Page 18 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2022 If you have any questions about this week’s report, e-mail us at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com or call us at (617) 720-1562 GET A FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO MASSTERLIST – Join more than 22,000 people, from movers and shakers to political junkies and interested citizens, who start their weekday morning with MASSterList—the popular newsletter that chronicles news and informed analysis about what’s going on up on Beacon Hill, in Massachusetts politics, policy, media and influence. The stories are drawn from major news organizations as well as specialized publications selected by widely acclaimed and highly experienced writers Keith Regan and Matt Murphy who introduce each article in their own clever and inimitable way. MASSterlist will be e-mailed to you FREE every Monday through Friday morning and will give you a leg up on what’s happening in the blood sport of Bay State politics. For more information and to get your free subscription, go to: https:// lp.constantcontactpages.com/ su/aPTLucK THE HOUSE AND SENATE: Beacon Hill Roll Call records representatives’ and senators’ votes on roll calls from the week of July 18-22. $52.7 BILLION FISCAL 2023 STATE BUDGET (H 5050) House 152-0, Senate 40-0, approved and sent to Gov. Charlie Baker a $52.7 billion fiscal 2023 state budget for the fi scal year that began July 1, including $1.23 billion in unrestricted general government aid to cities and towns, an increase of $63.1 million over last year. Other provisions include $187 million to fund the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA); $226.2 million for a safety and workforce reserve to address ongoing safety concerns identifi ed by the Federal Transit Administration’s Safety Management Inspection; $441 million for the Special Education Circuit Breaker, reimbursing school districts for the high cost of educating students with disabilities at the mandated 75 percent reimbursement rate; $23 million for homeless student transportation; $1.5 million to educate middle and high school students on the history of genocide; and $75.3 million for sexual assault and domestic violence prevention services. Sen. Mike Rodrigues (D-Westport), chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said the budget reflects the Senate’s priorities by upholding fi scal responsibility, supporting the everyday needs of our residents and ensuring the state’s economic foundation remains strong. “It builds long-term economic security for the commonwealth by leveraging the state’s strong revenue growth to make signifi cant investments in areas like early education and care, K-12 schools, mental health, workforce development, housing stability and much more,” said Rodrigues. “It provides for a significant increase in local aid for our cities and towns while investing in many critical programs to support our schools, seniors and veterans,” said House Minority Leader Brad Jones (R-North Reading). “We fi nd ourselves in the enviable position of having more revenues available than initially anticipated, but that makes it even more important to set spending priorities that are hopefully prudent in the near-term and sustainable moving forward.” “As Massachusetts residents and businesses continue to face discouraging economic uncertainty, the [budget] responds to the fi nancial challenges facing the commonwealth by balancing a focus on immediate needs such as workforce development, with a focus on long-term investments that are designed to grow our economy in a sustainable way,” said House Speaker Ron Mariano (D-Quincy). “Massachusetts is resilient, and this budget helps us create the conditions to continue being resilient into the future,” said Senate President Karen Spilka (DAshland). “This budget incorporates the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic by continuing to save money for a rainy day, invest in support for the most vulnerable among us, and chart a course to ensure that Massachusetts remains a competitive place to innovate for generations to come.” (A “Yes” vote is for the budget.) Yes Rep. Jessica Giannino Yes Rep. Jeff Turco Sen. Lydia Edwards Yes SUSPEND RULES TO ALLOW IMMEDIATE CONSIDERATION OF CLEAN ENERGY BILL (H 5060) House 126-27, Senate 36-3, approved a motion to suspend the rules so that the House-Senate conference committee version of a clean energy bill can be considered immediately. Under the Legislature’s rules, all conference committee bills must be fi led by 8 p.m. the day before they are up for debate and a vote so that legislators have ample time to read the measure. This bill was not fi led until 12:11 a.m. on Thursday morning so without suspending the rules, the bill could not be considered until Friday morning. Supporters of suspending the rules said that it is very important for the environment and to help solve the problem of climate change that this vital bill be up for debate immediately so that it can be sent to Gov. Baker. “My vote against suspending the rules was simply to ensure that my colleagues were given adequate time to review a lengthy and complex piece of legislation before voting on it, which is why the 8 p.m. rule is in place,” said GOP Minority Leader Rep. Brad Jones (R-North Reading). (A “Yes” vote is for suspension of the rules. A “No” vote is against it.) Rep. Jessica Giannino Yes Rep. Jeff Turco Yes Sen. Lydia Edwards Yes CLEAN ENERGY AND REDUCED EMISSIONS (H 5060) House 143-9, Senate 38-2, approved and sent to Gov. Baker legislation that would expand the clean energy industry and reduce emissions from the transportation and building sectors across the state with the goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. “Massachusetts has an opportunity to meet the urgency of the climate crisis through our nationleading innovation, workforce and energy resources,” said Rep. Jeff Roy (D-Franklin), House chair of the Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy. “This timely and comprehensive piece of legislation is carefully calibrated to provide a portfolio of robust clean energy, including off shore wind and decarbonize our largest-emitting industries, all while attracting a world-class supply chain, intensive workforce training initiatives and the investment necessary to prepare our electric distribution system for the energy needs of the future.” “The bill dramatically increases the cost of energy in Massachusetts at a time when energy costs already hover at record highs, and the price of all other goods are increasing due to record infl ation,” said Sen. Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton). “People won’t be able to aff ord this legislation, especially the drastic changes that will be needed in older homes. Everyone laments how expensive housing is, yet the Legislature just made housing more expensive by passing this bill.” (A “Yes” vote is for the bill. A “No” vote is against it.) Rep. Jessica Giannino Yes Rep. Jeff Turco 5046) House 120-33, approved an amendment that makes changes to the Bay State’s gun laws. The amendment was attached to a separate bond bill. The changes were proposed in response to a recent Supreme Court ruling in in New York Pistol and Riffl e vs Bruen, that a state licensing authority could not ask applicants applying for a license to carry fi rearms to demonstrate they have a special need or proper cause to carry a fi rearm. The court also ruled that the licensing authority could not have unfettered discretion to decide whether that proper cause existed. The amendment refl ects the court decision and eliminates the requirement that applicants demonstrate a “good reason” to apply for a license to carry and replaces existing, discretionary “may-issue” language with specifi c objective standards by removing language that gives local police chiefs discretion to decide who is unsuitable for a license. The amendment replaces it with more codifi ed specifi c standards that require “reliable, articulable and credible information that the applicant has exhibited or engaged in behavior suggesting that, if issued a license, they may create a risk to public safety or a risk of danger to their self or others.” Other provisions reduce the amount of time a gun license is valid from six to three years; codify a requirement for an inperson interview with a licensing authority before someone can obtain a gun license; and Yes Sen. Lydia Edwards Yes CHANGES TO GUN LAWS (H prohibit giving a license to persons currently subject to a temporary or permanent harassment prevention order and persons who pose a risk of danger to themselves or others by having a fi rearm. “Today’s action provides our licensing authorities with the clarity they need in the wake of the Bruen decision, and tells them that we continue to believe in them and to rely upon them to ensure that, while responsible gun owners will continue to receive the license to own fi rearms, those who cannot be entrusted with a deadly weapon will not be legally permitted to possess one,” said amendment sponsor Rep. Mike Day (D-Stoneham). “The Massachusetts House voted on a judicial technology bond bill that included some drastic changes to the commonwealth’s gun licensing scheme,” was the response posted on the website of the Gun Owner’s Action League (GOAL). “In a surprise move that surprised no one, with no warning the Democratic leadership proposed the amendment, which had nothing to do with the bill, in the morning and by the afternoon rammed it through. Although Republican leadership attempted to block the amendment, in the end it was included and the bill unfortunately passed with, disappointingly, some bipartisan support.” (A Yes” vote is for the amendment. A “No” vote is against it). Rep. Jessica Giannino Yes Rep. Jeff Turco No ECONOMIC GROWTH AND TAX RELIEF (S 3018) Senate 40-0, approved a $4.57 billion economic development and tax relief package. The bill provides $500 million one-time tax rebates to an estimated 2 million eligible people. A $250 rebate would go, by September 30, to individual taxpayers and a $500 rebate to married taxpayers. Eligibility will be determined by annual income reported in 2021, with the minimum income required to be $38,000, and the maximum $100,000 for individual fi lers and $150,000 for joint fi lers. Beginning in 2023, several permanent tax reductions would take eff ect including increasing the Child and Dependent Care Credit from $180 per child to $310 per child, as well as eliminating the current cap of $360 for two or more children; increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit from 30 percent to 40 percent of the federal credit; increasing the senior circuit breaker tax credit cap from $1,170 to $2,340; increasing the rental deduction cap from $3,000 to $4,000; and increasing the estate tax threshold from $1 million to $2 million. BEACON | SEE Page 20
19 Publizr Home