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and the
Citizens Economic Research Foundation
Post Office Box 1147 ●
Marblehead, Massachusetts 01945 ●
(508)
915-3665
“Every Tax is a Pay Cut ... A Tax Cut is a Pay Raise”
44 years as “The Voice of Massachusetts Taxpayers”
— and
their Institutional Memory — |
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CLT UPDATE
Tuesday, May 8, 2018
An endorsement, of sorts
|
From
CLT's Chip Ford: "The recent Gallup poll explains our
plight as abused taxpayers who fund all of state government
and its insuppressible excesses. Along with Vermont, it
found Massachusetts to be the most liberal state in the
nation. As usual The Pay State moguls are striving to again
make this state Number One in notoriety, proliferate and
insatiable spending, and abysmal mismanagement."
The Salem News
Friday, May 4, 2018
Weekly Column
By Nelson Benton, editor emeritus
Give Republican Gov. Charlie Baker credit
for having the discipline to stay on message.
No matter how many times he is asked, the
governor will not take a position on a major tax increase
that has been debated and advanced in two successive
legislative sessions after it was put before the General
Court by Raise Up Coalition activists who collected tens of
thousands of signatures.
"It's not on the ballot yet," Baker said in
a Sunday morning televised interview with Jon Keller of WBZ-TV.
"It's not ripe yet. At some point it will be and when it is
we can talk about it."
In the same interview, Baker also said, "The
Democrats for the most part want to raise taxes, we don't."
It was the latest instance of Baker being
asked about the long-percolating, ground-shifting tax
proposal and declining to take a side, although he may have
hinted at his true feelings when he said Republicans don't
want to raise taxes....
After the measure was advanced by Democrats
in 2016 and again in 2017 -- both times in the face of vocal
opposition from Republican lawmakers -- business groups
opposed to the question challenged its ballot eligibility
and a Supreme Judicial Court decision is expected soon.
If the SJC, of which Baker has appointed a
majority of the seven justices, throws the question off the
ballot Baker might wiggle out of the debate without ever
taking a position on the measure....
Baker excited Republicans at the April 28
party convention by declaring his support for a sales tax
reduction, but since then has declined to say if that means
he supports an initiative petition cutting the sales tax
rate to 5 percent from 6.25 percent.
State House News Service
Monday, May 7, 2018
Baker raps Dems on tax hikes, but stays mum on income surtax
Legislators since January have failed to act
on a series of major ballot questions, and state officials
are ready to let citizen activists gather the second and
final batch of signatures needed to lock their initiative
petitions in for binding statewide votes in November.
Secretary of State William Galvin, whose
office oversees elections, indicated Wednesday that
proposals governing five major public policy topics are
eligible to begin additional signature gathering, with each
campaign needing to submit 10,792 certified voter signatures
by July 3.
Early July is the de facto deadline for
lawmakers to pass laws that might cause petitioners to
cancel their plans.
Gov. Charlie Baker, who on Saturday declared
support for reducing the sales tax, indicated this week that
discussions are ongoing on all ballot measures, which
include proposals calling for a sales tax reduction, an
increase in the minimum wage, a paid family and medical
leave program, and nurse staffing ratios in hospitals.
A fifth proposal established a citizens
commission in connection with efforts to overturn the
Citizen's United court ruling governing campaign finance
contributions also still has a shot at the Nov. 6 ballot.
Two questions have already been certified to
appear on the ballot -- a constitutional amendment imposing
a surtax on household income above $1 million and a
referendum on the transgender anti-discrimination law passed
in 2016.
State House News Service
Wednesday, May 2, 2018
Bargaining on ballot questions enters crucial phase
By Michael P. Norton
April tax collections were up nearly 16
percent over last April, and tax revenues over the first 10
months of fiscal 2018 are up $1.7 billion or 8.1 percent
over the same period in fiscal 2017, the Department of
Revenue reported Thursday.
The total tax haul of $3.3 billion in April,
which is the largest month for tax collections in the fiscal
year, grew over last year's revenues by $447 million.
Despite falling $80 million short of the state's benchmark
for the month, the state is still $809 million above
budgeted revenues for the year with just two months
remaining....
Income tax collections in April of $269
million were up 13 percent over last year and withholding
collections were up 15.3 percent. Both categories beat the
monthly benchmark.
Sales tax collections also beat the state's
target by $3 million, and were up almost 4 percent from
2017....
So far in fiscal 2018, which ends on July 1, the state has
collected $22.7 billion, or 3.7 percent more than the
governor and legislators budgeted for last July.
State House News Service
Thursday, May 3, 2018
Tax receipts up 8.1 percent with two months left in FY 2018
As Beacon Hill awaits word from the courts
on whether a $1.9 billion income surtax will remain eligible
for the November ballot, investments in education, housing
and mental health are expected to be among the highlights
when Senate budget chief Karen Spilka releases her final
budget on Thursday. The Ashland Democrat is spending her
final months as Senate Ways and Means Committee chair before
her anticipated promotion to Senate president in July....
Spilka recently warned against "spending
sprees" on Beacon Hill, but with tax collections up more
than 8 percent this fiscal year there's plenty of
speculation about a possible surplus and what to do with it
- spend it, save it, cut taxes, to name a few.
The budget bill will be released on
Thursday, with debate planned the week of May 21.
According to the Massachusetts Taxpayers
Foundation, the House budget finished at $41.55 billion,
after the addition through floor amendments of nearly $80
million and 67 policy sections. The bottom line on the House
budget was $158.5 million higher than the budget that Gov.
Charlie Baker submitted in January, according to MTF.
State House News Service
Friday, May 4, 2018
Advances - Week of May 6, 2018
Troubling. Damning. Incredibly disturbing.
Pick an adjective and it was probably used
this week to describe the all-the-above Ethics Committee
report that ultimately toppled former Senate President
Stanley Rosenberg. For all of the alarming incidents laid
out in the report, however, it was something far more basic
in the end that proved to be Rosenberg's undoing: a broken
promise.
Rosenberg, the 68-year-old, first openly gay
president of the Senate, resigned on Thursday after a more
than 30-year career in the Legislature under intense
pressure from fellow senators, the governor and the attorney
general to wash clean the stain that has darkened the State
House for months.
The resignation, with an echo of defiance
and a dash of bitterness, followed the release, at
long-last, of the $230,000 report into Rosenberg and whether
he should shoulder any of the blame for the meddlesome and
possibly criminal behavior of his husband....
Baker can now focus on getting that bill and
others across the finish line, because he won't be at all
distracted by the demands of a re-election campaign. That's
because he doesn't really plan to acknowledge that he has a
re-election campaign until at least August.
Despite drawing a primary challenge last
weekend from conservative anti-gay pastor Scott Lively,
Baker told reporters this week not to expect to see him rev
his trail motor until after July. Needless to say, he
doesn't seem too worried about Lively.
"I think it's unlikely you'll see me do much
other than my job between now and the end of this session,"
Baker said.
State House News Service
Friday, May 4, 2018
Weekly Roundup - Rinse Cycle
Don’t let former Senate President Stan
Rosenberg’s exit or any passionate pledges by other senators
to restore integrity to the embattled chamber fool you —
Beacon Hill pols tried to protect the disgraced Amherst Dem
to the bitter end.
Senate Ethics Committee members carefully
rolled out their politically toxic report — finding that
Rosenberg didn’t break any rules and needed only a mild slap
on the wrist — despite an avalanche of disturbing details
that estranged husband Bryon Hefner had interfered with
Senate business and harassed numerous staffers, senators and
others doing business on Beacon Hill.
But the report — while decrying a
“significant failure of judgment and leadership” — let
Rosenberg’s fellow solons off the hook, allowing them to
simply bar him from leadership positions for two years, and
punting to the voters on whether he should stay or not.
“As politicians do, they were preserving
their options until the very last minute,” said Thomas
Whalen, social science professor at Boston University. “It
gives a black eye to the entire state Legislature, and at
this point the overall confidence in the state Senate is at
an all-time low.
“It stretches all credulity that they didn’t
find any rules broken,” Whalen said. “He’s one of their own,
and no matter what, they were going to protect him. That’s
just not how a democratic legislature should operate.”
The Boston Herald
Friday, May 4, 2018
Paltry punishment a ‘black eye’ to State House
By Hillary Chabot
Homeowners would be required to get energy
audits prior to selling their property under a new proposal
that has riled the real estate industry.
Gov. Charlie Baker has proposed a new system
for grading home energy efficiency that would make
Massachusetts the first state in the nation to require
homeowners to get energy audits as a prerequisite for
sales....
But the plan is getting a cool reception
from the Massachusetts Realtors Association, which argues
that mandating energy audits would impact home sales.
They told lawmakers that a mandate could
slow turnover in an already tight housing market and
negatively affect low-income communities.
“We have not seen any evidence or data from
the (Baker) administration or other stakeholders that this
energy score will lead to more energy efficiency,” Michael
McDonagh, general counsel for the Realtors, told lawmakers.
Boston-area broker Anthony Lamacchia told
the panel that adding another mandate to home sales will
have a chilling effect.
"Home-sellers are already stressed out and
overwhelmed when they're putting their home on the market,"
he said. "Housing inventory is the lowest it has ever been,
and by adding to the things that sellers have to do, we're
going to delay them from listing and prohibit some sellers
from listing at all."
If the plan is approved, homeowners would be
required to get energy efficiency scorecards for all real
estate transactions by 2021.
The Salem News
Thursday, May 3, 2018
Push to require energy efficiency audits on home sales
worries Realtors
. . . It’s something everyone should do —
especially those of us living in older homes. Still, there’s
a difference between should and must. As beneficial as the
program is — and tens of thousands of people have taken
advantage — the state would make a mistake by requiring its
use.
Gov. Charlie Baker wants just that. He’s
floating a novel idea — Massachusetts would be the first
state to do this — requiring the disclosure of a home energy
score whenever a house is sold....
Even more taxing is the already burdensome
process of buying and selling a home. There’s the septic
system disclosure and the lead paint disclosure. There’s a
certification that the smoke detectors work. Most buyers
want to know whether radon is present in the basement, or
asbestos on the pipes. Slathering on another disclosure,
even a well intended one, adds at least one more document to
the sheaf of paperwork piled on the closing table. Of
course, the bank writing the mortgage probably wants a copy,
too.
Where does it end? Should sellers pull
together a report on neighborhood crime and traffic, or
disclose the MCAS scores of area schools?
In all seriousness, energy assessments are a
worthwhile exercise. Mass Save alone has visited hundreds of
thousands of homes and businesses, saving hundreds of
millions of dollars. Last year its auditors distributed more
than 41,000 low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators,
reducing water consumption immeasurably. Its auditors
screwed in more than 9,000 energy efficient light bulbs.
It’s a valuable opportunity for anyone and
an important resource in a state determined to reduce its
consumption of energy from fossil fuels.
It should be left at that, however, instead
of becoming the bane of home sellers and real estate
transactions.
A Salem News editorial
Wednesday, May 2, 2018
Home energy audits should remain voluntary
Rep. Chris Walsh, a Framingham Democrat in
his fourth term in the Massachusetts House, died Wednesday
night after a battle with cancer, his wife said on social
media....
Walsh is the fourth sitting representative
to have died this session, along with Reps. Gail Cariddi,
Peter Kocot and James Miceli.
State House News Service
Thursday, May 3, 2018
After cancer fight, Rep. Chris Walsh passes away at 66
By Colin A. Young
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Chip Ford's CLT
Commentary
When I'm asked if I support Charlie Baker's
reelection my response is: "Charlie is probably the
best of the Democrat candidates who Massachusetts taxpayers
can hope to elect as governor. While he's no
conservative Democrat like Gov. Ed King was (1979-83),
Charlie is certainly at least head and shoulders above Mike
Dukakis."
If his ducking and weaving on tax issues
isn't sad enough, now comes more costly regulations on
homeowners from Charlie:
"Gov. Charlie Baker has proposed a new system
for grading home energy efficiency that would make
Massachusetts the first state in the nation to require
homeowners to get energy audits as a prerequisite for
sales," The Salem News reported, and editorialized against.
Nope, he's definitely not an Ed King Democrat, but Dukakis
must be delighted with Charlie. My best political
advice for the governor is, drop the Republican facade and
go full Democrat. If he did, he could avoid
campaigning altogether — and
probably get even "The Duke's" coveted endorsement.
There are more open seats in the Legislature
to be filled by new candidates. As is so common in
Massachusetts, such turnover is a result of scandals and
deaths: One disgraced former-senate president and four
abruptly deceased members of the House. It's a given
that the senate seat that includes liberal stronghold
Amherst will remain liberal Democrat, but will the state GOP
compete for the four empty House seats?
The Wilmington/Tewksbury House seat held for
34 years by Rep. Jim Miceli could be picked up by a
Republican (think Republican representatives Marc Lombardo
of Billerica, and Jim Lyons of North Andover, both
neighboring districts) — if
there is a candidate. Miceli was once a
conservative-leaning Democrat with a decent CLT rating,
until he was elevated to a leadership position and began
following the marching orders.
"April tax collections were up nearly 16
percent over last April, and tax revenues over the first 10
months of fiscal 2018 are up $1.7 billion or 8.1 percent
over the same period in fiscal 2017, the Department of
Revenue reported Thursday," according to the State House
News Service.
Senate Budget Chairwoman (and incoming
Senate President) Karen Spilka "recently warned against 'spending
sprees' on Beacon Hill, but with tax collections up more
than 8 percent this fiscal year there's plenty of
speculation about a possible surplus and what to do with it
— spend it, save it, cut taxes, to name a few."
"Spend it, save it, cut taxes" are the
choices?
"Cut taxes" can be eliminated without
further conjecture. "Save it?" Not likely or not
much. "Spend it" is the default position on Bacon Hill,
always.
The House passed a $41.55 billion budget
last month after adding nearly $80 million in amendments
— $158.5 million higher than
the budget that even Gov. Charlie Baker submitted in
January. Both of those plans are some billion dollars
more than the current year's state spending, as usual.
The state "can't afford" to roll back the
income tax or the sales tax, or even serve up one sales
tax-free weekend, we're told, and it needs another couple
billion bucks from a graduated income tax (aka,
"Millionaires Tax" or so-called "Fair Share Amendment"), but
so far it has vacuumed up $1.7 billion more than last
year at this time with two months' collections remaining,
which is still "not enough."
"Spend it, save it, cut taxes"? C'mon,
is that really an honest question? It will
be spent of course — and
then they'll be back looking to squeeze taxpayers for more.
More Is Never Enough (MINE) and never will be.
You will have our CLT Legislative Rating for
last year's voting record in your hands this week
— watch your mail for our
package. We hope you'll look it over, find out how
your state rep and senator was rated, then act accordingly,
assuming he or she has an opponent. Until we throw out
enough bums, don't expect much if anything to change on
Beacon Hill. Too many are too fat and comfortable in
their sinecures to make waves —
unless we can at least rattle their comfort zones, if not
replace some outright.
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Chip Ford
Executive Director |
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State House News Service
Monday, May 7, 2018
Baker raps Dems on tax hikes, but stays mum on
income surtax
By Michael P. Norton
Give Republican Gov. Charlie Baker credit for
having the discipline to stay on message.
No matter how many times he is asked, the
governor will not take a position on a major tax
increase that has been debated and advanced in
two successive legislative sessions after it was
put before the General Court by Raise Up
Coalition activists who collected tens of
thousands of signatures.
"It's not on the ballot yet," Baker said in a
Sunday morning televised interview with Jon
Keller of WBZ-TV. "It's not ripe yet. At some
point it will be and when it is we can talk
about it."
In the same interview, Baker also said, "The
Democrats for the most part want to raise taxes,
we don't."
It was the latest instance of Baker being asked
about the long-percolating, ground-shifting tax
proposal and declining to take a side, although
he may have hinted at his true feelings when he
said Republicans don't want to raise taxes.
Technically, Baker is correct. This year's
ballot is not set, although there's been a lot
of debate already about proposals on track for
the ballot, including measures to cut the sales
tax, raise the minimum wage, implement a paid
family and medical leave program, and impose
nurse staffing requirements.
In September 2015, Attorney General Maura Healey
certified as ballot-eligible the constitutional
amendment that would add a 4 percentage point
surtax on household incomes greater than $1
million, a measure that the Department of
Revenue concluded would generate $1.9 billion a
year.
After the measure was advanced by Democrats in
2016 and again in 2017 -- both times in the face
of vocal opposition from Republican lawmakers --
business groups opposed to the question
challenged its ballot eligibility and a Supreme
Judicial Court decision is expected soon.
If the SJC, of which Baker has appointed a
majority of the seven justices, throws the
question off the ballot Baker might wiggle out
of the debate without ever taking a position on
the measure.
Supporters say the surtax would bring fairness
to the tax code and needed revenues that could
be spent on transportation and education.
Opponents have warned the plan will lead to an
exodus of wealthier taxpayers, discourage
business investment and set the stage for
further income-based bracketing of taxpayers.
Asked if he was prepared to campaign against the
income surtax if the SJC clears it for the
ballot, Baker said, "Let's hear what the SJC
does and we can have a conversation after that.
I think that one is pending before the SJC for
some legitimate constitutional questions and
we'll see what happens with it and then we'll
decide what we do about it."
When Keller asked him whether he didn't know
whether he would campaign for or against the tax
increase, Baker said, "It's not on the ballot
yet." Pressed if there was a reason he didn't
want to share his thinking, Baker reiterated his
belief that the proposal "is not ripe yet."
The plaintiffs allege that the constitutional
amendment impermissibly violates a
constitutional provision requiring that
initiative petitions only address "related" or
"mutually dependent" subjects. The proposal, the
plaintiffs say, combines unrelated subjects by
establishing a graduated income tax structure
and mandating that those funds raised through
the tax increase only be spent on education and
transportation.
The challenge also asks the court to toss the
question on the grounds that it allegedly
improperly allocates funding, allowing a
"radical decentralization of fiscal policy away
from the Legislature" and setting a precedent
that "will set the stage for future initiatives
from a range of interest groups proposing
constitutional amendments segregating funds for
their preferred causes, or raising tax rates on
some groups and lowering taxes on others."
According to the Massachusetts Budget and Policy
Center, seven states and the District of
Columbia have statewide tax rates of
approximately 9 percent or more for their
highest income tax bracket. In a report released
last month, MassBudget concluded that California
and New York, the two states with the highest
"millionaire taxes," have seen the greatest
gains in the number of millionaire taxpayers
since 2010.
"The eight millionaire-tax states together,
which contained 36 percent of U.S. taxpayers,
saw 37 percent of the total increase in the
number of million-dollar incomes across the
country," MassBudget reported. "Texas and
Florida, two states with no income tax and the
nation’s second and third most taxpayers, also
saw large numbers of new millionaires."
Baker excited Republicans at the April 28 party
convention by declaring his support for a sales
tax reduction, but since then has declined to
say if that means he supports an initiative
petition cutting the sales tax rate to 5 percent
from 6.25 percent.
State House News Service
Thursday, May 3, 2018
Tax receipts up 8.1 percent with two months left
in FY 2018
By Matt Murphy
April tax collections were up nearly 16 percent
over last April, and tax revenues over the first
10 months of fiscal 2018 are up $1.7 billion or
8.1 percent over the same period in fiscal 2017,
the Department of Revenue reported Thursday.
The total tax haul of $3.3 billion in April,
which is the largest month for tax collections
in the fiscal year, grew over last year's
revenues by $447 million. Despite falling $80
million short of the state's benchmark for the
month, the state is still $809 million above
budgeted revenues for the year with just two
months remaining.
"April revenues were ahead of the same month in
Fiscal Year 2017, but $80 million below the
monthly benchmark, primarily due to
lower-than-expected collections in corporate and
business taxes,” DOR Commissioner Chris Harding
said. "As noted last month, we expected the
lower April corporate tax collections after
realizing stronger corporate payments in March
due to a recent statutory change for payments."
Income tax collections in April of $269 million
were up 13 percent over last year and
withholding collections were up 15.3 percent.
Both categories beat the monthly benchmark.
Sales tax collections also beat the state's
target by $3 million, and were up almost 4
percent from 2017.
While corporate and business taxes missed the
benchmark by $147 million, collections in that
area where still up $123 million from April
2017.
So far in fiscal 2018, which ends on July 1, the
state has collected $22.7 billion, or 3.7
percent more than the governor and legislators
budgeted for last July.
State House News Service
Friday, May 4, 2018
Advances - Week of May 6, 2018
As Beacon Hill awaits word from the courts on
whether a $1.9 billion income surtax will remain
eligible for the November ballot, investments in
education, housing and mental health are
expected to be among the highlights when Senate
budget chief Karen Spilka releases her final
budget on Thursday. The Ashland Democrat is
spending her final months as Senate Ways and
Means Committee chair before her anticipated
promotion to Senate president in July.
As they enter their busy budget cycle, senators
hope to have put behind them the turmoil that
has engulfed the branch for most of this
session, culminating with former Senate
President Stan Rosenberg's resignation on Friday
in the wake of a damning report about the havoc
his husband caused in the Senate and Rosenberg's
failure to maintain a firewall between Bryon
Hefner and the Upper Branch.
Spilka recently warned against "spending sprees"
on Beacon Hill, but with tax collections up more
than 8 percent this fiscal year there's plenty
of speculation about a possible surplus and what
to do with it - spend it, save it, cut taxes, to
name a few.
The budget bill will be released on Thursday,
with debate planned the week of May 21.
According to the Massachusetts Taxpayers
Foundation, the House budget finished at $41.55
billion, after the addition through floor
amendments of nearly $80 million and 67 policy
sections. The bottom line on the House budget
was $158.5 million higher than the budget that
Gov. Charlie Baker submitted in January,
according to MTF.
As Democrats Jay Gonzalez and Bob Massie make
the rounds campaigning for governor, Baker has
opted against campaigning because, he says, he
wants to focus on legislation. The governor has
many bills he's trying to move out of
committees, including legislation addressing
opioid addiction, economic development and
housing production. Baker is also involved in
secret talks over ballot question alternatives.
State House News Service
Friday, May 4, 2018
Weekly Roundup - Rinse Cycle
By Matt Murphy
Troubling. Damning. Incredibly disturbing.
Pick an adjective and it was probably used this
week to describe the all-the-above Ethics
Committee report that ultimately toppled former
Senate President Stanley Rosenberg. For all of
the alarming incidents laid out in the report,
however, it was something far more basic in the
end that proved to be Rosenberg's undoing: a
broken promise.
Rosenberg, the 68-year-old, first openly gay
president of the Senate, resigned on Thursday
after a more than 30-year career in the
Legislature under intense pressure from fellow
senators, the governor and the attorney general
to wash clean the stain that has darkened the
State House for months.
The resignation, with an echo of defiance and a
dash of bitterness, followed the release, at
long-last, of the $230,000 report into Rosenberg
and whether he should shoulder any of the blame
for the meddlesome and possibly criminal
behavior of his husband.
If every politician who ever broke a promise was
forced to resign from office, there probably
wouldn't be enough people to run the government.
But as he sat on the cusp of becoming the most
powerful senator in Massachusetts in 2014,
Rosenberg made a pledge to his colleagues and
they trusted him.
Rosenberg said there would be a firewall between
his then boyfriend Bryon Hefner and the Senate.
And that firewall wasn't just an insurance
policy, but something born out of concerns
already shared by members of the Senate that
Hefner's behavior could become problematic. It
did.
In 77 pages of uncomfortable detail, the
independent investigators from the law firm
Hogan Lovells laid out a laundry list of ways
that Hefner had overstepped into Senate business
by contacting staff and emailing under his
husband's name, hurling racial epithets at a
staff member and, according to five of the 45
witnesses, crossing a physical line that include
unwanted sexual touching.
Rosenberg didn't do any of those things and he
probably didn't know about the most egregious,
but he knew enough, investigators and the Ethics
Committee concluded, that his inability to
protect the Senate from his husband was a
dereliction of duty.
The firewall, they said, was "non-existent."
It was that breach of trust, and the
consequences that stemmed from Rosenberg's
inability to maintain a line of demarcation
between his two lives that led to seven
Democrats publicly calling for Rosenberg to
quit, and many more probably harboring similar
feelings that they kept to themselves.
Rosenberg, in the end, made it easy on them by
resigning, but in doing so he wanted everyone to
remember that he broke no rules and was not
found to have let Hefner influence any Senate
business. And that, according to Rosenberg, was
all the firewall was ever intended to be.
Needless to say, everything else that happened
this week got blotted out by the Rosenberg
affair like a total eclipse. But that doesn't
mean that in the shadows, nothing happened.
In an unfortunate bit of timing for House
Speaker Robert DeLeo, the Winthrop Democrat
scheduled a major gun announcement at the same
time senators gathered behind closed doors to
review copies of the Ethics report.
Though his announcement may have been
overshadowed for the day, it won't be that way
for long. DeLeo gathered students and activists
to Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School to
give the green light to a "red flag" gun bill. A
green light from DeLeo essentially means that a
bill will pass the House, and the vote to do
that will apparently happen this month.
The legislation, which gathered steam following
the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, would
allow relatives, roommates or law enforcement to
petition the courts to bar someone from
possessing a firearm if their gun ownership
presents a "significant danger" to themselves or
others.
Supporters say the measure will save lives, but
gun rights groups loathe the concept as one that
tramples on their due process rights and turns a
blind eye to the real problem underlying gun
violence and mass shootings – mental illness.
While DeLeo said yes to the "red flag" bill, he
said probably not to another major piece of
legislation that some lawmakers hoped to get
done this year. The so-called Safe Communities
Act, which would restrict cooperation between
local law enforcement and federal immigration
agents, appears to be going nowhere.
DeLeo said the bill lacks consensus in the
House, and therefore he doesn't feel compelled
to bring the bill to the floor for a vote,
despite the governor, liberal and conservative
members of the Legislature (though it's true
they can't agree) all pushing for some type of
action to occur.
The result, however, is that for now it appears
the Supreme Judicial Court's Lunn decision will
remain the law of the commonwealth, barring
local police from holding anyone wanted by
Immigration and Customs unless they have another
reason to do so.
Baker may have to take the loss on immigration
enforcement, but things are looking up for his
opioid abuse prevention bill.
The Committee on Mental Health and Substance Use
Prevention recommended a redrafted version of
the governor's bill this week that included a
version of his three-day hold provision, which
Democrats roundly dismissed last session.
Baker can now focus on getting that bill and
others across the finish line, because he won't
be at all distracted by the demands of a
re-election campaign. That's because he doesn't
really plan to acknowledge that he has a
re-election campaign until at least August.
Despite drawing a primary challenge last weekend
from conservative anti-gay pastor Scott Lively,
Baker told reporters this week not to expect to
see him rev his trail motor until after July.
Needless to say, he doesn't seem too worried
about Lively.
"I think it's unlikely you'll see me do much
other than my job between now and the end of
this session," Baker said.
Rep. Nick Collins knows what it's like to not
have to campaign too hard and cruise into a
seat.
After Rep. Evandro Carvalho switched his focus
to the Suffolk DA's race, Collins faced only
nominal opposition and waltzed into First
Suffolk Senate seat on Tuesday in a special
election, the last of the year.
That hasn't stopped the departures, however.
Obviously, Rosenberg's resignation will leave
his vast western Massachusetts district
unrepresented during crunch time on Beacon Hill,
but the House lost another one this week.
Rep. Chris Walsh, of Framingham, died on
Wednesday after several years of battling
cancer, the second state representative to pass
away in as many weeks and the fifth legislator
to die in office this session.
STORY OF THE WEEK: The senator from the Happy
Valley was not so happy as pressure, husband
forced an end to a lengthy legislative career.
The Boston Herald
Friday, May 4, 2018
Paltry punishment a ‘black eye’ to State House
By Hillary Chabot
Don’t let former Senate President Stan
Rosenberg’s exit or any passionate pledges by
other senators to restore integrity to the
embattled chamber fool you — Beacon Hill pols
tried to protect the disgraced Amherst Dem to
the bitter end.
Senate Ethics Committee members carefully rolled
out their politically toxic report — finding
that Rosenberg didn’t break any rules and needed
only a mild slap on the wrist — despite an
avalanche of disturbing details that estranged
husband Bryon Hefner had interfered with Senate
business and harassed numerous staffers,
senators and others doing business on Beacon
Hill.
But the report — while decrying a “significant
failure of judgment and leadership” — let
Rosenberg’s fellow solons off the hook, allowing
them to simply bar him from leadership positions
for two years, and punting to the voters on
whether he should stay or not.
“As politicians do, they were preserving their
options until the very last minute,” said Thomas
Whalen, social science professor at Boston
University. “It gives a black eye to the entire
state Legislature, and at this point the overall
confidence in the state Senate is at an all-time
low.
“It stretches all credulity that they didn’t
find any rules broken,” Whalen said. “He’s one
of their own, and no matter what, they were
going to protect him. That’s just not how a
democratic legislature should operate.”
Senate leaders then put their fingers to the
political winds. Sen. Karen Spilka, in line to
be the next Senate president, inched her way
toward a call for Rosenberg to resign only under
mounting pressure from colleagues — and after
Attorney General Maura Healey and Gov. Charlie
Baker forced the issue, publicly calling for
Rosenberg to go.
Spilka had vaguely urged the Senate to “come
together, act decisively, and begin the process
of restoring the public trust” on Wednesday
night. A Spilka spokeswoman declined to explain
what had changed between that first statement
and her ultimate call for Rosenberg’s
resignation yesterday afternoon.
Lawyers from Hogan Lovell had handed their
82-page report to Senate Ethics Committee
members on April 11, sparking questions about
why the report was released just this week.
Senators waited until one day after the deadline
to submit nomination papers before releasing
their findings — limiting the chances for
serious Rosenberg challengers to make the
ballot.
Senate Ethics Committee Vice Chairman William
Brownsberger dismissively brushed aside
suggestions that the committee delayed release
of the explosive report to protect Rosenberg.
“That’s entirely incorrect, and in light of
everything that’s happened, it’s an absurd
accusation,” Brownsberger insisted. “Throughout
the process we have been pushing for the fastest
response possible,” he said.
The Salem News
Thursday, May 3, 2018
Push to require energy efficiency audits on home
sales worries Realtors
By Christian M. Wade, Statehouse Reporter
BOSTON – Homeowners would be required to get
energy audits prior to selling their property
under a new proposal that has riled the real
estate industry.
Gov. Charlie Baker has proposed a new system for
grading home energy efficiency that would make
Massachusetts the first state in the nation to
require homeowners to get energy audits as a
prerequisite for sales.
Energy Secretary Matthew Beaton, a former energy
efficiency consultant, compared the proposed
energy scorecards to mileage ratings for
automobiles.
"Just like comparing a sedan to an F-350, where
you know the mile-per gallon, you will be able
to look at that house and make the same
determination and know what your operational
costs are going to be before making a decision,"
he told a legislative hearing on Wednesday.
Beaton say the legislation, if approved, would
help tens of thousands of homeowners save on
utilities and keep the state on track to meet
carbon-reduction requirements under the Global
Warming Solutions Act, which calls for
substantially lowering greenhouse gas emissions
by 2025.
But the plan is getting a cool reception from
the Massachusetts Realtors Association, which
argues that mandating energy audits would impact
home sales.
They told lawmakers that a mandate could slow
turnover in an already tight housing market and
negatively affect low-income communities.
“We have not seen any evidence or data from the
(Baker) administration or other stakeholders
that this energy score will lead to more energy
efficiency,” Michael McDonagh, general counsel
for the Realtors, told lawmakers.
Boston-area broker Anthony Lamacchia told the
panel that adding another mandate to home sales
will have a chilling effect.
"Home-sellers are already stressed out and
overwhelmed when they're putting their home on
the market," he said. "Housing inventory is the
lowest it has ever been, and by adding to the
things that sellers have to do, we're going to
delay them from listing and prohibit some
sellers from listing at all."
If the plan is approved, homeowners would be
required to get energy efficiency scorecards for
all real estate transactions by 2021.
The state would license new energy efficiency
inspectors – like building inspectors – to
conduct home audits and assign a score to the
property.
The scores — which will factor in lighting,
insulation, the efficiency of a home’s heating
and cooling systems, leaky windows and other
structural factors — would be good for 10 years,
Beaton said.
Homeowners wouldn’t be required to make
recommended upgrades based on the energy audits,
but Beaton expects that many will.
“There is no mandate to do anything to the
house,” he told lawmakers. “This is just
information.”
The state Senate approved a similar proposal in
2016, but the effort stalled amid negotiations
with House leaders.
Baker's plan has won support from
environmentalists, who say the changes will help
reduce the state's carbon output and meet its
renewable energy goals.
"Energy efficiency is the best form of energy
supply, as there is nothing cheaper or more
environmentally friendly than not using energy
at all," said Emily Norton, executive director
of the Massachusetts chapter of the Sierra Club,
at Wednesday’s hearing.
"So the more we can incentivize homeowners to
invest in energy efficiency and thereby reduce
their energy usage, the better," she added.
Baker administration officials say the
residential home sector amounts to roughly a
quarter of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Currently, the state audits more than 60,000
homes a year through its Mass Save program, but
the reviews are voluntary and owners must
request them. Baker administration officials say
the ultimate goal is to have energy efficiency
grades for most the state's estimated 1.8
million residential properties.
The Department of Energy Resources has a pilot
scorecard program that has scored more than
3,800 homes in the Springfield area.
The state also provides energy efficiency grants
to local governments to reduce power usage in
water and sewer treatment plants.
Most of the state's major utilities – including
National Grid and Eversource – offer consumers
home efficiency audits to help reduce energy
consumption through Mass Save.
The efforts have helped make Massachusetts a
national leader in energy efficiency, winning
the state a top ranking by green groups seven
years in a row.
The Salem News
Wednesday, May 2, 2018
A Salem News editorial
Home energy audits should remain voluntary
Mass Save is an important resource that doesn’t
get the attention it merits. Sponsored by the
state’s utilities, its main program dispatches
auditors to survey homes for things such as
insulation and light bulbs. An audit — and
rebates for the upgrades that follow — can save
energy and big bucks for a consumer. Homeowners
who take the advice can slice their consumption
of gas, electricity and water, shrinking their
home’s carbon footprint.
It’s something everyone should do — especially
those of us living in older homes. Still,
there’s a difference between should and must. As
beneficial as the program is — and tens of
thousands of people have taken advantage — the
state would make a mistake by requiring its use.
Gov. Charlie Baker wants just that. He’s
floating a novel idea — Massachusetts would be
the first state to do this — requiring the
disclosure of a home energy score whenever a
house is sold. A seller could contact an
organization like Mass Save, or hire an
independent energy specialist, to complete a
scorecard. This would let buyers know of
potential problems — for example, that the attic
needs insulation or heating system is
inefficient. A review would come at no cost to
the seller, unless they hired an independent
professional to do it.
Baker’s legislation was slated for a committee
hearing on Beacon Hill on Wednesday.
The idea has been likened to government-mandated
ratings for local and highway mileage slapped
onto the windows of cars at the dealership. “I
think it only makes sense for homeowners to have
the same exact kind of information about how
efficient a house is before they buy it,” Eric
Wilkinson, director of energy policy for the
Environmental League of Massachusetts, told
State House News Service.
Information and disclosure are good things, less
so repetition and bureaucracy. Forcing
home-sellers to order up an audit and report the
score is a solution in search of a problem.
Buyers are already entitled to order an
inspection. Certainly most issues identified by
an energy audit are also flagged -- or could be
-- by a home inspector. If a careful buyer is
looking for the extra insight of an energy
audit, they can arrange one. Perhaps Mass Save
could offer its services in those situations, if
it doesn’t already.
Think, too, about the hassle. Imagine all home
sales are contingent on the visit of an energy
auditor. Presuming the state uses Mass Save for
this work, the organization reported 84,000 home
energy assessments last year and would have to
nearly double its capacity, considering the
78,000 single-family homes and condos sold the
same year. If it got backlogged and a seller had
to hire a private inspector, the process could
get delayed and costly.
Even more taxing is the already burdensome
process of buying and selling a home. There’s
the septic system disclosure and the lead paint
disclosure. There’s a certification that the
smoke detectors work. Most buyers want to know
whether radon is present in the basement, or
asbestos on the pipes. Slathering on another
disclosure, even a well intended one, adds at
least one more document to the sheaf of
paperwork piled on the closing table. Of course,
the bank writing the mortgage probably wants a
copy, too.
Where does it end? Should sellers pull together
a report on neighborhood crime and traffic, or
disclose the MCAS scores of area schools?
In all seriousness, energy assessments are a
worthwhile exercise. Mass Save alone has visited
hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses,
saving hundreds of millions of dollars. Last
year its auditors distributed more than 41,000
low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators,
reducing water consumption immeasurably. Its
auditors screwed in more than 9,000 energy
efficient light bulbs.
It’s a valuable opportunity for anyone and an
important resource in a state determined to
reduce its consumption of energy from fossil
fuels.
It should be left at that, however, instead of
becoming the bane of home sellers and real
estate transactions. |
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