Beacon Hill Roll Call records the votes of local representatives and senators from last week.
$5.3 BILLION IN COVID-19 FEDERAL AID FOR THE BAY STATE
Last week was another chapter in the ongoing dispute over who controls the $5.3 billion in federal money the state received from the American Rescue Plan Act. The Baker administration argues that the governor doesn’t need legislative approval on how to spend the money. The Legislature disagrees, and a few weeks ago approved a measure that would segregate the money in a separate fund and give the Legislature control over when and how to spend it. Gov. Charlie Baker responded with a compromise that would allow him to unilaterally spend $2.8 billion of the funds in several areas including housing and homeownership, economic development, job training, workforce development, health care and infrastructure. It would give the Legislature the authority to spend the remainder.
Last week, on a strictly party line vote, the House 30-130 and the Senate 3-36 rejected the governor’s amendment.
Baker’s plan included $300 million for expanded homeownership opportunities, focused on first-time homebuyers who are residents of disproportionately impacted municipalities; $300 million for senior and veteran housing; $100 million for cultural facilities and tourism; $150 million for workforce credentials for entry and mid-level wages; $35 million for English for Speakers of Other Languages programs and Adult Basic Education; $50 million for financially stressed hospitals in disproportionately impacted municipalities; $175 million for addiction treatment and related behavioral health services; $300 million to improve culverts, dams and other environmental infrastructure; $100 million to enhance and modernize state park facilities; and $100 million to close the digital divide and increase broadband internet access.
“The Legislature stands firm in its commitment to employing an open, transparent and thorough public process to best understand how we as a state can make smart investments with these one-time federal dollars to address pressing and long-term needs while promoting a just recovery for all areas of the state,” said House Speaker Ronald Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka in a joint statement. “Therefore, the Legislature will be holding a series of public hearings throughout the summer … with the goal of crafting spending plans directly informed by feedback from constituents and stakeholders, including those representing the areas identified by the governor in his proposal. We will continue to seek input from the governor and expect that he will file additional legislation so that his priorities can be part of that process. We invite the Baker administration to testify in these hearings.”
“While the administration has proposed working with the Legislature to appropriate all of the funds, the administration also remains concerned about holding up these funds with a process that would take years while the communities that were hit hardest by the pandemic, including communities of color, wait,” Baker’s Communications Director Terry MacCormack said following the vote.
The original bill now goes back to the governor who is likely to veto it. Both the House and Senate seem to have the number of votes necessary to override the veto.
(A “Yes” vote is for the governor’s proposal allowing him to spend $2.8 billion of the funds. A “No” vote is against the proposal.)
Rep. James Arciero, No; Rep. Kimberly Ferguson, Yes; Rep. Colleen Garry, No; Rep. Thomas Golden, No; Rep. Kenneth Gordon, No; Rep. Sheila Harrington, Yes; Rep. Natalie Higgins, No; Rep. Vanna Howard, No; Rep. Meghan Kilcoyne, No; Rep. Michael Kushmerek, No; Rep. Marc Lombardo, Yes; Rep. Rady Mom, No; Rep. Tram Nguyen, No; Rep. David Robertson, No; Rep. Dan Sena, No; Rep. Jonathan Zlotnik, No; Sen. Michael Barrett, No; Sen. John Cronin, No; Sen. James Eldridge, No; Sen. Barry Finegold, No; Sen. Cindy Friedman, No; Sen. Anne Gobi, No; Sen. Edward Kennedy, No; Sen. Bruce Tarr, Yes.
LEGISLATURE CONTROLS $4.9 BILLION AND BAKER CONTROLS $200 MILLION
The House, 160-0, approved a new version of the bill determining who controls the COVID federal aid. This version would segregate $4.9 billion in a separate fund and give the Legislature control over when and how to spend that amount while giving the governor control over $200 million.
Supporters said this will give the Legislature control over the vast majority of the funds but allow the governor to respond to any urgent public health and other needs that might require immediate use of the funds prior to the legislative hearings and action.
DEATH BENEFIT FOR POLICE OFFICERS
The Senate, 40-0, approved an amendment to a current law that gives a line of duty death benefit to a police officer only if he or she is killed in a vehicular accident or because of an assault by another person. The amendment would provide the benefit to any officer on duty who dies at the scene of an emergency regardless of whether the death is the result of a vehicular accident or an assault.
The amendment is in response to the recent death of Worcester Police Officer Manny Familia who drowned while trying to save 14-year-old Troy Love, who also drowned. If the House approves the bill and the governor signs it, Familia’s family will receive an annual pension equal to the salary had he continued in the position he held at the time of his death.
“I filed this legislation because I view it as a common-sense update to the line of duty death benefits to ensure any officer who dies in the line of duty is eligible for the benefits they earned,” the amendment’s sponsor Sen. Michael Moore, D-Millbury, said. “Officer Manny Familia tragically died while heroically trying to save the life of teenager, and it’s only right that his family receive the death benefit that they deserve.”
Sen. Harriette Chandler, D-Worcester, said the amendment will fix an unfair loophole.
“I am thankful that this amendment will ensure that the family of Officer Familia can access the benefits of his pension after he lost his life trying to save another,” Chandler said. “I am grateful for Officer Familia’s service to the city of Worcester, and I keep his family in my thoughts and prayers.”
“This crucial legislation was sadly necessitated by the tragic death of Worcester Police Officer Manny Familia … (who) died protecting his community, and we need to make sure we do our part to recognize his sacrifice,” said Sen. John Keenan, D-Quincy.
ALSO UP ON BEACON HILL
TWO-MONTH SALES TAX HOLIDAY IN JULY AND AUGUST — Baker proposed a full two-month sales tax holiday during July and August this summer during which consumers can buy most products that cost under $2,500 without paying the state’s 6.25% sales tax.
“A two-month sales tax holiday will provide a boost to Massachusetts’ taxpayers and Main Street economies as we continue to recover from COVID-19,” Baker said. “Massachusetts’ economic recovery is off to a good start, but it’s crucial that the commonwealth takes action now to spur more economic activity in communities and support taxpayers. Thanks to stronger than expected tax revenues, the commonwealth has managed to grow the Rainy Day Fund to a balance higher than it was at the beginning of the pandemic, and we can also afford to return these tax dollars to our residents and small businesses.”
Spilka’s response virtually ensures that the proposal will be dead on arrival in the Legislature.
“We did do a weekend of sales tax holiday and I think that is sufficient for now,” she said. “There’s a lot of need in the state.”
“Gov. Baker’s proposal to return some of taxpayers’ overpayment, considering the historic hardships imposed on citizens over the past 15 months, is proper and compassionate,” said Chip Ford, executive director of Citizens for Limited Taxation. “The usual resistance to even this small tax relief proposal when the state finds itself awash in an unexpected $4 billion-plus revenue surplus and $5 billion-plus in additional federal grants, every cent provided by taxpayers, is shameful and demonstrates why we’ve always asserted at (Citizens for Limited Taxation): ‘More is never enough and never will be.’”
“Whether it’s investing in child care, emerging workforce needs, K-12 education, public health or families in need, there are no shortage of ways to responsibly invest to support an equitable economic recovery, however a short-term political gimmick is not one of them,” Senate Ways and Means Chair Sen. Michael Rodrigues, D-Westport, said.
“A two-month sales tax holiday is a smart, exciting and progressive economic incentive that will benefit our small businesses and our consumers just when they need it,” said Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts. “Consumers represent 70% of our economy, and it is important that we incent them to invest in our Main Streets, small businesses and communities. And for our lower income families, this tax cut is all about temporarily suspending the most regressive tax on the books, just as their children are heading back to school.”
“We’ve learned from living through this pandemic that there are deep inequities in our state,” said Cindy Rowe, executive director of the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action. “People are hungry, kids need public education, workers need reliable transportation. The people of Massachusetts are far wiser and more compassionate than our governor gives them credit for being. They know that using these federal tax dollars to invest in our greatest needs is far better and more compassionate than a two-month tax holiday. Let’s live up to our better selves and make this federal investment count.”
Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com.
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