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THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2022 Page 9 BHRC | FROM PAGE 8 income reported in 2021, with the minimum income required to be $38,000, and the maximum $100,000 for individual fi lers and $150,000 for joint fi lers. “Whether it is the rising price of gas, groceries, or summer clothes for kids, the Massachusetts Legislature has heard loud and clear that increased costs due to infl ation have cut into family budgets,” said speaker of the House Ron Mariano, Senate President Karen Spilka, House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz and Senate Ways and Means Chair Mike Rodrigues, in a joint statement. The statement continued, “These rebates represent the Legislature’s commitment to delivering immediate financial relief directly to residents of the commonwealth, rather than to large oil companies that continue to profi t off economic uncertainty and international conflict and follow our eff orts to provide $500 in premium pay for lower income front-line workers during the pandemic. As we recognize the need for structural change as well, we continue to work on potential changes to the tax code with the goal of providing additional relief to residents.” “The Legislature’s ‘Taxpayer Energy and Economic Relief Fund’ proposal is a good start in reimbursing taxpayers for the muti-billion-dollar over-taxation revenue surpluses bonanza of the past two years,” said Chip Ford, executive director of Citizens for Limited Taxation. “Anything that reduces taxpayers’ burden especially in this economy is welcomed, but this will only reduce the pain for a few weeks in the fall. Gov. Baker’s tax relief bill offers broader and long-overdue structural tax reforms. It also needs consideration and adoption. Clearly there is suffi - cient surplus revenue for both.” “This is a poorly thought-out gimmick being done right before the election simply to score points with voters, plain and simple,” said Mass Fiscal Alliance spokesman Paul Craney. “Meaningful relief should be broad based and focused on lowering taxes on the people they most eff ect. Picking winners and losers through arbitrary brackets, as well as penalizing married couples more likely to have families depending on them, is a poor way for our out of touch Legislature to show solidarity with the privations their ill-conceived economic policies are currently forcing Massachusetts families to contend with.” Critics also took a swipe at the measure because it doesn’t provide a rebate for lower-income taxpayers earning less than $38,000. Marie-Frances Rivera, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, said that rebates that exclude people earning less than $38,000 is not targeted tax relief to people who need it the most and are struggling to pay rent every month. Mariano responded at a press conference and pointed out that the Legislature several months ago had already spent $490 million on low-income folks who were adversely aff ected by the COVID loss of jobs. “So we felt we had addressed a lot of the needs there,” said Mariano. “The next step was to move up and take care of the folks who are in that middle income area that so often is neglected.” Some opponents said it is also unfair to exclude people earning over $100,000 from the rebate. They noted that if you have three children and earn $100,000 you are not exactly rich. $400,000 FOR FARMS — The Baker Administration announced the granting of $400,000 in grants to several Bay State farms to improve their operations. “[The] administration remains committed to the Massachusetts agricultural industry to ensure our local farmers continue to succeed and have the support they need to provide invaluable products for the public to enjoy,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Beth Card. “These Agricultural Preservation Restriction Program Improvement grants will further strengthen the commonwealth’s food supply system making it more resilient now and well into the future.” “The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) is steadfast with its commitment to our commonwealth’s farming families,” said MDAR Commissioner John Lebeaux. “Through the … program we have been able to conserve critical farmland, preserve Massachusetts agricultural history and provide support to help keep these farm businesses sustainable now and for future generations.” SOME COVID-19 POLICIES EXTENDED (H 4978 AND S 2559) — The House approved a bill that extends the authority for remote participation for all public bodies and the authority for representative town meetings to meet by remote means through March 31, 2023. Other provisions authorize the use of electronic communication technology in real estate property closings by attorneys; require landlords, when sending tenants a notice to quit for nonpayment of rent, to include information regarding the tenant’s legal rights; require all public notices be posted to a website; require that the meeting of a state public body must have at least one of its members physically present at all meetings; and permit notary publics to select a tamper-evident technology for notarial acts with electronic record. “This legislation makes permanent the fl exibility permitted under the Open Meeting Law during the COVID-19 State of Emergency while keeping with the Open Meeting Law’s objectives of transparency, convenience and access by the public,” said Rep. Tony Cabral (D-New Bedford), the chair of the Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight. “The ability to participate remotely has significantly increased and promoted access and participation in our democratic process throughout the commonwealth. There is no reason to move backwards from this new era of public access. Now that we have experienced the benefi ts of remote access to public meetings, we cannot go back.” Advocates for the bill include the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, Boston Center for Independent Living, Common Cause Massachusetts, Disability Law Center, League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association, MASSPIRG, New England First Amendment Coalition, and New England Newspaper & Press Association. Those groups released a joint statement. “We applaud the Legislature for consistently appreciating the importance of remote access to public meetings,” read the statement. “Across the commonwealth, remote access to public meetings has significantly increased public participation in state and local government, and has lowered longstanding barriers for people with disabilities, people with limited access to transportation and people with work and family obligations.” The Senate has already approved its own version of the measure and a House-Senate conference committee will likely craft a compromise version. LOTTERY FOR LOW LICENSE PLATES — The Registry of Motor Vehicle announced that applications for the 2022 Low Number License Plate Lottery are now being accepted and must be submitted online by 5 p.m., Friday, September 2. This year’s goodies are 199 low license plates including F7, 36, 78K, X44, 1S, and 6666. Applications are available online at http://www.mass.gov/RMV There is no fee to apply. However, If the applicant is selected as a winner, there is a special plate fee that will be required, in addition to a standard registration fee. Prior to the establishment of this lottery several years ago, these low-number plates were given away under the old-school system which gave the plates to “well-connected” drivers who “knew someone” in state government. QUOTABLE QUOTES “These toxic chemicals don’t belong anywhere, let alone in food packaging. Kudos to Rhode Island for taking this important step to protect the public from PFAS. I hope Massachusetts will soon become the next state to act.” — Ben Hellerstein, state director for Environment Massachusetts, on Rhode Island’s passage of a new law banning PFAS (per- and poly-fl uoroalkyl substances) in food packaging. Supporters say that PFAs are dangerous chemicals which have been linked to a wide BHRC | SEE PAGE 18

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