Rep.
Hynes
State House Report February, 2005 The 184th session of the Massachusetts General Court (State Legislature) convened, as required by the Constitution, on the first Wednesday of January. The assembled legislators took their oaths of office before friends and families, following centuries old ceremonial traditions. House members elected North End Representative Salvatore DiMasi as their Speaker and Senators elected Robert Travaglini as their President. Both leaders promised cooperation with Governor Romney, who in mid January issued his annual State of the State Address. The three sounded similar themes - economic growth and job development; enhanced quality education opportunities for all school aged children; and expanded health care coverage for those uninsured. Clouding these laudable objectives are the twin storms of (1) a structural state budget deficit of nearly $1 billion and, (2) a very slow recovery in the Massachusetts economy of the recession of the last few years. FY’ 2006 State Budget: As the economy seeks a stronger foothold in Massachusetts, expectations and demands for state government growth and expansion are high among many groups who saw their allotment from the state budget decline significantly in the last few years. Thus, local municipalities, public school districts, higher education institutions, human service providers and activists, environmental proponents, to name a few, are all making their presentations to the legislature and Governor regarding the needs and value of their services. Here are some matters to watch this 184th session of the General Court: Local Aid, the name given the state revenue sharing accounts to the state’s 351 municipalities and 260 public school districts, is drawing sharp attention. Governor Romney, in releasing his proposed budget last week, proposed an increase of $400 million in education aid and a $100 million increase in lottery aid. Legislators see these accounts as fundamental to their representation and, although seeking equilibrium in budget authorizations, recognize the unique partnership of the state with its local communities. They also appreciate the significant reductions in local aid in the past several years, the resultant diminishment of local services and the increased burden on the property tax. The Governor’s Budget results in Scituate and Marshfield receiving several hundreds of thousands of dollars increase in Education and Lottery Aid. You can be sure that I will be fighting to sustain, even increase, these proposed new dollars. MBTA Assessments: Forward Funding of the MBTA, legislation with which I was directly involved, created a new formula for financing the assessments on MBTA member communities. Passed in the year 2000 it promised, over the next six years, a significant reduction in the annual charges the MBTA required of Scituate and Marshfield. I am happy to report that the promise is fulfilled. Scituate’s assessment has dropped $278,750 to $107,382 from its high of $386,132 in Fiscal Year 2000. Marshfield’s has dropped $371,490 to $146,385 from its high of $517,875. The true savings are even greater in the sense that if we had not been successful in changing the assessment formula for communities like Scituate and Marshfield their annual charges would now be at least $100,000 more than what they were paying in the year 2000. Hancock vs. Driscoll: This case, pending before the State Supreme Court, argues that the Commonwealth must invest substantially more dollars in public school education. The Court is expected to issue its ruling by the end of this month. Should it require that immediate, considerable new dollars be allocated for education, previous assumptions, commitments, and methods for allocating state dollars will be overthrown. The state has finite financial resources and any court ordered requirement to fund education accounts will diminish other allocations. Needless to say, state budget writers are nervously awaiting this decision. The Big Dig: The $15 billion Central Artery/ Third Harbor Airport Tunnel construction project is scheduled to be completed this year. Yet concerns continue about traffic congestion in Central Boston and the growing problems of design and construction irregularities. Legal skirmishes are being waged and the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority has turned over to the Attorney General all investigations into design and construction matters, tunnel leaks, integrity of construction projects, and efforts to recover costs. Tom Reilly, the Attorney General, acting more each day like a Democratic Party gubernatorial candidate, opposing the reelection of Mitt Romney, will have much of his political future at stake in the success or lack thereof, of his efforts in this area. Auto Insurance Reform: Although Massachusetts automobile insurance rates have seen some flattening out in the past several years, most of us reel at the high cost of this necessity. Massachusetts rates remain among the highest in the nation and the only state which requires the state to set the rate. In setting the rates for the current year, the Insurance Commissioner made several changes in the state’s regulations to ostensibly make these rates fairer – whereby drivers with poor records or drivers whose peer group, as defined by age or location of garage, would pay more and others’ rates flatten out. Several bills are filed to further reform this system, ranging from deregulation to more competitive choice by enticing more insurance companies into the Massachusetts market. Look for this matter to remain volatile during this session. Reflection: “Character is the sum of those qualities which make a man a good man and a woman a good woman.” Theodore Roosevelt “The measure of a man’s real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.” Thomas B. Macaulay |