar thresholds over which public entities are required to subcontract and bid out specifi c components of a project. Currently, bids for most subcontracted work over $25,000 are subject to a fi led sub-bid requirement, a process that requires interested subcontractors to comply with certifi cation, bonding and other requirements, and to submit bids to the awarding authority. These requirements can discourage smaller MBEs and WBEs from participating in public building projects due to MassFiscal weighs in on House Transportation Tax Increase Bill T he Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance (MassFiscal) made the following statement in response to Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo’s proposed tax hike package aimed at increasing transportation spending. Under Speaker DeLeo’s tax proposal, the state’s 24-cent fuel tax would increase to 29 cents per gallon for gasoline, which is a 20 percent increase, and diesel fuel would increase by nine cents to 33 cents, which is a 38 percent increase. Other tax increases are included under DeLeo’s plan, including a 500 percent increase in fees on ride share services like Uber and Lyft. “Massachusetts is a wonderful state, if you can aff ord it. Under the Speaker’s plan, fewer taxpayers will be able to keep up with the increased cost of living. These measures make it harder for people to make their home here and do business in the state and will only hurt the middle class – especially workers who have to drive,” said MassFiscal Spokesperson/Board Member Paul Craney. “Regressive tax schemes should always be avoided. Raising fuel costs between 20 percent to 38 percent per gallon is not economically smart. These tax increases are going to be taken out of the earnings of hardworking taxpayers,” said Craney. Massachusetts ranked #46 in the nation in the Reason Foundation’s August 2019 “24th Annual Highway Report,” receiving the worst grades in the “cost per mile” and “administrative disbursements per mile” categories. The cost per mile of roadway is estimated at $216,066. By comparison, New Hampshire spends $64,176 and Maine, $41,847. For an even further look into where the money goes, the simple administrative costs per mile tell an even more extreme story. Massachusetts spends $23,950 on administrative costs per mile while New Hampshire spends $5,260 and Maine, only $1,142, meaning Massachusetts spends 20 times more than Maine on desk jobs instead of fi lling actual potholes. Massachusetts’s #46 ended up behind Maine’s #4, Vermont’s #19, New Hampshire’s #24, Connecticut’s #44 and only slightly ahead of Rhode Island’s #48. “We always hear about how our elected offi cials are looking for more money to fi x problems, yet taxpayers almost never hear Beacon Hill politicians talk about how they plan to spend our money more wisely,” said Craney. the administrative burden and cost. This proposal would increase the thresholds governing when fi led sub-bids would be required, to instead only require them when the subcontracted work costs more than $50,000 and the overall project cost exceeds $1 million. Second, the legislation expands opportunities for MBEs and WBEs on Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) and other public projects in areas where they have not been readily available. Currently, over 50 percent of public building work is subcontracted out by means of filed sub-bids, yet these subbids are not subject to MBE and WBE participation goals. The legislation will allow DCAMM to set MBE and WBE participation goals for this subcontracted work on projects over $5 million. The administrative changes involve DCAMM splitting the AMP goals for the percentage of spending distributed to MBEs and WBEs so that there are distinct participation requirements for both groups and ensures participation by both MBE and WBE fi rms. Additionally, the combined annual participation goals will be increased from 10.4 percent to 13 percent in the construction phase, and from 17.9 percent to 21.6 percent in the design phase. These changes will also allow for the establishment of project-specific AMP goals. This enables participation goals for an individual project to be specifi cally tailored to it prior to procurement, and ensures that goals accurately refl ect the availability of contractors and other factors. “These meaningful reforms and improvements will increase access for minorities and women in public construction projects,” said Administration and Finance Secretary Michael J. Heffernan. “We are pleased to be updating and improving the AMP program to further promote economic growth and equality for all businesses, and we look forward to working closely with our partners in the Legislature to pass this bill into law.” “This improved AMP combined with our proposed legislative changes will make it easier for MBE, WBE and all size contractor fi rms to do business with DCAMM,” said DCAMM Commissioner Carol Gladstone. “We are making a concerted effort to help MBE and WBE fi rms have access to DCAMM procurements with our aggressive recruiting of MBE and WBE contractors, our certifi cation trainings, and our Job Ordered Contracting program.” “The Affirmative Marketing Program and legislation is a great step forward that has come from the Governor in collaboration with the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus,” said State Representative Russell Holmes. “The participation goals and increase in subcontractor thresholds will create many new opportunities for women and people of color.” The Affi rmative Marketing Program, with oversight by DCAMM and the Supplier Diversity Offi ce, manages goals for participation by MBEs and WBEs in design and construction for the state and municipalities regarding vertical construction. Through the AMP, the Commonwealth promotes opportunities for diverse businesses in public construction and ensures goals are met by conducting outreach to minority and women owned businesses and carrying out education and training. Adult Italian classes offered at Appian Club of Stoneham A dult Italian classes will be off ered by the Appian Club of Stoneham starting on Tuesday evenings, March 17. A beginners class will start with the basics (pronunciations, phrases, etc.) and give you a fi rm foundation for the language. A more advanced class will also be available on Tuesday evenings for those with knowledge of Italian. The eight week classes will be held on Tuesday evenings in Stoneham and the cost is $150 plus a $20 text. Instructor is Tiff any Bistocchi Murphy, graduate of Dickinson College (2003) with a major in Italian and a Master’s in Italian from Middlebury College (2006). She has traveled extensively throughout Italy and has taken courses there. The class is casual, interesting and the experience will be enjoyable. If you are traveling to Italy or just want to relive your heritage roots, this class is for you. Contact coordinator John Nocella for further details at 781-438-5687 or, preferably, by email, at john02180@gmail. com. Please pass along to other family members, friends and neighbors. The class is sponsored by the Appian Club of Stoneham, a non-profi t, social charitable 503(c)(7)organization whose mission is to promote Italian culture and heritage. Wheelabrator Saugus Turbine Update (Editor’s Note: The following is a statement from Wheelabrator Saugus officials provided to the Saugus Advocate regarding their recent issue with the Turbine released Thursday evening.) We are providing this follow-up to Wednesday’s Community Update regarding the Wheelabrator Saugus waste-to-energy facility: While the steam turbine is undergoing repairs, the facility is operating at 35 percent capacity. We are only accepting residential waste from local communities and diverting commercial waste. We have taken a number of steps to address the situation, beginning Wednesday morning, when we fi rst became aware of it, including: • taking one boiler offl ine and signifi cantly reducing the operation of the second boiler • immediately engaging a turbine expert located in Florida, whose staff was working on site by early Wednesday evening • expediting the shipping to Saugus of necessary parts and supplies Operating with the turbine offl ine necessitates the venting of steam, which is visible as it exits the roof of the facility. Noise-mitigation equipment is operating, although we understand the venting of steam may still be audible in certain areas, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Wheelabrator Saugus is committed to being a responsible neighbor and will continue to keep the community updated.

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