Page 16 BEACON | FROM Page 14 the Massachusetts Legislature—something she promised in her campaign last year. “As I committed, my offi ce has begun an audit of the state Legislature,” said DiZoglio. “We hope this will increase transparency, accountability and equity in an area of state government that has been completely ignored. Historically, the Legislature has been a closed-door operation, where committee votes have been hidden from the general public and legislation has been voted on in the dark of night.” Last week House Speaker Ron Mariano (D-Quincy) fi nally responded to DiZoglio’s announcement. “That your offi ce has the legal authority to conduct an audit of the General Court is a claim entirely without legal support or precedent, as it runs contrary to multiple, explicit provisions of the Massachusetts Constitution, and is wholly unnecessary as the public currently has full and ready access to the House’s fi nancial information,” said Mariano in a letter to DiZoglio. THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, MARCH 31, 2023 Following receipt of the let“All of the House’s accounts are available on the Commonwealth’s Financial Records Transparency Platform (“CTHRU”) webpage, which can be viewed at www.macomptroller.org/cthru,” continued the letter. “There are no expenditures of the House that are not posted on CTHRU and available for public inspection. Additionally, the House adopts rules for each legislative session, including a rule that requires all House accounts to be independently audited on an annual basis in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America and the standards applicable to fi nancial audits contained in Government Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States and that the audit report be fi led with the House Clerk for public inspection.” - Legal Notice - COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS THE TRIAL COURT PROBATE AND FAMILY COURT DEPARTMENT DIVORCE SUMMONS BY PUBLICATION AND MAILING To the Defendant: VINCENT PROCOPIO REGISTER OF PROBATE Humane Removal Service COMMONWEALTH WILDLIFE CONTROL ANIMAL & BIRD REMOVAL INCLUDING RATS & MICE CALL 617-285-0023 ter, DiZoglio released a statement: “I fi nd it disappointing that the speaker is fi ghting an audit of what is happening in the people’s house, where the people’s business is conducted, using the people’s money,” said DiZoglio. “We are not asking for permission and will continue conducting our audit as planned to help increase transparency, accountability and equity for everyday families,” said DiZoglio. Stay tuned. CHILDCARE TAX CREDIT (S 1814) – A measure before the Revenue Committee would allow up to a $3,000 annual tax credit for families that spend money on childcare services. The childcare servicer must be a provider licensed by the state in order to qualify for the tax credit and the child receiving childcare services must be a dependent of the taxpayer. Sponsor Sen. Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton) did not respond to repeated requests by Beacon Hill Roll Call to comment on his proposal. ALLOW NON-CITIZENS TO MANAGE THE SALE OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES (S 206) – A bill before the Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee would allow non-citizens who are legally in the United States to be appointed manager on a license for the sale of alcoholic beverages. Under current law, these managers must be U.S. citizens and are also required to be on the premises at least 40 hours per week. “This legislation was filed after a few restaurants … reached out and brought this issue to my attention,” said sponsor Sen. Patrick O’Connor (R-Weymouth). “Considering a signifi cant portion of food industry employees are legal immigrants, it makes sense to allow them to be able to compete for these types of positions. Managerial positions are crucial to the success of any business, and this change would put Massachusetts in line with many other states and allow restaurants to expand their pool of qualified applicants.” FIX-A-LEAK WEEK AND WATER DAY – Last week the Healey administration commemorated World Water Day and National Fix-A-Leak Week. Fix-ALeak Week is led by the United Nations and is aimed at raising awareness about the importance of fi nding and repairing water leaks in homes and businesses. World Water Day’s theme is designed to accelerate change to solve the world’s water and sanitation crisis. “Access to safe drinking water is a fundamental right,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper. “We all have a role to play in protecting our water supply as the climate crisis worsens droughts and fl oods and alters our ecosystem. We encourage all residents and businesses to protect against unnecessary water waste.” “While water safety and accessibility are global issues, individual actions are required to address them,” said Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bonnie Heiple. “Small changes in the ways in which we use and manage water in our daily lives cumulate into significant improvements to protect and conserve our precious water resources.” MASSACHUSETTS CAUCUS OF WOMEN LEGISLATORS’ (MCWL) TOP FIVE – The MCWL announced its top fi ve legislative priorities for the 2023-2024 legislative session. SALARIES OF HUMAN SERVICE WORKERS (H 191 and S 84) – Would eliminate disparities between the rate of pay for human services workers employed directly by the state and those employed by private agencies and companies with state contracts. SALARY TRANSPARENCY (H 1849 and S 1191) – Would require employers to disclose the salary range when advertising a job position. INCREASE ACCESS TO MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS (H 534 and S 1381) – Would increase access to disposable menstrual products in prisons, homeless shelters and public schools. POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION SCREENING (H 2163 and S 1375) – Would require MassHealth to provide coverage for postpartum depression screenings by pediatricians for 12 months. ALLOW USE OF CAMPAIGN FUNDS FOR CHILD CARE FOR CANDIDATES FOR PUBLIC OFFICE (H 669 and S 422) – Would allow a candidate for public offi ce to use campaign funds for childcare while the candidate is campaigning on his or her own behalf or attending events directly related to his or her campaign. QUOTABLE QUOTES “Housing is a big issue. We know that people can’t thrive, they can’t raise their families, it’s just so much harder for children and families or individuals if they can’t aff ord to live in an area where they’re working.” ---Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland) “A lack of inventory, higher interest rates, and economic uncertainties continue to be the biggest barriers to entry for prospective homebuyers. Speaking of the economy, the most recent bank failures may shake consumer confidence in the coming months, which could yield even further declines in transactions not associated with a lack of inventory.” --- Cassidy Norton, Media Relations Director of The Warren Group on the real estate market in the Bay State. “Embodied carbon is the greenhouse gas emission associated with the manufacturing, transportation, installation, maintenance and disposal of building and infrastructure materials. In spite of the staggering impact embodied carbon has on the climate crisis, local health and equity, embodied carbon is still rarely included in our local and statewide eff orts to reduce emissions from buildings.” --- Logan Malik, Interim Executive Director of the Massachusetts Climate Action Network on why Massachusetts must reduce embodied carbon emissions from buildings. 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 March 2024, the House met for a total of 7 hours and 17 minutes while the Senate met for a total of 4 hours and 18 minutes. Mon. March 20 House 11:03 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. Senate 11:32 a.m. to 11:49 a.m. Tues. March 21 House 11:01 a.m. to 11:10 a.m. No Senate session Wed. March 22 House 11:03 a.m. to 2:22 p.m. Senate 11:23 a.m. to 1:44 p.m. Thurs. March 23 House 11:02 a.m. to 2:39 p.m. Senate 1:08 p.m. to 2:48 p.m. Fri. March 24 No House session No Senate session 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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