Page 2 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, JUly 21, 2023 Rep. Wong supports $693 million supplemental budget Spending plan will help support hospitals, assist with hiring of school nurses B OSTON – State Representative Donald H. Wong (R-Saugus) recently supported a $693 million supplemental budget for Fiscal Year 2023 that contains funding to assist struggling hospitals, along with temporary provisions to help ease the school nurse shortage. The supplemental budget, which was filed as House Bill 3982, was given initial approval by the House of Representatives on a vote of 1540 on July 13. The bill now moves to the Senate for its consideration. House Bill 3982 provides $180 million to assist “fiscally strained” hospitals. According to Representative Wong, $91.4 million will be set aside for hospitals that are eligible for a Medicaid supplemental payment, $58.5 million for nonprofit and municipal acute care hospitals with a high percentage of Medicaid patients and $30 million for acute care hospitals “that demonstrate significant financial need.” The House bill also proposes temporary changes to the hiring process for school nurses in calendar years 2023 and 2024. Specifically, it would allow the Commissioner of Education to issue a temporary certificate to a registered nurse who does not meet the certification testing requirements but is authorized to practice as a registered nurse in Massachusetts and has been employed as a registered nurse for at least three years. Representative Wong noted that House Bill 3982 includes a $75 million reserve account to reimburse qualifying school districts for “extraordinary relief” from outof-district special education placement costs. The list of communities that would actually be eligible for relief based on the formula included in the bill has yet to be determined. However, the bill does specifically exclude from eligibility those school districts that still have unspent Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) money received under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) or any other federal act that provided COVID-19 response funds. House Bill 3982 would also: • increase the annual cap on tax credits authorized under the Housing Development Incentive Program (HDIP) from $10 million to $57 million in calendar year 2023, with any funding remaining at the end of 2023 to be carried over to subseELECTIONS | FROM PAGE 1 5.0 %APY* INSURED 9 Month CD Dream Bigger. YOUR SAVINGS HORIZON IS GETTING BRIGHTER. Here’s your chance to reach your savings goal faster than ever. Everett Bank’s 9 Month CD with an amazing 5.0% APY* gets you closer to those financial goals much faster. Easily calculate better earnings with Everett Bank’s 9 Month CD. Go to everettbank.com to easily open your account on-line in just minutes. fice. This marks the official start of the political season in Saugus. The fall elections feature five seats apiece on the Board of Selectmen and School Committee and 50 seats – 5 for each of the 10 precincts – on the Annual Town Meeting. Candidates for the respec*Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is accurate as of the date posted and is subject to change without notice. APY assumes that interest remains on deposit until maturity. A withdrawal will reduce earnings. A penalty may be imposed for early withdrawal. Offer may be withdrawn at any time. Minimum of $500 is required to open a Certificate of Deposit and earn the advertised APY. Member FDIC | Member DIF All Deposits Are Insured In Full. tive offices have until 5 p.m. on Sept. 19 to submit nomination papers to the Town Clerk’s Office for certification of signatures. Fifty certified signatures of registered voters are required for the Board of Selectmen, School Committee and the Housing Authority. Only 10 certified signatures of registered voters are required for Town Meeting, but each of the signatures must be from registered voters in the candidate’s precinct. Sept. 15 is the final day to obtain nomination papers – just four days before the filing deadline. There are responsibilities quent years and the annual cap to be set at $30 million beginning on January 1, 2024 • transfer $100 million to the state’s Pension Liability Fund • fund $226.2 million worth of collective bargaining agreements • extend simulcast racing authorization by five years, to expire on July 31, 2028 • authorize the state’s Department of Public Utilities to allow electric distribution companies to recover expenditures and payments associated with the cost increases resulting from delays in the planned transmission line carrying hydroelectricity from Quebec • create a $60.3 million payroll reserve for the Department of Transitional Assistance’s caseworkers and staff serving applicants and clients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC) and Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled, and Children (EAEDC) program • appropriate $506,140 for costs incurred by the Commonwealth through its interstate compacts for flood control. for filing documents related to candidacy for town office. Office of Campaign Finance reports are due on Oct. 30 – eight days before the election. Final campaign reports are due on Dec. 7 – 30 days following the election. All candidates are expected to comply with the Town of Saugus Zoning Bylaws (Article 7, Section 7.3, Sub-Section 8) related to political signs. Half of the Town Meeting members were elected two years ago without opposition. Only five candidates ran for the five seats in Saugus precincts 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7. The Town Clerk’s Office maintains a list of potential candidates who pull nomination papers. But the candidates are not official candidates until they have filed their nomination paper and the signatures have been certified by the Board of Registrars. The last day to register to vote in the Town Elections is Oct. 28, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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