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Page 18 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2021 ~WE ARE OPEN~ Veteran Owned Licensed & Insured 781-854-2479 Saugus, MA 01906 rustypllc@gmail.com Part-Time Handyman 4 to 5 days a week Must have own transportation Must speak English $20 per hour Call 617-549-7475 FRANK’S Housepainting (781) 289-0698 • Exterior • Ceiling Dr. • Power Wash • Paper Removal • Carpentry FREE ESTIMATES — Fully Insured Your Hometown News Delivered! EVERETT ADVOCATE MALDEN ADVOCATE REVERE ADVOCATE SAUGUS ADVOCATE One year subscription to The Advocate of your choice: $100 per paper in-town per year or $120 per paper out-of-town per year. Name_________________________________________ Address_______________________________________ City_______________ State_______ Zip ____________ CC# _______________________________ Exp. _____ Sec. code____ Advocate (City):___________________ Clip & Mail Coupon with Credit Card, Check or Money Order to: Advocate Newspapers Inc. PO Box 490407, Everett, MA 02149 “Proper prep makes all the difference” – F. Ferrera • Interior 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 infl uence. The stories are drawn from major news organizations as well as specialized publications selected by widely acclaimed and highly experienced writers Chris Van Buskirk and Keith Regan who introduce each article in their own clever and never-boring, 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: www.massterlist.com/subscribe THE HOUSE AND SENATE. Beacon Hill Roll Call records local senators’ votes on roll calls from the week of November 8-12. There were no roll calls in the House. Most of the Senate roll calls are on the $3.82 billion package which spends the federal money the state received from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the surplus left over from the state’s fi scal year 2021 budget on relief and recovery from the eff ect of the COVID-19 pandemic over the past 18 months. A LOOK BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE $3.82 BILLION FOR COVID RELIEF AND RECOVERY PACKAGE All of the decisions on which senators’ amendments are included or not included in the relief and recovery package are made “behind closed doors in person” or in the COVID-19 era, “behind closed Zoom doors.” Many of the more than 700 amendments proposed were on local projects for cities and towns in individual senators’ districts. Some amendments were considered individually but many were consolidated into “Yes” or “No” bundles, created by the Democratic leadership, and were approved or rejected on a voice vote all at once without debate and without a roll call vote. Supporters of this system say that any senator who sponsored an amendment that was placed in the “No” bundle can bring it to the fl oor and ask for an up or down vote on the amendment itself. They say this system has If you have any questions about this week’s report, e-mail us at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com or call us at (617) 720-1562. worked well for many years. Critics say this system gives too much power to the Democratic leadership and leaves all the decisions up to a handful of senators in the leadership whose word is fi nal. $3.82 BILLION FOR COVID RELIEF AND RECOVERY (S 2564) Senate 38-0, approved a $3.82 billion package which spends the federal money the state received from the ARPA and the surplus left over from the state’s fiscal year 2021 budget on relief and recovery from the eff ect of the COVID-19 pandemic over the past 18 months. The plan includes one-time investments in health and human services, education, housing, the environment including climate mitigation, economic development and jobs. The House has already approved a diff erent version of the measure and a House-Senate conference committee will hammer out a compromise version. Provisions include $400 million in mental and behavioral health support; $118.4 million for public health infrastructure and data sharing; $95 million for grants to local boards of health to be prepared to respond to future public health threats; $60 million for food security infrastructure; $50 million for nursing facilities; $25 million for a grant program for community violence prevention focused on communities disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic; $500 million for the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund to provide relief to small businesses; $75 million for equitable and aff ordable broadband access and infrastructure improvements to close the digital divide; $75 million for the Mass Cultural Council; $50 million for grants to minority-owned small businesses; $600 million for investments in affordable and accessible housing; $25 million for tree planting; $15 million for parks and recreational projects; $10 million for clean energy retrofi tting in aff ordable housing units; and $7.5 million for community colleges to help train underserved populations for green jobs. “The Massachusetts State Senate has acted decisively to support our state’s recovery and ensure we do not go back to normal but ‘back to better,’” said Senate President Karen Spilka (DAshland). “The Senate’s proposal provides a path towards an equitable recovery that benefi ts residents, businesses and communities through transformational investments in public health, housing and climate change.” “The Senate demonstrated its commitment to using the oncein-a-lifetime opportunity that the ARPA funds represent to fuel an equitable recovery and support the communities most impacted by the pandemic,” said Sen. Mike Rodrigues (D-Westport), Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. “The Senate has risen to the challenge of making meaningful investments in mental health, public health, workforce development, aff ordable housing and so much more, ensuring those hit the hardest by COVID-19—families, essential workers and small businesses—are being helped the most.” (A “Yes” vote is for the bill). Sen. Joseph Boncore has resigned UNEMPLOYMENT TRUST FUND (S 2564) Senate 5-32, rejected an amendment that would increase from $500 million to $1 billion the amount of money that the bill would place in the state’s Unemployment Trust Fund which pays out unemployment benefi ts to jobless residents. Supporters said that employers are currently saddled with paying back the $7 billion the state borrowed during the pandemic to stabilize the dwindling amount of money in the trust fund. Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (RGloucester), the sponsor of the amendment said businesses will fi nd it diffi cult to bring on new employees while coping with the added costs of repaying the $7 billion. “It was not possible to plan for a global pandemic that would cost $7 billion in the cost of the unemployment insurance trust fund,” said Tarr. “They’re going to say, ‘Can I aff ord that new employee, can I aff ord that new group of employees, when I have my share of this $7 billion mortgage?’ It’s hard enough. We don’t need that additional obstacle to be any higher than it has to be.” “Employers have experienced great hardship and I support funds to reduce unemployment costs, but the underlying bill dedicates nearly 10 percent of our total ARPA funds to this purpose.” said Sen. Pat Jehlen (DSomerville) who voted against the amendment. “The [Baker] administration has presented no evidence to justify the added money, given the current positive trust fund balance of $3 billion, with only $2.2 billion outstanding debt. Until we receive that justifi - cation, I believe the level of contribution off ered in the bill is suffi cient for now.” (A “Yes” vote is for the additional $500 million. A “No” vote is against it.) Sen. Joseph Boncore has resigned BEACON | SEE Page 19

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