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Page 14 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2020 call vote. Many others were simply approved or rejected one at a time on voice votes without debate. To move things along even A message from Bob Katzen, Publisher of Beacon Hill Roll Call: Thanks to the many readers who are joining me on Sunday nights between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. for my talk show “The Bob Katzen Baby Boomer and Gen X Fun and Nostalgia Show.” Our two recent special guests were Jerry Mathers who played Beaver Cleaver on the timeless sitcom “Leave it to Beaver” and Mike Lookinland who played Bobby Brady during the fi ve-year run of the iconic sitcom “The Brady Bunch.” Tune in every Sunday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. as we jump in my time capsule and go back to the simpler days of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Stop by my website at www. bobkatzenshow.com and say hi. There are many ways you can listen to the show from anywhere in the world: • If you have a smart speaker, simply say, “Play WMEX on RADIO.COM” • Download the free RADIO. COM app on your phone or tablet • Listen online at: www.radio. com/1510wmex/listen • Tune into 1510 AM if you still have an AM radio THE HOUSE AND SENATE: Beacon Hill Roll Call records local senators’ votes on roll calls from the week of November 16-20. All Senate roll calls are on proposed amendments to the $46 billion fi scal 2021 state budget that the Senate considered for two days last week. Debate was on Tuesday and Wednesday instead of the usual four- or fi ve-day period the budget has been debated in the past. There were no roll calls in the House last week. The House recently approved its own version of the budget. A House-Senate conference committee will hammer out a compromise version. This was the Senate’s fi rst state budget in the COVID-19 era and most senators participated virtually from their homes. Of the 473 amendments fi led by senators only 13 came to a roll faster, the Senate also did its usual “bundling” of many amendments. Instead of acting on all the amendments one at a time, hundreds of the proposed amendments are bundled and put into two piles—one pile that will be approved and the other that will be rejected with a single vote on each pile. Senate President Karen Spilka, or the senator who is fi lling in for her at the podium, orchestrates the approval and rejection of the bundled amendments with a simple: “All those in favor say ‘aye,’ those opposed say ‘no.’ The ayes have it and the amendments are approved.” Or “All those in favor say ‘aye,’ those opposed say ‘no.’ The no’s have it and the amendments are rejected.” Senators don’t actually vote yes or no, and, in fact, they don’t say a word. The outcome was determined earlier behind closed doors. APPROVE $46 BILLION FISCAL 2021 STATE BUDGET (S 4) Senate 40-0, approved an estimated $46 billion fi scal 2021 state budget that uses $1.5 billion from the state’s Rainy Day Fund to help cover expenses. The budget increases spending by 5.5 percent over last fi scal year’s 2020 budget. The Senate added $36.1 million in additional spending during two days of debate. The package also includes a controversial amendment that would allow abortions after 24 weeks in the case of lethal fetal anomalies and lower the age from 18 to 16 that a minor can choose to have an abortion without parental or judicial consent. The budget also includes an amendment that raises the current fl at 20 cents per ride tax paid by Uber, Lyft and other Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) to a percentage of the cost of the ride as follows: three percent of the costs of a pooled ride that has more than one rider and seven percent of a ride by a single person. The seven percent fee is reduced to three percent if it is a zero emissions vehicle. All three fees can go up another three percent if the ride is during rush hour. That would bring J.F & Son Contracting Snow Plowing No Job too small! Free Estimates! Commercial & Residential 781-656-2078 - Property management & maintenance Shoveling & removal Landscaping, Electrical, Plumbing, Painting, Roofing, Carpentry, Framing, Decks, Fencing, Masonry, Demolition, Gut-outs, Junk Removal & Dispersal, Clean Ups: Yards, Garages, Attics & Basements. Truck for Hire, Bobcat Services. the single ride up to 10 percent and the shared ride and single ride of a zero emissions vehicle up to six percent. Under current law, the companies pay the tax and are prohibited from passing the cost along to the rider. The amendment allows the cost to be passed along to the rider. Currently, the state distributes to cities and towns 50 percent of the revenue, based on the number of rides from the previous calendar year that originated within that city or town, to address the impact of TNCs on municipal roads, bridges and taxis. It also uses the same formula to give 25 percent to local small businesses operating in the taxicab, livery or hackney industries. The remaining 25 percent is kept by the state in the Commonwealth Transportation Fund that is used for transportation projects and needs across the state. The amendment lowers from 50 percent to 25 percent the percentage of revenue that goes to cities and towns; triples the state’s share from 25 percent to 75 percent and eliminates the 25 percent given to local small businesses operating in the taxicab, livery or hackney industries. There was no roll call vote on the amendment. It was approved on a voice vote. No members of either party stood to request a roll call vote. It would have taken a total of only four members to request a roll call. Supporters said the increased revenue is needed in order to help improve and modernize the state’s infrastructure and transportation system, including the MBTA. “While the pre-pandemic needs of the MBTA may be different than they are during this public health crisis, we must ensure that we continue to adopt long-term policies that will make our transit system safe, accessible, and reliable,” said the amendment’s sponsor Sen. Joe Boncore (D-Winthrop). “The Senate took a holistic in moving forward policy that will alleviate congestion, reduce emissions, and direct more revenue to our transportation system.” “The language adopted in the Senate budget modernizes the fee structure for TNCs,” continued Boncore. “Massachusetts was among the fi rst states in the country to regulate TNCs. By updating these policies, we can help direct more funding to public transit through the Commonwealth Transportation Fund and by generating revenue directly to municipalities.” “It’s noteworthy that California voters just repealed further regulation of ride-sharing services on the November 3 ballot by a 17 percent margin, while the Massachusetts Senate just imposed further burdens on companies like Uber and their customers with tax increases,” said Chip Ford, Executive Director of Citizens for Limited Taxation. “It’s usually California that leads the way with nonsense while Massachusetts soon follows in lockstep. When it comes to taxing businesses and residents most, as always, Beacon Hill legislators strive mightily to be number one. I guess we all should just keep driving our own cars.” Sen. Mike Rodrigues (D-Westport), the chair the Senate Ways and Means Committee is proud of the $46 billion budget. “Under diffi cult circumstances because of the COVID-19 pandemic, I am proud of the Senate’s ability during these last two days to meet the moment, engage in respectful debate, take action to protect our most vulnerable and set the commonwealth on a path toward an equitable recovery,” said Rodrigues. “The Senate has taken important steps this week to confront the unprecedented challenges brought on by this public health crisis and pass a fi scally responsible budget plan that further protects access to childcare, health care, housing, public transportation and economic opportunity.” “The state budget was passed after the election, even though there was plenty of time to debate the merits of the budget before the election,” said Paul Craney, executive director of the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, “This was done to protect lawmakers from taking tough votes before voters go to the polls. As we have seen with the budget, and this is just the beginning, they want to raise taxes and the cost of living and doing business in Massachusetts. The reason for this is because they refuse to reduce their spending and think money grows on trees. They continue to increase spending, borrow money, and raise taxes and fees, leaving the next generation on the hook for how to get out of this mess. Taxpayers should be very careful.” (A “Yes” vote is for the budget.) Sen. Joseph Boncore Yes INCREASE ABORTION ACCESS (S 4) Senate 33-7, approved a budget amendment that would allow abortions after 24 weeks in the case of lethal fetal anomalies and lower the age from 18 to 16 at which a minor can choose to have an abortion without parental or judicial consent. “In a state where 88 percent of residents believe that abortion should be legal, I believe that we must put that right into statute,” said sponsor Harriette Chandler (D-Worcester). “We must enshrine ROE into the General Code, so that no matter what happens at the federal level— no matter what happens in any court—our people are always protected under law.” “By setting the age of consent at 16, this amendment makes our statutes more internally consistent,” continued Chandler. “It aligns the age that a young person can consent to sex with the age that they can make the decision to terminate a pregnancy.” “At a time when we are largely shutting down the commonwealth (again) in response to a disease that has claimed the lives of 10,000 Bay Staters, legislators are pulling out all the stops to expand the practice of abortion, which routinely ends over 18,000 lives a year in Massachusetts,” said Massachusetts Family Institute President Andrew Beckwith. “Does this blatant hypocrisy even occur to them? After a tumultuous summer of nationwide protests and riots, does no one on Beacon Hill see the fact that black babies are aborted at four times the rate of white babies every year in the commonwealth as an egregious example of systemic racism?” “We applaud the Senate for adopting [the amendment] and for overwhelmingly rejecting an anti-abortion eff ort to undermine the amendment,” read a statement from The ROE Act Coalition which includes the ACLU of Massachusetts, NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts and Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts. “By removing medically unnecessary barriers to care in Massachusetts law, [the amendment] reaffi rms that abortion is essential, time-sensitive health care. The amendment also takes an important step forward by codifying the right to abortion care into Massachusetts state law”. “The title of this law is purposely misleading, as an abortion is protected by law in Massachusetts and will not change based on the U.S. Supreme Court,” said Sen. Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton). “This law did two things: First, it removed the parent or guardian consent, or a judge’s permission, requirement for 16- and 17-year-old children to get an abortion. At 16, you can’t drive a car without parental or guardian oversight, nor can you get a tattoo, get your ear pierced, or buy Sudafed from a pharmacy. Second, it created the right to an abortion for any reason up until the day of birth, which used to be capped at 24 weeks unless the life of the mother was in threat. I believe adults should be involved in these sensitive, life changing matters for children.” (A Yes” vote is for the amendment expanding abortion. A “No” vote is against it.) Sen. Joseph Boncore Yes REQUIRE CREDIT CARD COMPANIES TO PAY SALES TAX DIRECTLY TO THE STATE BEACON | SEE Page 15

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