Thursday, May 16, 2013
Ways & Means Committee budget falls short of many of Gov. Deval Patrick's proposals.
The Massachusetts State Senate Ways & Means Committee released a budget proposal Wednesday just shy of $34 billion for fiscal year 2014 that falls short of several of Gov. Deval Patrick's budget recommendations. According to the Boston Globe, the Senate $33.92 billion budget would increase spending by 4.4 percent as opposed to Patrick's budget that hikes spending by 6.9 percent. The Senate budget is roughly in line in terms of spending with the proposed $33.8 billion House budget proposed last month. The Globe reported that the Senate budget increases spending for elderly services and special education but does not reach Patrick's recommendations for expanding transportation and providing universal childcare access. Committee Chairman Sen…
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
The state's Restaurant and Business Alliance said there was "no sign of opposition" at a hearing this week.
The Joint Committee on Revenue in the Massachusetts legislature held a hearing this week on the notion of a potential meals tax holiday for August and one supporting group liking its chances. According to the state's Restaurant and Business Alliance (R.A.B.A), the hearing held Tuesday for the Meals Tax Holiday Bill saw "no sign of opposition" to the measure. Twelve legislators have signed on to the bill primarily sponsored by Rep. Keiko Orrall of Lakeville and Sen. Michael O. Moore of Millbury. If passed, the legislation would go into effect from Sunday, Aug. 11 through Thursday, Aug. 15. "We should offer a Meals Tax Holiday to benefit employees and small local business owners inside Massachusetts to help stimulate the economy," said Dave …
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Dozens of elderly and disabled riders say the cuts would make the paratransit service too expensive to use.
Police arrested several people who were blocking Beacon Street in front of the State House as part of a protest against cuts to the MBTA's service for disabled and elderly passengers. The protest began peacefully around noon but moved into the street 20 minutes later. After seven in folding chairs or wheelchairs stopped traffic for another 20 minutes, police moved in arrested "four to five" of them, according to an officer on the scene. The rally, organized by MassUniting and the Massachusetts Senior Action Coaltion, was called to protest the large fare hikes to the MBTA's paratransit service The RIDE. According to MassUniting, while fares for regular MBTA service went up 23 percent, the cost of The Ride has ballooned up to 150 percent …
Thursday, April 4, 2013
The new plan would create $500 million in new revenue over the next five years.
State House and Senate lawmakers have announced a joint transportation plan which would close an estimated five-year, $2.3 billion transportation budget gap through tax increases to cigarettes, gas and new taxes on business technologies. The plan, which would create $500 million in new revenue, focuses on long-term financing for the state’s regional transit authorities and the state department of transportation, asks the MBTA and MassDOT to continue to hit revenue and savings targets, moves employees off of the capital budget for three years and fully funds the state ice and snow budget. The plan was unveiled at a State House news conference Tuesday led by Massachusetts Speaker of the House Robert A. DeLeo and Senate President Therese …
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Three bills seeks now in the Joint Committee on the Judiciary would make public the names of lower-level sex offenders.
The recent state auditor report revealing that a large number of sex offenders live at addresses registered as childcare facilities has added fuel to the effort on Beacon Hill to publicize the names of all those who've committed sex crimes. "The auditor's recent findings should serve as a catalyst to pass targeted legislation which protects the Commonwealth's citizens from dangerous sex offenders," House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones Jr. (R-North Reading) said in a statement Wednesday. "The report published today is an unfortunate example of why comprehensive sex offender legislation I filed will, in part, open the lines of communication between the Department of Early Education and Care and the Sex Offender Registry Board." Jones' …
Thursday, March 21, 2013
The former Patriots quarterback now owns a winery in California, and says he's got a problem with the way Massachusetts handles its wine shipping.
Former New England Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe was back in Massachusetts on Thursday, but it wasn't to reminisce about his days playing football. Massachusetts is one of 11 states that doesn't allow out-of-state vineyards to directly ship wine to their customers, Bledsoe is urging Beacon Hill legislators to pass a bill that would change that law. "Very simply put, this bill is fair, and it's right. It's fair to the consumers to be able to purchase wine directly from the wineries, it's fair to the small businesses like ours who want to sell directly to the customers, it's right for the state – it actually increases revenue to the state – and in the states that this has happened, it's also benefitted the package stores and the …
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Or do you have something else in mind?
A little more than a week after a bill was filed to make "Roadrunner" by The Modern Lovers the state's official rock song, two legislators responded by filing their own bill to make Aerosmith's "Dream On" the anthem. "("Dream On" is a) classic ballad that's all about holding on to your dreams and seizing opportunity," Rep. Josh Cutler (D-Duxbury) said. Cutler is co-sponsoring the bill with Rep. James Cantwell (D-Marshfield). The two songs represent very different stories, both about rock and roll, and about Massachusetts. One is a buoyant tribute to the thrill of being young in Massachusetts, speeding down Route 128. The other is a wistful look back by a Boston band that was just at its beginnings as one of the most famous in rock …
Monday, January 7, 2013
A drop in the state's median household income led to the salary reduction.
Massachusetts lawmakers will get a pay cut this year, in accordance with a state law that links legislators’ salaries to the state’s median household income. Governor Deval Patrick’s office announced the drop in wages this week. “As required by Article CXVIII of the Amendments to the Constitution, for the purpose of adjusting the base compensation of members of the General Court, we have ascertained, from the federal census American Community Survey and reports of average weekly wages, that the median household income for the Commonwealth for the preceding two-year period decreased by 1.8 percent,” Patrick said in a Jan. 2 letter to State Treasurer Steven Grossman. The pay cut amounts to about $1,000 annually from legislators’ current …
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
If passed, the law would allow the public to access information about Level 1 sex offenders.
In the wake of last week's horrific news of a Wakefield man arrested on charges that he raped infants and toddlers, House Speaker Robert DeLeo said he will take another look at legislation to publicize names of low-level sex offenders, according to a Boston Herald report. The proposed law, filed by Gov. Deval Patrick last year but stalled in the Legislature, would add Massachusetts to the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act and allow the public to see which Level 1 offenders, deemed the least likely to reoffend by the Sex Offender Registry Board, live or work in their neighborhoods. Currently, the police are required to publicize the names of Level 3 offenders, who are consider the most likely to reoffend. The issue is …
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Although the state is expected to fall short of projected revenue, the raises are justified since staff hasn't had a raise in four years, some say.
Despite recent news that the state is projected to take in less than expected in tax revenues, State House leaders last week announced 3 percent salary raises for staff of representatives and some senators, the Globe reported. But the increases are justified since lawmakers' staff haven't had a raise since 2008, says Seth Gitell, a spokesman for House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo. "It’s been more than four years since the last cost-of-living adjustment,” Gitell said Monday, according to the Globe. “Previously, employees received cost-of-living increases every one or, in many cases, every one or two years. There hasn’t been one in a long time.” Last week DeLeo gave raises to all 460 people who work in the House, and Senate President Therese …
BenLaGuer
2:54 pm on Friday, March 22, 2013
Good for Bledsoe. Fighting the good fight against long odds, and deep pockets. more ›