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Beacon Hill Roll Call
By Administrator   
Friday, May 08, 2009 10:12 AM
THE HOUSE AND SENATE. Beacon Hill Roll Call records local representatives' votes on four roll calls from prior legislative sessions. The roll calls are from recent debate on the House version of an estimated $28 billion fiscal 2010 budget. There were no roll call votes in the House or Senate last week.

EASIER PRIVATIZATION OF STATE SERVICES (H 4100)
House 17-141, rejected an amendment to the so-called "Pacheco Law" that establishes strict requirements in order for private contractors to provide public services valued at more than $200,000. The amendment would apply the law to contacts worth over $5 million. The requirements include that a state agency compare the cost of using a private company to the cost of the services if the current state employees were to work in the most cost-efficient manner - rather than to the actual current cost. The state auditor also has the final say and can reject a contract that he determines has not met all of the requirements or is "not in the public interest." Amendment supporters said that the requirements are nearly impossible to meet and noted there have only been six very small privatizations contracts awarded since the law passed in 1993. They argued that raising the cap to $5 million would result in more privatization and a savings of up to $20 million. Amendment opponents said that the requirements are fair and argued the Pacheco Law and its strict standards have worked well and have protected working families. They noted that privatization often leads to trouble and that raising the cap would lead to more privatization and the loss of state jobs. (A "Yes" vote is for raising the cap to $5 million to make it easier to privatize. A "No" vote is against raising the cap to $5 million).
Rep. Thomas Calter, No
Rep. Daniel Webster,Yes

RECYCLE UNUSED PRESCRIPTION MEDICATION (H 4100)
House 158-0, approved an amendment requiring nursing homes to return unopened, unused and unexpired prescription drugs to pharmacies. The amendment requires the pharmacies to refund the cost of the medication to the nursing homes and allows the pharmacies to resell it. Amendment supporters said that this program would save nursing homes and the state millions of dollars and ensure that this valuable medication is safely recycled and does not go to waste. They noted that many unused prescriptions are currently carelessly thrown away and end up creating havoc and danger in sewage treatment systems. The House in 2007 defeated the identical proposal on an overwhelming 28-130 roll call. At that time, some amendment opponents said that recycling medicine is simply unsafe and noted that patients and others often mishandle and improperly store the medication. (Both roll calls are listed below. The first is on the 2007 vote. The second is on this year's vote. A "Yes" vote is for the prescription recycling program. A "No" vote is against it).
Rep. Thomas Calter, No/Yes
Rep. Daniel Webster, Yes/Yes

STOP BUDGET DEBATE UNTIL APRIL REVENUE FIGURES ARE IN (H 4100)
House 21-135, defeated a motion to adjourn the House for four days and stop the budget debate until the state releases its April revenue figures. Amendment supporters said that there is talk of plummeting April tax revenues that would also signal reduced revenues for fiscal year 2010. They argued that the Legislature should consider lowering its estimate of fiscal 2010 tax revenue on which this budget is based and stop adding millions of dollars to the budget. Amendment opponents said that the House should stay on track and finish its work on the budget. They noted that if and when fiscal 2010 revenue estimates are lowered, the House can revise the budget. One day after the House approved a fiscal 2010 budget, Sen. Steven Panagiotakos, chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said that the Senate committee will base its budget on at least $1 billion less than the original $19.53 billion fiscal 2010 estimate upon which the House budget is based. (A "Yes" vote is for adjourning until April revenue figures are announced. A "No" vote is against adjournment).
Rep. Thomas Calter, No
Rep. Daniel Webster, Yes

$12.2 MILLION FOR DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED (H 4100)
House 10-144, rejected an amendment that would provide an additional $12.2 million for the operation of facilities for persons with developmental disabilities. Amendment supporters said this would restore $12.2 million of the $33.4 million that was cut from this funding when compared to last year. They said that it would help protect services for people with developmental disabilities and would prevent the layoff of up to 400 employees. Amendment opponents said that they support an upcoming amendment that would restore $7.5 to this account. They argued that the state cannot afford to add $12.2 million and that the $7.5 million will have to do while money is scarce. (A "Yes" vote is for the additional $12.2 million. A "No" vote is against the additional $12.2 million).
Rep. Thomas Calter, No
Rep. Daniel Webster, No


ALSO UP ON BEACON HILL
EDUCATION LEGISLATION - The Education Committee held a hearing on several bills including mandating full-day kindergarten in all public schools (H 361); requiring the Education Department to study the option of creating later starting times for high school class days to begin (S 219) and establishing a pilot program in Lowell, Worcester, Boston, Plymouth and Springfield to provide after school and summer educational services operated by a non-profit organization and staffed by certified teachers and college aged tutors (S 296). The program would focus on urban students who require additional assistance to become academically proficient.

TAX POLLUTION AND USE SAFE CLEANING PRODUCTS - The Public Health Committee held a hearing on legislation imposing a pollution mitigation tax of between .0001 cents and .0002 cents for each pound of air pollutant emitted by any facility (H 2046). The revenue would be used to fund research and education on the health impacts of pollution. The committee's agenda also included legislation prohibiting cleaning products from being used in any school or public building in Massachusetts unless the product is included on the list of safer cleaning products established by the Department of Public Health (S 816). The list would include products that are "environmentally preferable" and do not contain ingredients that the public health commissioner has determined are asthma-causing agents.

ELECT U.S. PRESIDENT BY POPULAR VOTE (H 660) - The Election Laws Committee heard testimony on a bill that would make Massachusetts a member of The Agreement among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote. The agreement would require Massachusetts to cast all of its electoral votes for the presidential candidate who wins a majority of the national popular vote in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, regardless of the outcome in the Bay State. The pact would become effective when states representing at least 270 electoral votes - a majority of the 538-vote Electoral College - join this interstate compact. The endeavor is led by Fair Vote and has been approved in five states. The proposal does not abolish the Electoral College - a feat that would require the difficult task of amending the U.S. Constitution. It does an end run around the Constitution by taking advantage of a part of the document that gives the states exclusive and complete power to determine how to allocate their electoral votes. The measure was given final approval by the House last year. It was also approved by the Senate but never received final approval in the upper branch.

NONE OF THE ABOVE (H 688) - The Election Laws Committee also heard testimony on a bill giving voters the option of voting for "none of the above" (NOTA) on all election ballots (S 456). A new election would be held 60 to 80 days later if a plurality of voters selects NOTA on their ballots. All candidates who received fewer votes than NOTA in the original election would be prohibited from running in the new election. In presidential elections, voters would have the option to vote NOTA but the state's presidential election would still be won by the candidate who receives the most votes. A similar measure last year was shipped off to a study committee where it died.

MAKE MORE "STUFF" TAX-FREE - Several proposals before the Revenue Committee last week offer exemptions to the state's five percent sales tax. These measures include exempting the sale of children's books (S 1292); over the counter medicines and vitamins prescribed by a physician (H 2838); hand packed ice cream (S 1281) and blood glucose monitoring strips and other materials or devices used in the monitoring of diabetes (S 1359). Another proposal would establish a permanent sales tax holiday allowing consumers to buy most products that cost under $2,500 on two days in August without paying the state's five percent sales tax (S 1362). Approval of any of these measures is highly unlikely in light of the state's budget revenue shortfall.

QUOTABLE QUOTES

"I'm not resigning."

Massachusetts Turnpike Authority Executive Director Alan LeBovidge in April following the Easter Sunday traffic backup disaster on the Pike.


"I am resigning effective immediately."

LeBovidge in his written statement announcing his resignation last week.

"Crime follows casinos. If our Legislature passes a bill that allows predatory gambling, I warn the people of the Commonwealth that this type of crime would become more and more frequent."

Casino Free Mass President Richard Young commenting on the sentencing of Glenn Marshall, former chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council. Marshall received a 3.5 year prison sentence following his conviction on several charges including embezzling nearly $400,000 in tribal funds, filing false tax returns and making illegal campaign contributions to U.S. Congressmen.

"I am deeply concerned that the lack of a modern, state-of-the-art criminal history information system could pose a threat to public safety. I am fully aware of the Commonwealth's fiscal problems, but effective law enforcement must be a top priority."

State Auditor Joseph DeNucci who released a report concluding that the state's antiquated computerized criminal justice information system is preventing law enforcement agencies from getting up-to-date information on criminal records.

"We’re all for requiring able-bodied welfare recipients to work so they can transition off of public assistance. However, we question how anyone can justify that this program represents the best use of taxpayer dollars."

From a statement on the Senate Republicans' website commenting on the Boston Herald story that Gov. Deval Patrick has added $30,000 to a $400,000 state program that obtains free cars for welfare recipients who are unable to travel to work via public transportation. According to the Herald, "the state pays for the car’s insurance, inspection, excise tax, title, registration, repairs and an AAA membership for one year at a total cost of roughly $6,000 per car."

HOW LONG WAS LAST WEEK'S SESSION? Beacon Hill Roll Call tracks the length of time that the House and Senate were in session each week. Many legislators say that legislative sessions are only one aspect of the Legislature's job and that a lot of important work is done outside of the House and Senate chambers. They note that their jobs also involve committee work, research, constituent work and other matters that are important to their districts. Critics say that the Legislature does not meet regularly or long enough to debate and vote in public view on the thousands of pieces of legislation that have been filed. They note that the infrequency and brief length of sessions are misguided and lead to irresponsible late night sessions and a mad rush to act on dozens of bills in the days immediately preceding the end of an annual session.

During the week of May 4-8, the House met for a total of 27 minutes while the Senate met for a total of two hours and two minutes.

Mon.   May 4    House  11:01 a.m. to 11:20 a.m.
Senate 11:03 a.m. to 11:06 a.m.

Tues.  May 5    No House session
Senate  2:03 p.m. to  3:56 p.m.

Wed.   May 6    No House session
No Senate session

Thurs. May 7    House  11:08 a.m. to 11:16 a.m.
Senate 11:00 a.m. to 11:06 a.m.

Fri.   May 8    No House session
No Senate session
 

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