House Completes Session of Accomplishment

At the end of July, I joined my colleagues in completing the Massachusetts Legislature’s 2011-2012 legislative session. In these two years, we made major strides towards our goals of enacting government reform, promoting economic development, and spurring job creation. 

 

I am proud of what we have come together to accomplish this session. The legislature addressed issues ranging from rising health care costs and economic development to utility storm response and home foreclosures. We have worked hard these past two years to tackle some of the most important problems facing our Commonwealth and I am pleased with what we were able to get done. 

 

As required by our rules, the formal meetings of our two year session ended at midnight on July 31^st. While my colleagues and I will continue working for our constituents and in our districts, all major legislation had to pass by this deadline. Throughout the session, the House has adopted bills on a variety of issues including support for returning veterans, improvements to anti-human trafficking laws, state finance law reforms, and a reorganization of the state judicial system.  

 

Near the end of formal sessions, the House and Senate passed a compromise bill addressing the Commonwealth’s rising health care costs. Our cost-control bill is estimated to save the Commonwealth $200 billion over the next 15 years while improving the quality of care, increasing patient access, and strengthening the transparency and accountability of the state’s entire health care system. For the first time in the nation, the bill establishes a statewide health care cost growth benchmark based on the potential growth of the state’s gross state product. It also reorganizes a Health Policy Commission which will conduct annual cost trend hearings and administer funding sources to help distressed hospitals, promote wellness programs, and implement a statewide electronic medical records system. This landmark legislation builds on the Health Care Reform Act of 2006, recognizing the work done to provide comprehensive coverage for every resident and now moving to bring those costs under control. 

 

As the Vice-Chair of the Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Businesses, I was pleased to see final passage of a comprehensive economic development and jobs creation bill. The legislation implements strategically-focused economic development policies to make Massachusetts more competitive by improving the Commonwealth’s innovation economy, promoting economic prosperity through infrastructure investments and streamlined permitting, facilitating the expansion of new and existing businesses, and training our workforce for the future. The newly created MassWorks Infrastructure Program will serve as a one-stop-shop for infrastructure funding, simplifying the process for municipalities and enabling the state to allocate funding in the most efficient manner. Recognizing that they are the lifeblood of the Massachusetts economy, the bill also provides financial support and a new online resource for small business owners. Additionally, the legislation provides for a recapitalization of the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund with a focus on “middle skill” jobs through collaboration between public educational institutions, workforce investment boards, and local employers. The bill also designates a sales tax holiday for August 11^th and 12^th, making it the eighth consecutive year the Commonwealth has provided at least one sales-tax-free day.

 

We also sent the Governor a bill directly addressing competition among utility companies and the high cost of electricity, while also promoting renewable energy. Seeking to reduce the price of electricity, the bill requires the identification of cost-drivers, more frequent rate reviews, and it demands more competition. Importantly, the bill also increases the net metering cap for municipal and privately owned projects that generate their own renewable energy. This will allow for more renewable energy projects throughout the Commonwealth. Because of the state’s ongoing commitment to renewable resources, Massachusetts has the second-lowest greenhouse gas emissions of any region in the nation, and is a frontrunner in the clean energy economy, which employs 64,000 people statewide. This legislation is careful to maintain this position without harming the many successful businesses for which electricity is a detrimental cost of doing business. 

 

Responding to abuses revealed through state audits, we passed a bill improving the governance, financial accountability, and state and local oversight of regional education collaboratives. As a former Lunenburg School Committeeman and member of the Joint Committee on Education, I was pleased to work on this important piece of legislation. The bill establishes new procedures increasing transparency and oversight, and implementing stricter reporting requirements on programs, services, and students’ progress. Additionally, this legislation establishes an 11-member commission to study the role of education collaboratives in Massachusetts. As a strong advocate for high quality, effective special education, I look forward to continuing my work on this issue next session.

 

Other bills passed this session include further reforms to the pension system, redistricting for legislative and congressional seats following the decennial census, criminal sentencing reforms for the most violent habitual offenders, response requirements for utility companies during storms, and a bill updating the nurse midwife laws to provide better access to effective, affordable health care for women across the Commonwealth. With formal sessions complete, the legislature will now meet in informal sessions until newly elected members are sworn into the 188^th General Court of Massachusetts next January. I look forward to continuing my work throughout the district and with all of you during this time.