Beacon Hill Roll Call
Volume 38 – Report. 44
October 28 – November 1, 2013
Copyright © 2013 Beacon Hill Roll Call. All Rights Reserved.
By Bob Katzen

THE HOUSE AND SENATE: Beacon Hill Roll Call records the votes of local representatives on four roll calls and local senators on two from the week of October 28-November 1.

HELP MILITARY FAMILIES (H 3720)
House 155-0, approved the VALOR II Act, a bill that would expand financial and education benefits and many other services for veterans, active-duty military personnel and their families. Provisions include increasing the buffer zone of 500 feet to 1,000 feet for demonstrations at any military funeral; allowing college students who are called to active duty the option to complete their courses at a later date or withdraw and receive a refund of all tuition and fees; and allowing private-sector employers to give preference to veterans and spouses of 100 percent disabled veterans.

Supporters noted that one in three homeless people in the nation are veterans. They pointed out that one in five Massachusetts veterans suffer post-traumatic stress and 11 percent suffer traumatic brain injuries. They said the state should provide the proposed additional benefits and opportunities to the thousands of Bay State veterans who have served and are still serving our nation.

(A “Yes” vote is for the bill.)

Rep. Denise Provost Yes Rep. Carl Sciortino Yes Rep. Timothy Toomey Yes

SUPPORT RULING ON HOUSING ELIGIBILITY (H 3735)
House 126-29, upheld the ruling of the acting House Speaker that a proposed amendment to the VALOR II Act was beyond the scope of the bill and would not be allowed on the House floor for debate and a vote. The amendment would have required all current tenants and new applicants for subsidized public housing to provide their social security number for use by the state in verifying their eligibility.

Supporters of the ruling said that verifying eligibility for housing has nothing to do with expansion of benefits for military members and their families.

Opponents of the ruling said it is outrageous that currently people can get subsidized housing without producing a social security number.

(A “Yes” vote is against the amendment being allowed for consideration. A “No” vote supports allowing consideration.)

Rep. Denise Provost Yes Rep. Carl Sciortino Yes Rep. Timothy Toomey Yes

APPROVE $1.4 BILLION FOR HOUSING (H 3727)
House 151-2, and Senate, on a voice vote without a roll call, approved and sent to the governor the conference committee’s version of a bill allowing the administration to borrow $1.4 billion over five years for public and affordable housing. Provisions include $500 million to renovate and modernize many of the state’s 45,000 public housing units; $55 million in loan guarantees to assist homeowners with blindness or severe disabilities to make their homes accessible; and $45 million for loans for the development of community-based housing for individuals with mental illness and intellectual disabilities.

Supporters said that Massachusetts has the 4th highest average home sale price in the nation. They noted this package will help thousands of people remain in their homes or find new affordable housing in the state.

Opponents expressed concern that another $1.4 billion is being approved for housing without assurances that the benefits will be reserved for people with proper legal documentation.

(A “Yes” vote is for the bill. A “No” vote is against it.)

Rep. Denise Provost Yes Rep. Carl Sciortino Yes Rep. Timothy Toomey Yes

PROCEDURES FOR WELFARE REFORM BILL (H 3728)
House 125-29, voted for an order that would set procedural parameters for debate on the upcoming bill making changes in the state’s welfare system. The order required the bill to be filed by 5 p.m. Friday November 1 and all amendments to be filed by 5 p.m. Monday November 4.

Supporters said the time period was reasonable and allowed for adequate time for the process.

Opponents said that legislators would need more time to read the bill before crafting amendments and more time to file them.

(A “Yes” vote is for the order. A “No” vote is against it.)

Rep. Denise Provost Yes Rep. Carl Sciortino Yes Rep. Timothy Toomey Yes

REGULATION OF COMPOUNDING PHARMACIES (S 1899)
Senate 38-0, approved a bill that would increase the state’s oversight and regulation of compounding pharmacies and the state agencies that regulate them. The House already approved a similar measure. The Senate version now goes back to the House for consideration.

The proposal comes a year to the month after an outbreak of fungal meningitis infected hundreds of people across the nation and killed 61, prompting an investigation that led the State Board of Pharmacy to revoke the license of the New England Compounding Center in Framingham, the pharmacy found to have compounded the drugs that caused the infections. Provisions include establishing a specialty license for all sterile and non-sterile compounding pharmacies and mandating unannounced, detailed inspections of all licensed pharmacies.

Supporters said the bill sets many new standards and requires more transparency from the pharmacies, which will save lives. They argued it will hold pharmacies to high standards in quality control and sterility, and would bring compounding pharmacy operations out of the shadows and put them in a regulatory framework to ensure the tragedies will never happen again.

(A “Yes” vote is for the bill.)

Sen. Patricia Jehlen Yes

LABELING OF MEDICATIONS (S 1899)
Senate 37-0, approved an amendment to the pharmacy bill that would require hospital pharmacies to label pharmaceuticals as sterile or non-sterile. Supporters said this would help guarantee that the drug delivered to a patient was in fact the drug prescribed and help prevent medical errors.

(A “Yes” vote is for the amendment.)

Sen. Patricia Jehlen Yes

ALSO UP ON BEACON HILL

BUYERS MUST NOW PAY 6.25 PERCENT SALES TAX ON AMAZON SALES – November 1 marked the first day that a 6.25 percent sales tax is being collected on every online purchase made by Massachusetts residents on Amazon.com. Amazon is voluntarily collecting the state sales tax for online purchases as a result of negotiations with the state, without the usual process of a bill having to be passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor. Currently, Amazon.com, Overstock.com and other Internet companies are exempt from collecting the tax under a 1992 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that Internet retailers only have to charge sales tax in states in which they have a “physical presence.”

MAKE PARENTAL LEAVE GENDER NEUTRAL (H 1774) – The House gave initial approval to a bill previously passed by the Senate that would change the state’s female-only maternity leave law to a gender-neutral one. The law gives parents of a newborn or adopted child eight weeks off, with or without pay at the discretion of the employer, and the right to return to their job after that period.

Supporters noted that it is unfair for leave related to the birth of a child to be reserved for women exclusively. Further House and Senate approval is necessary before the measure is sent to Gov. Patrick.

WEST NILE VIRUS (H 1932) – The House gave initial approval to a bill requiring the Commissioner of the Department of Public Health, when issuing public health warnings about the dangers to humans associated with the West Nile Virus, to include all known risks to pregnant women.

SCHOOL BUS DRIVER DAY (H 2880) – The House gave initial approval to a bill establishing School Bus Driver Day on October 20, recognizing the “invaluable contributions of the commonwealth’s school bus drivers to the safe delivery of the state’s children to and from school” and recommending that the day be observed in an appropriate manner by the people. The measure was approved on October 30, so the day of honor for the drivers will be delayed almost a year, until October 20, 2014.

SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME AWARENESS WEEK (H 2881), RARE DISEASE DAY (H 2774) – The House gave initial approval to two other commemorative bills — establishing a Shaken Baby Syndrome Awareness Week in April and a Rare Disease Day in February.

POSSIBLE BAY STATE HOSTING OF 2024 OLYMPICS (S 1840) – Gov. Deval Patrick signed a measure creating an 11-member commission to study the possibility of the Bay State hosting the Summer Olympic Games in 2024.

QUOTABLE QUOTES

“Amazon is paving the way for taxation without legislation. They are collecting an online sales tax before lawmakers have the opportunity to vote on the merits of the tax.”

Paul Craney, Executive Director of Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, on the decision by Amazon to begin collecting a 6.25 percent sales tax on online purchases made by residents of Massachusetts.

“This was a targeted fare hike at a vulnerable population.”

Sen. Ken Donnelly (D-Arlington), commenting to the Transportation Committee on the MBTA’s increase in fares for its Ride service, which provides transportation to those with limited mobility.

“I tried to grow a beard but Michelle, she wasn’t having it.”

President Barack Obama, explaining his clean-shaven appearance on a visit to Boston on the day the Bearded Red Sox trounced the Cardinals in the World Series.

“I filed this legislation to prevent the creation of a new generation of nicotine addicts.”

Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez (D-Jamaica Plain), on his bill that would extend the current restrictions on tobacco products to e-cigarettes, including prohibition of their sales to minors and prevention of their use where smoking is banned.

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 October 28-November 1, 2013, the House met for a total of eight hours and 59 minutes while the Senate met for a total of seven hours and 4 minutes.

Mon. October 28 House 11:00 a.m. to 11:14 a.m.
Senate 11:04 a.m. to 11:12 a.m.

Tues. October 29 No House session
No Senate session

Wed. October 30 House 11:08 a.m. to 4:20 p.m.
Senate 1:00 p.m. to 4:19 p.m.

Thurs. October 31 House 11:05 a.m. to 2:38 p.m.
Senate 11:02 a.m. to 2:39 p.m.

Fri. November 1 No House session
No Senate session

Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com