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Page 14 THE REVERE ADVOCATE - Friday, August 2, 2019 “Although a portion of this bill Beacon Hill Roll Call By Bob Katzen THE HOUSE AND SENATE. Beacon Hill Roll Call records the votes of local senators and representatives from the week of July 22-26. SUBSCRIBE TO MASSTERLIST - IT’S FREE! Join more than 17,000 other people from movers and shakers to political junkies and interested citizens who start their morning with a copy of MASSterList! MASSterList is a daily ensemble of news and commentary about the Legislature, Politics, Media and Judiciary of Massachusetts drawn from major news organizations as well as specialized publications selected by widely acclaimed and highly experienced editor Jay Fitzgerald. Jay introduces each article in his own clever and never-boring, inimitable way. Go to: www.massterlist.com/ subscribe Type in your email address and in 15 seconds you will be signed up for a free subscription. With no strings attached. $43.1 BILLION FISCAL YEAR 2020 STATE BUDGET (H 4000) House 159-0, Senate 39-1, approved and sent to Gov. Charlie Baker the conference committee compromise version of a $43.1 billion fi scal 2020 state budget. Baker has ten days to sign the budget and to veto sections of it. It would then take a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate to override any vetoes. The conference committee version was hammered out after the House and Senate each approved different budgets. The package raises spending by $1.6 billion, or 4 percent over fi scal 2019. “The strategic investments that are made in this budget refl ect the shared priorities of the Legislature,” said House Ways and Means Committee Chair Aaron Michlewitz (D-Boston). “By incorporating the input from our colleagues, this document has been made stronger. I am proud that key services in the areas of education, housing, homelessness and the environment will see signifi cant funding increases in this budget.” “This consensus fiscal year 2020 budget strikes a balance between maintaining fi scal r responsibility and making targeted investments that benefi t our commonwealth’s economic wellbeing,” said Senate Ways and Means Chair Mike Rodrigues (DWestport). “I was the sole vote against the acceptance of the conference committee report because I was concerned the report’s language on offshore wind procurement left key terms undefi ned,” said Sen. Mark Pacheco (D-Taunton). “I brought my concerns to the Senate fl oor and I hope the administration was listening. The conference committee report also did not contain language for the reauthorization of simulcasting, which will end at the close of business on July 31st. Despite my concerns about the conference committee report, however, I was proud to vote along with my colleagues unanimously in favor of enacting the budget because the citizens of Massachusetts depend on the resources it provides for public education, local aid, and countless other vital functions and services.” Beacon Hill Roll Call notes that there actually was not a roll call that was unanimous on the enactment (fi nal approval) of the budget. Enactment was approved by a voice vote. (A “Yes” vote is for the budget. A “No” vote is against it.) Rep. Bob DeLeo Yes Rep. RoseLee Vincent Yes Sen. Joseph Boncore Yes AMENDMENT TO ALLOWING UNIONS TO CHARGE NONUNION MEMBERS FOR SOME COSTS (S 2273) House 29-128, Senate 5-34, rejected Gov. Charlie Baker’s amendments to a House and Senate-passed bill that would allow public sector unions to charge non-members for the cost of some services and representation. The bill was fi led as a response to the Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that public employees cannot be forced to pay fees or dues to a union to which he or she does not belong. Freedom of speech advocates hailed the decision while labor advocates said it was an unjust attack on unions. In his message to the Legislature, Baker said his amendments would protect the privacy rights of public employees and correct statutory inconsistencies. addresses issues raised in the Janus decision … other provisions in the bill go beyond what the Janus decision required,” said Baker in a message to the Legislature. “These provisions would jeopardize the privacy rights of public employees and prevent the commonwealth and public sector unions from negotiating certain terms and conditions of employment.” “The House and Senate engaged in a serious debate regarding the substance of the governor’s amendments, and ultimately decided on a bipartisan basis to overwhelmingly support language which did not include them,” said Rep. Paul Brodeur (D-Melrose). “Ensuring that we do everything we can in Massachusetts to protect workers’ rights continues to be a top priority. I’m eager to have these worker protections become law.“ “The governor tried to strike a balance,” said Paul Craney, spokesman for the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance which was in favor of the amendments. “House and Senate leaders unfortunately didn’t want to cooperate with those who raised serious privacy concerns. We are hopeful the governor will veto the legislation, it’s the only appropriate response at this point.” (A “Yes” vote is for Baker’s amendments. A “No” vote is against them.) Rep. Bob DeLeo No Rep. RoseLee Vincent No $1.3 BILLION FOR GREENWORKS (H 3987) House 158-0, approved and sent to the Senate the GreenWorks Bill which invests $1.3 billion in resiliency, clean energy and energy efficiency to shrink the state’s carbon footprint. The proposal establishes a $1 billion grant program for cities and towns to fund clean energy, energy effi ciency and climate change measures that cut greenhouse gas emissions, fortify infrastructure and reduce municipal costs. “The GreenWorks program is going to support economic development opportunities throughout Massachusetts by helping our cities and towns adopt Massachusetts-made clean energy technology and provide jobs through green infrastructure projects,” said Rep. Smitty Pignatelli (D-Lenox), House chair of the Committee on the Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture. “[The bill] will help the Berkshires and our entire commonwealth save money and leave more resources for other priorities such as schools, fi rst responders, roads and bridges.” “GreenWorks was meant to be, and is, broad and very fl exible,” said Rep. Tom Golden (D-Lowell), chairman of the Committee on Telecommunication, Utilities and Energy and the bill’s chief sponsor “It is to allow each community to identify their problems and use GreenWorks dollars to solve their issues and their problems. “They care about their taxes, they care about their roads, they care about many things,” said Rep. Ted Speliotis (D-Danvers) during the debate. “But when you ask them or when I’m asked in my district or here what are people talking about, they’re talking about the changes in our climate and the eff ects -- and all in the negative, In the last month we have been barraged to a point like never in our lifetime -- people fearful of going to the beaches, people fearful of their summer homes, they’re fearful of their own property -- and each and every year we spend more time recouping from the damages.” (A “Yes” vote is for the bill.) Rep. Bob DeLeo Yes Rep. RoseLee Vincent Yes BAN CHILD MARRIAGE (S 2294) Senate 39-0, approved and sent to the House a bill that would ban the marriage of anyone under the age of 18. Current law allows minors to get married if they have parental consent. “It’s a good day in Massachusetts,” said Fraidy Reiss, Founder and Executive Director of Unchained At Last - the group behind the ban. The Legislature just moved one step closer to eliminating a human rights abuse that destroys girls’ lives.” During the debate, the bill’s sponsor Sen. Harriette Chandler (D-Worcester) said that the Legislature has the power to stop child marriages in the Bay State. She noted that Delaware and New Jersey passed similar legislation last year, making them the fi rst states in the nation to completely ban child marriage. She noted that means that Massachusetts still has the chance to be on the forefront of justice. “Unfortunately, 1,231 underage youth were married in Massachusetts between the years 2000 and 2016,” said the bill’s sponsor Sen. Harriette Chandler (D-Worcester). “This is a problem, because young people who marry under the age of eighteen are not aff orded the tools to protect themselves or to remove themselves from an abusive relationship or a forced marriage. (A Yes” vote is for the bill.) Sen. Joseph Boncore Yes MUST UPDATE DATABASE OF MEDICAL PROVIDERS (S 2295) Senate 39-0, approved and sent to the House legislation designed to make it easier for patients to access health care, both behavioral and physical, by requiring health insurance companies to do monthly updates of their provider databases which tell patients which doctors and other medical resources are available to them. “Many families and individuals seeking health care are unable to fi nd a provider that meets their needs because of outdated and unclear provider directories,” said Sen. Jason Lewis (DWinchester), the sponsor of the proposal. “Accurate provider directories are critical to improving access to timely and appropriate care to reduce disparities, to improve health outcomes and to decrease unnecessary utilization of emergency and inpatient care. We are proud that the Senate took this important step forward today.” (A “Yes” vote is for the bill.) Sen. Joseph Boncore Yes HOW LONG 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 July 2216, the House met for a total of seven hours and 25 minutes while the Senate met for a total of eight hours and 21 minutes. Mon. July 22 House 11:02 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Senate 11:04 a.m. to 4:59 p.m. Tues. July 23 House 11:01 a.m. to 11:06 a.m. No Senate session Wed. July 24 House 11:08 a.m. to 4:36 p.m. No Senate session Thurs. July 25 House 11:06 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. Senate 1:04 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Fri. July 26 No House session No Senate session Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com

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