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Page 14 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 2024 By Bob Katzen 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. 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://massterlist.com/ subscribe/ THE HOUSE AND SENATE: Beacon Hill Roll Call records local representatives’ and senators’ votes on roll calls from the week of July 29-August 2. CREATE COMMISSION TO STUDY MISREPRESENTATION OF A SERVICE ANIMAL (H 4917) House 158-0, approved and sent to the Senate a bill that would create a special commission to review current federal, state and local laws and procedures governing the use and misuse of service animals by individuals with disabilities in the Bay State. The commission would recommend the possible introduction of legislation prohibiting and civilly penalizing service animal fraud and determining the feasibility of certifi cation, registration or licensing of service animals. Supporters said that more than half the states in the nation already have laws prohibiting misuse of service animals. They argued it is time for Massachusetts to begin the step toward adopting a similar law. They noted that there are currently no penalties for people who misrepresent a non-service dog as being a service dog. Sponsor Rep. Kim Ferguson (R-Holden) did not respond to repeated requests from Beacon Hill Roll Call asking her to comment on passage of her bill. (A Yes” vote is for the bill.) Rep. Jessica Giannino Yes Rep. Jeff Turco Yes $7.5 MILLION FOR TOMORROW’S TEACHERS (H 4800) House 134-24, overrode Gov. Maura Healey’s veto of $7.5 million (reducing funding from $10 million to $2.5 million) for scholarship and loan repayment for students seeking a teaching degree in the state’s public colleges. The Senate did not act on the veto. “I am reducing this item to the amount projected to be necessary,” said Healey in her veto message. “The amount as adjusted here, in combination with the available balance from fi scal year 2024, is suffi cient to meet projected demand and result in no reduction in fi scal year 2025 planned spending for this item.” (A “Yes” vote is for the $7.5 million. A “No” vote is against it.) Rep. Jessica Giannino Yes Rep. Jeff Turco Yes $250,000 FOR FINANCIAL LITERACY (H 4800) House 154-4, overrode Gov. Healey’s veto of the entire $250,000 for a grant program to school districts to support the implementation of financial literacy courses and standards for students in kindergarten to grade 12, including training and developing programs to assist teachers in incorporating appropriate fi nancial literacy concepts into classroom curriculum. The Senate did not act on the veto. “I am vetoing this item to an amount consistent with my House [budget] recommendation,” said Gov. Healey. “Other sources of funding for fi nancial literacy appropriated in this budget will mitigate the eff ects of this veto.” (A “Yes” vote is for the $250,000. A “No” vote is against it.) Rep. Jessica Giannino Yes Rep. Jeff Turco Yes PARENTAGE EQUALITY (S 2906) Senate 40-0, approved and sent to Gov. Healey a bill that supporters say would ensure legal parentage equality by protecting LGBTQ+ families, and children born through surrogacy and assisted reproduction, in forming the legal bond of a parent-child relationship. They said the measure would dismantle archaic legal barriers to basic parenting responsibilities for modern families, opening the door to legally attend and make decisions during medical appointments, manage a child’s fi - nances, participate in educational decisions and provide authorizations for a child’s travel. “Today we acted to ensure that if you are a parent, whether a biological parent or not, the law will recognize you as a parent just as society does,” said Rep. Mike Day (D-Stoneham), House Chair of the Committee on the Judiciary. “This bill will remove one of the last vestiges of the law that treats same sex parents and parents who engaged in assisted reproduction diff erently from every other parent. It is a good day for all families in Massachusetts.” “With unprecedented and alarming action in other states to strip away the rights of LGBTQ+ people and our families, Massachusetts’ outdated and heterocentric parentage laws put LGBTQ+ families at risk every day,” said Sen. Julian Cyr (D-Truro). “The Massachusetts Parentage Act is personal—LGBTQ+ families like mine face excessive and expensive hoops just to ensure our children have the security of legal parentage. The Legislature’s passage of this bill is a critical step to guarantee that all children can benefi t from the stability of a legal parent-child relationship no matter how they came to be in this world.” (A Yes” vote is for the bill.) Sen. Lydia Edwards Yes DOG KENNEL SAFETY — OLLIE’S LAW (S 2929) Senate 40-0, approved a bill that would allow the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources to establish rules and regulations for dog kennels in the Bay State, to ensure animal welfare, protect consumers and keep kennel staff safe. A person who violates the regulations would be fi ned $500 for a fi rst off ense and $1,000 for a second or subsequent offense. The House has already approved a diff erent version of the measure and the Senate version now goes to the House for consideration. Required regulations would include obtaining a license from the municipality, an annual inspection, dog to staff ratio specifi cations, injury reporting, indoor and outdoor physical facility requirements, insurance and minimal housing and care requirements. Supporters said that currently, the state has no oversight of dog daycare or boarding kennels. They argued it is estimated that a dog is injured or killed every 9 to 10 days in Massachusetts at these kennels. They noted that many families have suff ered the loss or injury of an animal at a dog daycare or kennel that could have been prevented by commonsense regulations over these facilities. The bill was fi led in memory of “Ollie,” a 7-month-old labradoodle who was attacked by other dogs at a boarding kennel in East Longmeadow. Ollie needed round-the-clock care and surgery and was in the hospital for two months before succumbing to his injuries. While the facility was shut down by town offi cials, Ollie’s owner Ann Baxter was stunned to learn that there were no state regulations regarding boarding facilities, and soon took up the fi ght to help ensure tragedies like this never happen again. “Pets are family who provide boundless love and aff ection that we are lucky to receive,” said Sen. Mark Montigny (DNew Bedford), Senate sponsor of the bill. “For this reason, it is critical that we ensure all businesses entrusted with the care of our family adhere to proper health and safety protocols no matter what town they operate in across the commonwealth. Too often, we have heard devastating stories of pets like Ollie who have been injured or killed due to negligent care. These people have no place caring for such precious creatures and it’s time that we implement consistent standards across Massachusetts.” (A “Yes” vote is for the bill.) Sen. Lydia Edwards Yes ALSO UP ON BEACON HILL FISCAL 2025 STATE BUDGET (H 4800) — Gov. Healey, after vetoing several items, signed into law a $58 billion fiscal 2025 state budget for the fi scal year that began July 1, 2024. The price tag represents a 1.97 billion or 3.5 percent increase over last year’s fiscal 2024 budget. “Massachusetts is the leader in innovation and education, the best place to raise your family or grow a business,” said Healey. “But we also face challenges, so we aren’t resting — we’re going on offense. This budget delivers on our shared priorities and drives our state forward with urgency and purpose. It invests in areas that we are already leading on and makes them better — including our number 1 ranked schools and our nation-leading childcare strategy. We’re also tackling our biggest challenges by lowering household costs and improving transportation. We’re doing all of this responsibly, staying within our means and in line with the rate of infl ation.” “Once again, the Massachusetts budget is the latest state budget to pass in the country and once again, it’s the largest state budget in our commonwealth’s history,” said Paul Craney, spokesman for the Mass Fiscal Alliance. “What should also concern every Massachusetts taxpayer is the fact that the Legislature and governor are spending over a billion dollars a year on the illegal and inadmissible migrants, which comes out to be about $3 million dollars a day. Every town and city in Massachusetts could use that money for their workers, schools and first responders but instead, Statehouse leaders are spending these valuable taxpayer resources on illegal and inadmissible migrants.” WAGE TRANSPARENCY (H 4890) — Gov. Healey signed into law a bill, named the Frances Perkins Workplace Equity Act, in honor of the fi rst woman to serve as U.S. Labor Secretary. The measure would require employers with 25 or

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