The House of Representatives closed out the first half of the two-year legislative session with a record of results that saw bold leadership on nation-leading energy reform and sweeping changes that will better protect vulnerable children.
Gov. Deval Patrick signed into law 170 bills, more than had become law by the same point in either 2003 or 2005. House members approved legislation aimed at tackling some of the most pressing problems facing the Commonwealth—from the wave of mortgage foreclosures to identity theft protection and ever-escalating property taxes.
The House passed several top priorities of Gov. Patrick’s, including his first legislative filing creating the Commonwealth Corps volunteer effort, significant pieces of his Municipal Partnership Act, and several reorganization plans to help the governor more effectively run his administration.
Legislative Accomplishments
Group Insurance Commission (GIC) For Municipal Employees—Chapter 67 of the Acts of 2007: In acknowledgement that the skyrocketing cost of providing health insurance to municipal workers had become a drain on the coffers of cities and towns across the Commonwealth, the House passed legislation to allow municipal workers and retirees to opt into the Group Insurance Commission (GIC) healthcare plan, which will yield millions of dollars in savings to municipalities that can be used to provide much-needed property tax reductions.
Pension Reserves Investment Trust (PRIT) For Municipal Employees—Chapter 68 of the Acts of 2007: Maintaining its commitment to cities and towns throughout the Commonwealth, the House passed legislation to permit the state to take over poorly performing municipal pension systems, a measure that will provide significant savings to municipalities and help provide further property tax relief.
Identity Theft—Chapter 82 of the Acts of 2007: To protect Massachusetts residents from the growing problem of identity theft, the House passed comprehensive legislation to notify the public of data breaches, establish security freezes of accounts subject to identity theft, and set standards for disposal of records containing personal data.
Union Authorization Cards—Chapter 120 of the Acts of 2007: The House passed legislation allowing public workers who want to unionize the ability to do so by signing majority authorization cards.
Protecting Marriage Equality: The House voted down a discriminatory constitutional amendment and upheld a decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to protect marriage equality in the Commonwealth.
Darfur Divestment—Chapter 151 of the Acts of 2007: In an effort to help weaken the government-sanctioned genocide occurring in Darfur, the House voted to divest the state’s employee pension funds from companies providing financial support to the Sudanese government.
Buffer Zone Expansion Around Reproductive Clinics—Chapter 155 of the Acts of 2007: The House passed legislation to establish a 35-foot buffer zone around reproductive health clinics in Massachusetts. The legislation builds on existing law to more than double the size of the current buffer zone and establishes a fixed rather than a floating no-protest area, 35 feet from the property line of a clinic.
Tidelands/Chapter 91—Chapter 168 of the Acts of 2007: The House overwhelmingly passed legislation to ensure a new, public-driven review process for large-scale projects being built on the Commonwealth’s many tidelands.
Mortgage Foreclosure Relief—H. 4306 Enacted by the House: In the midst of a national and statewide mortgage foreclosure crisis, the House passed bold new legislation to help stem the number of mortgage foreclosures by encouraging banks to help borrowers, providing a new three-month window to cure defaults and mandating tough new licensing standards for mortgage loan originators.
Child Abuse and Neglect Legislation—H. 4191 Enacted by the House: Acting to toughen the laws meant to protect our most vulnerable children from abuse and neglect, the House passed legislation to create a new cabinet secretary dedicated solely to child welfare, establish minimum educational requirements for social workers and their supervisors, order training of mandatory reporters, and increase criminal penalties.
Green Communities Act of 2007—H. 4373 Enacted by the House: The House unanimously approved energy reform legislation to promote the use of cleaner, renewable energy in Massachusetts. The bill establishes energy goals for the Commonwealth and acts to implement those goals through statewide clean energy initiatives and reforms. The bill provides incentives to individuals, business owners, and municipalities to invest in energy-saving technologies and aims to reduce energy consumption at the state level.
In Other Business
Resor Votes for Emergency Home Heating Assistance
Last month the Senate acted to avert a home heating crisis by unanimously approving $15 million in state funding to help more than 100,000 elderly residents and low-income families stay warm this winter.
“The increasing costs of heating fuel in the winter months can cause extreme hardship, especially for people of low or fixed incomes,” said Sen. Pam Resor. “With this state assistance program, many residents can be assured that they will get through the winter without having to choose between heat, child care, and groceries.”
The emergency appropriation will supplement the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and help eligible households remain financially stable during the cold winter months.
The Senate is joined by the House and the governor’s office in making the emergency state funding available for LIHEAP, which operates every year from Nov. 1 through April 30.
The money will be funneled to the Department of Housing and Community Development for distribution to nonprofit, community action agencies across the state who accept applications for assistance. The agencies then make payments directly to utilities or landlords on behalf of the eligible households.
Homeowners and tenants with incomes up to 200 percent of the poverty level are eligible for the fuel assistance funding.
The emergency appropriation will now go to the governor’s desk for his signature.
Senate Approves Fuel Benefits Bill for Veterans
On the heels of $15 million in approved emergency state heating assistance for elderly residents and low-income families, the Massachusetts Senate recently passed a bill to provide additional fuel benefits this winter for hundreds of veterans across the Commonwealth.
“Many veterans may be on a fixed income and therefore find it hard to adjust to higher heating bills in the winter months,” said Sen. Pam Resor. “This bill reinforces federal assistance and ensures that Massachusetts veterans are being well cared for.”
The Senate’s bill would require an additional $3.9 million annually, ensuring for the first time that fuel benefits for veterans and their dependents have a statutory minimum level instead of a discretionary annual review.
The cost of heating oil has increased 117 percent in the last seven years. Allowances in veteran benefits for fuel, however, have not kept pace—showing only a 12 percent increase during the same time period. This, along with a jump in property taxes and mortgage rates, has resulted in a disproportional burden on veterans.
The bill now goes to the House of Representatives.
Residential Oil Spill Bill Passes Senate
Each year there are approximately 350-400 home heating fuel spills at residential properties in Massachusetts. Not only do these spills cost homeowners an average of $50,000 and as much as $250,000, these incidents also have serious adverse impacts on peoples’ health and the environment, such as ground or surface water contamination. Surprisingly, many homeowners’ insurance policies do not cover heating fuel spills, leaving families with enormous clean-up costs.
State Sen. Pam Resor, chairman of the Environment, Natural Resources, & Agriculture Committee, has filed legislation to help protect homeowners from these detrimental oil spill incidents.
“With several easily installed measures in place, homeowners can help avoid these costly incidents,” said Resor. “This legislation sets up a system to reward homeowners who upgrade their fuel supply lines, install safety valves, and other leak deterrence devices.”
If passed, this legislation would require system upgrades by the year 2010 and property owners would become eligible for insurance coverage with minimum limits and deductibles.
This bill has been routinely supported by organizations such as the Mass. Municipal Association, Mass. Oil Heat Council, National Assoc. of Industrial & Office Properties, and the Licensed Site Professional Association.
This bill passed in the Senate and now goes to the House for further debate.
Senate Votes for Long-Term Health Care Standards
The Senate recently approved legislation to establish long-term health care insurance in the Commonwealth, adding a new chapter to the General Laws that defines long-term care and provides a framework of oversight through the Division of Insurance.
The proposed legislation would increase options for consumers by allowing out-of-state policies that meet statutory and regulatory requirements of the Commonwealth to be sold to Massachusetts residents.
“Many citizens will encounter the overwhelming costs of long-term care in their lifetime and some people choose to defray those costs by purchasing insurance,” said Sen. Pam Resor. “This legislation would fill a void in current Massachusetts statutes by enhancing consumer options and setting standards for long-term care insurance.”
The legislation provides regulated consumer protections to prevent deceptive practices against policy holders, including safeguards that would require policy summaries for consumers and a 30-day right to return the policy for a refund.
Provided by the offices of Rep. James Eldridge and Sen. Pamela Resor
