A Letter from Canton's Representative William Galvin

A letter by Canton Representative William C. Galvin:

To My Constituents:

As you may have heard, the , along with my colleagues in the Senate, have taken action on a number of very significant policy initiatives that are now on Governor Patrick’s desk. I would like to take a moment to share with you some of the highlights, as well as, why I voted for them.

CASINOS

As you may have read, the Conference Committee on Casino Gaming in the Commonwealth reached a compromise early this week, allowing for a vote to allow three casinos and one slot parlor to be built in Massachusetts. For myself and many of my colleagues, this is first and foremost a jobs bill. Under this legislation, there will be thousands of construction jobs created to build these casinos, followed by thousands more in service jobs created to run these establishments. Given the current state of the economy and the funds that will be returned to the state’s coffers, I felt that this was the right move for Massachusetts and therefore voted for the compromise plan.

Licensing fees collected by the state – at least $85 million for each casino and $25 million for the slot facility license – would be used for community mitigation, local capital projects, community colleges, tourism and other municipal needs.

The legislation contains strong community aid and mitigation provisions requiring the Gaming Commission to work with municipalities on reducing potential negative effects brought on by a gaming establishment. Most importantly, no gaming facility would be built in a community without the residents of that community approving a project in a referendum vote The legislation also provides protections for local business, requiring gaming facilities to negotiate agreements to level the playing field in terms of live entertainment and other cultural-related events.

The legislation establishes a strict law enforcement and regulatory structure, with the enforcement of gaming laws falling upon dedicated state police and attorney general units, which will collaborate with local police from any host community. The independent Gaming Commission will oversee and regulate casino and slot gaming in the Commonwealth. It will consist of governor, attorney general and treasurer appointees who must have experience in legal and gaming policy, law enforcement and finance.  To curb problems of addiction, family members will be able to petition to have relatives banned from casinos if they have a gambling problem.

The bill prevents all public employees – whether state, local or elected – who worked on expanded gaming legislation or are involved in any negotiations for the licensing of gaming establishments from seeking a job at a casino for at least one year after leaving their job.

Under the legislation, the Gaming Commission can offer up to three casino licenses, divided by region, and one slot facility license with up to 1,250 slot machines bid competitively statewide. The three casino regions are:

• Eastern Region – consisting of Suffolk, Middlesex, Essex, Norfolk and Worcester counties;
• Southeastern Region – consisting of Bristol, Plymouth, Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket counties; and
• Western Region – consisting of Berkshire, Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties.

Additionally, the legislation recognizes federal tribal rights and therefore authorizes the governor to contract with Native American tribes before casino license applications are submitted. There are currently two federally recognized tribes in Massachusetts: the Mashpee Wampanoag and the Aquinnah.

I am very proud to stand with my colleagues and vote in favor of creating some of the toughest law in the nation surrounding the despicable practice known as . This unfortunate phenomenon has an alarming rate of occurrence, even in Massachusetts, so we as a Legislature responded by passing a bill that includes criminal sentences up to five years in prison for attempted human trafficking, up to 20 years for trafficking adults, and up to life imprisonment for the trafficking of minors. Businesses involved in trafficking would face up to a $1 million fine for the first offense, with a mandatory minimum of 10 years to a maximum of life for a second offense. These offenses also carry a 5-year mandatory minimum sentence.

The legislation also removes any statute of limitations for trafficking crimes and creates a 15-year criminal penalty for trafficking human organs, and it updates sex offender registration laws to include human trafficking and the enticement of a minor into prostitution through the use of electronic devices. Anyone convicted of these crimes would be required to register in Massachusetts as a sex offender.

To further protect and help victims, the legislation creates the “Victims of Human Trafficking Trust Fund” which will be funded from fines and convicted human traffickers’ forfeited assets. Additionally, items used in the commission of the crime (buildings, cars, boats, etc.) are subject to asset forfeiture with all of the proceeds going to the victims fund.

The legislation also:

• Establishes an Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force, comprised of state officials, law enforcement, victims’ services organizations and trafficking victims to investigate and study rates of human trafficking, prevention, and the treatment of victims;
• Increases the penalty for soliciting a prostitute, and increases the penalty for soliciting sex from a person under 18;
• Allows defendants who are victims of human trafficking and charged with prostitution to establish a defense of duress or coercion;
• Establishes a “safe harbor provision” that allows the Commonwealth, defendant or court to request a hearing for a child arrested for prostitution to instead receive protection services;
• Requires the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to provide services to sexually exploited children and to immediately report to the district attorneys and the police any child the department believes to be a sexually exploited child;
• Amends the mandated reporting law so that mandated reporters, such as doctors, social workers, teachers and probation officers, must report to DCF when they have reasonable cause to believe that a child is sexually exploited; 
• Establishes a process for victims of trafficking to bring civil actions; and
• Increases potential sentences for “Johns” to 2 ½ years in a house of correction and creates a mandatory $1,000 fine.

PENSION REFORM

Expected to save $5 Billion over the next thirty years, we voted in favor of that curbs the practice of “salary spiking” by increasing the look-back period to calculate benefits from three to five years.

The legislation also expands on a reform passed by the legislature two years ago which eliminated the so-called “Section 10” loophole that allowed elected officials to claim a “termination allowance” based on the failure to be nominated or re-elected. That option is eliminated entirely for all new employees. Additionally, a retirement benefit cannot be received until the individual has reached the minimum retirement age.

The legislation also increases the retirement age for all new employees:

• Group 1 (elected officials and most general employees): Increases the retirement age to 60-67 from the current 55-65.
• Group 2 (employees with titles reflecting hazardous duties): Increases the retirement age to 55-62 from the current 55-60.
• Group 4 (firefighters, police officers, some corrections officers): Increases the retirement age to 50-57 from the current 45-55.
• For state police employees to maximize their benefits, the bill raises the required minimum time of service to 30 years from the current 25 years.

The legislation also establishes a mandatory retirement age of 65 for state police, which is consistent with the current mandatory retirement age for municipal police officers, firefighters and correctional officers.  

For long-term Group 1 employees and teachers who have worked for at least 30 years, the legislation moderates the impact of reforms by easing early retirement penalties and lowering the salary contribution rate by 3 percent.

Additionally, the legislation increases the cost-of-living allowance base for state retirees and teachers from $12,000 to $13,000. Current law provides an annual increase up to 3 percent on a base of the first $12,000 of benefit. The current $12,000 base became effective in 1998.

The legislation also requires that any member seeking to retire from Group 2 or Group 4 must be in active service in that Group for at least 12 months before retirement. Currently, benefits are determined based on the Group classification of the position held on the last day of active service.

Another significant piece of the legislation states that anyone who does not report federal wages that supplement a salary cannot count those wages as regular compensation for the calculation of benefits.

The legislation also does the following:

• Pro-rates benefits based on entire employment history of employees who have worked in more than one service Group rather than calculating benefits only by the Group from which the employee retires;
• Increases the minimum retirement benefit from $10,000 to $15,000;
• Requires retired employees who are elected to a new office or become a judge and reenter the system to repay received benefits with buyback interest;
• Clarifies that retirement boards must require retirees convicted of a criminal offense to repay all benefits received since the date of the offense, not just the date of conviction;
• Provides an option for retirees who married a person of the same sex, within the first year after it became legal, to change their retirement option in order to provide a benefit to their spouse.
• Establishes a special commission to study the Massachusetts public employees' group classification system and make recommendations for changing it.

HABITUAL OFFENDERS

Though not yet on the Governor’s desk, the House approved a version of the habitual offenders bill to diminish the likelihood of having another incident like the one we saw last year in which a Woburn Police Officer was shot and killed after responding to an armed robbery at a department store. The perpetrator of this act was an individual with a history of violent crime, a man who never should have been released given his history.

Under this new legislation, habitual offenders would have to serve 2/3 of their sentence, rather than half, before becoming eligible for parole. Habitual offenders sentenced under any major crimes indicated would not be eligible for parole, work release or furlough, nor would their sentence be eligible for reduction or suspension.

Furthermore, habitual offender status is realized when an offender, after being convicted of any two major crimes, is convicted of a third major crime. Major crimes include murder, manslaughter, rape, child enticement, kidnapping, and others. The offender would be ineligible for parole upon conviction of a third offense and be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for the maximum term provided by law.

The legislation also indicates that a sentence imposed under this section shall run from and after any sentence that the defendant is serving at the time of sentencing. No person shall be considered a habitual offender based upon any offense for which such person was adjudicated a delinquent child.

I voted in favor of this legislation, which will now go to a conference committee with Senate members to iron out a compromise between our bill and the one passed in the Senate. I expect that it will be ready for an affirming vote early next year.

Finally, the House voted to send to the Governor’s desk a new map of Congressional Districts that reflects the change from ten members in the United States House of Representatives to nine. Under the new plan, Stoughton will remain in the district represented by the Honorable Stephen F. Lynch, Democrat of South Boston, though it will now be known as the 8^th Congressional District (it was formerly the 9^th.)

During its work, the Redistricting Committee heard thirty-one hours of testimony from more than 400 groups and individuals. The redistricting website received more than 45,000 hits.

The new plan includes the strongest minority-majority congressional district in the state’s history, with a 56.6 percent minority population in the minority-majority district; a new district that combines the coastal communities of Southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod; and districts that make more geographic sense.

All of these reforms, plus a few more that were adopted, will have a positive impact on our Commonwealth moving forward. As mentioned above, I am proud to have supported all of these initiatives. We heard from many of our constituents on these issues, and we thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to sound off to either us or our staff to let us know how you feel on these issues.

Finally, I want to take this opportunity to wish you a very happy, healthy Thanksgiving and holiday season!

Sincerely,

William C. Galvin

State Representative