June Update from Representative Benson

This month, the House has been very busy finalizing the state's budget, and passing legislation aimed at reducing health care costs, financing our transportation system, and promoting clean energy. I also attended a number of events across the district and am preparing for the end of formal sessions in July.

The House passed a health care cost containment bill aimed at lowering health care costs this month. After months of negotiations, I am very happy that we have found a solution that will allow Massachusetts residents to have access to the same, high-quality health care while reducing costs. Massachusetts has led the way in making sure comprehensive health coverage is available to every resident and we need to continue to work towards keeping costs down.

This legislation will reduce health care costs in a variety of ways by promoting health information technology and the use of electronic health records, reducing medical spending by setting a target that will grow less rapidly than the state economy, and requiring high-cost providers to show quality or unique service in order to justify their higher prices. Also, the House bill will ensure that all consumers will have access to detailed comparative price and quality information and will allow all patients and providers to voluntarily join an Accountable Care Organization (ACO).

I am personally very pleased that my initiative for promoting women's health was adopted as an amendment in the bill. The amendment aims to make women's health care more affordable by streamlining payments for routine physical examinations. It will require all health insurers to pay health care providers for certain routine preventive screenings for women, such as pap smears and breast examinations, even if those screenings are provided on the same day as the patient's annual physical examination or another medical appointment. I am hopeful that this will provide women throughout the Commonwealth better access to such important examinations.   

The House also passed an important bill that will extend financial assistance to the MBTA and RTAs, closing the MBTA's budget gap for the upcoming fiscal year. The House bill will transfer $51 million from the Motor Vehicle Inspection Trust Fund to the MBTA and regional transit aurthorities (RTAs). The bill will also increase fare evasion fines.  

As a member of the RTA Caucus, I am very pleased that the House and the Senate have approved a one-time funding increase of $3.5 million that will give RTAs a financial boost at the end of the current fiscal year. $1.5 million of this comes from the excess snow and ice removal funds and $2 million from the Motor Vehicle Inspection Trust Fund. Public transportation is vital to our communities and residents as it takes them to work, to the doctor, and on errands around town. I'm glad that this bill addresses both the MBTA and RTAS, covering public transportation services throughout the district.   

The House passed an energy bill this month expanding on the Green Communities Act of 2008 by requiring utility companies to enter into long-term renewable energy contracts, satisfying an additional 4% of their peak load. The bill also raises the net-metering cap from 2%-3% of a utility company's peak load on public generation facilities and from 1%-3% of a utility company's peak load on private generation facilities. Both of these provisions will require utility companies to use more renewable energy, and will allow for more residential and town-owned renewable installations.

After the devastating ice storm in 2008, we passed legislation aimed at holding utilities accountable and protecting rate payers during outages. When utilities failed to perform again during the two storms in 2011, we realized there was more work to be done. This month, the House passed a bill requiring stronger communication between utility companies, towns, and customers. The legislation ensures continuous access to staff assistance and twice-daily updates from companies on the estimated return of service through multiple media outlets. The bill also ensures that the penalties paid by utility companies due to service faults during emergency situations are returned to rate payers instead of the state's general fund. I'm pleased that the House improved on our earlier bill, providing better service to rate payers and once again making sure our utilities are held accountable. 

I joined my House and Senate colleagues in passing the final FY'13 budget this month, one that makes important investments in local aid and reflects our recovering economy. The budget of $32.5 billion includes an increase in funding for both Chapter 70 and local aid. Our district will receive over $1.5 million in additional education aid through Chapter 70 and almost $400,000 more in local aid over last fiscal year. I was also able to successfully advocate for regionalization incentive aid for the new Ayer-Shirley school district and prison mitigation funding for Lancaster and Shirley for hosting prison facilities.   

As the Co-Chair of the House Elder Caucus, I was also pleased to see support for elder services programs throughout the budget, including an increase in the grants to local Councils on Aging, bringing funding up to $7/senior. 

Also included in the budget is increased funding for the Community Preservation Act, and updates to make it easier for cities and towns to use the program in support of the projects that are right for them. We also recognized the importance of emphasizing homelessness prevention and housing first programs, and increased the funding for the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program. I listened to the concerns of the district and was happy to advocate on your behalf.   

This month, I have been named to serve as a member of the Massachusetts Workforce Investment Board. In this new role, I will advise the Governor and Legislative Branch on creating and sustaining the workforce Massachusetts needs to remain a competitive force in the global economy. With my experience on both the Joint Committee on Education and as the Vice-Chair of the Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Business, I will be able to contribute to the board's goal of ensuring that Massachusetts' workers have the skills they need to fill the jobs that the state's businesses create. I look forward to working with my fellow board members to support Massachusetts workers and the business community.  

June was a busy month in the 37th Middlesex District. This month, I attended a number of events, including the ribbon cutting event for Life-Skills, Inc. to celebrate the grand opening of LSI Consignment and Yankee Thrift Stores in Lunenburg. I was pleased to present Life-Skills, Inc. with a citation to congratulate them on their new store. I was also a return guest on Bryan Dumont's cable access show, "Down the Middle," and I was happy to answer questions on state and district issues. I was also honored to speak at the Lunenburg Police and Firefighters Memorial to give thanks to the men and women who protect and serve Lunenburg residents every day. I was particularly pleased to honor Chief Glenny and Chief Bourgeois, both of whom are retiring this year. I hope they enjoy a well deserved retirement. I look forward to hearing from many of you as we close out the 2011-2012 legislative session and hope you all have a safe, enjoyable summer.