Page 14 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JANUARY 8, 2021 Beacon Hill Roll Call By Bob Katzen A message from Bob Katzen, Publisher of Beacon Hill Roll Call: Thanks to the many readers who have been 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 recent special guests include Jerry Mathers (Beaver Cleaver) and Tony Dow (Wally Cleaver) from the timeless sitcom “Leave it to Beaver,” Mike Lookinland who played Bobby Brady during the five-year run of the iconic sitcom “The Brady Bunch” and Tina Louise who played Ginger Grant on “Gilligan’s Island.” Tune in every Sunday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. as we jump in my time machine and go back to the simpler days of the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. 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 representatives’ and senators’ votes on roll calls from the week of December 28, 2020 to January 1, 2021. OVERRIDE BAKER’S VETO OF BILL TO INCREASE ABORTION ACCESS (H 5179) House 107-50, Senate 32-8, overrode Gov. Charlie Baker’s veto of a bill 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. “I strongly support a woman’s right to access reproductive health care, and many provisions of this bill,” said Baker in a letter that accompanied his veto. “I support, for example, the provision that would enable a woman to access an abortion where the child would not survive after birth, and the modifications to the judicial bypass process that make it more accessible to minors who are unable to obtain the consent of a parent or guardian. I also support the changes that eliminate many outdated requirements and the 24-hour waiting period.” “However, I cannot support the sections of this proposal that expand the availability of later-term abortions and permit minors age 16 and 17 to get an abortion without the consent of a parent or guardian,” continued Baker. “With the passing of the ROE Act, Massachusetts has codified reproductive rights, protected vulnerable populations, empowered women, created an environment for healthier families, combated racial injustice, and made it loud and clear, that Massachusetts values are contrary to the values of the current president, and the deeply conservative Supreme Court that Donald Trump and his right-wing colleagues and allies have helped create,” said Sen. Jamie Eldridge (D-Acton), Senate chair of the Judiciary Committee. “There are no surprises here,” said Catholic Action League Executive Director C.J. Doyle. “Elected officials are proficient at cost-benefit analyses. Democratic legislators know they have more to fear from a progressive primary challenger than they do from a pro-life Republican in the general election. This vote marks the completion of a historic reversal. For most of the 20th century, Bay State Democrats, at the state and local level at least, were socially conservative, while Republicans were socially liberal. As late as 1978, a pro-life Democrat, Ed King, ran against a pro-abortion Republican, Frank Hatch, for governor. Now, Charlie Baker notwithstanding, legislators from both sides reflect their national parties.” “The passage of these reforms to improve abortion access is a historic milestone for reproductive freedom in Massachusetts,” 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. “Today, the commonwealth reestablished itself as a national leader in health care by removing political barriers to abortion and becoming the first state to legislatively ease burdensome restrictions on young people’s access to care. The Legislature’s leadership means no Bay State family who receives a devastating diagnosis later in pregnancy will ever be forced to fly across the country to access compassionate care and no 16- or 17-year-old will ever be forced to navigate the court system to access the health care they need. This legislation will significantly improve the health and wellbeing of Massachusetts residents and represents an important step in removing medically unnecessary barriers to abortion care in our state.” “The ROE Act was introduced nearly two years ago,” said Myrna Maloney Flynn, president of Massachusetts Citizens for Life. “Every day since then, thousands of Massachusetts Citizens for Life members, who reside in every corner of our state, used their voices to speak for those who cannot. They learned the truth about this irresponsible and dangerous legislation and bravely spread that truth within their communities—even during a pandemic. Almost as disheartening as this new law is the fact that legislators rammed this damaging bill through during COVID-19, inserting it into the state budget, knowing our opposition could not fight it in person due to quarantine restrictions.” Flynn continued, “So while we pause today to grieve for the many lives that will be severely damaged and lost as a result of the ROE Act, we anticipate, much as abolitionists did, the inevitability of a brighter tomorrow. Pro-lifers know setbacks. What we don’t know how to do is give up, look the other way, and allow injustice to stand.” “It’s heartbreaking to see that our legislators are so enslaved to Planned Parenthood,” said Andrew Beckwith, executive director of the Massachusetts Family Institute. “There are over 18,000 abortions every year in Massachusetts, which averages out to the deaths of more than 125 on the heads of every state representative and state senator who voted to override the governor’s veto.” “Abortion is health care,” responded the ROE Act Coalition. “This legislation will significantly improve the health and wellbeing of Massachusetts residents and represents an important step in removing medically unnecessary barriers to abortion care in our state. Tens of thousands of Massachusetts voters advocated to improve access to safe, legal abortion and applaud the legislatures’ unwavering leadership in the face of a global pandemic, inflammatory attacks from anti-abortion activists, and a governor who stood in the way of meaningful reform.” “Sen. Chandler’s office does not respond to libelous and out of touch statements like the one from Mr. Beckwith,” responded Kevin Connor, the communications director for the Worcester Democrat. “One might remind him that the vast majority of Massachusetts voters support abortion.” (A “Yes” vote is for the bill expanding abortion. A “No” vote is against it.) Rep. RoseLee Vincent Rep. Donald Wong No No Sen. Brendan Crighton Yes MORE VETOES Gov. Baker vetoed millions of dollars in funding in the $46.2 billion fiscal 2021 state budget. This is in sharp contrast to last fiscal year when, in an unusual move, the governor signed the fiscal 2020 state budget into law without vetoing any of the $43.3 billion in spending approved by the House and Senate. Baker said his reason for vetoing most of the funding in this fiscal 2021 budget was because it was not consistent with the budget he had filed. Override supporters defendBHRC | SEE PAGE 15 Savvy Senior BY JIM MILLER Is Social Security Income Taxable? Dear Savvy Senior, I understand that a portion of my Social Security benefits may be taxable when I retire. Can you tell me how to calculate this? Ready to Retire Dear Ready, Whether or not you’ll be required to pay federal income tax on your Social Security benefits will depend on your income and filing status. About 35 percent of Social Security recipients have total incomes high enough to trigger federal income tax on their benefits. To figure out if your benefits will be taxable, you’ll need to add up all of your “provisional income,” which includes wages, taxable and non-taxable interest, dividends, pensions and taxable retirement-plan distributions, self-employment, and other taxable income, plus half your annual Social Security benefits, minus certain deductions used in figuring your adjusted gross income. How to Calculate To help you with the calculations, get a copy of IRS Publication 915 “Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits,” which provides detailed instructions and worksheets. You can download it at IRS.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p915. pdf or call the IRS at 800-8293676 and ask them to mail you a free copy. After you do the calculations, the IRS says that if you’re single and your total income from all of the listed sources is: zLess than $25,000, your Social Security will not be subject to federal income tax. zBetween $25,000 and $34,000, up to 50 percent of your Social Security benefits will be taxed at your regular income-tax rate. zMore than $34,000, up to 85 percent of your benefits will be taxed. zIf you’re married and filing jointly and the total from all sources is: zLess than $32,000, your Social Security won’t be taxed. zBetween $32,000 and $44,000, up to 50 percent of your Social Security benefits will be taxed. zMore than $44,000, up to 85 percent of your benefits will be taxed. If you’re married and file a separate return, you probably will pay taxes on your benefits. To limit potential taxes on your benefits, you’ll need to be cautious when taking distributions from retirement accounts or other sources. In addition to triggering ordinary income tax, a distribution that significantly raises your gross income can bump the proportion of your Social Security benefits subject to taxes. How to File If you find that part of your Social Security benefits will be taxable, you’ll need to file using Form 1040 or Form 1040SR. You also need to know that if you do owe taxes, you’ll need to make quarterly estimated tax payments to the IRS, or you can choose to have it automatically withheld from your benefits. To have it withheld, you’ll need to complete IRS Form W-4V, Voluntary Withholding Request (IRS.gov/pub/irs-pdf/ fw4v.pdf), and file it with your local Social Security office. You can choose to have 7 percent, 10 percent, 12 percent or 22 percent of your total benefit payment withheld. If you subsequently decide you don’t want the taxes withheld, you can file another W-4V to stop the withholding. If you have additional questions on taxable Social Security benefits call the IRS help line at 800-829-1040. State Taxation In addition to the federal government, 13 states – Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont and West Virginia – tax Social Security benefits to some extent too. If you live in one of these states, check with your state tax agency for details. For links to state tax agencies see TaxAdmin.org/statetax-agencies. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.
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