16

Page 16 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, MAY 3, 2024 BEACON | FROM Page 15 by giving students the opportunity to begin college with several credits already earned towards their degree.” Amendment opponents said the Higher Education Committee has already approved a separate, more detailed measure that addresses advanced placement. They said the bill will eventually come before the full House and urged members to vote against this less comprehensive amendment and wait for the more detailed bill. Rep. Dave Rogers (D-Cambridge), the House chair of the Higher Education Committee, did not respond to repeated requests by Beacon Hill Roll Call asking him to explain his opposition to the amendment. (A “Yes” vote is for the amendment. A “No” vote is against it.) Rep. Jessica Giannino No Rep. Jeff Turco No $35 MILLION FOR LOCAL AID INSTEAD OF FREE PRISONER PHONE CALLS (H 4600) House 29-125, rejected an amendment that would strike a budget section that provides $35 million to subsidize free phone calls for prisoners; and instead use the $35 million to fund additional unrestricted local aid for cities and towns. “At a time when many cities and towns are struggling to balance their budgets, the House Ways and Means Committee inexplicably opted to fund unrestricted local aid at a level that is $25 million below the governor’s proposal,” said House GOP minority Leader Rep. Brad Jones (R-North Reading). “Communities rely on this funding to support a variety of municipal services, including teachers, police, fi refi ghters, libraries and senior centers. The $35 million allocated for unlimited free prisoner phone calls represents a 75 percent increase in the program’s costs, which is unacceptable at a time when revenues are declining and the governor has implemented millions of dollars in … cuts. The state budget is all about setting priorities and boosting local aid represents a more prudent use of our limited state resources.” Amendment opponents say telephone and video calls are a lifeline for people locked in prisons and their families. They said these calls help families keep in touch and can help incarceratLicensed & Insured ed people succeed when they are released from prison into the community. Rep. Mike Day (D-Stoneham), the House chair of the Judiciary Committee, did not respond to repeated requests by Beacon Hill Roll Call asking him to explain his opposition to the amendment. (A “Yes” vote is for the amendment providing $35 million in local aid to cities and towns. A “No” vote is against it.) Rep. Jessica Giannino No Rep. Jeff Turco No PROTECT CONSUMER WHEN PURCHASING CARS (S 2716) Senate 38-0, approved and sent to the House a bill that supporters say will modernize protections for consumers in automobile transactions. The bill adds legal safeguards for buyers who purchase used and leased cars in Massachusetts by creating new consumer protections in the car buying process. A key provision expands the Lemon Aid Law by providing consumers seven days from the date of delivery to inspect their vehicle and obtain a full refund if the vehicle fails inspection. Current law provides this return privilege seven days from the date of sale. Other provisions would ensure those who lease a vehicle have the same rights to repossession notice and right to cure as those who fi nance a vehicle; and increase the used vehicle warranty from 125,000 miles to 150,000 miles — a move supporters say that will protect consumers who purchase more affordable vehicles with higher mileage. Supporters say the bill would expand the rights of car buyers who expect a purchased vehicle to be in a state of good repair and free of problems. “I am … proud that the Senate has passed legislation I have fi led to update Massachusetts used vehicle statutes and close existing loopholes in our laws that prevent the attorney general from adequately protecting consumers during a used car purchase,” said sponsor Sen. Paul Feeney (D-Foxborough). (A “Yes” vote is for the bill.) Sen. Lydia Edwards Yes ALSO UP ON BEACON HILL HOME OIL LEAKS (S 2737) — The Senate approved and sent to the House a bill that would mandate that insurance companies in the Bay State provide resFree Estimates Carpentry * Kitchen & Bath * Roofs * Painting Decks * Siding * Carrijohomeimprovement.com Call 781-710-8918 * Saugus, MA General Contractor * Interior & Exterior idential owners with insurance for damage to home and property caused by a leak in a residential liquid fuel tank or home fuel supply lines. Current law requires that companies make coverage available for owners but supporters say that while coverage is available, there are many documented cases of companies not making owners aware that the coverage is available. They said this often results in homeowners being unaware they do not have insurance coverage until after they experience a liquid fuel tank leak. Supporters said that some 100 homeowners experience an oil leak in Massachusetts every year. They noted that leaks can incur costly damage to the residence itself, but under Massachusetts law owners are responsible for environmental cleanup, which can rise to $100,000 or more, to dispose of contaminated soil and mitigate the spread in surrounding areas. “I am … grateful that the Senate has passed a much needed consumer protection measure to protect homeowners in the event of an accidental home heating oil release so that homeowners aren’t saddled with exorbitantly high clean-up costs through no fault of their own,” said Sen. Paul Feeney (D-Foxborough), chair of the Financial Service Committee. MUST PAY BROKER FEE (H 4474) — The House gave initial approval to legislation requiring that in real estate transactions, the fees associated with hiring brokers are paid by the party who hires them. “It is common practice in the Massachusetts rental market for landlords to hire brokers to list properties and execute lease agreements,” said sponsor Rep. Paul Schmid. “The landlords then pass off the broker’s fee, often half to a full month rent, onto the tenant making the housing market increasingly unaff ordable. This bill would ensure that whoever hires the broker, landlord or tenant, pays the fees. EXTEND TAX BREAKS TO MORE FARMERS (H 2693) — The House gave initial approval to a bill that would expand current law and make more farmers eligible for a favorable valuation of property process that results in a tax break. Under current law, to be eligible for the favorable valuation and the resulting tax break, a farmer must own and be farming a minimum of fi ve contiguous acres of land. The bill would reduce the required number to two and not require the acres to be contiguous. Supporters said that farming practices have been modernized and farmers no longer need vast contiguous acreage to grow crops and manage their livestock. They noted that in Eastern Massachusetts, contiguous land is getting harder to acquire. “The bill basically would provide a farmer with multiple parcels of agricultural land the same taxation benefits that a farmer would receive if they owned all their fi ve acres in the same municipality,” said sponsor Rep. James Arciero (D-Westford). “Whenever an owner holds two or more non-contiguous areas of land in one or more subdivisions of the commonwealth equaling not less than fi ve acres, the owner shall have the right to apply for the provisions of this section provided all parcels are within a 10-mile radius of one another, or within the confi nes of a single municipality. The acreage would have to meet all the requirements for the benefi ts of this section as if the land was contiguous.” CONDO CONSTRUCTION AND PROPERTY TAX (H 2982) — The House gave initial approval to a bill that would change the current law which removes from a city or town’s property tax rolls the land of a large-scale condominium project during the construction phase. The bill would keep the land on the tax rolls during the constructions phase. Supporters say that this problem is more of an issue on multiphased projects where a first phase of a condominium development gets built, and for whatever reason other phases of the project languish. “I fi led the bill … to support municipal assessors as they assess their municipal property tax revenue,” said sponsor Rep. Joan Meschino (D-Hull). “We want to ensure that municipalities receive all the revenue to which they are entitled in order to fully provide for essential service demands.” “This is about fairness and equity,” said Kevin Rudden, Legislative Chair of the State Assessors Association. “Communities currently lose the value and property tax revenue of a condominium project during a multi-phase project, particularly if it’s delayed. That means other homeowners must make up for that lost revenue. This fi xes that so the value of the property and its revenue to the community is not lost during construction phases.” 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 April 2226, the House met for a total of 26 hours and 57 minutes and the Senate met for a total of fi ve hours and six minutes. Mon. April 22 House 11:01 a.m. to 11:17 a.m. Senate 11:19 a.m. to 11:32 a.m. Tues. April 23 No House session No Senate session . Wed. April 24 House 11:01 a.m. to 8:33 p.m. No Senate session Thurs. April 25 House 11:02 a.m. to 8:46 p.m. Senate 12:22 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. Fri. April 26 House 10:00 a.m. to 5:25 p.m. 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.

17 Publizr Home