Page 18 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, MAy 24, 2024 Beacon Hill Roll Call 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. Beacon Hill Roll Call Volume 49 - Report No. 20 May 13-17, 2024 Copyright © 2024 Beacon Hill Roll Call. All Rights Reserved. By Bob Katzen THE HOUSE AND SENATE: Beacon Hill Roll Call records local representatives’ votes on roll calls from the week of May 13-17. There were no roll calls in the Senate last week. The House gave near unanimous approval to two major bills – one making major investments in information technology (IT) upgrades, and the other aimed at restoring stability to the health care system, bolstering accountability within the industry and controlling health care spending. Only two representatives voted against the IT bill – Reps. Nick Boldyga (R-Southwick) and Marc Lombardo (R-Billerica). And only Boldyga voted against the health care measure. Beacon Hill Roll Call asked Boldyga for a quote on why he voted against both bills. “It just feels good to vote the right way on these issues,” he responded. Beacon Hill Roll Call also asked Lombardo why he voted against the IT proposal. Nancy Cadigan, Lombardo’s chief of staff, echoed Boldyga’s response. “That sums it up. Sounds perfect,” said Cadigan. FUNDING FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (H 4642) House 152-2, approved and sent to the Senate a bill to invest in information technology (IT) upgrades, improvements and new projects across state government. The measure authorizes $1.23 billion in bonded spending and $400 million in anticipated federal funds. Provisions include $750 million to improve service delivery to the public; $200 million for technology and telecommunications infrastructure improvements and main“The passage of the [bill] marks a significant milestone in Massachusetts’ journey towards technological advancement and growth, promising a safer, more connected future for all residents,” said Rep. Michael Finn (D-West Springfield), House Chair of the Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets. (A “Yes” vote is for the bill. A “No” vote is against it.) Rep. Jessica Giannino Rep. Donald Wong Yes Yes $7.5 MILLION IN ADDITIONAL FUNDING (H 4642) House 152-2, approved an IT bill consolidated amendment that would add $7.5 million, mostly to fund local projects, to the price tag of the measure. Amendment supporters said these additional local projects are important to many cities and towns across the state. They argued the amendment would make the bill even better. Not included in the consolidated amendment was a proposal by Rep. Mike Soter (R-Bellingham), that would ban the use or download of TikTok by public employees on state-owned electronic deAccording to the State House News Service, the measure “combines reforms intended to avert a repeat of the Steward Health Care crisis with changes designed to tenance; $200 million to support the security of the state’s IT Infrastructure; and $250 million for various strategic initiatives, improvements to business intelligence and modernization of governmental functions. “The [bill] will make state government more accessible and more effective for everyone in Massachusetts by ensuring our IT systems are upto-date, safe and secure and easy to use,” said Gov. Maura Healey. “This will put Massachusetts in a stronger position to take advantage of new innovations, like applied AI, in ways that benefit our residents, businesses and economy.” “Ensuring that the commonwealth is investing heavily in our technology infrastructure is critical, as protecting against cybersecurity threats, and enabling state agencies to operate with an increased level of efficiency, are vital aspects of our effort to make Massachusetts more safe, effective, and prepared in a world dominated by increasingly sophisticated technologies,” said House Speaker Ron Mariano (D-Quincy). The system works this way: Individual representatives file proposals. All members then pitch their proposals to Democratic leaders who draft a single consolidated amendment that includes some of the individual representatives’ proposals while excluding others. Supporters of the system say that any representative who sponsored an excluded proposal can bring it to the floor and ask for debate and an up or down vote on the proposal itself. They say this system has worked well for many years. Opponents say that rarely, if ever, does a member bring his or her proposal to the floor for an up-or-down vote because that is not the way the game is played. It is an “expected tradition” that you accept the fate of your amendment as determined by Democratic leaders. (A “Yes” vote is for the $7.5 million. A “No” vote is against it.) Yes Yes 4643) Rep. Jessica Giannino Rep. Donald Wong HEALTH CARE CHANGES (H House 152-1, approved and sent to the Senate a 102page bill that supporters said aims to “restore stability to the health care system, bolster accountability within the industry, and control health care spending to ensure that everyone in Massachusetts has access to quality, affordable health care.” (A “Yes” vote is for the bill. A “No” vote is against it.) Rep. Jessica Giannino Rep. Donald Wong Yes Yes ALSO UP ON BEACON HILL RAISE FINE FOR “RIGHT OF WAY” VIOLATIONS (H 3477) – The House gave initial approval to a measure that would raise from $35 to $200 the fine for violating the traffic rule that provides when two vehicles approach or enter an intersection at approximately the same instant, the operator of the vehicle on the left must yield the right-of-way to the vehicle on the right. The proposal also imposes additional penalties and/or license revocation for up to six months for any of these violations that vices. Since it was not included, the proposal simply died and no further action was taken. Soter could have requested a separate roll call vote on his proposal, but he chose not to do so. Soter did not respond to repeated requests by Beacon Hill Roll Call asking him to comment on why he filed the proposal and why he didn’t ask for debate and a separate roll call on it. Most of the decisions on which representatives’ proposals are included or not included in the IT bill are made behind closed doors. Of the 59 proposals, many of them were bundled into the single consolidated amendment. “This legislation looks to the past, present and future of health care in the commonwealth,” said Rep. John Lawn (D-Watertown), House chair of the Committee on Health Care Financing. “It closes loopholes and shines a light on blind spots that allowed Steward to exploit Massachusetts patients for profit. It protects and preserves underpaid community hospitals that are the lifeblood of medicine in the commonwealth. And it plans for stable and affordable health care growth moving forward.” “This bill is the most significant health care market oversight and cost containment legislation in more than a decade and is a continuation of the commonwealth’s long-standing effort to ensure that everyone in Massachusetts has access to quality, affordable health care,” said House Speaker Ron Mariano (D-Quincy). “This legislation will help stabilize our health care system and ensure accountability from all stakeholders, as we continue to recover from the aftereffects of the pandemic,” said Rep. Aaron Michlewitz (D-Boston), chair of the House Ways and Means Committee. “By strengthening oversight and making much needed reforms, this legislation will not only steady the industry, but will also help control costs for consumers.” Supporters said the bill will encourage more efficient services such as constructing, maintaining and repairing utility poles and traffic signals across the state and will also enable municipal light plants to sell, rent and lease merchandise. “This bill will allow for an expansion of services offered by municipal light plants to surrounding communities,” said sponsor Rep. Jay Barrows (R-Mansfield). “This will be good for consumers as it ideally would enable more competitive services to be provided.” MUST INFORM CUSTOMERS ABOUT INSURANCE AVAILABILITY FOR HEATING OIL SPILLS (H 3686) – The House gave initial approval to a proposal that would require retail companies that sell home heating oil to annually inform all their customers of the opportunity to purchase insurance for heating oil spills. Current law requires that insurance companies make coverage available for owners but supporters of this bill say that while coverage is available, there are many documented cases of insurance companies BEACON | SEE PAGE 19 boost state oversight of facility expansions and closures, refine cost control tools to better account for fluctuations and increase funding for hospitals that typically serve high shares of low-income patients and people of color.” cause death, serious bodily harm or bodily harm. Sponsor Rep. Steven Xiarhos (R-Barnstable) noted the bill is named “Cecelia’s Law” - in memory of Cecelia Finnegan Alldredge of Sagamore who was killed on September 6, 2020, when a car turned in front of her and caused a fatal crash. “For the past three years, the Massachusetts Motorcycle Association, along with the Finnegan family and myself, have been tirelessly advocating for the passage of a bill aimed at increasing penalties for drivers responsible for accidents like the one that took Cecilia’s life,” said Xiarhos.“With motorcyclist fatalities reaching alarming levels nationwide, it is imperative that we take proactive measures to protect vulnerable road users.” MUNICIPAL LIGHT PLANTS (H 3142) – The House gave initial approval to a bill that would allow the Bay State’s 41 municipal light plants toprovide services to other Massachusetts municipal and state plants, and plants in other states. Current law prohibits this practice.
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